Righteous Fury: A Retribution Pali's Guide
TALENT TREE BASICS
"Must have" support Talents
"Optional" Ret Talents
Nearly all talents in the retribution tree are vital to our DPS output. Listed are some "exceptions" below and why I classify them as such.
[Deflection] As a raiding/dungeon Paladin, we get little benefit from this. This may be used as a well balanced tank talent or for PvP and grinding. It may be wise to look at Benediction.
Vindication Nearly all Raid bosses are immune. This talent still may be beneficial for most “common” mobs. Arguably a PvP and/or grinding talent.
[Pursuit of Justice] While there is no direct DPS gain, many encounters require a lot of movement, and PoJ can give you a nice edge, and save you from enchanting your boots with speed. If there are points left over, throw em in.
[Eye for an Eye] In a Raid/Party setting, you should no be getting hit. Clearly a PvP talent.
[Improved Retribution Aura] Not bad for grinding. In a well functioning group the damage increase to the aura should not be needed to help the tank with threat, and again as Ret, you should not be a target of the bad guy.
[Divine Purpose] Great for PvP not the best use of points in a Dungeon or Raid setting.
Things to look for in the other trees
(Protection) [Divine Strength] - Eat your Wheaties! A must have for Ret Palis
(Holy) [Aura Mastery] - We as Paladins still have to Spec for a 40 yard range where as others may not. This will become more important as we grow as a Support/DPS Class.
HIT RATING and EXPERTISE
Hit rating at 80
296 is your cap-- with that noted please consider this: passive racial and class abilities that will boost your chance to hit when in a party or Raid. In addition, there are reports that Ret Paladins have the presence of “ghost hit” meaning our cap may actually be lower than the required rating. The best thing I can present to you is taking advantage of the test dummies spread out around the world to see for yourself. Making note that actual dodge and parries are not considered a miss due to lack of Hit rating.
Expertise
202 Expertise Rating= 25 Expertise This stat will reduce your chance to be dodged and parried. A dodge or parry can be just as bad as a “miss”. If you are capped, dodge/parry by a mob will theoretically fall of the board.
RAID/PARTY SUPPORT AND YOU
With the proper support talents, we will become a valuable asset to any Raid/Party, a mana and health battery in plate, increase the Raid's haste, increase the Raid's dmg output and be able to toss out a "mission critical" heal if needed. Our heals will not be as powerful as a class that is spec'd for it but it may be the difference in buying that quick second before a much needed large heal.
Judged targets are a must! Talk with other Paladins in the group and sort it out! Your two most common judgments are below:
IMPORTANT TIDBITS FOR RAID/PARTY LEADERS AND MEMBERS
- Blessing of Might (Retribution)- If spec'd for the improvement: will “overwrite” Battle Shout
- Swift Retribution- does not stack with Improved Moonkin Aura. Both effects are 3% haste.
- Sanctified Retribution- (2% additional damage) does not stack with Ferocious Inspiration (hunter), but is always active rather than 1% additional for 10 seconds after a pet's critical.
- Heart of the Crusader- equals but does not stack with Totem of Wrath, and does not stack with Master Poisoner (Rogue)
- Replenishment(Judgments of the Wise Rank 3)- does not stack with the effect caused by Vampiric Touch, or Hunting Party (hunter). It is key to point out however, the new global replenishment affect will only effect up to 10 raid/party members no matter what class is responsible for creating the passive buff.
- Take note If you are regularly “bubbled” or shielded by party or raid members. The damage Seal of the Martyr does to you should be healed through, either actively or passively. As a Ret paladin, we need the mana return from Spiritual Attunement (passive paladin ability).
SPELL POWER AND ATTACK POWER
Regarding the SP(Spell Power) and AP(Attack Power) coefficients of our abilities:
Numerous abilities now scale with AP such as Retribution aura, Consecration, Hammer of Wrath etc.. Spell power if spec'd accordingly, will scale with your AP.
JUDGEMENT AND SEAL ABILITIES
Judgement Basics
Judgment abilities are split into three different categories, all with different effects.
- Judgment of Wisdom - Judgment of Light - Judgment of Justice
- Judgment of Wisdom restores a percentage of total mana up to a maximum of every 4 seconds when an attack is made. (see Judgments of the Wise)
- Judgment of Light grants a successful melee attack roughly a 50% chance to restore X amount of health, this calculation is based on the attacker's AP.
- Judgments are on the global cool down
- Judgment debuff effects will proc only once every 4 seconds
- Judgment of Justice will no longer prevent Fear effects, only prevent NPCs from fleeing.
The Basics of Seals.... (really basic)
- All Seals have a duration of thirty minutes - Ability: - Seal of the Martyr, Alliance. = Seal of Blood. - All Seals may proc from special weapon attacks.
The Seal and Judgment system has not changed much. Pick a Seal and cast a Judgment
Seals and Judgments both trigger GCD.
A LOOK AT SEAL OF COMMAND
Seal of Command does in fact scale with Haste rating as well as AP. I generally recommend this seal for the use of PvP or grinding. It should also be used on certain fights where the healer(s) is taxed or you are not receiving the needed heals to keep Martyr up.
The proc chance of Seal of Command / The PPM mechanic
The PPM mechanic stands for Procs Per Minute and is a constant value Blizzard has introduced to calculate the chance of Seal of Command proccing using the following calculation;
Seal of Command proc chance = PPM / (60 / hasted weapon speed).
The PPM value for Seal of Command is 7.
Each weapon attack has a chance to proc Seal of Command without any limitation.
Glyph of Seal of Command changes the chance Seal of Command has for proccing.
The Glyph changes the base PPM for Seal of Command from 7 to 8.4 ((7 * .20) + 7 = 8.4)
A LOOK AT SEAL OF BLOOD(horde)/MARTYR(alliance)
Seal of the Martyr: 14% of base mana Instant cast All melee attacks deal [0.28 * mw] to [0.28 * MW] additional Holy damage, but the Paladin loses health equal to 10% of the total damage inflicted. Lasts 2 min.
Unleashing this Seal's energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing [0.25 * mw + 0.2 * AP + 0.32 * SPH] to [0.25 * MW + 0.2 * AP + 0.32 * SPH] Holy damage at the cost of health equal to 33% of the damage caused.
Research shows that indeed scaling is a bit better...Much of what I read has to due with opinions/preferences, gear, glyphs, and raid/party makeup. With what personal testing I have done, It appears Martyr is viable when in a party where you can depend on heals. Fully raid buffed, this is our primary DPS seal. Caution should be used if the Paladin is a heavy hitter, and “light” on stamina and/or light on health and certain other conditions. The glyph of blood/martyr is invaluable, as in most cases this seal will be active.
COMMON USE MACROS AND ATTACK SEQUENCE
In most cases, I recommend using the following sequence: Judgment, CS, DS, and Consecrate. Below are some basic “spam” macros. Be advised that these macros use AoE. The “cast sequence reset” is based on an 8 sec judgment cool down and can be adjusted to “feel”. For example, I have my reset time set to 2 sec. A single target macro may be used where Consecration and Divine Storm are omitted. You may also want to create a macro that properly times your trinkets and Avenging Wrath.
/console Sound_EnableSFX 0 /castsequence reset=8 Judgment of Light, Crusader Strike, Divine Storm, Consecration /script UIErrorsFrame:Clear() /console Sound_EnableSFX 1
/console Sound_EnableSFX 0 /castsequence reset=8 Judgment of Wisdom, Crusader Strike, Divine Storm, Consecration /script UIErrorsFrame:Clear() /console Sound_EnableSFX 1
/console Sound_EnableSFX 0 /castsequence reset=8 Judgment of Justice, Crusader Strike, Divine Storm, Consecration /script UIErrorsFrame:Clear() /console Sound_EnableSFX 1
STATS AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM
There is always much debate on what exact stat you should look for in any class...Instead of saying X is always greater than A, we will classify them with "importance" High, Moderate, Low...
High
Hit- Your chance to hit a mob at x level ...stack until capped
Str/AP- vital to your overall DPS 1str=2AP Attack Power increases the amount of damage your auto attack does along with your other various abilities. Also take note that when spec'd for Divine Strength, Str will produce more than 2 AP. ...You can't get enough =)
Crit- Vital to your personal damage output both white and yellow damage. This stat is of utmost importance to keep Vengeance up at all times. ...Aim for the sky!
Expertise- I don't recommend sacrificing Hit,STR/AP, or Crit for this however, If gear permits, expertise should not be ignored.
Moderate importance (think of the below as a bonus if they “fall in your lap”)
Haste- Haste should not be disregarded all together, we should just not actively gem or seek gear for it. Decreased global cool downs, quicker attacks that do not hinder Seal of Command...
Int- You still need a mana pool. Blizzard has all but negated the need for this stat as a Retribution Paladin. When leveling, the larger mana pool is a nice thing to have as your gear may always be in “flux” and most likely will not be Hit capped. At lvl 80 the enchant for “stats” to the chest piece is recommended whether it be the +8 or the spendy +10.
Low importance
Spell power- you should not be actively seeking gear with this stat. Spell power will now Scale with your attack power.
Spirit- No direct bonuses in the Talent trees or abilities.
Armor Penetration- Most of our attacks are spell based. That being said, If the item that has Armor Penetration also has other stats that are lacking, there is nothing wrong with equipping that item.
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
What hasn't really changed as the rule of thumb is: equipping a 2h weapon. Look for the slow weapon with the highest damage per SWING possible not just the base DamagePerSecond. Aim for greater than a 3sec swing. Many of our special attacks have weapon damage included in the calculations. Our DPS is nearly all Burst and the slow 2h helps us with that.
ROLES YOU MAY BE CALLED UPON TO PLAY
DPS/Support- Our bread and butter.
Main Healing
--- Off-Spec healing is not as painful as it used to be when we are spec'd with Sheath of Light. You will want equipment similar to the of your Holy counterpart. In addition to that, you may need to stack Mp5. Use your Retribution Aura if needed for increased Haste. In a sense, you will most likely be a “melee healer” and may need to join the melee group charging into battle. Take note that charging in may not be acceptable for some fights/groups. When in melee range, you may want to use seal of Wisdom and Judge Light or Seal and Judge Wisdom and just auto attack and re-judge when needed. This is done soley to help with your mana gain. When Spec'd For Sheath of Light, you have at your disposal a HoT effect so crit is still viable. and what little Str/AP you have in your healing gear and base stats is an added bonus. You will also find that mana management will be a challenge so use your heals wisely and use whatever consumables you have at your disposal to increase Mp5. If there is more than one Paladin in your group ensure you have the following blessings: Wisdom, Might and Kings. Make sure your Party/Raid knows that this is your off-spec. You may be an exceptional healer but we are not Holy and may not be the first choice for "Un-assisted" tank healing. In 5-mans, do your research and ensure you are comfortable as a main healer.
Tanking/OT
This could easily be an ugly situation. As ret we generally will not have Mitigation talents. Ensure your Tanking gear is "superb" Aim for as much dodge, block, and parry as humanly possible paying special attention to defense!!!! Please don't just aim for the “soft cap” of 535-540. With that being said, grab as much Str and Stam and Armor as you can. Use Righteous Fury at all times as well as Retribution Aura to help with your Threat generation. ...and please, use a shield! Grab a slow 1h so your Crusader Strike and Divine Storm are still semi-viable. You will want to pass the urge of using Seal of Command and switch to Seal of Vengeance, the proc rate on SoC is a wild card when gaining threat. Be aware as Ret, your ability to cleanly pull a mob is severely gimped. Do not be ashamed to call out for an MD as often as possible. Pull using any ranged ability you have. If nothing is at your disposal, you are faced with either a ranged/CC pull from another player or the classic body pull. If you have no Tanking experience I would not seek this role. Be prepared and do your research. "Tap" the shoulder of a seasoned Protection Spec'd Paladin as well as other Tanks, so if called upon, you are prepared.
ERRATA and TIDBITS
Socketing Gems
The debate on this could go on forever. My personal belief is to socket for what you think your paladin may need, paying attention to your primary stats such as str/ap and/or hit. Str vs. Ap? Ideally, we will want to go with strength, realistically, AP is still a viable alternative if strength is not available.
Glyphs
I recommend the following as invaluable additions to our Spec:
