Introduction: Lets be honest, DPSing as a ret is not hard... at all. One just simply facerolls and hope for the best. It is however, the setup of a ret paladin which plays a crucial role with end game content.
So I am basically going to base this guide upon the setup of a retribution paladin based on what I know and the server's limitations.
Firstly,
1. Spec:[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]2.Glyphs: Get something else for SoV, expertise not useful in PvE as bosses do not Dodge/Parry attacks. Recommended:
Major Glyphs: Exorcism, Judgement, and a glyph of your choice (IE. Consecration)
Minor Glyphs: Sense Undead, and 2 glyphs of your choice
Note: Now some may suggest that Aura Mastery is better for retribution paladins due to the 3% increased damage given by our Sanctified Retribution Talent.
Through a 5 min boss fight, we get 3% more damage for 40 seconds. That amounts to around a 200-400 DPS, depending on your setup. SoC on the other hand gives much more utility in ICC/ToC.
Good retribution paladins should be seal changing even within boss fights as long as SoV remains 5 stacks on boss, if you don't, start now. SoC comes into play with Deathbringer/Deathwhisper/Dreamwalker and various other bosses. In my opinion I prefer SoC than Aura Mastery. But, spec accordingly to your play style.
3.Stats:First and foremost,
hit rating: keep melee hit at 8%. According to MMO-Champion, 32.79 hit rating = 1% hit, with melee hit cap being 5% for all melee-bound abilities, plus an additional 1% for each level that your target is above you. That means that you need 8% hit (all raid bosses are level 83 elites), meaning 32.79 hit * 8% = 262 hit rating. With a Dranei's Heroic Presence (1% hit buff), this can be reduced to 7% (32.79 hit rating * 7% = 229 hit rating). That is the cap. Get there. No point in DPSing when half your attacks miss.
NOTE: Hit rating on Magic-WoW has been tested to round UP. This means that 7.01% hit = 8% hit. So theoretically, you only need 6.01% hit (32.79 hit rating * 6.01% = ~197 hit rating) with a Dranei's Heroic Presence to be hit capped. Spell hit cap is not important to Ret Paladins, so don't even bother trying to aim for the 17% spell hit cap.
Strength: This is the most important stat for a ret, it gives us circa 2.5 AP/STR with raid buffs and the talents above. Easy.
Haste: Haste is lovely for rets due to its increasing our Auto attack. White Damage + Seal accounts for nearly half of our DPS. Increasing haste = more DPS! However, that does not mean you should stack haste. You get enough haste from gear alone, there is absolutely
ZERO reason to gem for it.
Crit: This forms a vital part of a retribution paladin's DPS. How do we get it? Agility items. Circa 50 agility gives us 1% crit. I am not saying you should actively seek agility items.
No. Get them after you have at least 2k Strength unbuffed (as a gross/rough estimate). We need offsets only, if you need precise BiS items you can whisper me ingame/vent. Keep in mind that you should
NEVER be gemming PURE crit. The 2 types of gems you'll find yourself using the most is +20str (Bold Cardinal Ruby) and +10str/+10crit (Inscribed Ametrine).
For example: Oathbinder>Glorenzelg. Why? Mainly because expertise is useless in PvE on Magic-WoW. With Oathbinder, you gain the agility (remember, agility = crit), as well as the Attack Power, Crit and ARP stats from the weapon itself. Overall, Oathbinder is better.
Small Note: Ashen Ring of Endless Vengeance (Agility Ring) gives us 20-50 more DPS depending on buffs/setup.
Rets need, as a guide, 50% crit + with full gear to achieve the maximum DPS. The differentiators of a good paladin and a bad paladin in PvE is that good paladins recognize the need for crit and thus, agility. Agility items almost certainly comes with more stats, and also, ARP (armor penetration).
Take special notice here:Armor Penetration: ARP accounts for Physical damage ONLY. That much we can all agree on. Much to contrary belief, however, Crusader Strike/Auto Strike/Divine Storm are all
physical damage as of patch 3.0.2. This accounts for 35-45% of our DPS. Does this mean we should actively gem for ARP?
NO. It is only 35-45% of our DPS! HOWEVER, one cannot say that ARP is completely useless for rets. Some BiS (Best in slot) items contain ARP. DO NOT let the raid leader and other guild members fool you into thinking that those items are ONLY for Warriors. For precise BiS items, again wisp me in-game/vent.
Expertise: Not working in PvE, as bosses do not dodge/parry. However, the
soft Expertise cap is 26 (214 Expertise Rating), and the
hard Expertise cap is 56 (460 Expertise Rating) for
Level 83 Elites (raid bosses) if you are wondering/if it ever works in the future. The
Expertise cap for Level 82 mobs and below (Dungeon bosses/world NPCs) is 24.Note that the
SOFT Expertise cap refers to the amount of Expertise required to remove Dodge from a mob's combat table, while the
HARD Expertise cap refers to the amount of Expertise needed to remove Parry from a mob's combat table.
As a final note, remember that BASE stats (IE. +90 str, +90 stamina, etc.) are NOT increased/affected by raid buffs. However, stats given by Equip effects (IE. Increases Attack Power/Critical Strike Rating/Expertise/etc. by
) ARE affected by raid buffs (IE. GBOK/GBOS).
4. Rotation
Faceroll, just let judgements fly out first. There are some minor details but it doesn't account to much DPS change. With the Libram of Three Truths (ICC Libram - bought with 30 Emblems of Frost), you may want to keep in mind at the back of your head to use Crusader Strike at least once every 15 seconds(With a 4 second CD, CS should be a part of your rotation anyways so not a big problem here).
5. Professions:
There are 2 combinations (technically 3, although I will explain why usually people only pick the first 2) you can use:
- Traditionally, JC + Eng and JC + BS gives the most DPS. The Back enchant for Engineering (+22 agility and slow fall), Boot enchant (+24 crit rating and 100% speed for 5 seconds), and Hand enchant (NOTE: Hand Rocket > Hyperspeed Accelerators (+340 Haste for 12 seconds)) are what you should be using should you choose Engineering. The DPS difference between Eng/BS is I believe roughly 50.
- Tailoring + JC, due to the 400 AP bonus I can have from the Back (Awesome for PVP)
Albeit, the differences overall are about 100 DPS. Take what you want.
6. Links for further reading/sources:
ElitistJerk's BiS Retribution Paladin List
Rawr 2.3.22 (A program that will help you figure out what gear to use, as well as upgrades, the best gems to socket, etc.)
Tankspot's Expertise Information Thread
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Miscellaneous: - This part addresses any concerns and/or questions that everyone seems to be asking
To confirm/bust some "myths"/uncertainties:
- Contrary to popular belief, Death's Verdict Normal + Heroic does marginally more DPS than Death's Verdict Heroic + Whispering Fanged Skull Heroic. The former is considered "BiS" for raidable gear (as Professor Putricide bugs up every other rev, god knows if he willl ever be "raidable"). If you are donating and/or voting, then the best 2 trinkets to get are Tiny Abomination in a Jar Heroic and Death's Verdict Heroic (DV heroic does marginally more DPS than Whispering Fanged Skull Heroic).
- Deathbringer's Will, although rated somewhat highly on Rawr, and in spite of the str/haste/crit proc, is not a good trinket for rets. This is because of the base 157 ARP, which although Paladins can use it, only account for 30-40% of our DPS (DS/CS/Auto attack). Trinkets like DV give base AP, which is much more highly valued of ARP for ret pallies. I'm not saying DBW is useless for Paladins. What I AM saying, however, is that I would never give a DBW to a Paladin before Warriors, Feral Druids, Combat Rogues, Hunters, or DKs.
- Oathbinder is better than Glorenzelg for pallies, despite the fact that Glorenzelg has base str. This is because Oathbinder gives the agility + base crit, whereas glorenzelg only gives base crit. Glorenzelg also gives Expertise, and because bosses are not scripted to Dodge/Parry, expertise is considered a null stat in PvE on Magic-WoW.
- As previously stated, Seal of Command and/or Aura Mastery is greatly valued in raids for DPS. You DO NOT necessarily need Divine Purpose, although it CAN come in handy. It is recommended you take either SoC or AM, or both. However, spec to your playstyle.
- In regards to set bonuses: 4pc T10 is BiS on retail. HOWEVER, on Magic-WoW, you DO get more DPS from 2pc T9 and 2pc T10. Reasons for WHY are unknown, but it works that way. So, as it stands, 2pc T9 and 2pc T10 are BiS. You get 2 very strong buffs: a rolling DoT (RV) that has a chance to crit on your target, and a free chance to refresh DV CD (which, BTW, very very good DPS increase). 4pc T9 is a stupid set bonus, I would not go for it.. ever.
- My suggestion if you don't have it already: get 2 pieces of T9 (Hand and head; just run 10 heroic ToC and take 2 trophies from Anub, you don't "need" the Regalia T9 (ilevel 258) ones), and get 2 pieces of T10 (shoulders and chest; the EoF ones will do good enough). The T9 2 piece bonus (gives the ability for Righteous Vengence (DoT) to crit) is ~100-200 DPS gain
Subject: PvE Retribution Paladin - WoTLK 3.3.5a 
Wed Dec 21 2011, 23:09
