Last updated: 06-26-08 (6:30 PM EST)

(Added Scrolls to Consumables section.)


------------------------------------------------------------www.maxdps.com---------------------------------------------------------
It tells you what gear to pick and how to gem it according to your own individual stats. Very useful site.


Gear / Gem / Enchant / Spec / Group Right

If you're an extremly new Ret Paladin, refer to Exavier's guide, The Retributer's Path, to find out where to acquire some starting gear.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html;jsessionid=F9FC93D08BE6CC05E0EFB7F45F841289?topicId=104544938&sid=1


---------------------------------------------------------------------Gems-------------------------------------------------------------------

I won't bother telling you what exact gems are best because you should obviously know if a gem is the same as yours stat-wise but has higher stats, it's better.

Meta: Relentless Earthstorm Diamond

Red: Strength (However, +20 Attack Power gems > +8 Strength gems)

Yellow: Strength & Crit

Blue: Strength & Stamina

(This is unless you're under hit cap. If you're under hit cap I'd suggest getting as many hit gems as possible into any slot until you reach it. If you still want you to activate your Meta you can get the Strength and Hit gems from Shadow Labs for your Red gems.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------Facts--------------------------------------------------------------------

Blessings (For max DPS)
Might > Kings / Salvation > Wisdom

Needs
Season 3 Gloves
Hit Cap

Caps
Hit cap (talented) = 95 Hit Rating
Hit cap (untalented) = 142 Hit Rating
Expertise cap = 26 Expertise (Somewhere between 102 and 104 Expertise Rating)

Stat Conversions
25 Agility = 1% chance to crit
22.1 Critical Strike Rating = 1% chance to crit
15.77 Hit Rating = 1% chance to hit
15.8 Haste Rating = 1% Haste
3.94 Expertise Rating = 1 Expertise
1 Expertise = -0.25% chance for your target to Dodge or Parry

Coefficients
Consecration = 95.24%
Exorcism = 42.86%
Judgement of Blood = 43%
Judgement of Command = 42.86%
Seal of Command = 20% (29% Holy damage coefficient as well)


Ability / Talent Facts

Hammer of Justice = Can proc Judgement of Wisdom. (Meaning if you wanted, you could use Rank 1 on bosses in raids to gain a small amount of Mana)

Judgement of Blood = Cannot be resisted.

Judgement of Wisdom = 50% proc chance.

Precision = Also decreases Hammer of Justice's and Repentance's chance to be resisted.

Sanctity Aura = A 2/2 Improved Sanctity Aura can supposedly stack with a 1/2 Improved Sanctity Aura, adding up to a total of +3% total damage instead of +2%. I haven't verified this, it's only a rumor I heard.

Seal of Blood = Cannot proc Judgement of Wisdom. Best PvE seal.

Seal of Command = Set to proc 7 times per minute. This number can only be changed by getting extra attacks through methods such as Windfury Totem, Reckoning, or Hand of Justice. Can proc Judgement of Wisdom. Due to a 1 second long internal cooldown, it is impossible for Seal of Command to proc more than once at a time using Windfury Totem or Reckoning.

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Spec

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/paladin/talents.html?5000000000000000000050300000000000000000005523005100033125331051

Is the way to go for new Ret Paladins. However I'm in love with my current spec here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/paladin/talents.html?tal=5000000000000000000005300000000000000000005313005130033125331051

This is definately a hardcore, raiding only spec. I have 1/2 Improved Judgement because you have basically the exact same amount of damage (Actually a very miniscule increase over time according to Elitist Jerks) and your Crusader Strike and Judgement cooldowns come up at once less. I have 3/3 Pursuit of Justice because once you start getting into 25 mans, mobility is key in many fights. It'll actually improve your DPS since you'll be getting to your targets quicker and consequently start DPSing them quicker, all the while having more resistance towards those nasty magic AoE moves some bosses have. I also have Seal of Command so it's possible to Seal Twist. I'll discuss this later.


Enchants


Head

Glyph of Ferocity: +34 Attack Power +16 Hit Rating
(Buy from Cenarion Expedition. You must be Revered.)

Glyph of the Outcast: +17 Strength +16 Intellect
(Only get this if you're hit capped. Buy from Lower City. You must be Revered.)

Shoulders

Greater Inscription of Vengeance (Exalted Aldor enchant)
Greater Inscription of the Blade (Exalted Scryer enchant)
Might of the Scourge (Drops from Sapphiron in Naxxramas)

Cloak

+12 Agility

Chest

+6 All Stats

Bracers

+12 Strength

Gloves

+15 Strength

Pants

+50 Attack Power +12 Critical Strike Rating (Nethercobra Leg Armor, made by Leatherworkers.)

(The Primal Airs in the enchant are easily farmed from the Elemental Plateau in Nagrand, and the Leather, Cobra Scales, and Primal Nether can be bought off of the Auction House. Primal Nethers can obviously also be obtained through Heroics or Heroic Badges.)

Boots

+12 Agility

Weapon

Savagery (+70 Attack Power)
Greater Agility (+35 Agility)
Mongoose? (Chance on hit to grant +120 Agility and 2% increased attack speed for 15 seconds.)
Executioner? (Chance on hit to ignore 840 of your enemy's armor for 15 seconds.)

Mongoose is *supposedly* the best PvE enchant. I've also read that Executioner beats Mongoose when you stack enough Armor Penetration, but getting the gear to get enough Armor Penetration is a loss in overall DPS. This is the one part of my guide that I have no facts for, nor can I prove or disprove anything.



Grouping

GET IN THE MELEE GROUP. This will increase your DPS by a retarded amount. The ideal setup is:

Enhancement Shaman (In 2/5 Tier 4) with Enhancing Totems and Improved Weapon Totems (Talents)
Feral Druid with Idol of the Raven Goddess
Fury Warrior with Commanding Presence (Talent), Solarian's Sapphire, and 3/8 Tier 2.

The 4th group member isn't really set in stone. You can either get a Hunter (Beast Mastery for Ferocious Inspiration or Marksmanship for Trueshot Aura) with a Wolf Pet (For Furious Howl) or a Resto Shaman with Enhancing Totems and Restorative Totems as well. I like the dual Shaman set up. That way you get:

Improved Strength of Earth Totem
Improved Grace of Air Totem
Improved Windfury Totem
Improved Mana Spring Totem
Improved Leader of the Pack
Improved Battle Shout
Unleashed Rage

Not to mention Bloodlust when the Shamans use it (Which OWNS when using Seal of Blood). It’d be funny too if you could get the second Shaman (If you group that way) in 4/9 Tier 3 to get more from their Mana Spring totem.

Consumables

Food

Roasted Clefthoof (+20 Strength)
Spicy Hot Talbuk (+20 Hit Rating. Only use if under Hit Cap.)

Scrolls

Scroll of Strength V (+20 Strength)
Scroll of Agility V (+20 Agility)

Scroll of Protection V (+300 Armor. Can just get for survivability if you want.)

Dark Runes

Dark Rune (Restores 900 to 1500 Mana at the cost of 600 to 1000 life.)

Flasks

Flask of Relentless Assault (+120 Attack Power)

Weapon

Adamantite Weightstone (+12 Weapon Damage and +14 Critical Strike Rating)
Adamantite Sharpening Stone (+12 Weapon Damage and +14 Critical Strike Rating)
Elemental Sharpening Stone (+28 Critical Strike Rating)

(Only use these if you can't get into a group where a Shaman is dropping Windfury Totem.)

Potions

Insane Strength Potion (+120 Strength for 15 seconds)
Haste Potion (+400 Haste Rating for 15 seconds)

(I use Haste Potions.)

Only use these if you’re not having Mana problems. I found I was able to start using them when I got Judgement of Wisdom up on the boss from another Pally.

Macros and DPS Cycle


Seal

I’d hope I wouldn’t have to say to, but Blood Elf Ret Paladins should be using Seal of Blood. Why?

With 0 spell damage, Seal of Command only does about 79% of what Seal of Blood does.
Seal of Blood procs every swing, meaning faster Vengeance building and an easier time keeping it up.
Judgement of Blood is based off your melee hit rating, not spell hit rating like Judgement of Command.
Judgement of Blood will never be fully resisted.
It costs less Mana to use.
It hurts you, meaning more heals, meaning more Mana.
It scales with Haste. Seal of Command does not.
It can proc twice or more from extra attack effects such as Windfury Totem.


Macros

There’s three macros you should be using as a PvE Ret Paladin.

/cast Judgement
/castsequence reset=8 Seal of Blood, Judgement
/startattack

(However, if you use my spec that I posted earlier and so you have a 9 second Judgement cooldown, remember to change that 8 in the macro to a 9.)

Just spam click the macro every time the Judgement cooldown is almost over. It will cast Judgement and cast Seal of Blood again instantly, so you get a Judgement off and you won't miss a swing without Seal of Blood up. It's imperative you use this. Also I suggest using keybindings if you don't already. I bound Crusader Strike to 1, the Judgement macro to 2, and the Crusader Strike / Judgement macro coming up to 3. Press those buttons to DPS, instead of clicking. It helps in speed and also lets you move easier, since you can left and right click at once to move instead of using the arrow keys or WASD, which leads to faster response time to chasing after the mob, running out of a whirlwind, avoiding something, etc.

/cast Avenging Wrath
/use (Whatever DPS Trinket you use)
/use Haste Potion (If you use it instead of Mana Potions)

Mine happens to be the Bloodlust Brooch. This just (obviously) casts Avenging Wrath and pops your trinket at once, so you don't miss any seconds of combined power. If you by chance use Bladefist's Breadth, put it right next to this macro on your spell bars. It conveniently has a 1 minute 30 second cooldown, meaning you can use it during Avenging Wrath, 1.5 minutes later, then during Avenging Wrath again (If the fight lasts that long). I suggest using this as early in the fight as possible, after certain requirements have been met:

Have Judgement of the Crusader up.
Have 3/3 Vengeance up.
Know you won't pull aggro using it.
Time it right with the mob or boss you're fighting.
Have both Crusader Strike and Judgement off of cooldown.
Use it right before you're about to swing.

By timing I mean don't use it at stupid times... Like when you run away from Netherspite when he banishes, right before Gruul does Knockback and Shatter, right before or during a Whirlwind, etc. Once all these requirements have been met, USE IT!!!

/castsequence Crusader Strike, Judgement

I’m not sure if there’s an improved version of this macro, but I’ve never seen it. It’s for times when your Crusader Strike and Judgement cooldowns come up at once and you’re not swinging within the next 1.5-2 seconds. You’ll have to use your Judgement macro right after this, so that you get Seal of Blood up before you swing again. If you use this when you have 1.5 seconds or less before your next swing, you'll be put on GCD and won't be able to cast Seal of Blood again before your next swing, meaning you missed a Seal of Blood proc, which is pointless if you could've just waited slightly longer. There are times when you will have to wait to Judgement. If you cast Judgement of the Crusader (And Seal of Blood, technically, since you’ll be using the macro) and swing at once, the first time you’ll encounter this problem is about 31-32 seconds into the fight. I've found with my new spec (Meaning 1 point in Improved Judgement) I never use this macro any more.


--------------------------------------------------------Conventional DPS Cycle-------------------------------------------------------

DOWNLOAD QUARTZ. It's a mod that lets you see your swing timer, and thus when to cast Judgement. You want to use it as much as possible, but not when you miss a swing with Seal of Blood active.

For starters, always attack mobs from behind. Not only is this so you don't get cleaved or knocked back or anything like that, but it takes away the monster's chance to Parry and / or Block. If you're at Hit cap, all a mob can do is Block, Dodge, and Parry. If you get behind the mob, all that's left is being Dodged. This can only be helped by getting Expertise.

When fighting Undead or Demon mobs, if you don't have Windfury Totem, use your Scourgebane. Excorcism also becomes available. Always prioritize Crusader Strike because it's your most damaging ability and refreshes Judgements for the raid.

Also note if you're more than 1.5-2 seconds from swinging and your Exorcism and Judgement macros come up at once, you can cast Judgement right after Exorcism.

If Crusader Strike and Judgement come up at the same time, always choose Crusader Strike first. If they come up at the same time and you're not swinging within the next 1.5-2 seconds, use the Crusader Strike / Judgement macro. After you use this, however, you have to spam click your Judgement macro and get Seal of Blood back up ASAP. This is stupid to use if you're swinging within the next 1.5-2 seconds, because as I said earlier, you'll miss a Seal of Blood proc.

Putting 1 point instead of 2 in Improved Judgement will actually improve your DPS (VERY slightly though, the math proving it showed about 100 more DAMAGE (Not DPS) over almost 2 minutes.), because your Crusader Strike and Judgement cooldowns come up at once less frequently, leaving less room for errors.

Don't use Hammer of Wrath. It resets your swing timer and has a cast bar that's sometimes pushed back, making it even less useful. It's also very mana costly.

That's pretty much it besides saying don't use Avenging Wrath when you know you're going to need Divine Shield, or you think it's pretty damn likely you'll need to use it. Also, never use trinkets when Avenging Wrath isn't up unless the boss will be dead before Avenging Wrath is back off of cooldown.

---------------------------------------------------------------Seal Twisting--------------------------------------------------------------

What is it?: Seal Twisting is a new and much more interactive way to DPS. The process of Seal Twisting is using both Seal of Command and Seal of Blood at once to DPS.

How it works: Seal Twisting works by using Rank 1 Seal of Command (Because you only Judge Blood when Seal Twisting). Every time you're about to swing, you cast Seal of Blood. This does one of two things: If Seal of Command does not proc, then a Seal of Blood will, just like normal. However, if Seal of Command DOES proc, then you get 4 attacks at once. This is because you'll get an auto attack, Seal of Command proc, Seal of Blood from your auto attack, and Seal of Blood from your Seal of Command. This can turn into a substantial amount of damage.

However, when Seal Twisting, Crusader Strike still takes #1 priority. That is because it is still such a powerful move, and also, as always, to refresh Judgements on the boss. Seal Twisting becomes harder and harder to do the faster you attack, due to the GCD time needed to actually Seal Twist successfully. If you just start attacking too fast (Due to Bloodlust or some other form of Haste) then revert to the convential way of DPSing. You can also revert to the convential way of DPSing if you mess up your cycle while Seal Twisting (Which is very easy to do when you're new at it, trust me) until you get back into the cycle again. It's impossible to Seal Twist every single swing without negating your other forms of DPS. You cannot Seal Twist unless you have at least 1.5 seconds until your next swing and 3 seconds until Crusader Strike comes off of cooldown. Because of this, your ability priority while Seal Twisting should be:

Crusader Strike -> Seal Twisting -> Exorcism (If possible) -> Judgement

Seal Twisting should be used as an oppurtunity, not a necessity.

Example of a succesful Seal Twist: http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k174/Narceoda/SealTwisting-1.jpg

Note I'm also PvP specced in this screenshot, meaning I have no Divine Strength, Improved Blessing of Might, Crusade, Improved Sanctity Aura, or Fanaticism. (My DPS is so low because of all that and I wasn't actually DPSing, I was just trying to get a succesful Seal Twist screenshot... I'm being defensive because I'm sure someone was gonna be like "Your damage sucks!" lol)

So even PvP specced and self buffed, with only half the attacks critting, I was able to do 3,710 damage in one swing. Imagine the numbers when raid specced and raid buffed. My point is proven.

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Consecration

Rank 1 = ~2.13 times more effective in DPM (Damage Per Mana) than Rank 6

Because of this, if Rank 1 Consecrate has at least 2.58 times the amount of time that Rank 6 would give you until you oom, you'll end up doing the same amount of damage with Consecrate for about 46% of the Mana.


Should I use it?

It all depends on how long you can keep it up versus how long the fight lasts. Use the equation in the Mathemical Proof section to find out exactly how long you'll last using it. Personally, I never use it unless I have TONS of Mana to spare or I'm fighting Void Reaver.

Mana Conservation

Using Seal of Blood (Which you should be in PvE) with Benediction and Sanctified Judgement, DPSing at max potential (Judging and using Crusader Strike every time the cooldown is up) costs 60 Mana per second to sustain. Divide your maximum Mana by 3600 to see how many minutes you'll last DPSing. If it's not long enough, there's a couple things you can do.

Super Mana Potions. Chugging Mana Pots every time they're off of cooldown is equivalent to 100 mp5, so 20 Mana per second. That's 1/3 of your MPS (Mana Per Second) requirement to DPS.

Dark Runes. Most of the time in really long (10+ minute) fights, Mana Potions aren't enough. I learned this from Esotarious, and you can use these as well. You can buy them off of the Auction House or if they're expensive like they are on my server, you can farm them in Scholomance off Scholomance Necromancers and Scholomance Dark Summoners (Found in the 2nd and 3rd rooms). Not only do these give a pretty nice amount of Mana, but they also hurt you, meaning you'll get healed, meaning you’ll get more Mana. On average, counting the Mana you'll recieve from heals from using Dark Runes, they give about 10.67 MPS.

WARNING: They're on the same cooldown as Healthstones.

Blessing of Wisdom. Getting Blessing of Wisdom, and especially improved Blessing of Wisdom from a Holy Paladin, is nice too. Blessing of Wisdom is 8.2 MPS, and Improved Blessing of Wisdom is 9.8 MPS.

Judgement of Wisdom. Get Judgement of Wisdom up on the target from another Paladin in the raid, it can help quite a bit too. It has a 50% proc rate. If you have a 3.6 second speed weapon, you hit every time, and you use Crusader Strike and Judgement every time they're off of cooldown, you'll proc it about 16-17 times per minute. That's 1184-1258 Mana per minute, or 20.35 Mana per second. That combined with your Super Mana Potions is over 2/3 of your MPS requirement to DPS.

Also a note… I doubt I have to tell you but keep three Mana Taps up at all times when possible and save them for the boss. A three Mana Tap Arcane Torrent per cooldown is 4.025 Mana per second. Not much but hey, it’s free Mana!

The Ultimate Raid

Raid Debuffs

Sunder Armor
Faerie Fire (Improved)
Curse of Recklessness
Misery
Blood Frenzy
Hemorrhage
Improved Hunter’s Mark / Expose Weakness

Perfect Raid Setup

1 Shaman

Enhancement, 2/5 Tier 4, Enhancing Totems, Improved Weapon Totems

2 Warriors

1 Arms / Fury – Commanding Presence, Blood Frenzy, 3/8 Tier 2, Solarian’s Sapphire
1 Protection

2 Druids

1 Feral – Idol of the Raven Goddess
1 Balance – Improved Faerie Fire

Either with Improved Mark of the Wild.

1 Hunter

Expose Weakness, Improved Hunter’s Mark, Agility built

2 Priests

1 Shadow – Misery
1 Discipline – Improved Power Word: Fortitude, Improved Divine Spirit

1 Rogue

Hemorrhage

3 Paladins

1 Ret – Season 2 Gloves, 2/5 Tier 4, Libram of Zeal, Improved Blessing of Might
2 Holy – Improved Blessing of Wisdom and Blessing of Kings

1 Mage
1 Warlock

AND

1 more Shaman (In your group)

Resto with 4/9 Tier 3, Restorative Totems, and Enhancing Totems

OR

1 more Hunter (In your group)

Wolf Pet for Furious Howl

Beast Mastery for Ferocious Inspiration
or
Marksman for Trueshot Aura

As you can see it takes 15 people, (And very specific people at that) not including yourself, to make a Ret Pally's *perfect* raid. I guarantee this will never happen, but it's a list to look at so you can try and get as many of these classes, combinations, and debuffs as you can. You obviously want the Protection Warrior, Discipline Priest, Holy Paladins, Druid with Improved Mark of the Wild, Mage, and Melee group setup first and foremost. After that, just see if you can get any of these other specs, classes, and debuffs. The last one I’d try to get though is the Balance Druid… Him being at your raid determines if you’re at hit cap or 3% behind hit cap. It’s the only debuff / buff in here that affects how you would gear.

World Buffs

World buffs that come to mind are the one at the end of the quest line where Thrall comes to Garadar in Nagrand and buffs Garadar, and the buff from Sayge during the Darkmoon Faire. If you're raiding SSC (Serpentshrine Cavern), I believe you can also get the Attack Power and Spell Damage buffs from the giant tree Ancients in Cenarion Refuge. I also remember there being buffs inside Dire Maul.

I'd also like to point out that I'm not a Spell Damage supporter. I know I mentioned Misery in the debuffs, and I'm also saying to get the Spell Damage buff from Cenarion Refuge if you're raiding SSC, but it's just because they're free buffs. Even though Spell Damage is not worth having on your gear, it still DOES help with your Judgement damage, and therefore is worth having in the form of buffs. It's just not worth having in place of a melee stat on your gear, enchants, and gems.

That's pretty much everything I can possibly think of to help and anything you'd ever want to know. Good luck.



------------------------------------------------------------Mathemical Proof-----------------------------------------------------------

Seal of Blood

---

Q u o t e:
... 22) Seal of Blood vs. Seal of Command

800-1000 damage, speed 3.6, crit chance 30%
350 bonus spell damage

... Seal of Command damage range: 560-700. Avg: 630
... Seal of Blood damage range: 280-350. Avg: 315

... Judgement of Command range: (228 to 252) + (0.43(350)) = 379-403 Holy damage. Avg: 391
... Judgement of Blood range: (331 to 362) + (0.43(350)) = 482-513 Holy damage. Avg: 497

White damage over 5 minutes: (Avg)*(total seconds / weapon speed) = (900)*(300 / 3.6) = 75,000
... Critical white damage: (total damage)*(critical chance / 100) = (75k)*(0.3) = 22,500
... ... Total white damage: 22,500 + 75,000 = 97,500

Seal of Command damage: (Avg)*(ppm) = (630)*(7*5) = 22050
... Critical SoC damage: (22050)*(0.3) = 6615
... ... Total SoC damage: 6615 + 22050 = 28665
Seal of Blood damage: (Avg)*(total seconds / weapon speed) = (315)*(300 / 3.6) = 26250
... Critical SoB damage: (26250)*(0.3) = 7875
... ... Total SoB damage: 11,663 + 24500 = 34125

Judgement of Command damage: (Avg)*(300 / 8) = (391)*(37.5) = 14,623
... Critical JoC damage: (14,623)*(0.3) = 4,399
... ... Total JoC damage: 4,399 + 14,623 = 19,023
Judgement of Blood damage: (497)*(37.5) = 18,638
... Critical JoB damage: (18,638)*(0.3) = 5,591
... ... Total JoB damage: 5,591 + 18,638 = 24,229

Lets add em up:

Total SoC + JoC damage = 28,665+ 19,023 = 47,688
Total SoB + JoB damage = 34,125 + 24,229 = 58,345



Seal of Blood is the clear winner.

47688 / 58345 = ~0.82

From the total damage done, we can conclude that, on average, Seal of Command does about 82% of what Seal of Blood does.

---

(Credit to Exavier in his guide, The Retributer's Path, found here: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html;jsessionid=F9FC93D08BE6CC05E0EFB7F45F841289?topicId=104544938&sid=1)

I believe he forgot to factor in Seal of Command's Spell Damage coefficients, but that's still not going to make up the 20%ish damage difference.





Consecration

Consecration Equation

A = Your Mana pool (Buffed)
B = MPS cost to DPS (Dependant on spec)
C = Rank 6 Consecrate MPS cost (82.5)
c = Rank 1 Consecrate MPS cost (15)
D = MPS gained from Judgment of Wisdom and Blessing of Wisdom (28.55)
E = Amount of seconds until you oom
F = Total MPS cost to DPS, F = (B + C or c) - (D)
G = Length of fight

(A) / (F) = (E)

Using C, find E. If G > 2.58E using C, then c is equal in damage and more Mana efficient. I don't think any fight besides trash is going to be so short that Rank 6 becomes the most efficient.

Alot of repeat stuff in there (as in seen it on forums before) but not a bad guide for the parts I read.

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Q u o t e:
Alot of repeat stuff in there (as in seen it on forums before) but not a bad guide for the parts I read.

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Well obviously :P. Some things are well known and / or proven facts, meaning they'll be repeated in a complete guide. This is just pretty much everything I've ever learned ever about Ret in one package, instead of going out and searching like I did to acquire all this knowledge.

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Q u o t e:


Well obviously :P. Some things are well known and / or proven facts, meaning they'll be repeated in a complete guide. This is just pretty much everything I've ever learned ever about Ret in one package, instead of going out and searching like I did to acquire all this knowledge.

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Yeah, that's basically what I was saying, and don't get me wrong I wasn't saying it was a bad thing. Because that's all that guides are.

theres the new 20hit food.. nice especially for people who are having a hard time getting the hit cap.

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Q u o t e:


Yeah, that's basically what I was saying, and don't get me wrong I wasn't saying it was a bad thing. Because that's all that guides are.

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Ah, sorry if I sounded defensive. Thanks ^_^.

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Q u o t e:
theres the new 20hit food.. nice especially for people who are having a hard time getting the hit cap.

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Yeah, I chose not to add that. Along with the +4 Stats to Bracers enchant, and Surefooted to Boots enchant, because I think you should be getting your hit from gear / talents, and the Bracer enchant just seems horrible. Taking away from food and enchants just to reach hit cap seems kinda self nerfing to me.

Cat's Swiftness to boots enchant might be worth considering too due to the amount of mobility required for certain encounters.

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Q u o t e:
Cat's Swiftness to boots enchant might be worth considering too due to the amount of mobility required for certain encounters.

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I'd never trade 6 Agility for some speed increase but aye, if you want that's something to consider.

Bump for a friend who needs to read it.

I'd rather drop the points in Benediction, given the tiny mana regen we get from that couples with Sanctified Judgement, and invest them in PoJ.

That 3% spell resist is AOE spell resist, and 15% run speed is invaluable on anything where it's not just tank and spank.

The other two points I like to put into Guardians Favor. A 3 minute BoP cooldown is handy as hell.

Mongoose is the clear cut winner in DPS (Although by a very narrow margin), with the reasonable Max damage gear. The math is seen on Elitist Jerks forum, under the Retribution Theorycraft thread. This also includes Bellator's (thanks!) amazing spreadsheet.

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Q u o t e:

Macros

There’s three macros you should be using as a PvE Ret Paladin.

/cast Judgement
/castsequence reset=8 Seal of Blood, Judgement
/startattack

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A 9 second rotation is actually slightly higher DPS, but hard to time. (See Elitist Jerks)

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Q u o t e:

Priorities

Crusader Strike -> Hammer of Wrath -> Exorcism -> Judgement

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Hammer of Wrath is mana inefficient, and unless timed within .2 seconds of an autoattack actually is a net loss of damage. It resets the Swing Timer. This info can also be found on the Elitist Jerks forum.


Link to Elitist Jerks Retribution Theorycraft: http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t17193-paladin_retribution_dps_theorycraft/


Great compilation, hope it gets Stickied and updated!