WoW Forever DB

World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide

Paladin guide

Class changes are from builds 70170, 70291 and 70425 (Righteous Fury 90% threat, Consecration cut, Salvation and Mass Salvation); levels above 30 are untested theorycraft.

Client build 1.60.1.70425 · updated

At a glance

The Paladin is Forever's plate hybrid: a real tank, a strong healer and a melee damage spec, all on one mana bar.

How this works

It is the beta's standout class. Protection is rated the best tank on nearly every list, Holy sits at or near the top of the healers, and Retribution levelled so easily at the level-20 cap that it took two rounds of nerfs. What it still lacks, on purpose, is an interrupt, a slow and curse removal.

What Forever changed

Every spell, new and changed ones marked, by spec: Holy, Protection, Retribution.

Strengths

  • Self-sufficient: plate, self-heals, and very little downtime in every spec.
  • Protection has a taunt, an absorb cooldown and mana returns from being hit. It is the consensus top tank of the beta.
  • Holy Shock, Infusion of Light and Reverence give Holy instant heals, faster big heals and real in-combat regen.
  • Brings 1-hour Blessings, Kings for everyone, Judgement debuffs and raid-wide resistance auras.
  • Strong against Undead and Demons: Exorcism, Holy Wrath's stun and Turn Undead.

Gaps you plan around

  • No interrupt and no slow, by design. Hammer of Justice is your only baseline way to stop a cast, and only on targets that can be stunned (Retribution's Repentance also works on humanoids).
  • No curse removal. A Mage or Druid covers curses.
  • Retribution is tuned about 5% below the pure damage classes, and has no cleave beyond Consecration (no Divine Storm, on purpose).
  • Paladins are the most-created class in fan censuses, so expect competition for plate and group spots.

Races

RaceFaction What it brings a Paladin
HumanAllianceRuthless (2% critical strike chance, replacing Sword Specialization) and Will to Survive (a PvP stun break). A safe default.
DwarfAllianceStoneform: 10% less physical damage for 8 seconds and removes bleeds, poisons and diseases. Strong on a tank. Big Game Hunter gives +5% damage to beasts. Earth Fury (2% critical damage and healing) replaces Mace Specialization, and Find Treasure also finds extra items in most chests.
UndeadHordeNew to the class: the Paladin hub is Bandarion Keep in Tirisfal, with its own Redemption chain and the Wolfsbane weapon chain. Will of the Forsaken (usable while asleep or charmed); Touch of the Grave drains health with damage (a 20% chance for Paladins, with a 25 second internal cooldown); Cannibalize now restores mana too. Undead mount quests are announced but not in the game yet.

Each race's lore, racials and classes: all races.

How to read the labels

Outlined labels say how sure a claim is:

  • Live in beta in a beta build, with its date
  • Announced Blizzard said so; not in a build yet
  • Unconfirmed in client data or one guide only
  • Rumoured no primary source
  • Classic Classic Era behaviour no Forever source confirms or contradicts

Filled labels say what changed since Classic Era:

  • New not in Classic Era
  • Changed numbers or effects differ from Classic Era
  • Now baseline was a talent in Classic Era, now trained
  • Renamed same spell under a new name
  • Talent comes from a talent
  • As Classic as in Classic Era