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 (11.1.7).

Single Target

Generate Holy Power before cooldowns for optimal burst.

• Divine Hammer
• Avenging Wrath
• CrusadeView detailsIf >= 3 Holy Power
• Execution Sentence
• Final ReckoningView detailsIf >= 3 Holy Power and Wake Of Ashes is on cooldown
• Hammer Of Light
• Divine StormView detailsIf Empyrean Power proc and 5 Holy Power
• Final VerdictView detailsIf 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 <= 3 Holy Power
• Divine StormView detailsIf Empyrean Power proc
• Final VerdictView detailsIf 3-4 Holy Power
• Hammer Of WrathView detailsIf Blessing Of Anshe proc
• Templar Strikes or Templar Slash
• JudgmentView detailsIf <= 3 Holy Power
• Blade Of JusticeView detailsIf <= 3 Holy Power
• Hammer Of WrathView detailsIf <= 4 Holy Power or <= 3 Holy Power against low-health targets with Vanguards Momentum
• Crusader Strike

Generate and spend Holy Power efficiently. Use Divine Hammer and cooldowns like Avenging Wrath early. Prioritize Final Verdict and Divine Storm at high Holy Power, and avoid capping resources.

AoE

Switch to AoE rotation at 2+ targets.

• Divine Hammer
• Avenging Wrath
• CrusadeView detailsIf >= 3 Holy Power
• Execution Sentence
• Final ReckoningView detailsIf >= 3 Holy Power and Wake Of Ashes is on cooldown
• Hammer Of Light
• Final VerdictView detailsIf 25 stacks of Divine Arbiter or Judge, Jury And Executioner active, or Empyrean Legacy active, and 5 Holy Power
• Divine StormView detailsIf 5 Holy Power
• Templar SlashView detailsIf it will expire within a GCD
• Wake Of Ashes
• Divine TollView detailsIf <= 1 Holy Power
• Divine StormView detailsIf Empyrean Power proc
• Final VerdictView detailsIf 25 stacks of Divine Arbiter or Judge, Jury And Executioner active, or Empyrean Legacy active, and 3-4 Holy Power
• Divine StormView detailsIf 3-4 Holy Power
• Blade Of JusticeView detailsIf <= 3 Holy Power
• Templar Strikes or Templar Slash
• JudgmentView detailsIf <= 3 Holy Power
• Crusader Strike
• Hammer Of Wrath

Focus on Divine Hammer and cooldowns like Avenging Wrath. Use Final Verdict and Divine Storm at high Holy Power, and track buffs like Empyrean Legacy for AoE procs.

Cooldowns

• Avenging WrathView detailsUse during burst phases or with trinkets for critical strike bonus
• CrusadeView detailsUse with 3+ Holy Power for burst damage
• Divine HammerView detailsAvoid consecutive Holy Power spenders to maximize uptime
• Execution SentenceView detailsUse before Avenging Wrath for extra GCD efficiency
• Final ReckoningView detailsUse during burst windows for max DPS

Coordinate Avenging Wrath and Crusade with trinkets and burst phases. Optimize Divine Hammer uptime by alternating spenders and generators.

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.