Paladin Class Guide — Class Guides · WoW Wrath of the Lich King
A plate-wearing holy warrior who heals with the Light, protects with blessings, auras and seals, and fights in melee. Paladins heal, tank or deal damage with a two-handed weapon.
Blood elves bring the paladin to the Horde.
- Roles
- Healer, Tank, Damage
- Specializations
- 3
- Popular builds
- 6
- Version
- WoW Wrath of the Lich King
How the paladin plays
Paladins in Wrath are among the strongest classes in every role. Blessings last 10 minutes and Greater Blessings 30, each Greater Blessing covering every raid member of the target's class, while the Hands (Freedom, Protection, Sacrifice, Salvation) are short spells of their own.
Judgements are simpler: you keep any Seal up and Judge Light, Wisdom or Justice onto the target as a debuff, and talents add benefits to each Judgement depending on your spec. Divine Plea restores mana.
Holy heals the main tank with Beacon of Light, Protection holds whole packs, and Retribution brings Replenishment and big damage.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Strong in every role.
- Hand of Protection, Hand of Sacrifice, Hand of Freedom and Divine Intervention.
- Retribution brings Replenishment for the raid's mana.
- Very hard to kill.
Weaknesses
- Few ranged tools.
- Holy has little area healing.
- Relies on mana and Divine Plea.
Specializations
The specs compared
Each spec rated from 1 to 5 at what it does in WoW Wrath of the Lich King. Single and several targets mean damage for damage specs, healing for healers and threat for tanks; a spec's own guide names its ratings for its role.
| Rating |  Holy |  Protection |  Retribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single target | |||
| Several targets | |||
| Survivability | |||
| Utility | |||
| Solo and leveling | |||
| Ease of play |
- Holy
Healer · 2 builds
The healing tree: more powerful Holy Light and Flash of Light, cheaper heals and the tools to keep a tank or a raid alive.
Top talent:
Holy guide
Beacon of Light - Protection
Tank · 1 build
Tanking with a shield: Holy Shield, more block and armour, damage reduction and threat.
Top talent:
Protection guide
Hammer of the Righteous - Retribution
Damage · 3 builds
Two-handed melee damage from seals and judgements, with crits and utility for the group. The usual leveling tree.
Top talent:
Retribution guide
Divine Storm
Gear
- Plate for every spec.
- Holy wants spell power, Intellect, haste and crit; Protection wants Stamina, defense, avoidance and some expertise; Retribution wants Strength, hit, expertise, crit and haste.
- Librams in the relic slot boost specific abilities.
Each spec guide ranks its stats and says what to look for on its gear.
Paladin class quests
The quests that unlock class abilities, by the level each route starts at.