WoW The War Within Paladin Class Guide

Jonas Author

Created - 13.12.2024 Updated - 16.12.2024

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There are tons of classes in the game but the WoW The War Within Paladin class remains to be one of the most popular yet. The skill level of this class isn’t as high but we’re sure you’re still going to want help when trying out these agents from the holy order. Ready to get started?

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Paladin Class Overview

If you’re new to the Paladin class or haven’t had much experience with it, let’s break things down for you. In WoW: The War Within, Paladins have access to two distinct talent trees. You’ll allocate points into both of these as you progress, each with its own specific focus.

The left tree is the class tree, which contains core talents that all Paladin specializations (specs) can use. On the other hand, the right tree is spec-specific, meaning it changes depending on whether you’re playing Holy, Protection, or Retribution.

So, let’s dive into the general mechanics of Paladins, what they all share, and some key elements in their talent tree that you’ll want to keep in mind.

Paladin Basics

Paladins are a plate-wearing class that wields holy magic. While they are powerful and versatile, they’re not particularly fast-moving. Their primary mobility tool is Divine Steed, a must-have for any Paladin build.

Divine Steed grants you a short burst of speed, letting you mount up and move quickly for a brief period. It has a 45-second recharge and can have an extra charge added if you choose certain talents. While mounted, you can use your abilities as normal, making it an essential tool for mobility.

Since Divine Steed is your only real movement ability, it’s vital to get comfortable with its use. Managing its cooldown wisely, especially in situations like Mythic+ dungeons, will help you keep up with your group. Spreading out your cooldowns effectively can be the difference between staying in the action or lagging behind.

All three Paladin specs operate in melee range, meaning you’ll be up close and personal with your enemies. Holy Paladins, while primarily healers, can sometimes work at a distance, but they’ll still need to be in melee range for maximum efficiency.

If you’re playing Holy, this is something you’ll want to keep in mind.

Key Talents in the Class Tree

The class tree offers several talents that are universally valuable, no matter your spec. One of the first things you’ll want to grab is Avenging Wrath. This ability is a cornerstone of the Paladin playstyle, providing a massive boost to your effectiveness. There’s hardly any viable build that doesn’t include Avenging Wrath, so it’s a must-have.

Another crucial talent is Hammer of Wrath, which is particularly useful for leveling. It’s an execute-style ability that deals significant damage and generates Holy Power, making it a staple for all specs.

Additionally, your interrupt ability is located in this tree, which is essential for PvE content like dungeons and raids. And it also holds its ground in WoW PvP content.

For leveling, talents like Holy Avenger can be incredibly beneficial. Holy Avenger triples your Holy Power generation for 20 seconds, allowing you to build up and spend Holy Power aggressively. This is particularly handy when you’re dealing with tougher mobs or large pulls.

Another talent to consider is Blessing of Protection (commonly referred to as "Bop"). This ability lets you avoid physical damage by shielding yourself or an ally.

While it’s not typically used by tanks (as it causes them to drop aggro), it’s an invaluable tool for surviving tricky situations as a DPS or healer.

Passive Abilities and Utility

Paladins also have access to several useful passive abilities. For example, Hallowed Ground enhances your Consecration ability, increasing its effectiveness.

While Consecration isn’t the strongest tool in your arsenal, it’s great for sustained AoE damage. With 100% uptime, you can drop Consecration during large pulls or fights with lots of adds to deal consistent damage.

You’ll also want to consider picking up Devotion Aura, which provides a modest damage reduction to you and your party. While it’s not a game-changing ability, it’s a nice defensive layer that adds value, especially in group content.

Another talent worth mentioning is Auras of the Resolute, which enhances your aura abilities further.

While the class tree has a mix of useful and situational talents, it’s not the most exciting compared to other classes. That said, it does have some standout options for specific specs like Retribution, which we’ll cover later.

For now, focus on grabbing your essential blessings, mobility tools, and damage passives. These will make leveling and early gameplay much smoother.

Best Paladin Spec In Current Meta: Retribution

Retribution (Ret) is an absolute banger of a spec in "The War Within." If you haven’t considered it yet, you absolutely should—at the very least as an alt, if not as your main.

You might have noticed how many players were drawn to Ret during Dragonflight and wondered, "Why is it so popular?" Well, let’s dive into why Ret has become a staple for so many players.

The Power of Ret in Dragonflight

In Dragonflight, Ret Paladin gained widespread popularity for several reasons. It delivered incredible overall damage output and brought significant utility to both Mythic Plus and raids—though it really shined in Mythic Plus.

The rework addressed almost all the community’s pain points, delivering a spec that felt satisfying and effective to play. Players who had long hoped for these improvements finally saw their dreams come true, and the reworked Ret became a powerhouse.

By now, you’ve probably heard content creators and players alike singing Ret’s praises. Maybe you’ve even tried it yourself. With "The War Within," you’re likely wondering if it’s worth picking up again.

Based on beta content and various tier lists, Ret may not always rank at the very top, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fantastic choice. In fact, it’s arguably one of the safest specs you can play right now.

A Straightforward but Rewarding Playstyle

Let’s clear one thing up—Ret is not a complex spec. It’s straightforward, with some build diversity to keep things interesting. The playstyle is systematic, with minimal reliance on RNG, though there are occasional procs to spice things up.

This predictability is further enhanced by the new Hero Talents, especially Templar’s Wrath.

Templar’s Wrath transforms your Wake of Ashes into Hammer of Light, a massive spender that deals tremendous damage. This synergizes beautifully with the entire Templar talent tree, enabling abilities like Imperium Hammers to rain destruction from the sky. Radiant Glory, another standout Hero Talent, adds even more depth.

It bakes Avenging Wrath or Crusade directly into Wake of Ashes, providing a mini "wings" effect every time you press it. This streamlined approach creates frequent damage windows, making Ret incredibly effective in Mythic Plus and raids.

Frequent and Reliable Burst Windows

One of Ret’s greatest strengths is its burst damage frequency making it one of the Best DPS in the game right now. With Radiant Glory, Wake of Ashes becomes the centerpiece of your damage profile, activating your entire kit. It reminds us of the Legion era when Wake of Ashes was a game-changer.

This frequent uptime on burst abilities makes Ret less reliant on external factors, like tank pulls, to maximize damage—a stark contrast to specs like Frost Death Knight or Fire Mage.

Because Ret’s damage profile is self-contained, you’ll find yourself less stressed in Mythic Plus scenarios. Your cooldowns are always ready, and you’re not sitting around waiting for the perfect moment.

This level of control frees up mental space to focus on mechanics, allowing you to dodge frontals and other hazards effectively. And even if you do get clipped, Ret’s survivability often lets you walk away unscathed—unlike squishier specs that crumble under pressure.

Tankiness and Utility

Speaking of survivability, Ret Paladin is one of the tankiest DPS specs in the game. You’ve got tools like Divine Shield and Word of Glory to keep yourself alive, and even in high-pressure situations, Ret’s durability shines.

Word of Glory has seen buffs, making it more viable as a self-heal, though it’s still situational. In a pinch, it’s comforting to know that you can heal yourself or allies and keep going.

Ret’s utility doesn’t stop at survivability. With abilities like Blessing of Freedom and Lay on Hands, you bring value to your group beyond just damage. This makes Ret an attractive choice for both progression and pug content, where versatility and self-sufficiency are key.

The Joy of Simplicity

Ret’s simplicity is a huge part of its appeal. In a game that’s become increasingly complex with intricate raid mechanics and layered dungeon encounters, having a spec that’s easy to pick up is refreshing. But don’t mistake simplicity for dullness.

Ret’s rotation is engaging and rewarding, giving you a sense of control over your performance. You’re not at the mercy of random procs or dependent on perfect group setups—you just get to play your game.

This simplicity is one reason Ret, along with Beast Mastery Hunter, has consistently ranked as one of the most popular specs in WoW. Both specs are accessible yet fun, offering players a break from more mentally taxing options like Arcane Mage or Survival Hunter.

Ret’s rework ensured it stayed easy to learn while adding just enough complexity to keep it interesting.

Experimental Talents and Build Diversity

For those looking to experiment, Ret offers some intriguing talents. Divine Hammer, for instance, replaces Consecration with a spinning hammer on a two-minute cooldown.

While it drains Holy Power every second, it drastically speeds up your rotation and opens up new gameplay possibilities. This talent, though niche, hints at the potential for future innovations in the spec’s design.

Whether you’re new to melee DPS, returning to WoW after a break, or just looking for a spec that’s both fun and forgiving, Ret Paladin is an excellent choice.

It delivers a satisfying blend of damage, survivability, and utility, all wrapped up in a playstyle that’s as enjoyable as it is effective.

Second Best Paladin Spec: Protection

Let’s start with the core gameplay. The main goal is to build and spend Holy Power. You have three Holy Power builders:

• First, there's Judgment, which is a strong single-target ranged ability.
• Second, you have Blasting Hammer or Hammer of the Righteous, depending on your talent choice.
• Third, you have Hammer of Wrath. This ability is unique in that it can only be used on enemies below 20% health, or when your offensive cooldown, Avenging Wrath, is active. More on that later.

The maximum amount of Holy Power you can store is five. You also have two Holy Power spenders:

• Shield of the Righteous: A must-have active mitigation ability. It costs three Holy Power and buffs your armor, stamina, and strength, making you more resilient to physical damage. However, it does not mitigate magic or bleed damage.
• Word of Glory: Also costs three Holy Power. It’s a heal that can be used on yourself or your allies. The amount of healing increases the lower your health is.

A key point to keep in mind: you must never cap your Holy Power. If you don’t need healing, spend it on Shield of the Righteous. This ability can stack up to 13.5 seconds in duration, so always track your buffs for two specific procs:

• Divine Purpose: Makes your next Shield of the Righteous or Word of Glory free.
• Shining Light: Grants you a free Word of Glory.

We recommend using a UI to track these procs to stay efficient with your Holy Power spenders.

Core Rotation

Now, let’s talk about the core rotation. We’ll focus on abilities with a cooldown of less than 45 seconds. First, always drop Consecration and make sure you tank on consecrated ground.

This is important because of your Divine Bwork passive, which reduces the damage you take when standing on consecrated ground.

Next, maintain Shield of the Righteous as your active mitigation. Since it costs three Holy Power, be sure to build up Holy Power efficiently. Your priority for Holy Power builders is to keep Judgment on cooldown first.

Then, use Hammer of Wrath when mobs are below 20% health or when Avenging Wrath is active. After that, you’ll use Blasting Hammer or Hammer of the Righteous, depending on your talent choice.

When you’ve built up enough Holy Power, pop Shield of the Righteous in melee range to both buff yourself and deal damage to the mobs in front of you for threat generation.

If you’re good on Holy Power spenders, then use Avenger’s Shield. It bounces between enemies after hitting the first target, providing good AoE damage and threat. It also interrupts the first target it hits.

In single-target situations, prioritize Judgment over Avenger’s Shield, as it will provide more sustained damage.

Offensive & Defensive Cooldowns

Now let’s move on to your big cooldowns.

First, we have Divine Toll, a must-have talent. This ability fires off multiple Avenger’s Shields at mobs and generates one Holy Power per target, up to five targets. It’s fantastic for AoE burst damage and also works as an AoE interrupt.

Next is Avenging Wrath, also known as Wings. This ability provides a massive buff to your damage output. If you take the Sentinel talent, it grants additional defensive benefits on top of the offensive ones.

Specifically, you start with 15 stacks of the Divine Resolve buff, with each stack granting 2% more health and 2% damage reduction. These stacks will fade over time, but spending Holy Power will extend the buff’s duration.

For your defensive cooldowns, we have Eye of Tear, a one-minute cooldown. It does AoE damage to enemies within 8 yards and reduces the damage they deal to you by 25% for 9 seconds.

This is great to use after Sentinel's defensive buff expires, especially in large pools. The downside, however, is its short range, and it can’t debuff enemies that are too far away, such as casters.

Another defensive cooldown is The Other Defender, which is a two-minute cooldown that reduces damage by 20% for 8 seconds. This is useful when you need damage reduction but have already used other cooldowns.

Then, there's Guardian of Ancient Kings, which reduces damage by 50% for 8 seconds. It has a much longer cooldown, so use it wisely when Sentinel and Eye of Tear are both on cooldown.

Finally, we have the most iconic defensive cooldown of all: Divine Shield. This has a very long cooldown but makes you completely immune to all damage types for 8 seconds.

Gearing & Stat Priority

When gearing your Paladin, prioritize item level first, as it increases your stamina for more health and provides more strength to boost your parry chance and armor.

For secondary stats, Haste is the most important. It lowers your Global Cooldown (GCD) and lets you build and spend Holy Power faster, which enhances your mitigation, self-healing, and DPS output.

Next, you’ll want to focus on Mastery. Your mastery grants you more damage reduction when standing in Consecration, so the more Mastery you have, the better.

Versatility comes next. It provides a flat increase to your DPS output and gives you 1% damage reduction per 2% versatility. It’s great against all damage types and provides more overall survivability.

Crit is the least important stat. It increases your damage and parry chance, but since you can’t parry certain damage types, it should be considered a low priority.

Talent Builds

For the M+ build, one obvious choice is the Bubble Ton talent. This allows you to have additional utility, and you tend to be tanking in AoE situations.

For this, Strength and Versatility are preferred, as they provide higher parry chances and more DPS in AoE scenarios, versus the Crusader’s Resolve talent, which is better suited for single-target mitigation in raid content.

In M+, you’ll also want more utility, so you’ll pick Cleansed Toxins and Fist of Justice to reduce the cooldown of your stun. Another notable difference is that in M+, you’ll want to take Sentinel for the additional defensive benefit it provides when Wings is active.

Finally, in raid content, you’ll typically take Avenging Wrath Might, which boosts your damage output because you don’t need the extra cooldowns as much as you do in M+ content.

Build Your Paladin Now

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