1: Forward.
This is a guide for solo leveling a Retribution Paladin, this will you what talents too choose, what rotation you should use, some tips and what stats and glyphs you should get. Please note that this was written as of patch 3.3.3 and some or all of the information will likely go out of data in Cataclysm.
2: What is the best leveling spec for soloing?
There are two diffirent answer to this, if you wish to go Protection, you can aoe grind mobs and level that way, but if you wish to go Retribution, which this guide will help you with, you can keep on the move without running low on mana or health and solo elites without much trouble.
3: The Spec.
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 23-24: 2/5 Conviction (Only 2 Points)
Level 25-27: 3/3 Crusade
Level 28-29: 2/3 Sanctity of Battle (Only 2 Points)
Level 30: 1/1 Sanctified Retribution
Level 31: 3/3 Sanctity of Battle
Level 32-34: 5/5 Conviction
Level 35-37: 3/3 Vengeance
Level 38-39: 2/3 Two-Handed Weapon Specialization (Only 2 Points)
Level 40-42: 3/3 Judgements of the Wise
Level 43-44: 2/2 The Art of War
Level 45: 1/1 Repentance
Level 46-48: 3/3 Fanaticism
Level 49: 3/3 Two-Handed Weapon Specialization
Level 50: 1/1 Crusader Strike
Level 51-53: 3/3 Sheath of Light
Level 54: 1/3 Swift Retribution (Only 1 Point)
Level 55-57: 3/3 Righteous Vengeance
Level 58-59: 3/3 Swift Retribution
Level 60: 1/1 Divine Storm
Level 61-65: 5/5 Divine Strength (Protection Tree)
Level 66-70 5/5 Seals of the Pure (Holy Tree)
Levels 71-72 2/2 Sanctified Wrath
Levels 73-74 2/2 Improved Blessing of Might
Levels 75-76 2/2 Vindication
Levels 77-80 4/5 Divinity (Protection Tree)
This spec is designed for solo game play, keep this in mind when PvP'ing, instancing, whatever.
4: Abilitys and Rotations.
As Retribution always use a 2 hander with stats such as Strength and Stamina.
Levels 1-9
- Keep [Seal of Righteousness] up at all times.
- Use [Devotion Aura] when you learn it.
- Keep [Blessing of Might] up on yourself, i recommend picking up the glyph [Improved Blessing of Might] at Level 15 to increase its duration by 20 mins when cast on yourself.
- Use [Judgement of Light] whenever its off cooldown, this will be your only offensive ability while attacking for some time.
Rotation: Auto Attack + Judgement of Light.
Levels 10-19
- [Lay on Hands] yourself if you are looking very low health.
- Use [Blessing of Wisdom] on yourself when you go low on mana until you are full mana again.
- Pull with [Hand of Reckoning] to increase damage, dont use it if a mobs is already attacking you, as it wont do any damage.
- Always use [Retribution Aura] as soon as you gain it.
Rotation: Pull with Hand of Reckoning. Auto Attack + Judgement of Light.
Levels 20-29
- use [Seal of Command] upon gaining the talent.
- Use [Exorcism] after [Hand of Reckoning] for extra damage.
- Throw down [Consecration] when pulling multiple mobs, other wise, its too much mana and not worth it.
- use [Judgement of Justice] if the mob is a type that flees when going low health so you dont have to chase it.
Rotation: Pull with Hand Of Reckoning and Exorcism right after it. Auto Attack + Judgement of Light.
Levels 30-39
- Not much changes, use [Divine Shield] if you need it but be warned, if you are doing something with another person in your group this will cause the mobs to attack them for the duration of the bubble.
Rotation: Pull with Hand Of Reckoning and Exorcism right after it. Auto Attack + Judgement of Light.
Levels 40-49
Now things change slightly, once you get the talent [Judgements of the Wise] you will no longer need [Blessing of Wisdom], this will keep your mana up at all times.
- Still things remain the same, use [Hammer of Wrath] once the mob goes below 20% to finish it off.
Rotation: Pull with Hand Of Reckoning and Exorcism right after it. Auto Attack + Judgement of Light. Hammer of Wrath on low health.
Levels 50-59
- Now the fun begins, [Crusader Strike] is a short cooldown spell that will give you more than 1 button to hit, use it whenever its off cooldown.
Rotation: Pull with Hand Of Reckoning and Exorcism right after it. Auto Attack + Crusader Strike + Judgement of Light. Hammer of Wrath on low health. (Use Judgement and Crusader strike when they are off cooldown)
Levels 60-80
- Now that you have [Divine Storm], nothing new is going to happen.
- [Avenging Wrath] when pulling multiple mobs.
- [Divine Plea] if you need the mana.
Rotation: Pull with Hand of Reckoning and Exorcism right after it. Auto Attack + Judgement of Light + Crusader Strike + Divine Storm. Hammer of Wrath on low health. (You will be using whatever is off cooldown, follow this priority list, Divine Storm > Judgement of Light > Crusader Strike)
5: Tips.
Instances.
- If tanking remember [Righteous Fury]. Dont use it if you are DPS.
- Use [Seal of Vengance] (Allaince) or [Seal of Corruption] (Horde) during boss fights in instances.
- [Consecration] on boss fights for extra DPS.
- Remember the spec is for solo leveling, this may alter your group skills slightly.
Soloing.
- Heal your self with instance cast Flash of Light [Art of War] procs.
- Consecration, Bubble and Avenging Wrath if you are pulling a big group.
Glyphs
Major - [Seal of Command]
Major - [Glyph of Judgement]
Major - [Glyph of Crusader Strike]
Minor - [Glyph of Blessing of Might]
Minor - [Glyph of Lay on Hands]
Minor - Your choice, [Glyph of Blessing of Wisdom] or [Glyph of Sense Undead]
Stats
Strength > Attack Power > Hit Rating > Expertise > Stamina > Crit Rating
Strength - Each point increases attack power with Melee weapons, which means your melee weapons hit harder.
Attack Power - Each point increases damage you deal with Melee Weapons.
Hit Rating - Each point reduces the chance you will miss with melee weapons, the cap is 8% hit rating, to check your hit rating, mouse over your hit rating stat in the melee weapons catagory.
Expertise - Each point reduces the chance your attacks will be Dodged or Parryed, you probably wont get capped with this until you reach level 80.
Stamina - Needed for health.
Crit Rating - Each point increases the chance that you will crit with your attacks, crits do extra damage.
Thanks for Reading! If you have anything you would like to add, or typos to point out, please leave a comment under this post.