Discovering that my venerable Paladin, once re-specced to Retribution, could not only stay alive, but deal massive DPS damage was one of the coolest things that went with the new Wrath of the Lich King expansion and its attending patches.

Everybody should equip their Paladin according to the personal preferences and play style, but here is what I look for in new equipment and quest rewards, in that order:

• Strength Bonus
• Critical Strike Chance Bonus
• Stamina Bonus
• Attack Power Bonus
• Haste Bonus
• Agility Bonus

Strenght modifies your attack power, which directly influences the DPS. Stamina is self-explanatory – you want to live to fight another mob, right?

Critical Strike bonus is, well, critical. This is what transforms an ordinary hard-hitter into a massive burst-DPS God.

My agility is only at 150 or so – I’m level 76 – but my Critical Strike chance sits pretty at over 35%, which is HUGE.

So without further ado, here is my rotation for maximum DPS in the shortest time possible.

1. Cast Greater Blessing of Might on yourself. It adds 512 to your Attack Power for 30 minutes.
2. Make sure, before the fight starts, that you have Seal of Command cast. It only lasts 2 minutes, so check often.
3. Select your next victim and cast Judgment of Light. This will cause you to Judge “Seal of Command” as well as give you a boost of roughly 500 mana.
4. Cast “Crusader Strike”
5. Cast “Divine Storm”

*** To Level Quickly and Efficiently, use this Automated Leveling Assistant, either for Alliance or Horde ***

Repeat steps 3 to 5 until the mob is dead. All these attacks are on top of your regular melee attacks so you can really pack a punch. In my case, it’s not rare to cause upwards of 6,000 damage in the first few seconds of a fight, crits helping.

That’s why having a high crit chance is crucial to maximize DPS.At the end of a fight, you have a choice. Personally, if I am fighting more than one mob at a time, I like to quickly finish off the first one with “Hammer of Wrath” which crits 90% of the time for upwards of 3,000 damage and so promptly move on the second mob.

However, if I am fighting just one mob, I like to use “Judgment of Light” for the Mana boost at the end of the fight, which lowers the downtime significantly.

If you have chosen “The Art of War” in the Retribution talent tree, and you should have, make sure to cast “Flash of Light” on yourself at any time it’s on and your health is low

The Art of War, Judgement of Light (or Wisdom) and Flash of Light, when properly combined, can make drinking for mana a thing of the past when it comes to straight grinding.

Related posts:

1. My Blood Elf Paladin, Wesha
2. Blacksmithing: TitanSteel Destroyer

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