DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Retribution Paladin abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.2).

Single Target

Start with Blade Of Justice to apply Expurgation and generate Holy Power.

• Divine Hammer
• Execution Sentence
• Avenging Wrath
• CrusadeView detailsIf you have at least 3 Holy Power
• Final ReckoningView detailsIf you have at least 3 Holy Power
• Final ReckoningView detailsIf Wake Of Ashes is off cooldown
• Hammer Of LightView detailsWithout a Lights Deliverance proc
• Hammer Of LightView detailsWith a Lights Deliverance proc
• Final VerdictView detailsIf you have 5 Holy Power
• Blade Of JusticeView detailsIf Expurgation is not active
• Templar SlashView detailsIf it will expire within a GCD
• Wake Of Ashes
• Divine TollView detailsIf you have 3 or less Holy Power
• Divine StormView detailsIf you have an Empyrean Power proc
• Final VerdictView detailsWith 4 Holy Power or if Divine Hammer is active or if Crusade is active and has less than 10 stacks
• Hammer Of WrathView detailsIf you have a Blessing Of Anshe proc
• Judgment
• Blade Of Justice
• Final Verdict
• Hammer Of Wrath
• Templar Strikes or Templar Slash
• Crusader Strike

Generate and spend Holy Power efficiently. Use Divine Hammer and Execution Sentence early, followed by cooldowns like Avenging Wrath and Crusade. Avoid wasting Holy Power by managing your resources carefully.

AoE

Switch to AoE rotation at 2+ targets with AoE talents or 3+ targets with single-target talents.

• Divine Hammer
• Execution Sentence
• Avenging Wrath
• CrusadeView detailsIf you have at least 3 Holy Power
• Final ReckoningView detailsIf you have at least 3 Holy Power
• Final ReckoningView detailsIf Wake Of Ashes is off cooldown
• Hammer Of LightView detailsWithout a Lights Deliverance proc
• Divine StormView detailsIf you have an Empyrean Power proc
• Hammer Of LightView detailsWith a Lights Deliverance proc
• Final VerdictView detailsIf you have 25 stacks of Divine Arbiter or Empyrean Legacy active
• Final VerdictView detailsIf Empyrean Legacy is active
• Divine StormView detailsIf you have 5 Holy Power
• Templar SlashView detailsIf it will expire within a GCD
• Wake Of Ashes
• Divine Toll
• Divine StormView detailsWith 4 Holy Power or if Divine Hammer is active or if Crusade is active and has less than 10 stacks
• Blade Of Justice
• JudgmentView detailsIf you have 3 or less Holy Power
• Blade Of Justice
• Divine Storm
• Templar Strikes or Templar Slash
• Crusader Strike
• Hammer Of Wrath

Focus on Divine Hammer and Execution Sentence for AoE. Use Divine Storm with procs or high Holy Power, and manage cooldowns like Avenging Wrath and Crusade effectively.

Cooldowns

• Avenging WrathView detailsUse during burst phases or with stat trinkets
• CrusadeView detailsUse with at least 3 Holy Power for burst
• Final ReckoningView detailsPair with other cooldowns for max DPS
• Wake Of AshesView detailsUse to generate Holy Power and deal AoE damage
• Divine TollView detailsUse to generate Holy Power efficiently
• Hammer Of LightView detailsUse strategically with or without Lights Deliverance procs

Coordinate Avenging Wrath and Crusade with trinkets and burst windows. Use Wake Of Ashes and Divine Toll for Holy Power generation, and Final Reckoning for high-impact damage.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.