Bringing the Holy Hammer Down: Ret Paladin PvP Guide (11.1.5)

Think of a Retribution Paladin like a super cool knight action figure that comes with extra gadgets! Their main job is to be in the fight, swinging a big weapon powered by holy light to do lots of damage, especially with big flashy moves when their wings pop out! But they also have amazing support tools. They can put magical shields on friends (Blessings), make everyone nearby tougher (Auras), stun bad guys, interrupt mean spells, and even throw out emergency heals if someone gets a really big boo-boo. So, they fight hard but also help keep their team safe, making them super valuable teammates!

Playing Ret Paladin is awesome because they have some really cool strengths!

• BIG BOOM Damage: When they use their special “Wings” button (Avenging Wrath or Crusade), they hit super hard for a short time! It’s like activating turbo mode and they can sometimes defeat an enemy really fast during this window. This big boom comes back pretty quickly too (usually every minute)!

• Super Tough: They wear strong plate armor and have amazing “Oh no!” buttons like Divine Shield (the golden bubble that makes them invincible!) and other shields that help them survive big hits that would knock out other players. They don’t go down easily!

• Amazing Helpers: They have special Blessings! Blessing of Freedom lets friends run fast even if they’re stuck in goo. Blessing of Protection stops physical owies completely. Blessing of Sacrifice helps take damage for a friend. Blessing of Sanctuary breaks friends out of being stuck or scared! They are like the team’s bodyguard!

• Hits from Afar (Sort Of): Even though they like being up close, lots of their attacks (like Judgment or Blade of Justice) can hit from a little distance away, which is really helpful if bad guys are running away!

Even super knights have things they struggle with!

• Running Fast: They have a magic pony (Divine Steed) to run fast sometimes, but compared to super speedy classes like Demon Hunters or Monks, Paladins can feel a bit slow. Bad guys who are good at running away can be annoying!

• Stopping Heals: Ret Paladins don’t have a special attack that makes enemy healers heal less strongly (like a “Mortal Strike” effect some other classes have). This can make it harder to defeat enemies in smaller fights (like 2v2) if the other team has a really good healer. They have to rely on pure damage or help from teammates for that.

• Can Be the Target: Because Ret Paladins can do big damage and save their friends, the enemy team often decides to attack the Paladin first! While they are tough, if everyone attacks them at once, they can run out of their cool defensive buttons.

• Healing Isn’t Free: They can heal themselves and friends with Word of Glory, but after recent changes (Patch 11.1.5), it uses up a LOT of their magic energy (mana) really fast, and it doesn’t heal friends as much as it used to unless used on themselves when hurt. So, they can only do emergency heals, not heal like a main healer all the time.

The grown-ups at Blizzard changed a few important things recently!

• More Smackdown!: Lots of Ret Paladin attacks now hit harder! Especially the big finisher move Final Verdict got a nice +20% damage boost, making single-target fights feel better. Avenging Wrath (Wings) also hits harder in PvP now (+15%).

• Less Free Healing: Some talents that used to give extra healing just by doing damage (like Seal of the Crusader) got weaker. And the big heal, Word of Glory, costs way more mana now and doesn’t get a bonus when healing friends (only yourself when you are low health). This means Ret Paladins can’t heal their team as much or as easily as before.

• Some PvP Talents Disappeared!: Important old PvP talents like Lawbringer (spread damage) and Aura of Reckoning are gone! This changes how Ret Paladins pick their special PvP powers. Luminescence got changed too; it now just makes a small healing talent slightly better.

• Divine Hammer Changed: This AoE talent now costs 3 Holy Power to start, but then stays active as long as you keep spending Holy Power. It feels smoother to use now.
  Overall, the changes made Ret hit harder, especially with Final Verdict, but made their ability to constantly heal their team much weaker, making them focus more on damage and smart utility.

Getting gear with high numbers (Item Level) is good, but the type of superpower stats on the gear is super important in PvP! Here’s the order you usually want:

1. Versatility (The BEST!): This is like wearing extra padding and having stronger punches at the same time! It makes you do more damage/healing AND makes enemies hurt you less. You want as much Versatility as you can possibly get on almost every piece of gear! Aim for 30% or even more!

2. Mastery (Holy Power!): This makes all your Holy damage attacks hit harder. Guess what? Lots of Ret Paladin attacks use Holy damage (Judgment, Final Verdict, Divine Storm, Wake of Ashes)! So Mastery is your second best friend after Versatility.

3. Haste (Gotta Go Fast-ish): Haste makes you attack faster and makes your buttons come off cooldown a tiny bit quicker. It feels nice, but because Ret Paladin relies on big burst moments more than super-fast constant attacks, it’s not as vital as Versatility or Mastery. Still good though!

4. Critical Strike (Big Booms Sometimes): Crit makes your attacks sometimes hit for double damage! It’s fun when it happens, but in PvP, crits don’t hit quite as hard as they do against computer monsters, and getting consistent power from Versatility and Mastery is usually better. It’s the least important stat to stack.
   BUT REMEMBER! Use a robot calculator (Sim Your Character on Raidbots) to be 100% sure for your specific gear!

Hero Talents are like choosing a special advanced fighting style for your Ret Paladin! There are two main choices:

• Herald of the Sun: This is the most popular and usually recommended one for PvP right now. It makes your attacks feel more fiery and sun-powered! It gives you extra chances for your holy attacks to do bonus damage or hit extra targets (like Dawnlight making Divine Storm cleave more). It adds lots of consistent damage pressure and even a little extra self-healing. It works well with almost all Ret builds.

• Templar: This one focuses more on giant, explosive bursts centered around a big ability called Hammer of Light. It also gives you a special defensive shield sometimes. It’s less about constant pressure and more about setting up one HUGE moment of damage. Some players are trying it out in Patch 11.1.5, and it can work in specific teams, but it’s generally seen as harder to use effectively and less versatile than Herald of the Sun.
  Recommendation: Start with Herald of the Sun! It’s strong, reliable, and fits the Ret PvP playstyle very well right now.

In the main talent trees (the big ones!), besides the core damage buttons, some talents are almost always taken in PvP because they are so useful:

• Rebuke: Your interrupt! You HAVE to take this to stop enemy healers or casters from casting bad spells!

• Hammer of Justice: Your main stun! Essential for stopping enemies or setting up kills.

• Divine Steed + Cavalier: Two charges of your magic pony! Needed for moving around the map.

• Blessing of Freedom: Breaks roots and slows! Incredibly important for you and your teammates.

• Blessing of Protection (BoP) / Blessing of Sacrifice (Sac): These life-saving abilities are defining features of Paladins. BoP stops physical damage/stuns, Sac helps take damage for a friend (use your Bubble!).

• Divine Shield (Bubble): Your “Get Out of Jail Free” card! Makes you immune to almost everything.

• Divine Toll: Gives a big burst of Holy Power and damage/healing instantly! Really strong cooldown.

• Wake of Ashes: Big AoE damage, 3 Holy Power instantly, and a slow! Amazing ability.

You get to pick three special PvP talents! Some are almost always good:

• Blessing of Sanctuary: This is like giving your team an extra “get out of CC free” card. It breaks stuns, fears, sleeps, etc., off a friend (or yourself!) and makes them resistant for a bit. Take this almost every single game!

• Blessing of Spellwarding: If the enemy team has lots of magic damage (like two Mages, or a Warlock and a Mage), you take this! It replaces your Blessing of Protection (physical immunity) with magic immunity! Super powerful against casters.
  After those two (Sanctuary is almost always taken, Spellwarding is taken vs casters), your third choice depends on the situation:

• Searing Glare: Good against teams with lots of melee attackers (Warriors, DKs, Rogues) because it makes them do less damage after you Judge them.

• Luminescence (Reworked): Makes your Word of Glory heal a nearby friend a little bit too (if you take the Lightbearer talent). Can be okay in 3v3 if you need extra group healing, but it’s not super strong.

• Divine Punisher: Makes your Judgment come back faster. Can be okay in 2v2 if you need more Holy Power, but usually other utility is better.

• Spellbreaker: Reflects some magic damage back. Can be surprisingly annoying for classes that do lots of little magic hits (like Arcane Mages or Balance Druids), but it’s pretty niche.

• Ultimate Retribution/Hallowed Ground: Very rarely taken in Arena. More for fun or specific BG situations.
  So, usually Sanctuary + Spellwarding (vs casters) OR Sanctuary + Searing Glare (vs melee) + one other utility choice like Luminescence or Divine Punisher is a good starting point.

Ret Paladin isn’t about a super strict 1-2-3-4 order, it’s about priorities! Think “What’s the MOST important button I can press RIGHT NOW?”
Your Main Goal: Build up Holy Power (those little golden pips under your health bar, up to 5) using your “Generator” abilities, then spend that Holy Power using your powerful “Spender” abilities! Never waste Holy Power by using a Generator when you already have 5 pips!
General Priority (Outside Big Cooldowns):

1. Use Big Procs! If Herald of the Sun gives you a free Dawnlight or Sun’s Avatar, use it immediately! If your Tier Set “Winning Streak” procs, SPAM your spender (Final Verdict or Divine Storm)!

2. Use Wake of Ashes: If it’s ready, use it! Gives 3 Holy Power and does good damage/slow.

3. Use Execution Sentence: If it’s ready and you’re about to burst, use it on your target!

4. Cast Judgment: Keep the debuff up on your main target! Use it on cooldown.

5. Spend Holy Power (at 3+): Use Final Verdict (on one target) or Divine Storm (on multiple targets) when you have 3 or more Holy Power pips. Don’t wait until 5 if Judgment or Wake is about to come off cooldown!

6. Use Hammer of Wrath: If the enemy is low health OR if your Wings are active, use this! Good damage and generates 1 Holy Power.

7. Use Blade of Justice: Your main Holy Power generator. Use it on cooldown.

8. Use Divine Toll: If you’re low on Holy Power (like 0-2 pips) and need a quick burst of power, use Toll! Don’t use it if you already have 4 or 5 pips.

9. (If Talented) Crusading Strikes: Just keep auto-attacking! This will passively generate Holy Power for you. (If not talented into CS, use the actual Crusader Strike button here as your filler generator).

This is where Ret Paladins shine! It’s about lining up your buffs and hitting hard! A common “burst” sequence looks something like this (assuming you have Herald of the Sun and maybe Final Reckoning talent):

1. Judgment (on your target, make them take more Holy damage!)

2. Pop Wings/Crusade + Use Trinket! (Activate your big damage boost and any strength-boosting trinket at the same time!)

3. Wake of Ashes (Get 3 Holy Power instantly!)

4. (If talented) Final Reckoning (Big AoE boom that makes target take even MORE damage!)

5. (If Talented) Hammer of Light (Big Templar Hero Talent burst, also applies Judgment!)

6. Divine Toll (Instantly get 3-5 more Holy Power!)

7. FINAL VERDICT SPAM! (Now just keep hitting Final Verdict as fast as you can spend the Holy Power generated by Toll and your other abilities during Wings!)

8. Hammer of Wrath: Weave this in whenever possible during Wings for extra damage and Holy Power!
   The goal is to get Judgment and Final Reckoning debuffs up, pop Wings, generate a ton of Holy Power instantly with Wake/Toll, and then dump it all into super-hard-hitting Final Verdicts! This can melt enemies if they don’t react fast!

Holy Power is your special Paladin energy! You see it as those 1 to 5 golden pips usually under your health bar.

• Getting It (Generating): You mostly get Holy Power by using your “Generator” abilities:

  • Blade of Justice (usually gives 2 HP)

  • Judgment (usually gives 1 HP)

  • Hammer of Wrath (gives 1 HP)

  • Wake of Ashes (gives 3 HP!)

  • Divine Toll (gives 3-5 HP instantly!)

  • Crusading Strikes (passive talent, gives HP from auto-attacks)

• Spending It: You spend Holy Power to use your powerful “Spender” abilities:

  • Final Verdict (usually costs 3 HP, main single target damage)

  • Divine Storm (usually costs 3 HP, main AoE damage)

  • Word of Glory (costs 3 HP, emergency heal)

  • Divine Hammer (costs 3 HP to activate, then extended by other spenders)
    The whole game for Ret Paladin is about efficiently generating Holy Power and then spending it on the right powerful move at the right time, making sure you never generate when you’re already full at 5 pips!

Judgment is like putting a giant “HIT ME HARDER” sign on the enemy! When you hit an enemy with Judgment, they take more damage (usually 25% more!) from your Holy Power spending moves (Final Verdict and Divine Storm) for several seconds. This is a HUGE damage increase! You always want this debuff active on the target you are trying to defeat, especially right before you use your big spenders or pop your Wings for burst damage! Using Judgment on cooldown is super important for maximizing your damage.

You can still heal, but you have to be much smarter about it now! Word of Glory (WoG) is your main emergency heal. It costs 3 Holy Power and instantly heals a good chunk. BUT, the big changes in Patch 11.1.5 were:

• It costs WAY more mana now! Spamming WoG will make you run out of mana super fast.

• It only gets bonus healing on YOU: The Healing Hands talent used to make WoG heal allies much more when they were low health. Now, that bonus only works when you heal yourself when you are low health.
  So, what does this mean? You can still throw out a WoG to save a friend who is about to die if your healer is busy or CC’d, but think of it as an expensive emergency button, not something you can use all the time. It’s often better used to keep yourself alive when you’re being focused, as it heals you more effectively now. Focus on your damage and using your Blessings (like Sacrifice or Protection) to help your team defensively first! Your main job isn’t healing anymore.

These are your super powerful “Get out of trouble” buttons for your team! Knowing when to use them wins games!

• Blessing of Freedom: Use this on yourself or a friend who is stuck in roots (can’t move) or slows. It lets them run free! Super important against Mages, Druids, Hunters, DKs. (Short cooldown).

• Blessing of Protection (BoP): Use this on yourself or a friend who is being attacked by physical damage dealers (Warriors, Rogues, Hunters, other Rets, DKs, Monks) or about to get hit by a big physical stun (like a Rogue’s Kidney Shot). It makes them immune to physical damage and physical stuns/effects for a short time! Careful, they can’t attack while it’s on! (Longer cooldown).

• Blessing of Sacrifice (Sac): This one is tricky but powerful! You put it on a friend who is taking lots of damage. For the next few seconds, some of the damage they take gets sent to you instead! Why do this? Use it when your healer is stuck in CC (like Polymorph or Fear) and your friend is about to die! You take some damage for them, keeping them alive until the healer can heal again. IMPORTANT: Make sure you are healthy or use your own Divine Shield (Bubble) or Divine Protection when you use Sac, otherwise you might defeat yourself! (Medium cooldown).

• Blessing of Sanctuary (PvP Talent): Use this to instantly break a friend (or yourself) out of long CC like Fears, Stuns, Polymorphs, Saps. It’s like an extra PvP trinket for your team! (Short cooldown).

Divine Shield, or “Bubble,” is your iconic golden shield! When you press it, you become immune to almost ALL damage and harmful effects for 8 seconds! It’s amazing! Use it when:

• You are about to die from HUGE damage!

• The enemy team is trying to lock you down with lots of stuns and CC!

• You absolutely need to get your big burst damage off without being interrupted!
  Can you attack? Yes! Unlike Blessing of Protection, you can still attack and use your abilities while inside your Bubble. However, attacking very fast might make the Bubble end a little bit sooner (this is called Forbearance, but it’s usually worth it to keep attacking!). Be careful though, some classes (like Priests with Mass Dispel or Warriors with Shattering Throw) have abilities that can remove your Bubble!

Ret Paladins love teammates who can help them do their job better! Usually, this means partners who:

• Can apply a Healing Reduction (Mortal Strike effect): Since Ret doesn’t have one, pairing with someone who does (like an Arms Warrior or a Hunter) makes it much easier to score kills.

• Have Good Crowd Control (CC): Teammates who can stun, fear, or cyclone the enemy healer while the Ret Paladin uses their big burst damage wings is a classic winning strategy!

• Can Peel or Help with Mobility: Since Ret isn’t super fast, teammates who can slow down enemies chasing the Paladin, or help the Paladin stick to targets, are great!
  Some classic strong teams (Comps) are:

• Ret / Arms Warrior / Healer (like Resto Druid or Holy Priest): Super strong burst, MS effect, lots of stuns/fears, very durable. A classic for a reason!

• Ret / Hunter / Healer (like Disc Priest or Resto Druid): Hunter brings MS, traps for CC, and kiting ability. Ret brings burst and blessings. Good control and burst potential.

• Ret / Death Knight / Healer (like Pres Evoker or Holy Priest): DK brings grips to pull enemies in, an MS effect (Necrotic Strike), and lots of AoE CC/slows. Very durable team with good setup potential.

• Ret / Demon Hunter / Healer: Lots and lots of damage! DH brings a magic damage buff and constant pressure. Can sometimes just overwhelm teams with raw damage output.

Yes, Ret Paladin is considered pretty good right now! After some buffs and fixes, it’s doing well.

• Where it Shines: It’s very strong in Solo Shuffle and Battlegrounds (especially Blitz) because its mix of burst damage, cleave, and team utility is super valuable in those chaotic environments.

• Where it’s Okay: In 3v3 Arena, it’s definitely viable and strong with the right teammates (like the comps mentioned above!). It’s probably around A-Tier – not necessarily the absolute best melee, but definitely competitive and capable of reaching high ratings.

• Where it Struggles: In 2v2 Arena, it has a harder time because it lacks that healing reduction effect, making it difficult to secure kills against healer teams without perfect setups or playing into deep dampening (when healing gets weaker over time).
  So overall, yes, a solid and fun spec to play in PvP!

Macros are like little shortcuts you can make in the game! Instead of pressing two or three buttons separately, you can make one macro button do multiple things at once or in a sequence. You don’t need them, but they can make playing smoother! Some common macros for Ret Paladins are:

• Cursor Macros: Make spells like Final Reckoning or Divine Storm cast instantly where your mouse pointer is, instead of needing to click the ground first. Faster!

• Target Macros: Make Blessings or Lay on Hands instantly cast on your teammates (Party1, Party2) or your focus target without having to click on them first. Saves precious seconds!

• Mouseover Macros: Similar idea, lets you cast helpful spells (like heals or Freedom) on whoever your mouse is hovering over.

• Cancelaura Macros: Lets you instantly cancel buffs like Blessing of Protection or Divine Shield if you need to (like if a Mage tries to steal BoP).
  The guide mentions linking some useful ones!

This is a big choice in your Retribution talents! It changes how you get Holy Power:

• Crusading Strikes Build: You take a talent called Crusading Strikes. This replaces your normal Crusader Strike button. Instead, your auto-attacks (just your normal weapon swings) have a chance to generate Holy Power and do extra damage! This is very popular because it’s passive – you just keep auto-attacking your target, and Holy Power comes in automatically! It’s great if you can stick to your target easily (like fighting other melee).

• Standard Build (No Crusading Strikes): You don’t take that talent. This means you do have the regular Crusader Strike button that you need to press actively to generate Holy Power (along with Blade of Justice and Judgment). This build gives you more control over when you generate Holy Power, which can be better if you are getting kited a lot or fighting casters where you can’t always auto-attack.
  Most players currently prefer Crusading Strikes for its ease of use and consistent generation when uptime is good, but the standard build is still viable if you prefer more active control or face kite-heavy teams.

Totally understandable! Don’t try to learn everything at once! Focus on these key things first:

1. Know Your Builders & Spenders: Understand which buttons give you Holy Power (Blade of Justice, Judgment, Hammer of Wrath, Wake of Ashes, Crusading Strikes) and which buttons spend Holy Power (Final Verdict, Divine Storm, Word of Glory). Your #1 job is to build to 3-5 HP, then spend it! Never hit a builder at 5 HP!

2. Use Your Wings! (Avenging Wrath/Crusade): Learn to recognize when your big damage cooldown is ready. Try to use it when you have a good chance to hit the enemy hard (maybe they just used their defensive button, or your teammate just stunned the healer!).

3. Use Your BIG Defensives: Know where your Divine Shield (Bubble) and Blessing of Protection buttons are! Use them when you are about to die! Staying alive is important!

4. Use Freedom: Get used to using Blessing of Freedom on yourself when you get slowed or rooted, so you can keep chasing or run away!
   Master building/spending Holy Power, using your main damage cooldown, and using your Bubble/Freedom, and you’ll have a great foundation for learning the rest! Good luck, champion of the Light!