Build Holy Power, spend it on Final Verdict or Divine Storm, burst with one-minute wings.
Damage
Gear: Method.ggBuilds: Archon consensus, M+ This Week (+7–+19)Updated 10/29/2026 by Guild guides
Playing
Retribution is a builder-spender melee spec. Blade of Justice, Judgment, Hammer of Wrath and Wake of Ashes generate Holy Power; Final Verdict and Divine Storm spend it. Crusading Strikes turns your auto attacks into Holy Power, so there is no Crusader Strike button. Avenging Wrath and Execution Sentence are both one-minute cooldowns that go out together.
Difficulty
A short priority list with no filler to manage. The skill is in never sitting at 5 Holy Power and in lining Execution Sentence up with Avenging Wrath.
Resource
Holy Power
Hero talents in keys
Herald of the Sun
Standing this patch
BRaid
Brings to the group
InterruptRebuke (15s)
StunHammer of Justice, Blinding Light
DispelCleanse Toxins (poison, disease)
Purgenone
Battle resIntercession (3 Holy Power)
Lustnone
MobilityBlessing of Freedom, Divine Steed
Pick any button below to follow it through the guide: where it sits in the opener, which rung of the priority fires it, and every mistake it is part of.
112sBlade of Justice
211sJudgment
37.5sHammer of Wrath
430sWake of Ashes
51mDivine Toll
6Final Verdict
7Divine Storm
81mAvenging Wrath
91mExecution Sentence
0Eternal Flame
s115sRebuke
s21m 3sDivine Protection
s33m 30sDivine Shield
s47mLay on Hands
s55mBlessing of Protection
s62mBlessing of Sacrifice
s725sBlessing of Freedom
s845sHammer of Justice
s91m 30sBlinding Light
8sCleanse Toxins
45sDivine Steed
10mIntercession
Rotation
What do I press?
Press order
1Wake of Ashes0.0s
2Divine Storm1.5s
3Divine Toll3.0s
4Divine Storm4.5s
5Divine Storm6.0s
6Blade of Justice7.5s
7Hammer of Wrath9.0s
8Divine Storm10.5s
9Judgment12.0s
10Blade of Justice13.5s
11Divine Storm15.0s
12Hammer of Wrath16.5s
13Divine Storm18.0s
Wake of Ashes0.0s
Fires because it is ready and the pack is in front of you.
0s5s10s15s20s
One press per global at base haste (1.5s), longer for casts. Real pulls drift with haste and procs; the order is what matters.
Cooldowns and when to use them
One-minute window of extra damage and crit; Crusade adds haste per Holy Power spent. Spend everything inside it.
From SimulationCraft's paladin_retribution.simc, changed Aug 26, 2026. This is what the simulations behind most guides press; conditions are shown as SimC writes them.
What top players actually cast
Below are the opening rotations from a small sample of recent top Retribution Paladin rankings for Altar of Fangs. You can use this to compare to your own opener and find potential points of improvement. Note that the opener for some specs may vary based on when certain buffs proc.
Blade of JusticeBuilderInstant · 12s cd · +1 Holy PowerYour main generator; also applies Expurgation. Art of War auto-attack procs reset it and can stack twice.
JudgmentBuilderInstant · 11s cd · +1 Holy PowerGenerator that makes the target take more damage from your next Holy Power spender.
Hammer of WrathBuilderInstant · 7.5s cd ×2 · +1 Holy PowerRanged generator. With Herald's Walk Into Light it also fires a Blade of Justice during Avenging Wrath, so it jumps up the priority in wings.
Wake of AshesBuilderInstant · 30s cd · +3 Holy PowerFrontal burst and three Holy Power. Press it on cooldown with room for the Holy Power; with Templar it turns into Hammer of Light.
Divine TollBuilderInstant · 1m cd · +1 Holy Power per targetCasts Judgment on up to five enemies at once. Use it inside or right after your Avenging Wrath setup.
Final VerdictSpenderInstant · -3 Holy PowerYour single-target spender. Can reset Judgment.
Divine StormSpenderInstant · -3 Holy PowerYour area spender; use it instead of Final Verdict on two or more targets. Tempest of the Lightbringer adds a frontal wave.
Eternal FlameHealInstant · -3 Holy PowerHerald of the Sun's Word of Glory: an instant heal plus a heal over time, stronger on yourself.
Cooldowns
Avenging WrathCooldownInstant · 1m cd · 24s longA one-minute window of extra damage and crit; Crusade adds haste for every Holy Power you spend in it and Divine Wrath stretches it to 24 seconds. Spend as much as you can inside it.
Execution SentenceCooldownInstant · 1m cd · 10s longHits the target area, then after 10 seconds deals a share of the Holy damage you did to them. Press it right after Avenging Wrath and before Wake of Ashes, then spend into it.
Lay on HandsExternalInstant · 7m cdHeals any ally, or you, for your full maximum health; 7 minutes with Unbreakable Spirit. Causes Forbearance.
Blessing of ProtectionExternalInstant · 5m cd · 10s longPhysical immunity on an ally; also drops threat. Causes Forbearance.
Blessing of SacrificeExternalInstant · 2m cd · 12s longMoves 30% of an ally's damage taken onto you. Righteous Protection lets it strip and block poisons and diseases.
Survival
Divine ProtectionDefensiveInstant · 1m 3s cd · 8s long20% damage reduction that also puts up Shield of Vengeance. Usable while stunned; 90 seconds base, 63 with Unbreakable Spirit.
Divine ShieldDefensiveInstant · 3m 30s cd · 8s longFull immunity for 8 seconds; clears many debuffs too. 5 minutes base, 3.5 with Unbreakable Spirit. Causes Forbearance.
Utility
RebukeInterruptInstant · 15s cdMelee interrupt that locks the spell school for 5 seconds.
Blessing of FreedomUtilityInstant · 25s cd · 8s longImmunity to slows and roots; with Unbound Freedom both of you get it plus 30% speed.
Hammer of JusticeUtilityInstant · 45s cd6-second single-target stun.
Blinding LightUtilityInstant · 1m 30s cdDisorients nearby enemies for 6 seconds; damage breaks it. Good for stopping a pack's casts.
Cleanse ToxinsUtilityInstant · 8s cdRemoves poisons and diseases from an ally. Retribution cannot dispel magic.
Divine SteedMovementInstant · 45s cd ×2 · 3s long100% movement speed for 3 seconds; Cavalier gives a second charge.
IntercessionUtility2s cast · 10m cd · -3 Holy PowerBattle resurrection. Shares the raid's combat-res charges and costs 3 Holy Power.
Builds / Talents
Raid and Mythic+ talents
Herald of the SunRaid and Mythic+Almost every top Mythic+ Retribution runs it (49 of the top 50 on Murlok) and Method recommends it for raid too. Dawnlight damage over time, stronger Divine Storm and Hammer of Wrath, and a longer Avenging Wrath window suit sustained single target and cleave.
TemplarSituationalWake of Ashes turns into Hammer of Light, which spends Holy Power for a big hit and Empyrean Hammers. It front-loads damage into short windows, so it is picked for fights or keys where burst every 30 seconds matters more than sustained output.
50 of the top 50 Mythic+ players run Herald Of The Sun (4065–4314 rating). Murlok.io
Mythic+
188,403 logs · 2026-11-05T12:00:00Z
Consensus loadoutRecommended
Popularity 100% heatmap match · 100% heatmap match
Recommended loadout is the closest match to Archon’s aggregate popularity across top parses — not a single one-off key.
Sample size: 188403 top parses. Only talents in the recommended loadout are drawn.
Class
Specialization
Hero
Only talents in this loadout are drawn (Herald of the Sun). Hover a node for its Wowhead tooltip.
Across 188,403 logs. A talent has to show up in at least 40% of them before it is part of the build.
Gear
What do I wear and enchant?
Stats for Mythic+
1Strength
›
2Mastery
›
3Critical Strike
›
4Haste
›
5Versatility
Left to right — highest priority first. Sim your character when secondaries are close.
Based on data in the last 2 weeks, the stat priority for Retribution Paladin looks to be Strength > Mastery > Crit > Haste > Vers. However, there may be bias based on what gear is available to players.
What the top Mythic+ players actually have
Mastery51% +1189
Critical Strike32% +1061
Haste20% +761
Versatility2% +125
Average secondary stats of the top 50 Mythic+ players (4065–4314 rating), from Murlok.io, updated 8 hours ago.
4×piece set: Retribution Paladin15×slots
Best in slot from Method.gg. Every slot is on the figure. Point at a piece to light it.
Wear 4 tier pieces. The 4-piece bonus is what this spec is tuned around.
2-piece: Divine Purpose has an additional 10% chance to activate, and consuming it grants you 10% increased Holy damage for 12 sec.
4-piece: Consuming Divine Purpose grants Divine Arbiter , empowering your other Holy Power spenders to deal Holy damage to your main target, and splash damage around it.
Patch 12.1.5
HeadTierBiS
Warhelm Of The Consecrated Flame (Tier Set)
Kith'ix (Catalyst)
NeckBiS
Aqirbane Reliquary
Ula'tek
ShoulderTierBiS
Pauldrons Of The Consecrated Flame (Tier Set)
Murder Row (Catalyst)
BackBiS
Silken Voodoo Drape
The Coiled Altar
ChestTierBiS
Bulwark Of The Consecrated Flame (Tier Set)
The Coiled Altar (Catalyst)
WristBiS
Spellbreaker's Bracers
Crafted
HandsTierBiS
Gauntlets Of The Consecrated Flame (Tier Set)
Den of Nalorakk (Catalyst)
WaistBiS
Girdle Of Toxic Regret
The Coiled Altar
LegsTierBiS
Greaves Of The Consecrated Flame (Tier Set)
Ula'tek (Catalyst)
FeetBiS
Scaled Fiend's Warboots
Vashnik the Malignant
Finger 1BiS
Band Of The Swarmcaller
Kith'ix
Finger 2BiS
Loa Worshiper's Band
Crafted
Trinket 1BiS
Voracious Heart Of Ula'tek
Ula'tek
Trinket 2BiS
Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique
The Coiled Altar
Main HandBiS
Maze-Roa, Warlord's Fury
The Coiled Altar
Log meta from Archon · updated 2026-11-05T12:00:00Z
Best-to-good single-target order from Liquid Armory (Oct 12, 2026). Filled marks = higher on the list. Your own gear can change the order — sim before you buy.
Forest Hunter's Armor Kit
Mark of the Worldsoul
Rite of the Hash'ey
Indecipherable Eversong Diamond
Flawless Masterful Peridot
