Paladin Talents

[Muridin]

Right from the outset, I have to state that much like the warrior or the druid, the role you play is more enhanced by the gear you wear rather than the talents you take. If you want to heal, slap on +healing and Intellect gear. You can have 51 Retribution and still heal. While there are notable exceptions (tank builds definately have to reach deep into Protection to get Holy Shield now,) this does hold true.
However, talents are not to be ignored, and many talents can significantly alter your gameplay. Nothing matches the outstanding efficiency of Divine Favor.
Repentance is just as good as its always been and now is backed up by a solid damage tree. Holy Shock gives for even more burst damage, something that's been asked for a long time by the class, and now a sleugh of new talents have made for some interesting new builds. Listed here in is a compliation of the most popular new specs and ideas from forum posters such as Killian, who has for a while now held a codex of popular Paladin builds.
This is hardly a list of all the possible talent specs, nor is this condoning any one play style over another. That being said, I would like to present to you several common talent specs that may give you a starting point in deciding yours. As always, tactics and situations change. However, this should at least provide some clarity to the choices you face as I've tried to add enough commentary to help guide you towards the goals of each build. I have included a link to the WOW Site talent builder for complete details on the builds. Note that this site is currently using the preview version of the Paladin talents, and none of this is truly final until 1.9 hits live.


Retribution Builds
Killian's Retnoob - 33 Retribution / 18 Holy
Jest's PvE Retnoob - 31 Retribution / 20 Holy
Retribution has undergone some severe changes and the "retnoob", as coined by the official forums, has some seriously wonderful new PvP toys as well as a solid DPS boost for PvE. I've lifted one build directly from Killian's Codex which I believe is geared more so towards PvP and a build of my own which really doesn't change much but has more of a slant for PvE.
Quoth the Killian:
"McHammer made the term famous and I use it as a term of endermeant. I tested this build heavily on test and found it VERY enjoyable. Thanks to the move of Repentence to Retribution it also makes it a VERY good PvP build if you are skilled enough to take advantage of the Seal/Judgement system. I can't stress to you how important it is to take advantage of Judgement of Command, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A LARGE MANA POOL. We've begged for a way to get some burst damage at the expense of mana and you now have it. If you are in a fight that you KNOW you have plenty of mana use JoComm to it's full advantage especially if you have multiple stuns ready to go. The crit rate is based on your melee attack and it's unresistable (that's the promise of all judgments and I have yet to see it resisted in my testing). As of right now this is my 2nd favorite build and is probably one of the 2 best for the soloer's out there. "
Killian's build offers a 33 Retribution, 18 Holy build that focuses on all the solid passive Ret talents and a package from Holy that offers more Intellect and Strength, Focus, Consecration and resistance to Fear. This is a superior PvP build for Retribution paladins as it offers more tools for team-based PvP as well as solo play.
My version is tweaked more for a former build that was somewhat of a persona non grata in 1.8 - a two-hander wielding meleer. With increased DPS, the new Judgement mechanics, and Vidication, your PvE raids may have room for a melee paladin who is up in the front. Consecration sees sporadic use in PvE situations, however, if you must have it, feel free to hedge into healing or fear resistance. I think I'll be going with this build as a grand experiment - can a good Paladin melee in MC and not be dead weight?
I'm not going to bother adding it in, but take my build, drop Repentance, add Divine Favor and you have what will probably be one of the two cookie cutter builds.


Reckoning Bomb Builds
Killian's "Reckbomber" - 28 Protection / 23 Retribution
Jest's Holy Bomber - 28 Protection / 23 Holy
Protection has had quite a large change in 1.9, losing Repentance and having Holy Shield and Blessing of Salvation moved up 10 points a peice. Reckoning, however has remained unchanged, and now there are a few new toys you can pick up on your way up the tree. I suppose you could go to the other side on this one and pick up Divine Favor if nothing in Retribution tickles your goat.
Quoth the Killian:
Made famous by McHammer there are several variations of the ol' Reckonbomber with 1.9 those have changed dramtically. The point of this build is to put the fear of God into your foes in PvP. It's the build that says "attack me at your own risk ... I may have a Reckon Bomb to stick up your unloving buttocks!" Your goal is to store up 5 full attacks and unleash them ... preferably on an unsuspecting cloth wearer that you can hit for well over 2K points in a single go. I highly recommend the usage of an SCT mod (McHammer's is probably the easiest) to let you know when you have stored attacks.
I guess my argument for Holy is that if you're sitting around waiting for something to crit you, you might as well be useful and heal. It's not a strong argument, but Divine Favor is an oustanding talent and speaks for itself. I personally like Toughness over Anticipation, but either works. 10 Defense isn't going to stop all the crits from coming in. However, after posting this build, Killian ( a 1.8 reckbomber himself) had these words for me.
Quoth the Killian:
Don't know if you've toyed with Reckoning or not but one thing I've learned (I'm currently built as a reckon bomber) Seal of Command is a must have. You want Bust Damage. It's the goal of the build. Nothing beats SoComm even in 1.9 for burst damage in combination with Reckoning. As for why Anticipation over Toughness? Well I personally run around with 5000-8000 armor depending on gear at that point Toughness doesn't change my DR much. Anticipation doesn't stop the crits but it does help my Damage Reduction more then Toughness.
So there you have it. Go Holy at your own peril. All this being said, I think he's right. But I like alternatives, so I'll keep mine up there. Just don't flame me if you suck with it.


Tankadin Builds
Killian's Tankadin - 33 Protection / 18 Holy
Jest's Tankadin - 31 Protection / 11 Holy / 9 Retribution
It's pretty hard to crawl the Proection tree and give up all that you could gain. Killian does a good job with only sacrificing a few points on Shield Spec. He goes after Unyielding Faith, which is probably pretty darn good since a feared tank is not a good thing, but then again that's what Fear Ward is for, yes? Truth be told there are several ways to go about tanking - I'm not sure if I would go Reckoning if you're going for +Defense on your armor. Lots of options.
Quoth the Killian:
So you think you want to tank huh? You got a dedicated healer and don't need to conserve your mana? You want aggro and you want it now? Fine here's your build! Now remember aggro generation is completely transformed in 1.9 for Paladins. We no longer use Seal of Fury we use Righteous Fury. It generates less hate then it used to so you'll need to up that holy output! You are Sword and Board get used to it ... you are a Tank!
I pretty much see Divine Intellect as a must have here - you're going to be at a loss for mana, and stacking that and BOK will be key to help your sagging mana pool when you're in tank gear. Divine Strength, less so, in my mind. Imp Righteousness is key here to work with Righteous Fury. To be honest, I'd also be willing to drop parry and get Imp. Judgment for faster Righteousness judgments.
Tankadins are going to have to fight an uphill battle in 1.9. The common consensus is that it is a nerf to Paladin tanking, but don't let that discourage you. Get the right gear, make sure you have a fast one hander and a good shield, and feel free to post your exploits as a tanking paladin. It is possible in 1.8 when most folks say it ain't so, and I imagine that the same holds true for 1.9.



Holy Shock Builds
Killian's Shockadin - 33 Holy / 18 Retribution
Jest's Shockadin - 35 Holy / 16 Retribution
I have to admit that I have the least amount of experience with this build. I was 31 Holy back in beta, however, I was also only level 45 or so when the Paladin we see today was introduced. Now, Holy got a shot of steroids, and this my friends is one hell of a tempting build for anyone. As you can see, my variant of the shocker is very minor - there's not much room to move with a 31 point talent and a good synergy with Seal of Command.
Quoth the Killian:
By far one of the most transformed builds in 1.9. I hated the Shockadins (for those of you who remember my old comments) but now I'm a believer. I readily hit controllable 189 DPS against level 50 humanoid elites with this build. Mana loss is negligable thanks to the way Judgement of Wisdom now procs. Burst damage is very good with great control. I really can't come up with a downside to this build. It heals and it kills.

If you are wondering this is THE build I will go with. For general PvE fights I simply ensure I have BoM and Righteous Fury up with a good 2-Hander (I have Earthshaker which is great for this build I'm sure you TUF users will even like it more). I Judge Wisdom, Holy Shock, and then toss up Seal of Command. If my Stun and my Judgement are up you can bet I'm gonna stun and drop a Judgement of Command followed by a renew on Seal of Command. If it's a long time before my stun to be recharged and my Earthshaker is unlikely to proc any time soon then I'll Judge Command again without compunction. Gotta love that Holy Damage PvP is a much more complex process which depends on the foes you are fighting and who you are teamed with. I'll not cover the subject here. I'm sure there will be many discourses and pissing contests coming down the road to tell us all how to PvP ... some will be good an others ... well you know.
Mikey likes it!
There's not much to hate here, really. The mana use can be high, but this is a build that you can grow into very nicely as you hit the higher end gear. And don't come crying to me that you have to have Judgement to make this work - Judgement is the high end, there is plenty of Intellect gear to be found in places like Dire Maul.



Combat Medic Builds
Killian's "Waaaambulance" Build - 31 Holy / 20 Protection
Jest's Carebear Cleric Build - 30 Holy / 21 Protection
Jest's "Buffbot" (or "Raidb*tch") Build - 25 Holy / 21 Protection / 5 Retribution
Heh. Not hard to see the biases in these builds. Only a few points change here between our two Holy/Prot builds, but they both focus on keeping others running. Guardian's Favor, Imp. Concentration Aura, deep Holy, this is a support build, focusing on selfless defending (or pussyfooted carebears, depends on your outlook, I guess.) This is the Cleric build for 1.9, all the heals you could want (I dropped Holy Shock for BoSanctuary, up to you if you want to do that. I dropped all the active abilities I could, but Consecration is a useful tool.
Quoth the Killian:
You just want to heal. You don't care about anything else ... just heal and buff. Somebody comes at it you and you don't care because you're buddies will smack them retarded. Fine here you go

I think you'll get the idea behind this build. Heal, buff, cleanse, and shield. Keep your party alive while not taking it in the tooshie at the same time.
I dunno about "taking it in the tooshie" - no healer is as durable in PvP as a Paladin.
For a humorous look at raiding as a Paladin, I humbly submit my maxed out buffbot build, which has every Improved Blessing, Lasting Judgement to keep JOW on from max distance, and plenty of support. There is not one offensive talent. I love it.


Comabt Technician Builds
Killian's Stunadin - 31 Retribution / 20 Protection
Jest's Stunlock Retnoob - 33 Retribution / 18 Protection
I call this section Technician Builds because the Paladin can be an outstanding leader on the field, directing combat and preventing hard to his or her comrades. The 'stunlock' builds maximize the limited crowd control paladins have, as well as adding frustration to the enemy. The big two here leave little for variations - Repentance and Imp. Hammer of Justice are cornerstone talents for this build. Mix in Seal of Justice, engineering grenades and Malown's Slam... that's a lot of pissed off Horde.
Quoth the Killian:
The concept of this build makes me chuckle. It's goal is simple. Keep your enemy stunned non-stop. Piss them the hell off! You can take all kinds of advantage of your Seal of Command! You'll need to make sure you are an Engineer, have a TUF or an Earthshaker, and keep plenty of gold around to pay for your addiction to grenades.
Ain't nothing wrong with a few good grenades, I say. If you're a PvP addict, this build might be quite nice for you. There's even a good synergy with Judgement of Command.


Mixed Bag Builds
Killian's Mixed Bag Build - 26 Protection / 13 Holy / 12 Retribution
Jest's Generalist Build - 22 Holy / 18 Retribution / 11 Protection
Zaxton's Mixed Bag Build - 22 Retribution / 16 Holy / 13 Protection
Wow, how's that for a Trifecta? Three builds that all offer similar generalist ideals, with three different majors. More than just a catch-all category, the Paladin truly is a generalist at heart. With heals, out of the box tanking abilities and considerable support skills all being able to be used at one time, why not maximize what your Pally can do?
Quoth the Killian:
This build is a mixed bag of fun stuff from all three tree's. It mixes solid defense, solid offense, with spot healing to make a build that can fill in almost any role. If you want to be able to tank in the mid levels and still have decent damage this is a possible build for you. End-game wise you are so mixed across so many trees that you may have some challenge getting all you want from this build. You still can! With the mixture of Reckoning, hard to interrupt heals, and of course Seal of Command you can twack folks plenty good. It is geared towards 2-Handers and as such I chose Imp. Devotion Aura over Redoubt (*shiver* yes I hate Improved Devotion Aura). If you don't use SCT, or you plan on using a shield then shift the points to Redoubt for utility reasons.
These three builds just go show the diversity that's been gained in the 1.9 patch. While they all go after the best of each tree (all have Blessing of Kings, it's not such a bad talent any more, is it), they each reach for a different goal. Killian's offers Reckbombers a bit more variety as it dips into the holy tree (perhaps a better version than my Holy Bomber), mine goes after Divine Favor while keeping Seal of Command and some passive damage, and Zaxton goes after more passive damage with Sanctity Aura while still improving healing.