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| - First, your Master II choice is going to be Consecration. Second, remember that this is a PvP guide. Changes can be made to make an MT build, but to be honest, I really don't think you need to. With this AA setup you are going to have max dps and good hit points. If you have problems holding aggro as a paladin, sorry but you pretty much SUX! Seriously! "Paladin is the best group tank." I have seen a lot of posts in the forums about holding aggro as paladin and I really don't understand. Amends should not automatically be cast on a Wizard or Warlock. They are good DPS ,but they take a long time casting their spells. While they are still casting their first spell, the Ranger or Swash in your group has already hit the mob several times. So for single mobs it is really better to put your Amends on a Swash or Ranger and ask them to do MAX dps. You almost don't have to taunt. The best way to hold agro is putting Amends on the right class, use your taunts and don't forget about Sigil of Heroism. If is up, use it. Make a macro for people in your group so they know to go max dps for 20 seconds. Most people don't know how Sigil of Heroism works so explain for your group. Btw, with Holy Ground (lvl 80 taunt) GOOD GOD. There is no way you can loose agro with Holy Ground. Remember Holy Ground is not like Rescue, you need a successful hit on the mob for Holy Ground to work. So if you are fighting against groups, target the first one and hit. As soon you have aggro from that mob target the second, hit and keep going. you have like 11 seconds, if I'm not wrong, to do that in adept III version. the recast time is only 1m20seconds with this AA setup. ps: if you have Consecration up its the easiest way to do that. So, lets get back to the pvp guide.
- (Other tip: Unless you are HIGHLY skilled with "mouse-running" do NOT use it. Ever. Using your mouse buttons to run will make you unable to run in a different dirrection than the one you are facing, making you unable to run to the sides!)
* Switch Weapons Create a macro for equipping your shield and 1-handed weapon. This is useful vs. Warriors, other Retribution Paladins, and non-bursty casters. Since your armor is a lot higher with a shield, you take reduced damage. Pick the fastest weapon there is for your 1-hander, as you'll be needing lots of crits for the Art of War proc, for instant Flash of Lights. Use shield and 1h only when your other opponent is popping some cooldowns to cut you down, like Bladestorm or Hysteria.
* Spam Judgements. Normally spamming Judgements would do high burst damage but cost a lot of mana. With the introduction of patch 3.0.2 and the introduction of the Retribution talent Judgements of the Wise, Judgements not only cause significant damage, but also gives you Replenishment. Along with Judgement of Wisdom, you shouldn't encounter a lot of mana trouble. Further, Judgements no longer consume your active seal, giving all paladins reasons to spam Judgements.
* Don't get discouraged if a few moments of combat your health is going down faster than theirs. This does not mean you have lost, or that you will lose. The core of the Paladin class is being able to last. With your efficient heals and many ways (via seals, blessings, and talents) to regain health and mana as a fight drags on, you will have it better in the long run than most classes.
* Always use the best Blessing/Seal/Judgement for each fight. Most of your victories are either ones of endurance or fast burst damage. Every one of your abilities requires mana. If you're OOM, then all you've got is your autoattack, and that isn't going to beat anyone. Seal of Command is nice for some burst damage. Learning what Blessings, Seals, and Judgments to use is the most appealing and complex aspects of the class, and there are more opinions on what is best where than there are Paladins. Develop your own groove and learn what you like and what works. With the new patch your mana should not be a problem, and instead of using Blessing of Wisdom using Blessing of Might can improve your damage.
* Heal when you need it. With patch 3.0.2 the talent The Art of War was introduced, this talent makes your Flash of Light instant whenever you have a critical Judgement, Divine Storm or Crusader Strike, you should never hesitate to cast Flash of Light when AoW procs, it can be a life saver. Don't wait until your portrait is glowing red to start casting a heal. If you're fighting, and your health is such that you would get the full, or near-full, benefit from a heal, then heal. Don't neglect Flash of Light either. It's arguably the most mana-efficient heal in the game. You can use Flash of Light several times while your foe is stunned with Hammer of Justice, and if you notice that an opponent has foolishly wasted a spell interrupt (such as a Shaman using Earth Shock for its damage) then throw a few flashes of light to make them regret it. Don't get heal-crazy, but don't wait until you're near death to start tending your wounds, either. Lastly, with the introduction of talents increasing spell power to Protection and Retribution specs, healing in pvp has never been more rewarding for non-Holy paladins.
* Melee, dammit! Get in there with that two-hander and put on the hurt! Paladins may be able to heal, but they can bring the pain too. Retribution (especially post 2.0) have a nice bag of tricks to do good-sized bursts of damage. Crusader Strike with Seal of Command can put a hurt on even the most hardened foe. With decent gear, a Paladin will have a good amount of strength, making their melee hit pretty hard. For Retribution paladins, while most of your damage will come from auto-attacks, combining your regular melee hits with both Crusader Strike and Divine Storm, you can take a big chunk of the enemies health. Protadins now have on demand attacks as well, in the form of Shield of Righteousness and Hammer of the Righteous. When you combine these with your seals, you have what is arguably the best autoattack in the game.
* When meleeing, put your back against a wall if at all possible. Seasoned PVE tanks know this strategy well. It's used for different reasons in PVE (preventing knockbacks probably most common), but works just as well in PVP. If your back is against the wall, melee classes can't get behind you to attack you from behind. This means that you'll be parrying (and, if applicable, blocking) their attacks instead of letting them land. Parrying can increase your outgoing DPS (though note that it'll also increase your target's chance of parrying and increasing their DPS), and blocking is a boon.
* Be careful when fighting classes capable of dispelling 'magic' effects. These are most notably priests and shamans. A shaman purging you will remove two beneficial magic effects (normally your current blessing and a seal). If you are inattentive, you can be caught without these on, and a much easier kill. With points in both Protection and Retribution, both your Seals and Blessings gain significant dispel resistance; Seals become dispel immune, and your blessings receive 30% resistance.
* Use those Resistance Auras! We have our auras for a reason! Its not uncommon for a paladin to just charge in with whatever aura they happen to have on at a time and this is a mistake! With our Fire, Frost, and Shadow Resistance Auras we can take the edge off of three of the major magical schools not just for us, but for anyone in the party who can stay within 30 yards! If you see a mage you can assume you're going to get hit with frost spells, and if it turns out they're a fire mage you can swap to Fire Resistance Aura to put a stop to their massive burst damage. If you see a warlock, then you can expect to be hit with fire and shadow damage, so pick which ever one the warlock is using more! And while on the subject, PLEASE don't go into a battle with Crusader Aura on! All you're doing then is helping the enemy!
* A Useful Talent (Ret Paladins) If you are getting tired of those Shamans kiting with Frost Shock or Mages with Frostbolt or what-not, a very good talent to have is Long Arm of the Law. Although this requires the previous talent Improved Judgement and level 31 to get this talent full, it is a must-have for most Paladins that excell at close-quaters, giving you that 100% chance of increased movement speed for 4 secs. The downside is that it requires the target to be 15 yards away from you, so using it at even 14 yards is not going to work.
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