As a long-time player of the Paladin class in World of Warcraft, I’ve run across a great number of players who simply have no idea what the different talent specs are capable of. With that in mind, I’ve created this quick guide to clear up any misconceptions about the roles the different specs are capable of filling.
Retribution: Retribution Paladins output strong DPS, and are able to tank or off-tank quite well if circumstances require it. However, tanking requires the Paladin to carry a secondary set of gear focused on defensive stats. If the Paladin is poorly geared for tanking, they will definitely not succeed. Always bear in mind that the effectiveness of a tank in WoW is generally in direct correlation with their gear level. Taking a Retribution Paladin as a DPS class is definitely a good idea though, as they provide quite a bit of utility in addition to their high damage. If you are considering starting a Paladin, I’d recommend placing your talents in the Retribution tree, getting yourself a Paladin leveling guide, and watching the experience roll in.
Protection: Protection is the tanking tree of choice. Protection builds specialize in reflective damage and avoidance. Unfortunately, their DPS is abysmal unless they are being attacked. As the majority of the skills in the Protection tree focus on mitigating or reflecting damage rather than dealing it, Protection Paladins find themselves pigeon-holed into a single role. For leveling, most Protection Paladins tend to take advantage of the non-targeted nature of their damage by rounding up full camps of enemies and letting them beat themselves to death on the Paladin’s shield. Though it is not an optimal leveling spec, if you are set on tanking as you level, Protection builds can do the trick.
Holy: The Holy tree is for those who rolled their Paladin to be a healer. Holy Paladins are widely considered to be the best single-target healer in the game, and in PVP combat they are the toughest healer to take down. Holy talents work by increasing the effectiveness of the Paladin’s heals, lowering their cast times, and providing additional utility. Holy is an extremely poor Paladin leveling build, although for healing fanatics, it can be done. If you intend to level with a Holy spec, plan on grouping a lot, as your damage and mana efficiency will be awful.