Retribution Paladin
Retribution Paladin — DPS
Build Holy Power, spend it on big strikes, burst under Avenging Wrath.
Last updated 8/28/2026 by Guild guides
Log sample
Overview
Retribution is a builder-spender melee spec with a clean rhythm: generate Holy Power with short-cooldown abilities, spend it on your big strike, and stack everything into Avenging Wrath windows. It is forgiving to learn, has strong utility for a damage spec, and brings defensive tools most melee simply do not have.
How this spec operates
- Holy Power builder-spender — generate with
Blade of Justice and 
Judgment, spend on 
Templar's Verdict. - Never sit at max Holy Power — spend at four or five rather than holding.
Avenging Wrath is your burst window — enter with power banked and 
Wake of Ashes ready.- Wake of Ashes is a large generator — align it inside Avenging Wrath.
- AoE swaps Templar's Verdict for
Divine Storm at two to three targets.
Strengths & weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
- Strong burst aligned to a clear cooldown window
- Excellent utility for a DPS — immunity, external saves, and a raid cooldown
- Very durable compared to most melee
- Damage outside cooldown windows is unremarkable
- Melee uptime issues on fights with heavy movement
- Overcapping Holy Power is easy and quietly costly
What top logs actually run
Sampled from Warcraft Logs via Archon · updated 2026-08-27T12:00:00Z · 178486 parses
Spec & Hero Popularity
29.5%
Keystone Level
+17
DPS
226.4k