The Paladin in WoW Forever is still the plate-wearing support class built on Seals and Judgements, but it finally has buttons to press. Every Paladin learns Holy Strike at level 6, Consecration and Blessing of Kings at 20, and Judgement no longer eats your active Seal. Tanks get a real taunt through the new Seal of Fury, and the Horde gets Paladins for the first time: Undead can now take the class.
The specs pull in different directions. Retribution adds Sacred Arbiter and an easier form of Seal twisting through Twist of Light, Protection gains the Templar's Bulwark cooldown, and Holy gets Light's Vigil and a 10-second Holy Shock that also powers the hybrid Shockadin build. What has not changed is the gap in the kit: Paladins still have no interrupt and no way to slow enemies.
This guide sums up every Paladin change, lists the abilities you learn at each level, explains Seals, Auras and Blessings, compares Holy, Protection and Retribution and helps you pick a race before the November 4 launch.
Blizzard kept the Seal and Judgement system at the heart of the class and built most new talents around it. The changes fall into three groups: new baseline buttons, a reworked Seal and Judgement loop, and retuned utility.
In original Classic, a Retribution Paladin mostly auto attacked and a Protection Paladin had no taunt. Forever gives every Paladin more to press from the first levels:
| Ability | Level | What Changed |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Strike | 6 | New instant attack that deals Holy damage equal to 50% of your weapon damage plus a bonus per rank |
| Seal of Fury | 10 | New tank Seal: flat Holy damage per swing, an absorb shield while a shield is equipped, and a Judgement that taunts |
| Consecration | 20 | Was a Holy talent; now baseline and limited to full damage on the first 4 enemies |
| Blessing of Kings | 20 | Was a Protection talent; now baseline for every Paladin |
| Salvation and Revoke | 26 | Salvation is no longer a Blessing, so it stacks with one; Revoke removes it from a party or raid member |
The bonuses of Improved Blessing of Wisdom, Lasting Judgement and the Judgement part of Improved Seal of the Crusader are now baseline as well, so those talent points went to new talents.
Judgement no longer consumes your active Seal. You judge it and keep it for its full 30 seconds, which removes the old habit of recasting a Seal after every Judgement. The flip side is that baseline Seal twisting is gone. Swapping Seals mid-swing for double procs now comes only from the 31-point Retribution talent Twist of Light, which is easier to time than the Classic trick.
Seal of Fury is the biggest addition. Its bonus Holy damage is the same on every swing, so it favors a fast one-handed weapon, and half of that damage becomes an absorb shield. Its Judgement taunts from 10 yards, twice the range of the Warrior's Taunt and the Druid's Growl, so a Paladin tank can reach enemies other tanks cannot.
Several familiar spells were retuned:
The October 15 beta build brought the last big round of Paladin tuning. Salvation, Mass Salvation and Revoke replaced the old Blessing of Salvation, Consecration lost more than half of its spell power scaling, and Righteous Fury threat went up from 60% to 90%. Reckoning works like in Classic Era again and stores up to 4 extra attacks, while Shield Specialization and Champion of the Light were cut.
We compare every talent in all three trees with its Classic version in our WoW Forever Paladin talents guide.
A Paladin learns new spells from the class trainer every two levels. Paladins start in mail and can wear plate from level 40, and talent points start at level 10, one per level, for 51 points at 60. Dual Specialization opens at level 40.
The table lists the level at which you learn the first rank of each ability. Most damage and healing spells get new ranks every few levels after that, so visit the trainer whenever Holy Light, Flash of Light or Holy Strike get an upgrade.
Talents add the rest of the toolkit. The key talented abilities are Seal of Command and Repentance for Retribution, Holy Shock, Divine Favor and Voice of Truth for Holy, Swift Judgement, Templar's Bulwark and Holy Shield for Protection, and the 31-point capstones Light's Vigil and Twist of Light.
Our WoW Forever Paladin leveling guide shows how to use these spells at each stage from 1 to 60.
Seals, Auras and Blessings are the three toolkits every Paladin shares, whatever the spec. A Seal empowers your own weapon, an Aura buffs everyone around you, and a Blessing goes on one player or, in its Greater version, on a whole class in the raid.
You can have one Seal active at a time. It lasts 30 seconds, adds an effect to your melee swings, and Judgement turns it into a separate hit or debuff on the target without removing it from you.
| Seal | Level | Swing Effect | Judgement Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seal of Righteousness | 1 | Extra Holy damage on every swing | Holy damage |
| Seal of the Crusader | 6 | Faster attacks and more Attack Power | Target takes more Holy damage |
| Seal of Fury | 10 | Flat Holy damage and an absorb shield with a shield equipped | Holy damage and a 10-yard taunt |
| Seal of Command | 20 (talent) | Chance for an extra Holy hit at 70% weapon damage | Bonus damage on stunned or incapacitated targets |
| Seal of Justice | 22 | Chance to stun | Target cannot run at full speed |
| Seal of Light | 30 | Chance to heal yourself | Attackers heal themselves on hit |
| Seal of Wisdom | 38 | Chance to restore mana | Attackers restore mana on hit |
Retribution usually runs Seal of Command or Seal of Righteousness, tanks run Seal of Fury, and in groups one Paladin keeps Judgement of Wisdom or Judgement of Light on the boss. With the Sacred Arbiter talent, Holy Strike refreshes every Judgement on the target, even those from other Paladins.
Only one Aura per Paladin can be active, and each affects party members within range. Pick the one your group needs most and coordinate with other Paladins so you do not stack the same one.
| Aura | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Devotion Aura | 1 | More armor |
| Retribution Aura | 16 | Holy damage to anyone who hits a party member |
| Concentration Aura | 22 | Less spell pushback while casting |
| Shadow Resistance Aura | 28 | Shadow resistance for the whole raid within 30 yards |
| Frost Resistance Aura | 32 | Frost resistance for the whole raid within 30 yards |
| Fire Resistance Aura | 36 | Fire resistance for the whole raid within 30 yards |
Sanctity Aura, the old Retribution talent, is gone in Forever.
Each player can carry one Blessing from each Paladin, and the Greater versions cover a whole class for longer. Salvation is no longer a Blessing, so a damage dealer can have it on top of Blessing of Kings or Blessing of Might.
Paladins have three talent trees, and Forever adds a new 16-point gold medal talent to each of them next to the familiar 11-, 21- and 31-point ones. A fourth, unofficial build also returns: Shockadin, a Retribution-style damage dealer that takes Holy Shock from the Holy tree and stacks spell damage.
| Spec | Role | Key New Talents | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy | Healer | Reverence, Infusion of Light, Light's Vigil | Efficient fast single-target heals, full Paladin utility | Weak burst and group healing in early beta tests |
| Protection | Tank | Improved Seal of Fury, Swift Judgement, Templar's Bulwark | 10-yard taunt, big absorb cooldown, strong self-sustain | Full threat on only 4 targets from Consecration |
| Retribution | Melee DPS | Sacred Arbiter, Champion of the Light, Twist of Light | Strong leveling and PvP, keeps every Judgement up for the raid | No interrupt or snare, slow two-handed swings |
| Shockadin (hybrid) | Melee and spell DPS | Holy Shock, Divine Precision, Consecrated Ground | Burst Holy damage with off-heals | Mana-hungry, needs spell damage gear |
Holy still heals mostly with Flash of Light and Holy Light, but now with more variety. Crits from Holy Shock or Flash of Light shorten your next Holy Light through Infusion of Light, Reverence lets up to 30% of your Spirit regeneration continue while casting, and Holy Shock moved to the 21-point slot with a 10-second cooldown. The 31-point Light's Vigil marks one player per party; your next Holy Shock on that player skips its cooldown and heals their whole party, so you can prepare several parties before a raid-wide hit. Healers who tested the beta found Holy behind Druid and Priest in raw throughput, since Illumination now refunds only 50% of a spell's base cost, so watch the launch patch notes before you commit.
Protection is a real tank in Forever. Seal of Fury gives you a taunt and an absorb shield, Improved Seal of Fury returns mana each time that shield breaks, and Swift Judgement resets Judgement if a taunt is resisted. Templar's Bulwark absorbs damage equal to your maximum health for 8 seconds but applies Forbearance, so it competes with Divine Shield. Iron Creed turns Holy Strike into a small defensive cooldown, and Holy Shield still caps the tree.
Retribution plays with more buttons than ever: keep a Seal up, judge it on cooldown, and fill with Holy Strike, Consecration and Exorcism. A favorite trick while leveling is to stun with Hammer of Justice and then judge Seal of Command for its bonus damage on stunned targets. Sacred Arbiter adds 20% Holy Strike damage and refreshes every Judgement on the target, Vengeance now stacks up to 3 times and lasts 30 seconds after a crit, and Repentance moved down to the 21-point slot. At 31 points you choose between Twist of Light for Seal twisting and a Shockadin build with Holy Shock.
Our WoW Forever Paladin tier set guide lists the raid set bonuses for each spec along with the crafted pieces.
Three races can be Paladins in Forever: Human and Dwarf for the Alliance and, for the first time, Undead for the Horde. Skyborne cannot be Paladins. Horde players who want the class therefore have only one choice, while on the Alliance side the decision comes down to PvP versus PvE.
| Race | Faction | Key Racials for a Paladin | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human | Alliance | Will to Survive: removes all stuns; Ruthless: +2% crit with any weapon; The Human Spirit: +5% Spirit | Retribution, Holy and PvP |
| Dwarf | Alliance | Stoneform: removes Bleed, Poison and Disease and cuts Physical damage by 10%; Earth Fury: +2% crit damage and healing | Protection and raid healing |
| Undead | Horde | Will of the Forsaken: removes Charm, Fear and Sleep; Touch of the Grave: attacks can drain health; Cannibalize: fast health and mana regeneration | Every Horde Paladin |
Human is the strongest all-rounder: Will to Survive is the best PvP racial a Paladin can get, and Ruthless works with every weapon type. Dwarf shines when tanking, because Stoneform is a free defensive cooldown, and Big Game Hunter adds 5% damage against Beasts while leveling. Undead Paladins have a strong answer to Fear in PvP and the fastest downtime between pulls thanks to Cannibalize.
Our WoW Forever race tier list ranks every race for every class.
These are the questions players ask most about the Paladin before launch.
Yes. Retribution and Protection were among the strongest leveling specs in the beta, and every Paladin now has Holy Strike, Consecration and Blessing of Kings. The weak spots are the missing interrupt and snare, and Holy healing numbers that beta testers rated below other healers.
Yes. Judging Seal of Fury, learned at level 10, taunts the target from 10 yards. Swift Judgement lets Protection Paladins use it again right away if it misses.
No. Blizzard confirmed that Paladins have no interrupt and no way to slow enemies in Forever. Hammer of Justice and Repentance are your only ways to stop a cast.
Not as a baseline trick. It now comes from the 31-point Retribution talent Twist of Light: replacing a damage Seal leaves an echo, and your next swing applies both the old and the new Seal.
A hybrid build that takes Holy Shock from the Holy tree and deals melee and Holy spell damage with spell power gear. Divine Precision and Consecrated Ground were added to the Holy tree to support it.
At level 20 from the class trainer, together with Blessing of Kings, Flash of Light and Exorcism. It is no longer a Holy talent.
Retribution. A two-handed weapon, Seal of Command, Holy Strike and Consecration kill quickly, and Paladin self-healing keeps downtime low. Protection is a strong choice if you plan to tank dungeons while leveling.
These guides take your Paladin from the first level to the first raid:
