Paladin
A collection of guides for the Paladin class, written by the wow-pro community.
Paladin : Do you want to level one?
Hello there, and thanks for looking at my first guide! I hope this will help you learn something about whether or not you want to be a part of the Paladin community - or at the least entertain you!
The first thing that you will notice about this guide is that it's basic. I have absolutely *no* idea what I'm doing with regards formatting here - hopefully people will give me hints, tips and so on but for the time being... wall of text!
Anyway, I have decided to write this because I want to contribute to the WoWPro community, and Paladins by and large are the only class I know how to level properly. (Apart from Hunters, but who needs information about those 
)
Right, so you've created a Paladin.
Oh wait...
You're stuck on the character creation screen!!! This happens to all of us, all the time. Which race to choose, I hear you say! Well, here's a quick review of them all and their pros and cons for me. I will also consider how good the racials are, with regards the Paladin class.
Horde Races
Ok, so you've gone Horde. You have one option - Blood Elf. A pretty cool race for me, a good choice if you like what is almost a Human look, but on the Horde side.
Arcane Torrent
"Silences all enemies in an 8 yard radius around the Blood Elf for 2 seconds.
Classes with mana bars (Mages, Hunters, Priests, and Warlocks) will regain 6% of their total mana."
This is a viable trait for a Paladin. The silence is useable in both PvE and PvP - more so in PvP but still extremely useful in a PvE situation (Kurzen's Compound, anyone?)
The mana regain is also very good - it could very well mean the difference between life and death!
Alliance Races
Ahh, trusty Alliance. My choice here - but only because all of my friends play it. I'd much rather be Horde to be honest! The characters are so much more badass! Anyway, I digress...
So you have chosen the noble Draenei, a good choice. A tall race, a bit octopus - looking but still...
Quite simply a fantastic racial. It is a 1.5 second cast heal over time (HOT) which heals you for a total of 7+(3x your level). Don't worry too much about this - just know that it heals for a lot, quickly! (15 seconds to be exact). I hear what you're saying - "But I'm a Paladin, I can already heal!"
Remember - you have no HOT's - and it doesn't cost mana. This is important for a Paladin (again, cover mana issues later!)
This is a really useful racial. It adds a 1% hit, which effects both spells and melee - when you get to higher levels, fighting raid bosses and so on this is a very useful percentage.
Dwarf, one of my favourite races. They just look amazing, have a look at this Dwarf Paladin in Tier 5 Armor.
Anyway, here are their racials (or the useful ones at least!)
Stoneform
Stoneform is a pretty cool racial. As in, arguably the best PvP racial in the game!!!
It increases your armor, making you get hit for less. It also removes all poisons, diseases, and bleeding - and then makes you immune to them for the next 8 seconds! Cast this and just /lol at that Rogue! Then pound his face in.
This is handy - in the Dwarven starter area you will be using a mace of some sort, and likely to use them in the future. Don't overlook this. This will remove some of those annoying "miss...dodge...miss...parry...miss" rotations I have noticed a lot with Paladins.
Last but not least, the noble Humans!
The Human is an aesthetically pleasing Race. They look - how to phrase this - normal! This isn't for everyone, but if you don't enjoy a short character, one with Octupus tentacles on his face or an Elf, this race is for you - and it's racials, some believe, are among the best in the game.
Pretty simple here. Diplomacy is a racial effect which increases the reputaion gained by 10%. Of course, you're going to be following guides from this website - all of which are the best there are
You will be doing a lot of questing, and as I'm sure you know all quests (or most!) offer Reputation as well as material rewards. This goes towards being able to buy mounts, armor, weapons and other great items - and as such is important later on. Some people even take to grinding certain enemies for days on end for pure reputaion! So, basically - an amazing racial. Useful!
Perception
A pretty handy PvP trait here, allowing you to see stealthed targets easier. It works out at about 1 level.
Every Man for Himself
A very useful PvP trait - but also for the occassional PvE encounter. This allows you to break free of any movement impairing effects - it is essentially a trinket in disguise. It sadly shares a cooldown with one, but this still remains a great trinket slot - freeing spell.
Do I really have to explain this one? Your expertise with all Swords and Maces is increased by 3. You hit more often. Enough said!!! As a Paladin this definately helps, as I mentioned earlier.
Again, I'll mention how awesome I think Dwarf Paladins look - and this is the only reason you should pick a race. Don't pick one based purely on racial abilities - if you're a hardcore raider you aren't going to be reading this guide anyway! If you're going to look at the behind of a series of pixels for 80 levels, ensure you like the look at least 
So you've made it this far, and you've created a Paladin.
OOPS, my bad...
You're stuck at the naming process!!!
This, of course, should only be a problem if you play on an RP- Role Play - server (homage here to my old server, the Sha'tar, and my favorite Guild the Stonefoot Clan. Good luck guys!)
Of course, there are many name generators you could choose, but originality feels best. Try and think of a name that suits your playing style - are you a good Paladin, or have you rejected the light? What are your reasons, as a character, for playing? What's your back story - are you from a wealthy family, or are you a 'rags to riches' type? The possibilities are endless!!
Welcome to World of Warcraft! Head on over to Irwezsh's fantastic Paladin Guide to learn everyrthing about leveling up your new class! What's that? You don't know what you're doing? Well, lucky you. You're part of a great community here, and as such you have all the help you could ever need! Here are links to the old guides, viewable on the net, for you old fasioned types -
Alliance Leveling guides, 1-80
Horde Leveling Guides, 1-80
And for you who like to be 'up and modern' - and I would strongly advise you use this - the in game leveling guides. These are amazing - they tell you where to go, what to do, how to do it and where to go back to turn everything in. What more could you possibly want?!
Alliance and Horde In-Game Leveling Guides, 1-80 (Some guides are as of yet incomplete.)
Finally, I'd like to give unrequited thanks to Jame and Snowflake, the two people who have helped me arduously level my Horde and Alliance characters through tough times. (Fantastic alliteration, I think you'll agree 
)
Paladin Leveling - Talents and Tips - (1-80)
(Firstly, I would like to thank Trollvink for his fantastic Shaman levelling guide which inspired me to create this guide. You my notice our guides are similar, thats because he's doing things well!)
Welcome!
For patch 3.0+, focus'd on PALADIN solo game play!
Table of content:
1. Foreword.
2. What's the best levelling spec?
3. Talents.
4. Abilities and Rotations.
5. Tips.
6. Stats.
7. Gear.
8. Class Quests.
9. Glyphs.
10. Addons.
1. Foreword
I intend to show you in this guide, the best talents for leveling and what spells to use when pewpewing. I want to give you some useful tips, so you know how to play your paladin to a better standard. I want to give you information about what you need to look for with your gear and to explain your class quests. As well as some useful enchants and glyphs; as well as any addons which will be useful to you.
Before you start I do recomend if you are new to the Paladin class you check out Harper1990's guide to starting a new paladin.
2. What's the best leveling spec?
The best leveling spec for the paladin is Retribution. This is because it has a high damage output, while having a minimal mana usage (you have less downtime.)
Many would argue that that protection is a good way to level, and I couldn't disagree with them, however it is only exceptional when you are leveling with a partner (Healer/Mage) as it allows you to take a large amount of mobs once.
For this reason I'm going to write this guide about Retribution as it is the best choice of spec for solo leveling, which is what this guide is about. I will however, give you a good choice of talents for leveling as protection so you have a good idea of what you are doing (I leveled my paladin from 40-65 as a protection paladin.) I will not however give you much more information above that, unless there is a call for it.
3. Talents
A - Retribution
Level 10-14:
5/5 Benediction
Level 15-16:
2/2 Improved Judgement
Level 17-19:
3/3 Heart of the Crusader
Level 20:
1/1 Seal of Command
Level 21-22:
2/2 Pursuit of Justice
Level 23-27:
5/5 Conviction
Level 28-30:
3/3 Crusade
Level 31-33:
3/3 Two-Handed Weapon Specialization
Level 34-36:
3/3 Sanctified Seals
Level 37-39:
3/3 Vengeance
Level 40:
1/1 Repentance
Level 41-43:
3/3 Judgements of the Wise
Level 44-45:
2/2 The Art of War
Level 46-49:
4/5 Fanaticism (Only 4)
Level 50:
1/1 Crusader Strike
Level 51:
5/5 Fanaticism
Level 52-54:
3/3 Sheath of Light
Level 55-59:
5/5 Righteous Vengeance
Level 60:
1/1 Divine Storm
Level 61-62:
2/2 Sanctified Wrath
Level 63-65:
3/3 Swift Retribution
Level 66-70:
5/5 Divine Strength
Level 71:
1/1 Sanctified Retribution
Level 72-73:
2/2 Improved Blessing of Might
Level 74-75:
2/2 Improved Retribution Aura
Level 76-80:
5/5 Spirtiual Focus
B - Protection
Level 10-14:
5/5 Divine Strength
Level 15-19:
5/5 Aticipation
Level 20-22:
3/3 Improved Righteous Fury
Level 22-27:
5/5 Toughness
Level 27-29:
2/2 Gaurdian's Favour
Level 30:
1/1 Blessing of Sanctuary
Level 31-35:
5/5 Reckoning
Level 36-37:
2/2 Sacred Duty
Level 37-39:
2/5 One-Handed Weapon Specialization (Only 2)
Level 40:
1/1 Holy Sheild
Level 41-43:
5/5 One-Handed Weapon Specialization
Level 44:
1/5 Ardent Defender (Only 1)
Level 45-47:
3/3 Redoubt
Level 47-50:
3/3 Combat Expertise
Level 51-53:
3/3 Touched by the Light
Level 54:
1/1 Avenger's Shield
Level 55-57:
3/3 Shield of the Templar
Level 58-59:
3/5 Ardent Defender (Only 3)
Level 60:
1/1 Hammmer of Righteous
Level 61-62:
5/5 Ardent Defender
Level 63-64:
2/2 Guarded by the Light
Level 65-69:
5/5 Benediction
Level 70-71:
2/2 Improved Judgements
Level 72-74:
3/3 Heart of the Crusade
I'll leave the last 6 points for you to choose. There is a few different directions you could go from here, such as going for Blessing of Kings for instances.
4. Abilities and Rotations
Always take the slowest 2 handed weapon available
1 - 9:
- Start by 'turning on' your first seal, Devotion Aura.
- When fighting keep up Seal of Righteousness.
- When you get Blessing of Might, once again keep it up at all times.
- When you get Judgement of Light, use when ever available.
- Take the best DPS weapon you can 1H with Shield or 2H. (A this stage the slow weapon is not too important.)
Rotation: Auto attack + JoL when possible. Make sure Devotion Aura is 'turned on.' Keep the Blessing of Might and Seal of Righteousness Buff on yourself.
10 - 19:
- Same as above but:
- When you get Judgement of Wisdom, start using instead of Light. (This helps keep your mana up)
- When you get Retribution Aura, 'turn it on' instead of Devotion Aura.
- Start looking for a slow 2 handed weapon, so you have one for level 20. (Remember you can train other weapon skills, so if you find a good 2H Axe, Mace or Sword you may not have the skill as base but you can train them in cities. You can also use Polearms when you hit level 20.)
Rotation: Auto attack + JoW when possible. Make sure Retribution Aura is 'turned on.' Keep the Blessing of Might and Seal of Righteousness Buff on yourself.
20 - 39
- Same as above but:
- When you get Seal of Command, keep it up when fighting.
- If fighting more that 2 mobs use Consecration.
- Make sure you are now using that slow 2H weapon.
Rotation: Auto attack + JoW when possible. When you are fighting more than 2 mobs use Consecration. Make sure Retribution Aura is 'turned on.' Keep the Blessing of Might and Seal of Command Buff on yourself.
40 - 49
- Same as above but:
- When you get Hammer of Wrath, use it when the mob has less than 20% HP. Your finishing move!
Rotation: Auto attack + JoW when possible. Use HoW when the mob has less than 20% HP. When you are fighting more than 2 mobs use Consecration. Make sure Retribution Aura is 'turned on.' Keep the Blessing of Might and Seal of Command Buff on yourself.
This may seem boring spending all these levels doing basically the same thing, but you've got a nice little surprise coming your way!
50 - 59.
- Same as above but:
- When you get Crusader Strike, use it when ever it is up! (This is an extra attack that also does slightly higher damage.)
Rotation: Auto attack; JoW and CS when possible. Use HoW when the mob has less than 20% HP. When you are fighting more than 2 mobs use Consecration. Make sure Retribution Aura is 'turned on.' Keep the Blessing of Might and Seal of Command Buff on yourself.
60 - 80.
- Same as above but:
- When you get Divine Storm, use it when ever it's up! (The same as Warrior's Whirlwind, but it also heals you.)
- When you get Divine Plea, use it when you are low on mana.
Rotation: Auto attack; JoW, DS and CS when possible. Use HoW when the mob has less than 20% HP. When you are fighting more than 2 mobs use Consecration. Make sure Retribution Aura is 'turned on.' Keep the Blessing of Might and Seal of Command Buff on yourself. Use Divine Plea, when low on mana.
5. Tips
Instances
- Learn your Resistance Auras. Some bosses do a hell of alot of damage from a school of magic you can protect against.
- Remember to buff other party members with your Blessings. Also give the approprite buff: don't give a Warlock BoM, like-wise don't give a Warrior BoW.
- When healing use BoW on your self. This way you will regain the mana quicker as heals cost a large amount.
Solo
- Just heal yourself with Flash of Light whenever you need to heal. (Helped with by the The Art of War talent, which will give you instant flash of light heals after doing Crits with your moves.)
- Bandages help as well, use this if you have the feeling you are using to much mana (to heal).
- There a few oh**** methods when you can use to protect your self when you are low on health. You could:
- Use Hammer of Justice and then use a Heal.
- Use Repentence (once gained through talents) and then use a Heal.
- Use Divine Protection and then use a heal; or quickly kill the target if it is on low health then heal up.
Professions
- The best options are Skinning/Mining, they make lots of money, skinning gives critical strike rating and mining gives health (this little bonus was added in patch 3.0). These bonuses are small and not needed at all, there just a good choice. (Well said Trollvink!)
6. Stats
In the following order: Strength > Stamina > Intellect > Agility > Mp5 .
( Strength > Stamina means Strength is greater than Stamina, sorry if this seems obvious but I always get confused. )
Strength: Needed for Attack Power.
Stamina: Needed for health.
Intellect: Needed for mana, also gives spell critical strike chance. Needed for the heals and other spells.
Agility: Needed for Critical strike chance, also gives armor.
Mana Per 5 Seconds: You won't see this alot until outland, and that is probabbly the only place you'll need it as in Notherend you'll be using divne plea for mana.
7. Gear.
Weapons & Shield's
I've chosen these weapons based on their DPS and Weapon Speed!
10 - 20:
Lvl 18 - 2H - Smite's Mighty Hammer
20 - 30:
Lvl 22 - 2H - Strike of the Hydra
Lvl 27 - 2H - Corpsemaker
30 - 40:
Lvl 37 - 2H - Ravager (I was reading throught the comments on Wowhead about this axe. You need to watch out if you are doing an instance that you don't break CC with this axes proc. Perhaps use a different axe in instances.)
40 - 50:
[Change to come]
50 - 60:
Lvl 51 - 2H - Ice Barbed Spear (Very hawt spear, all you have to do to get it is win an AV!)
60 - 80:
Your choices here are really linear, you will be given a really nice 2H all the way to 80.
8. Class Quests
You will gain a few quests specific to your own class, in your carrer as a paladin. I recomend you to do this, especially the level 12 quest for getting your resurection spell. I'm not going to give you much information about them however I will link you to Wowhead's page on paladin's quests. The comments and information over there will help you through!
Oh and remember you can now train your Charger mount, instead of having to do the long quest chain as long as you have 150 riding skill.
9. Glyph's
Glyph's...? Have a look here.
Click here for a list of Paladin glyphs.
The following glyph's are a good choice for retribution:
Major - Glyph of Judgement
Major - Glyph of Seal of Command
Major - Glyph of Crusader Strike
Major - Glyph of Hammer of Wrath
Minor - Glyph of Blessing of Might
Unfortuently there is nothing else currently worth speanding your hard earned gold on. Get on it Blizzard!
10. Addons
I currently can't think of any essential Paladin add-ons, if you have ideas please say!
Special Thanks to:
Trollvik for creating the guide which I have semi-based this one off. Your style and formatting is fantastic. You are 100% awesome!
Jame for his awesome leveling guides and guide creation guide! Also for creating an awesome website like WoW-Pro.com!
Pre-Raid Holy Paladin Gear Guide
This guide is on how to gear your fresh faced level 80 Paladin, ready for healing Naxx and beyond (eventually)!
Contents
Talents and Glyphs
I would recommend going for this talent build. The reason for the choices in Protection and Retribution is that 3% more crit is worth more than 3% more healing, also this build allows you to take the greater blessings which are really useful. The talents in the upper end of the holy tree are not set in stone. Some people prefer to take Aura Mastery and Improved Concentration Aura instead of Improved Lay on Hands and Improved Blessing of Wisdom.
Judgements of the Pure is a key talent now because the majority of our heals are not instant cast. I cannot tell you how much fast Holy Lights help. I suggest that you make a Judgement Macro (thanks to fayne selph for this) and bind it to an easy to reach key (i.e. button 1):
#showtooltip Judgement of Light
/cast [target=mouseover,nomodifier,exists] Judgement of Light; [help] Judgement of Light
This will cast Judgement of Light on the target that your mouse is over (or party members target). I would also suggest making another macro (the same one) but for Judgement of Wisdom, this is useful for when people are starting to run low on mana.
Another option for a Judgement macro is this one which I have been using for quite a while now:
#showtooltip Judgement of Light
/cast [harm] [target=targettarget, harm] Judgement of Light
/stopmacro [target=focus,noexists]
/cast !Attack
/cast Attack
/target focus
A bit long winded I know, but it works. It will cast Judgment of Light on your target if it is hostile, if it is not then it will cast it on your targets target (generally the tanks target) and then select the tank again for you to continue healing. This works as long as the tank is set as your focus.
You have a choice when using Judgements of the Pure whether to judge often enough to keep the buff on you, or judge more often to keep the debuff on the monster. For 5 mans I generally just judge often enough to keep the 15% haste, and in 10 and 25 mans judge more often as there is generally small amounts of AOE flying around and this keeps people topped off. However do not judge during a damage spike, this will use up a Global Cooldown and mean you cannot cast a heal during this time.
The Glyphs are shown on the right hand side of the wowhead page, and they mostly come down to personal choice. Especially after the nerf to the Holy Light Glyph (it now cannot crit). However if you are unsure then the ones that I have selected are great .
Gear
So you have just decided you want to help heal the injured and play a vital role in raiding. But which stats to go for? Generally I use the following rule:
Intellect > Spell Power > Critical Strike Rating > Mana per 5 Seconds
Intellect is our best stat, it increases our Spell Power (because of Talents), Mana Pool and our Spell Critical Strike Chance.
Whether the armor is plate, leather, mail or cloth it does not really matter, however the items have been created such that plate is the best choice for you, to be honest who else is plate healing gear made for!
I have tried to give the best 4 options per slot. I have also put a dot by the piece of gear that I think is the best in slot before raiding.
In addition to these items it is also good to go on Vault of Archavon runs as they are not too hard and have a chance to drop really nice tier items.
Helm
Battlemap Hide Helm which drops from Prince Keleseth in Heroic Utgarde Keep.
Helmet of the Constructor which drops from Skarvald the Constructor in Heroic Utgarde Keep.
Brilliant Titansteel Helm which is made by blacksmiths.
Neck
Lattice Choker of Light which costs 25 Emblems of Heroism.
Amulet of the Spell Flinger which drops from Amanitar in Heroic Ahn'kahet.
Sky Sapphire Amulet which is made by Jewelcrafters.
Shoulders
Dark Runic Mantle which can be bought of the Auction House or is a random drop in Halls of Stone.
Mantle of Discarded Ways which drops from King Ymiron in Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.
Ornate Saronite Pauldrons which are made by Blacksmiths
Chest
Revenant's Breastplate which is made by Leatherworkers.
Arcane Flame Altar-Garb which drops from Gal'darah in Heroic Gundrak
Scaled Amor of Drakos which drops from Drakos the Interrogator in Heroic Oculus.
Cloak
Deathchill Cloak which is also made by Tailors.
Shroud of Moorabi which drops from Moorabi in Heroic Gundrak.
Reanimator's Cloak which can be bought of the Auction House, or is a zone drop in Drak'Tharon Keep.
Bracers
Bone-Framed Bracers which can be bought off the Auction House (or they drop off Noth or Gluth in Naxxramas 10).
Bindings of Yearning which again can be bought off the Auction House.
Catalytic Bands which drop off of Mage-Lord Urom in Heroic Oculus.
Gloves
Gauntlets of Shattered Pride which cost 10 Champion's Seal from the Argent Tournament in Icecrown.
Cracked Epoch Grasps which drop from Chrono-Lord Epoch in Heroic Culling of Stratholme.
Fiery Obelisk Handguards which drop from Herald Volazj in Heroic Ahn'kahet.
Belt
Ghostflicker Waistband which is a reward from becoming Exalted with the Kirin Tor.
Girdle of the Warrior Magi which is a reward from becoming Revered with the Kirin Tor.
Girdle of Ice which drops from Ormorok the Tree-Shaper in Heroic Nexus.
Legs
Standard Issue Legguards which are a reward from becoming Honored with the Argent Crusade.
Legs of Physical Regeneration which drop from Trollgore in Heroic Drak'Tharon Keep.
Crenelation Leggings which drop from Skadi the Ruthless in Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.
Boots
Brilliant Titansteel Treads which are made by Blacksmiths.
Titan-forged Greaves of Salvation which are a reward from Wintergrasp, which cost 15 Wintergrasp Mark of Honor.
Mojo Frenzy Greaves which drops from Moorabi in Heroic Gundrak.
Rings
Annhylde's Ring which drops from Ingvar the Plunderer in Heroic Utgarde Keep.
Band of Guile which drops in the chest that appears after defeating Mal'ganis in Heroic Culling of Stratholme.
Trinkets
Darkmoon Card: Illusion which is made from the Darkmoon Prisms Deck which can be bought off the Auction House.
Forge Ember which drops off of Sjonnir The Ironshaper in Heroic Halls of Stone.
Weapon
Titansteel Guardian which is made by Blacksmiths.
Gavel of the Brewing Storm which is a reward from becoming Revered with the Wyrmrest Accord.
Jeweled Coronation Sword which drops from King Ymiron in Utgarde Pinnacle.
Shield
Tor's Crest which drops from King Ymiron in Utgarde Pinnacle.
Facade Shield of Glyphs which drops from Krik'thir the Gatewatcher in Heroic Azjol-Nerub.
Tharon'ja's Aegis which drops from The Prophet Tharon'ja in Drak'Tharon Keep.
Libram
Venture Co. Libram of Mostly Holy Deeds from Dailys in Grizzly Hills.
Unfortunatly all of the other Librams either require PvPing or Raiding to obtain.
Gems
For all yellow slots, and all other in which the set bonus is not worth getting put Brilliant Autumn's Glow, this is because Intellect is the best stat for us as explained above.
If you have a red slot with a good set bonus, then put a Runed Scarlet Ruby in there.
Again, if you have a blue slot with a set bonus worth getting, or you need it to make your Meta Gem work, then put a Dazzling Forest Emerald in, as this is just about the best you can do with that slot.
If you need a Meta Gem then I would recommend that you go for Insightful Earthsiege Diamond, I am not sure of the maths, but some guys over at Elitist Jerks calculate that it is the best for us. A slightly cheaper alternative, and not that much worse is Ember Skyflare Diamond.
Enchants
These are in order; the best one if at the top, and the 'worst' at the bottom. I would advise enchanting all of your gear with at least the 'worst' enchant you can get, this works in two ways:
Makes it seem as though you put some effort into your gear.
Improves your performance (every little helps )
Generally the best enchant will cost the most, it's a case of you get what you pay for, however it is worth it.
The enchants that are from Enchanters can either be obtained by buying a scroll off the Auction House, or by getting the materials to an enchanter and having them enchant it directly. Generally it is cheaper if you get the materials to the enchanter because people pay a premium for the ease of buying a scroll. If this is not the case then I will mention where to get it from.
Of course if you are an enchanter/leatherworker/inscriber then you should be using your proffessions special armor modifiers: Enchant Ring - Greater Spellpower, Fur Lining - Spell Power or Master's Inscription of the Storm.
Head
Arcanum of Burning Mysteries from Revered with the Kirin Tor.
Arcanum of Blissful Mending from Revered with Wyrmrest Accord.
Arcanum of Dominance which costs 40 Stone Keeper's Shards from Wintergrasp.
Shoulder
Greater Inscription of the Storm from Exalted with the Sons of Hodir.
Lesser Inscription of the Storm from Honored with the Sons of Hodir.
Inscription of Dominance which costs 30 Stone Keeper's Shards from Wintergrasp.
Chest
Powerful Stats
Super Stats
Exceptional Mana
Cloak
Bracers
Superior Spellpower
Exceptional Intellect
Greater Spellpower
(although Exceptional Intellect and Greater Spellpower pretty much equivilent).
Gloves
Exceptional Spellpower
Greater Blasting
Major Spellpower
Legs
Sapphire Spellthread
Azure Spellthread (it is only above the ones below because it it's materials are slightly more easy to come by these days)
Runic Spellthread/Golden Spellthread
Feet
Greater Vitality
Icewalker (for the Critical Strike Rating)
Weapon
Mighty Spellpower
Exceptional Spellpower
Shield
(I'm afraid there aren't any real alternatives to this)
Tips
- Start healing the easier heroics/normals first to get the hang of it (and more gear) before moving on to the harder ones.
- Make friends with good tanks, they are like diamonds; rare and worth keeping track of!
- If you are going to be raid healing download an addon such as Healbot or Grid (healbot is easier to set up and use intially but Grid has more functionality), these will make healing a lot easier. If you do not then use F1, F2, F3 etc. to target your party members and either click heals or keybind them, this will make your healing much faster and better.
- Download Pally Power, it will make your life a lot easier when buffing (it means you can rebuff a whole class with just one click in a little window).
- Do the daily heroics when you can, it is not only easier to find members, but you will gain more Emblems of Heroism.
- Think up some healing priorities on group members, i.e. tank is first priority, then you, then the dps (usually in order of DPS or Crowd Control abilities). If one of the dps dies it may not wipe you, however if the tank dies you almost certainly will!
- Use the Beacon of Light on the tank when there is damage flying around, hitting you or the dps. If there is a dps or offtank that is taking 'Cleave'-esque damage then put it on them so you do not have to worry about keeping them up.
- Have fun!
And that concludes my guide, good luck!
Tannyr's Guide to the "96969" Paladin Tanking Rotation
Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to introduce, explain and illustrate what is often referred to as the "96969" Paladin tanking rotation. A practical method for using the rotation is provided as well as techniques for handling interruptions and using additional abilities with the rotation.
Background
A Paladin tank generates extra threat, damage or mitigation only when using class abilities. Therefore idle time between ability uses should be avoided. The 96969 rotation effectively uses five key Paladin threat and mitigation abilities as often as possible with no idle time. Most raiding Paladin tanks use the rotation and it should be mastered by aspiring Paladins who intend to tank.This guide was created during patch 3.0.9
Table of Contents:
- It's All About the Cooldowns
- Rotation Abilities
- Requirements
- The Rotation
- Implementation
- Weaving in Other Abilities
- The Future of Exorcism?
It's All About the Cooldowns
When most spells or abilities are used, they trigger the "Global Cooldown" (GCD), a 1.5 second period during which no other spells or abilities can be used.
During the GCD all of the action buttons get dimmer and then brighten in a spiral fashion. When a button is fully bright, it can be used.
Many abilities (including all of the ones we'll discuss here) also have their own Cooldown which is a period during which you cannot use that particular ability again. The spiral-brightening of the button associated with the ability will occur more slowly, taking the entire cooldown time to become bright again.
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The action associated with this button is a little over 25% through its cooldown |
Below is a graphical depiction of the cooldown concept for "Ability 1" in a format that will be used shortly to show the entire rotation. All of the abilities in the rotation are instant-cast, so no cast-time is shown.
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Here is how we would show two different abilities executed one after the other using this graphical notation:
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And for the last graphical example, here is the previous 1-2 sequence followed by using Ability 1 again.
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Paladins have an arsenal of abilities that (with a little talent and glyph help) can be used in an endless rotation that uses an ability every time the GCD allows.
This rotation is called the 96969 rotation. The 9 and 6 refer to the cooldown-times of the spells.
The abilities can be tightly packed in rotation because (among other happy mathematical coincidences) 9-seconds and 6-seconds are even multiples of the 1.5 second GCD.
The rotation effectively applies the component abilities as often as possible for maximum utility and effect.
- Each of the 6-second cooldown abilities is used every 6 seconds.
- Each of the 9-second cooldown abilities is used every 9 seconds.
Rotation Abilities
Two 6-second cooldown abilities are used in the rotation:
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Consecration and Holy Shield both have 8-second cooldowns. But this is not a problem since the Paladin can still use these abilities every nine seconds and that is the key.
However, the Judgement abilities all have 10 second cooldowns. This would leave the Paladin standing idle for one second every nine seconds which would greatly diminish the effectiveness of the rotation. Fortunately, we can (and must) spend one point for Improved Judgements (Rank 1) (a 2nd-tier Retribution talent) to reduce the cooldown by one second. Spending the second point in Improved Judgements (Rank 2) is considered wasting a talent point since you will not be able to use Judgement more often than every 9 seconds in the rotation.
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Requirements
- Tank with one-handed weapon and shield
- Be level 75 to learn Shield of Righteousness
- Learn the 51-point Protection talent Hammer of the Righteous
- Spend one talent point for Improved Judgements
- Do not use Glyph of Consecration
The Rotation
How do these abilities fit together in a perfect rotation?
Like this...
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Implementation
It is risky to try to give advice to a knowledgeable audience so instead I will describe my method of implementing the rotation. You may adopt or adapt as you see fit.
Challenges
The 12-part sequence is not easily memorized or recalled during battle.
Stuns, knockbacks, silences or lag can disrupt the cycle and cause confusion.
My Setup
During battle, my right hand is on my mouse for moving and targeting. My left hand is on the keyboard in "home row" position (like a touch-typist).
Spells and abilities used during battle are all mapped to keys associated with the left hand.
I created an over-sized (150% size) hotbar for the five abilities in the rotation.
- The 9-second abilities are on the left
- The 6-second abilities are on the right
- A blank button is in between
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I mapped these buttons to left-hand keys (S C D R and F) and displayed the bound keys on the buttons as shown above.
Since I am glancing at it constantly, I put the bar below my avatar's feet, about 1/4 to 1/3 up from the bottom of the screen. This is well inside the periphery where most buttonbars are usually kept.
I use OmniCC, a fantastic Cooldown Counter addon by Tuller that puts cooldown timers directly on buttons.
I also use RedRange by Iriel, which turns buttons red when your target is out of range. You will know instantly if your target drifts out of range, especially for the 6-second abilities which only work in melee range:
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| Off topic: RedRange is also great for knowing how close you must creep to pull with Avenger's Shield. |
My Method
Here's what happens on a pull:
As the target approaches I use a 9-second ability, usually Consecration ("C") to start building aggro over time. For a boss or otherwise hard-hitting mob, I might instead use Holy Shield ("S") for mitigation up front.
Then as soon as I can (when the GCD allows which is 1.5 seconds later), I use a 6-second ability following this simple logic:
- If only one enemy (or only one is in range) I use Shield of Righteousness ("R").
- If multiple enemies I use Hammer of the Righteous ("F"). These are just guides, the decision is not often critical.
| The simple key to making the rotation managable is to realize that "left" and "right" abilities are used alternately. |
Knowing that I just used an ability on the "right" side (Hammer of the Righteous), I glance to the "left" side and pick an available ability.
OmniCC makes this a lot easier since any button with a cooldown number on it is not available.
Assuming a Consecration (left) followed by a Shield of Righteousness (right), my hotbar looks like this and I am ready for an ability on the left:
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I have a choice of either Holy Shield ("S") or Judgement ("D"). I choose quickly, the decision can only take 1.5 seconds.
I choose Holy Shield ("S), and now I see this, looking to the right side for my next ability:
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Obviously I can only choose Hammer of the Righteous ("F"). From here the choices are automatic, only one ability per side is ready when needed. I just keep alternating sides and the rotation falls into place!
Note that the key-letters are hard to read in these screenshots, but by the time the GCD is completed, the buttons corresponding to available abilities are completely bright and easy to read as they are in the first sample action bar above.
Here is a graphical depiction of the left-right alternating sequence:
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| This is the sequence followed, but you don't need to memorize this. The logic shown above unfolds automatically when using the left-right system. |
Quiz - Try it yourself!
You have just cast Judgement, a left-side (9-second ability). On which side is your next ability? Glance below to determine which key to press.
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Practice #1: Set up your action bar, map your keys and find the target dummies in a major city. Practice until the rotation seems natural and you are alternating sides easily without delay.
Interruptions
If I am silenced, stunned, thrown, slowed, CCd, victimized by lag or otherwise incapacitated or interrupted for several seconds, I don't panic or get confused. As soon as I regain control, I simply choose an available ability on the right side, then one GCD later choose one on the left side. I'm back into a rotation in no time. It might not be the exact sequence I had before the interruption, but that does not matter. By alternating sides I am into an efficient rotation.
I don't think there are any boss fights where the rotation is used uninterrupted from beginning to end. Some attack or scripted event will disrupt the cycle and you will invariably need to recover. I believe the left-right system is a very effective method for establishing or re-establishing a 96969 Paladin rotation.
Also, in the next section we'll discuss using non-rotational abilities and the same "recovery" skill will be used to do this, so we should be very comfortable with it.
Practice #2: While executing the rotation on a target dummy, interrupt yourself (I suggest eyes away from screen) for 2 or 3 seconds, then recover. Practice until you can smoothly get back into a rotation. Recommendation: Let your first ability after being interrupted be a 6-second ("right") ability.
Weaving in Other Abilities
Paladins have other useful abilities besides the five in the 96969 rotation. I will show how I weave these into the rotation. Here are the most common abilities I use shown in increasing order of their cooldowns, so that those at the top of the list can be woven in more frequently:
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If you want to know the practical method for weaving abilities and skip the GCD explanations, go to the summary at My Weaving Setup.
If you want to know the How and Why, continue.
When I first sketched out the rotation cycle (repeated below), I thought everything packed together so perfectly that introducing any new ability would wreck the cycle.
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| Where could you possibly cram anything else? and is anyone still reading this? |
But the key to understanding weaving's simplicity is to realize that we are attempting to stack red GCDs as closely together as possible, not necessarily yellow ability cooldowns. The yellow ability cooldowns simply constrain how closely we can pack the GCDs on the same line.
Our focus is really on the red GCDs as shown below. We just want them to be back-to-back-to-back so that we are using Paladin abilities as often as possible.
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When we weave in an ability that is not normally part of the rotation, we can simply insert its GCD into the chart.
The GCD chart below represents weaving Hammer of Justice into the rotation.
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Below, the yellow ability cooldowns are added to the diagram. Inserting the new ability simply postpones every rotation ability for one GCD (red arrows).
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| Gaps are OK as long as red GCDs are packed. | |
| Notice: Weaved ability results in five GCDs worth of delays (five red arrows each 1 GCD induration). |
First Unmodified Rule for Weaving: After a non-rotational ability is used, simply pick up where you left off, using the rotation ability that was ready when you used the non-rotation ability as illustrated above. (This will certainly work but we can make improvements.)
First Refinement to Weaving
In practice, the 6-second abilities Shield of Righteousness and Hammer of the Righteous are so efficient compared to the 9-second abilities that we don't want to postpone them by even one GCD.
If you look carefully at the previous diagram, you will notice that there are actually two abilities that can be cast after Hammer of Justice's red GCD ("F"). Consecration ("A") which is the one shown as being cast next and Hammer of the Righteous ("D") which is postponed in the diagram.
In this example, after casting Hammer of Justice, let us have the Paladin use the 6-second ability Hammer of the Righteous. So we use Hammer of the Righteous right away and postpone Consecration by another cooldown and see what that does to our chart. I shaded the exchanged GCDs purple for clarity when compared to the previous diagram:
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| Can you spot the problem? It will get fixed soon (several GCDs are stacked/simultaneous) | |
| Notice: One GCD delay is shifted from 6-second ability to 9-second ability (purple shift D to A). |
Now after the cast of the Consecration (purple "A") there are again two abilities available: Holy Shield ("C") which is the one shown as being cast next and Shield of Righteousness ("B"). Though there are possibly rare exceptions, the Paladin will usually prefer the 6-second ability to a 9-second ability.
So lets exchange these two abilities (exchanged GCDs are purple again):
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| Almost there | |
| Notice: Another GCD was shifted from a 6-second ability to a 9-second ability (B to C). The strong 6-second abilities ("B" and "D") are now packed with no gaps. |
Now after casting Holy Shield (purple "C") we have a little GCD collision between Hammer of the Righteous and Judgement. Both are available but we can only cast one. Again the Paladin will typically choose the 6-second ability, so we'll push back Judgement (purple below). I'll also add another dimmed Shield of Righteousness to line "B" to show that no GCDs are missed:
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| Order is restored! | |
| Notice: The 6-second abilities should not affected or postponed due to weaving since all of the inserted GCDs (red arrows) have been shifted to the relatively weaker 9-second abilities ("A", "C" and "E"). |
First Modified Rule for Weaving: Treat the weaved ability as a 9-second ("left") ability and return immediately afterwards to a 6-second ("right") ability. Continue rotation from there. This uses the 6-second abilities as often as possible.
Note that upon returning to the "left" side (9-second cooldown side), the Paladin actually has two abilities to choose from as shown by the circles below:
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This is very similar to starting out the rotation where we have more than one ability on a side to choose from. Our choice determines the ensuing rotation order. Being able to change the order of the 9-second abilities is a side-effect of weaving since the yellow cooldowns for the 9-second ability that got "skipped" plus the next natural 9-second ability are both completed by the time we get back to the left side.
Second Refinement to Weaving
Lets extend the GCD-shifting idea by making a switch to the previous diagram. Lets switch A and C:
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Finally lets switch A and E:
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We have effectively placed all of the GCD delays into the original ability that was due when we wove the non-rotation ability. ("A" was originally due when we wove in "F").
Due to the meager damage and aggro caused by the Judgement abilities and the 20-second duration of their effect, Judgement can be skipped for an entire 9-second cycle after weaving in a non-rotation ability. This keeps its special effect up for your party but allows you to use the two stronger 9-second abilities as often as possible.
Second Modified Rule for Weaving: Weave a non-rotation ability by using it in place of Judgement. Then do not use Judgement again until it is the only ability off cooldown on the left side. This will skip Judgement for a 9-second cycle, keep its effect up throughout (it lasts 20 seconds) and use all of the stronger abilities as often as possible.
My Weaving Setup
Here is a slightly expanded view of my action bars:
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The abilities I weave most often into the rotation are right beneath by my left-side abilities as a visual cue to use them in place of left-side abilities.
Summary:
- Non-rotational abilities should be used when you are due to use a 9-second "left" ability.
- Return immediately to the "right" side since these abilities are stronger than the "left" side abilities.
- You will have two "left" abilities to choose from. Put off using Judgement until it is the only "left" ability off cooldown since it is the weakest ability in the rotation.
- Apply this same method of rotation recovery when you are interrupted from the rotation.
Practice #3: At a training dummy, practice weaving Divine Plea, Hammer of Justice and Avenging Wrath into the rotation in place of a 9-second ability (note that Exorcism and Hammer of Wrath cannot be used on training dummies since they are not undead/demons and their health does not fall below 20%). Recover the rotation by starting with a 6-second ability and do not use Judgement until you must. This is actually easier than Practice #2.
Practice #4: (optional) At a training dummy try to weave the abilities in place of Judgement and then do not use Judgement again until you must. This is an optional technical refinement due to Judgement's relative weakness. Mastering Practice #3 is certainly satisfactory for practically all tanking encounters.
The Future of Exorcism?
Blizzard has announced changes to the Exorcism ability for PTR 3.1 .
Exorcism – this spell now causes damage to all types of enemy targets. However, it always critical strikes undead or demon targets.
We must wait and see what they do to the damage, mana cost and cooldown, but if the numbers don't change too much, this will be a powerful spell to add to the rotation. Its cooldown of 15 seconds, however, is not rotation-friendly.
A possible solution is to alternate this strong ability with the relatively weaker Judgement. This would use Exorcism and Judgement every 18 seconds and still use every GCD:
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| Affected GCDs are shown in blue. |
Here is the conceptual sequence logic for this modified rotation:
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The 96969 Paladin Tanking Rotation is an efficient way for a Paladin to maximize threat and damage mitigation by stacking key abilities as often as possible.
The left-right system of categorizing and visualizing the 9- and 6-second cooldown abilities used in the rotation is an effective and intuitive way to establish the rotation, recover from interruptions and weave in non-rotation abilities.
- Tannyr