Retribution Paladin PvP guide: Repentance, Pursuit of Justice and Hammer of Wrath burst

Overview

Level 60 · Retribution Paladin in battlegrounds and world PvP.

Classic Retribution was a fun but awkward PvP spec: durable, with Repentance for control and big Seal of Command swings, but slow and mana-starved. WoW Forever gives it more to work with. Pursuit of Justice adds movement speed, Instrument of Law makes Hammer of Wrath a faster finisher, Twist of Light turns Seal swaps into extra damage, Champion of the Light makes Intellect worth wearing for self-heals, and Sacred Duty from Protection shortens Divine Shield. The Icy Veins Classic PvP build took 31 Retribution and a few Protection points for Guardian’s Favor; this build keeps that idea at Forever’s larger tree sizes.

Your role in a fight

You are a durable damage dealer who can save yourself and others. Fight next to your team, use Hammer of Justice and Repentance to create kill windows, finish targets with Hammer of Wrath, and switch to healing and Blessings when a teammate is about to die. In world PvP, you survive fights other melee lose, because you can bubble, heal and walk away faster with Pursuit of Justice.

Darkspear Islands

Blizzard’s description of the Darkspear Islands is a 15 vs 15 battleground mixing control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defense. Retribution fits the assault group: you arrive with Pursuit of Justice, stun or Repentance the defender, and your survivability lets you stay on the flag through a counterattack. Use Blessing of Freedom on whoever is capping.

Honor and ranks: WoW Forever is reported to bring a 14-rank Honor track, earned from battlegrounds and PvP content. Thresholds, weekly caps and decay are not announced; see the PvP and honor hub for what is confirmed.

Strengths

• Two crowd controls: Hammer of Justice and Repentance.
• Survivability: plate, Divine Shield on a shorter cooldown, Blessing of Protection and heals.
• Execute burst with a faster Hammer of Wrath.
• Mobility: Pursuit of Justice and Blessing of Freedom.

Weak points

• Kiting. Without a gap closer you depend on Blessing of Freedom, Hammer of Justice and speed.
• Mana runs short in long fights despite Sanctified Judgement.
• Burst depends on procs from Seal of Command and crits.

Level 60 PvP talent build

Holy 0 / Protection 12 / Retribution 39, all 51 points. The talent tree above shows the finished build.

Retribution (39)

• Deflection 2/5 — parries against the Rogues and Warriors who jump you.
• Benediction 3/5 — cheaper Seals and Judgement.
• Improved Judgement 2/2 — Judgement more often.
• Conviction 5/5 — melee crit for Vengeance and burst.
• Vindication 3/3 — your hits lower the target’s Strength and Agility, which weakens melee and Hunters.
• Sanctified Judgement 3/3 — mana back on Judgement.
• Seal of Command 1/1 — big two-hander procs.
• Pursuit of Justice 2/2 — movement speed on foot and mounted.
• Eye for an Eye 2/2 — punishes casters and melee who crit you.
• Sacred Arbiter 1/1 — Holy Strike refreshes Judgement effects on your target.
• Crusade 2/2 — more damage, more against undead players.
• Two-Handed Weapon Specialization 3/3 — more two-hander damage.
• Vengeance 3/3 — damage bonus after crits.
• Repentance 1/1 — a humanoid incapacitate to take a healer or attacker out of the fight.
• Champion of the Light 3/3 — spell power from Intellect for heals and Holy damage.
• Instrument of Law 2/2 — a faster Hammer of Wrath to finish fleeing targets.
• Twist of Light 1/1 — a Seal swap still applies the old Seal on your next swing.

Protection (12)

• Toughness 5/5 — armor against melee.
• Precision 3/3 — hit so Hammer of Justice and Repentance do not miss.
• Guardian’s Favor 2/2 — a shorter Blessing of Protection and a longer Blessing of Freedom.
• Sacred Duty 2/2 — Stamina and shorter Divine Shield.

Flexible points: Champion of the Light and Deflection are the softest points. Improved Hammer of Justice needs 15 points in Protection before it, so reaching it means moving six points out of Retribution.

Key abilities

• Hammer of Justice: stun to start burst or stop a heal.
• Repentance: take a humanoid healer or second attacker out of the fight; damage breaks it.
• Hammer of Wrath: your finisher on a low-health target, now faster.
• Seal of Command and Judgement, swapping Seals after a Judgement for Twist of Light.
• Divine Shield: heal yourself to full or walk away.
• Blessing of Freedom: against roots and slows on yourself or your carrier.
• Cleanse: remove poisons and slows.

Matchups

• Mage · Frost Nova and Polymorph keep you out. Blessing of Freedom, stun on arrival, and Eye for an Eye against their crits.
• Hunter · Close in with Pursuit of Justice and Blessing of Freedom; Viper Sting drains your mana, so be quick.
• Rogue · Cleanse poisons, Repentance after their opener, and heal while they wait.
• Warrior · Vindication weakens them, Blessing of Freedom counters Hamstring, and Divine Shield outlasts Mortal Strike.
• Warlock · Fears break your chase; stay close, stun and Hammer of Wrath when they are low.
• Priest · Repentance the Priest to stop healing, then burst their teammate.
• Druid · Repentance only works on humanoids, so it fails on a shapeshifted Druid; stun them when they drop to caster form to heal.
• Shaman · Purge removes Blessings; kill totems and stun before a Stormstrike or shock burst.
• Paladin · Mirror match: save Hammer of Justice for their heal attempt after Divine Shield ends.

Resources and cooldowns

Mana decides long Retribution fights. Judgement with Sanctified Judgement returns some of it, and Benediction lowers costs, but self-heals are expensive. Spend mana on control and finishers before heals, and heal early with a Flash of Light rather than late with a Holy Light that gets interrupted. Divine Shield is also your mana-free escape.

Gear

The beta datamine lists Paladin PvP sets for both factions: Lieutenant Commander’s and Field Marshal’s Aegis and Vindication on the Alliance side, and Champion’s and Warlord’s Aegis and Vindication on the Horde side, which fits WoW Forever’s new Undead Paladins. Every one of them combines +20 Stamina, a shorter Hammer of Justice cooldown (10 sec) and bonus spell damage and healing; Aegis leans toward healing, Vindication gives an even split. How PvP gear is earned in Forever is not announced. Vindication is the better fit for this build’s split between swings and Holy damage. Look for Stamina and a slow two-hander first.

Legacy planner

For Great Honor increases Honor gains, and The Quick and the Dead makes helpful spells free after a resurrection until you enter combat, which is useful for Blessing the group after a graveyard run. Both are unconfirmed beta data in the Legacy planner.

Consumables and engineering

• Free Action Potion and Swiftness Potion to reach kiters.
• Major Mana Potion for long fights.
• Limited Invulnerability Potion for physical burst when Divine Shield is on cooldown.
• Engineering: net projector and rocket boots to fix Retribution’s lack of a gap closer.

Sources

Rotation, stat and matchup advice adapts these Classic 1.12 guides to the WoW Forever talent trees; talents, set bonuses and new abilities come from this site’s WoW Forever data.

• Icy Veins: Classic Paladin PvP Guide
• Icy Veins: Classic Retribution Paladin PvP Best in Slot Gear
• Icy Veins: Arathi Basin Battleground Guide (WoW Classic)