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Paladin Leveling Guide 1–60 for WoW Forever

Level a Paladin from 1 to 60 in WoW Forever. Retribution and Protection talent orders, abilities by level, rotations, dungeons and class quests.

PaladinLevelingSoloDungeonsPvEAoE

By stillsixty staffUpdated

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Variants

Overview

Leveling a Paladin in WoW Forever plays nothing like Classic, because the class finally has an attack button. Holy Strike arrives at level 6, Judgement no longer consumes your Seal, and Consecration is baseline at 20. You spend your fights pressing instants instead of auto-attacking and waiting for a Seal to recast.

Retribution is the default. It's built to kill one mob at a time, it takes Seal of Command at 20, and Sanctified Judgement hands back 60% of your Seal's mana cost on every Judgement. By 40 you have Twist of Light and Champion of the Light, and from 45 an instant Hammer of Wrath is a free finisher.

Protection is the AoE route. Seal of Fury turns your damage into absorb shields while you hold a shield, blocks refund mana from 21 (at most once every 3 seconds), and Consecration hits the first four enemies that walk into it hard. You pull packs, and you tank every dungeon on the way.

What changed from Classic leveling

  • Holy Strike at 6: an instant weapon attack every 10 seconds with extra Holy damage.
  • Judgement keeps your Seal. Cast a Seal once every 30 seconds and Judge on cooldown.
  • Consecration is trained at 20 instead of being a Holy talent.
  • Blessings last 1 hour, and Blessing of Kings is trained at 20.
  • Seal of Fury at 10: its Judgement taunts, and it gives absorb shields while you hold a shield.
  • Lay on Hands no longer stops your mana regeneration.
  • Hammer of the Righteous is trained at 40.
  • Undead Paladins level on the Horde side for the first time.

Power spikes

  • 6: Holy Strike. Your first real attack button.
  • 20: Seal of Command for Retribution, Consecration and Exorcism for everyone, and Blessing of Kings.
  • 21–23: Shield Specialization (Protection) or Sanctified Judgement (Retribution). Both turn your fighting into mana.
  • 30: Templar's Bulwark for Protection, a second Lay on Hands rank, and Holy Light rank 5.
  • 40: plate armor, Hammer of the Righteous and Summon Warhorse (your class mount) for everyone, Twist of Light for Retribution, and Holy Shield for Protection.
  • 44–45: Hammer of Wrath, instant for Retribution with Instrument of Law.
  • 50: Divine Shield rank 2, Holy Wrath, and new ranks of Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Fury, Seal of Command and Seal of Light.
  • 60: Summon Charger, for Dwarf and Human Paladins only.

Talents

Retribution to 45, then Holy for Divine Strength, Improved Seals, Divine Intellect and Reverence. The order front-loads mana and speed: Benediction and Conviction first, Seal of Command at 20, then Sanctified Judgement and Pursuit of Justice before any pure damage talent.

Split 15/0/36 · 51 points at level 60 · Open in calculator

Holy

15 points

Protection

0 points

Retribution

36 points

Talent order

  1. Levels 10–14: 5/5 Benediction. 10% cheaper instant spells and abilities: your Seals, Judgement, Holy Strike and Blessings.
  2. Levels 15–19: 5/5 Conviction. +5% melee critical strike chance.
  3. Level 20: 1/1 Seal of Command. A chance on every swing to deal 70% of your weapon damage again as Holy damage. Your leveling Seal from here to 60.
  4. Levels 21–23: 3/3 Sanctified Judgement. 60% of the judged Seal's mana cost back on every Judgement.
  5. Levels 24–25: 2/2 Pursuit of Justice. 15% faster on foot and mounted.
  6. Level 26: 1/1 Sacred Arbiter. +20% Holy Strike damage, and Holy Strike refreshes your Judgements on the target.
  7. Levels 27–29: 3/3 Vindication. +3% Attack Power for 30 seconds from your hits, and a weaker mob.
  8. Levels 30–32: 3/3 Vengeance. Up to +9% Physical and Holy damage after crits.
  9. Levels 33–35: 3/3 Two-Handed Weapon Specialization. +6% two-handed weapon damage.
  10. Levels 36–38: 3/3 Champion of the Light. Spell damage equal to your Intellect. Judgement, Consecration, Exorcism and Holy Strike's Holy damage all grow with it.
  11. Level 39: 1/2 Improved Judgement. Judgement every 9 seconds, and your 30th point in the tree.
  12. Level 40: 1/1 Twist of Light. 20% cheaper Seals, and every Seal swap leaves an Echo of the old Seal on your next swing.
  13. Level 41: 2/2 Improved Judgement. Judgement every 8 seconds.
  14. Levels 42–43: 2/2 Holy Conduit. 40% cheaper Consecration and Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath at 44.
  15. Levels 44–45: 2/2 Instrument of Law. Hammer of Wrath becomes instant. Train it at 44 and it's a free instant finisher on anything at 20% health or less.
  16. Levels 46–50: 5/5 Divine Strength. +10% Strength.
  17. Levels 51–53: 3/3 Improved Seals. +15% damage from every Seal and Judgement.
  18. Levels 54–57: 4/5 Divine Intellect. +8% Intellect: more mana and, with Champion of the Light, more spell damage.
  19. Levels 58–60: 3/3 Reverence. 30% of your mana regeneration continues while casting.

Flexible points

  • Dungeon-heavy leveling from 25: take Improved Judgement at 24–25 instead of Pursuit of Justice, then buy Pursuit of Justice back at 39 and 41.
  • Lots of Undead and Demon quests: at 58–60, put 2 of the Reverence points into Purifying Power instead. Exorcism comes back every 10 seconds.

Abilities by level

Train at every even level, plus 25 for Seal of Fury. Holy Strike, your Seal and Consecration ranks are your damage, so never skip those.

Levels 1–10

Seal of the Crusader is a group Seal: its Judgement raises the Holy damage the target takes. Solo, stay on Seal of Righteousness until Seal of Command.

Levels 10–20

Righteous Fury is for Protection only. Retribution never turns it on.

Levels 20–30

Skip Turn Undead and the resistance auras until a dungeon or quest calls for them.

Levels 30–40

Levels 40–50

Levels 50–60

Races

Alliance: Human or Dwarf. Humans get Sword Specialization, +2% critical strike chance with a sword or two-handed sword, and Will to Survive to break a stun. Dwarves get Big Game Hunter: +5% damage against Beasts, which you kill a lot of on the way to 60, plus Stoneform and Mace Specialization for a mace. Pick Human if you like swords, Dwarf if you like maces.

Horde: Undead. The only Horde Paladin, and a strong leveler. Cannibalize restores 7% of your health and mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds from a Humanoid or Undead corpse, 35% of both in total. That is a free drink after every Humanoid pull. Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Charm and Sleep, and Touch of the Grave gives your attacks a 5% chance to drain health. The level 60 Summon Charger is for Dwarves and Humans only, and we have not confirmed what Undead Paladins ride at 60.

Leveling rotation

Levels 1–20

  1. Keep Seal of Righteousness up, and train every new rank.
  2. Run in and Judge as you reach the mob (from 4).
  3. Holy Strike on cooldown (from 6).
  4. Judge again every time it's ready. The Seal stays.
  5. Heal between fights with Holy Light, not during them.

Hammer of Justice at 8 stops a runner or a caster. Blessing of Might goes on yourself from 4, and Retribution Aura from 16.

Single pull from 20

  1. Seal of Command up. Refresh it every 30 seconds, not after every Judgement.
  2. Judge on arrival, then Holy Strike.
  3. Judge and Holy Strike on cooldown. Everything else is auto-attack.
  4. On Undead and Demons, open with Exorcism from range.
  5. From 44, Hammer of Wrath the mob at 20% health. It's instant once Instrument of Law is 2/2 at 45.

The stun combo

Seal of Command's Judgement deals double damage to a stunned target. Hammer of Justice then Judge is your biggest hit: use it on casters, on runners and on the mob that's about to kill you.

Two or three mobs

  1. Pull, let them reach you, then Consecration at your feet. The first four enemies to enter it take the extra damage.
  2. Holy Strike and Judge one target at a time.
  3. Consecrate again after 8 seconds if more than one mob is still up.
  4. Retribution Aura hits everything that hits you.

Mana and downtime

  • Sanctified Judgement refunds 60% of your Seal's cost every Judgement, and Benediction takes 10% off every instant. Most pulls cost less than you think.
  • Heal with Holy Light between pulls. Train every rank.
  • From 38, judge Seal of Wisdom on tough mobs first, then switch to Seal of Command. The 40-second Judgement of Wisdom gives your attacks a chance to restore mana.
  • Twist Seals only when you're above half mana. While leveling, Twist of Light is a mana saver first (20% cheaper Seals) and a damage tool second.

Blessings and auras while leveling

Each player carries one Blessing from each Paladin, and yours last an hour, so pick the one that speeds you up most. Blessing of Might is extra Attack Power on every swing and every Holy Strike. Switch to Blessing of Wisdom for a session of long quest chains where mana, not damage, is what stops you. Buff every player you pass in a group or a dungeon queue: it costs you one global cooldown and lasts their whole hour.

Auras are free and permanent. Retribution Aura deals Holy damage to everything that hits you, so it wins on any pull of two or more mobs. Devotion Aura is the pick when a single elite hits hard and you want the armor. Concentration Aura at 22 gives your Holy Light a 35% chance to ignore pushback when a wandering mob catches you mid-cast.

Picking fights

Retribution kills fastest when every mob dies to one Seal of Command window. Pull one mob at a time until 20, pairs once Consecration arrives, and save the stun combo for the caster in a group of two. Casters that stay at range are the slowest kills you'll face: walk around a corner so they have to come to you, or close the gap (or break line of sight), then Hammer of Justice them. It reaches only 10 yards.

Stat priority

Retribution leveling

  1. Strength
  2. Critical Strike
  3. Stamina
  4. Intellect
  5. Agility

Protection leveling

  1. Stamina
  2. Strength
  3. Intellect
  4. Armor
  5. Spirit

Strength is Attack Power for every swing and Holy Strike. Retribution takes Critical Strike next for Vengeance, and Intellect from 36 for Champion of the Light. Protection wants Stamina first because it takes hits from four mobs at once, and Intellect because every block refunds a share of your maximum mana.

Gear and weapons

Weapons

Retribution: the slowest two-handed weapon with the highest damage per second you can use. Seal of Command procs deal 70% of your weapon damage, and Holy Strike deals up to 50% of it, so a big, slow hit is worth more than a fast one. Replace your weapon every time a quest or the auction house offers higher damage per second. It's the single biggest upgrade you'll get.

Protection: a one-handed weapon and a shield. Seal of Fury adds its Holy damage per swing, so a faster weapon gives more damage and more absorb shields per second. Upgrade the shield whenever you find more armor or block on it.

At level 58, Blacksmiths make Arcanite Reaper, a Bind on Equip two-handed axe with 62 Attack Power and a 3.8-second swing: the weapon to finish Retribution leveling with.

Armor

Mail until 40, plate from 40. Take Strength and Stamina first. Paladins also wear cloth and leather, so any quest reward with Strength and Stamina beats an empty slot.

Class quest weapon

Alliance Paladins get a weapon forged by Jordan Stilwell at the end of The Test of Righteousness at 22. See Class quests below.

Professions

Mining and Blacksmithing keep you in armor and weapons from 10 to 60 (plate from 40), and Blacksmiths make their own Arcanite Reaper for level 58. Blacksmithing's Sharpening Wheel is a camping object you place for yourself and your group.

Mining and Herbalism is the gold route. Sell everything, buy your upgrades on the auction house, and pick up a crafting profession at 60.

Cooking is worth leveling alongside. Crafted food in Forever grants bonus experience: Grilled Squid (level 35) adds 1% Critical Strike and 5% experience from kills, and Runn Tum Tuber Surprise adds 15 Intellect and the same 5% experience.

Dungeons along the way

Forever adds new dungeons to the Classic list, and a Paladin fits every one of them as tank, healer or damage. Levels are the range each dungeon is built for, from our dungeon list.

Three new dungeons have boss lists but are not open in the beta yet: Excavation Site: Wetlands (24–29), City of Dalaran (28–33), in Alterac Mountains, and The Drowned City (35–40), on the Stranglethorn coast. Alcaz Prison, Blackmaw Hold, Krol'dok Stronghold and Shaper's Terrace are announced, with no details yet.

Stratholme and Scholomance are full of Undead. Your Exorcism and Holy Wrath were made for them.

Class quests

These are the Alliance Paladin class chains. We have not confirmed a class chain for Undead Paladins yet.

The Tome of Divinity

The chain teaches Redemption, and it has a Stormwind version and an Ironforge version.

Stormwind: The Tome of Divinity opens it, and Stormwind step 2 sends you to Duthorian Rall. Find Stephanie Turner in the Trade District and bring her 10 Linen Cloth. Then Stormwind step 5 and Stormwind step 6: take the Symbol of Life to Gazin Tenorm in Stormwind, resurrect Henze Faulk in Elwynn, recover a Defias Script from the Defias Rogue Wizards in Elwynn, and report to Duthorian Rall.

Ironforge: The Ironforge start opens it, and Ironforge step 2 sends you to Tiza Battleforge. Search the outer ring for John Turner and bring him 10 Linen Cloth. Then Ironforge step 5 and Ironforge step 6: take the Symbol of Life to Muiredon Battleforge, resurrect Narm Faulk in Dun Morogh, retrieve a Dark Iron Script from the Dark Iron dwarves near Helm's Bed, and report to Tiza Battleforge.

The Tome of Valor

The Tome of Valor sends you to Duthorian Rall in Stormwind, then to Daphne Stilwell in Westfall. Defend her from the Defias attack without either of you dying, then report back.

The Test of Righteousness

The Test of Righteousness (quest level 21) sends you to Jordan Stilwell in Ironforge. The collection step (level 22) has you collect Whitestone Oak Lumber, a Refined Ore Shipment, Jordan's Smithing Hammer and a Kor Gem. Hand them in, and the final step ends with Jordan forging your weapon.

Tips

Stun, then Judge

Hammer of Justice into a Seal of Command Judgement doubles the Judgement's damage. It's your opener on casters and your finisher on runners.

Don't recast your Seal after Judgement

In Classic, Judgement ate your Seal. In Forever it doesn't. Recasting the Seal after every Judgement is the most common Paladin mana leak.

Blessings last an hour. Buff yourself once per session, and buff every player you group with.

Lay on Hands is your second life. It heals you for your full health every 20 minutes and no longer stops your mana regeneration.

Divine Protection and Divine Shield let you heal. Neither stops your spells. When a pull goes wrong, bubble and cast Holy Light until you're full.

Consecration counts the first four. Pull four mobs, not six. The fifth and sixth take only the small base damage.

Macros

Holy Strike with auto-attack, so every pull starts swinging.

Holy Strike
#showtooltip Holy Strike
/startattack
/cast Holy Strike

Judgement with auto-attack: your opener.

Judgement
#showtooltip Judgement
/startattack
/cast Judgement

Holy Light on yourself without dropping your target.

Self Holy Light
#showtooltip Holy Light
/cast [@player] Holy Light

Flash of Light on yourself, for a quick top-up between Holy Strikes.

Self Flash of Light
#showtooltip Flash of Light
/cast [@player] Flash of Light

Divine Shield that cancels on a second press, so you're back to full damage once you've healed.

Divine Shield toggle
#showtooltip Divine Shield
/cancelaura Divine Shield
/cast Divine Shield

Changelog

  • Guide published with Retribution and Protection leveling builds.
  • Added the class mounts, made class quest links descriptive, and aligned the dungeon list with our dungeon data.

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