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Paladin leveling guide

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A leveling build for Holy, Protection and Retribution, point by point from level 10 to 60, and what changed for the class.

On this page7 sections

Recommended leveling builds

At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOne build per tree, read from the beta talent text.

Our pick is Retribution: Seal of Command at level 20 and Pursuit of Justice right after it speed up questing before any other tree pays off.

Suggested build
Retribution, 17/0/34 at 60
16-point milestone
Sacred Arbiter, level 25
Last Retribution talent
Twist of Light, level 40
Races
3, new: Undead

Retribution leveling buildSuggested tree

17/0/34 at level 60Sacred Arbiter at level 25

A two-handed melee build. Seal of Command at 20 adds Holy damage to your swings and Pursuit of Justice at 21 and 22 makes you move faster. Sanctified Judgement returns Mana for each Judgement from 28, and Twist of Light, which rewards swapping Seals, arrives at 40.

Open in the calculatorHow Retribution playsGear for Retribution Share

Key decisions

  • Benediction and Conviction come first: cheaper Seals and Judgements, then melee critical strike chance.
  • Sanctified Judgement comes before Crusade: Vengeance needs all 3 points in it.
  • Repentance at 39 is the 30th point, which opens Twist of Light.
  • After Champion of the Light the points go into Holy: Divine Strength, then Improved Seals for Seal and Judgement damage.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Benediction5/5
  2. 15–19Conviction5/5
  3. 20Seal of Command1/1
  4. 21–22Pursuit of Justice2/2
  5. 23–24Improved Judgement2/2
  6. 25Sacred ArbiterMilestone1/1
  7. 26–28Sanctified Judgement3/3
  8. 29–30Crusade2/2
Show all 51 points · levels 31–60
  1. 31–33Two-Handed Weapon Specialization3/3
  2. 34–36Vengeance3/3
  3. 37–38Holy Conduit2/2
  4. 39Repentance1/1
  5. 40Twist of Light1/1
  6. 41–43Champion of the Light3/3
  7. 44–48Divine StrengthHoly5/5
  8. 49–51Improved SealsHoly3/3
  9. 52–53Improved Holy StrikeHoly2/2
  10. 54–56ReverenceHoly3/3
  11. 57–58Purifying PowerHoly2/2
  12. 59–60Unyielding FaithHoly2/2

Holy leveling build

39/0/12 at level 60Divine Favor at level 25

A Holy build that still fights. Divine Strength and Improved Seals carry the early levels, and Holy Shock at 31 hits an enemy or heals an ally. Light's Vigil arrives at 40.

Open in the calculatorHow Holy playsGear for Holy Share

Key decisions

  • Reverence comes before Purifying Power: Illumination needs all 3 points in Reverence later.
  • Divine Intellect fills levels 26 to 30 so Holy Shock opens at 31.
  • One point in Divine Precision at 34 is the 25th point. Holy Power then raises Holy Shock's critical strike chance.
  • The last 12 points go into Retribution for Benediction, Conviction and Seal of Command.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Divine Strength5/5
  2. 15–17Improved Seals3/3
  3. 18–19Improved Holy Strike2/2
  4. 20–22Reverence3/3
  5. 23–24Purifying Power2/2
  6. 25Divine FavorMilestone1/1
  7. 26–30Divine Intellect5/5
  8. 31Holy Shock1/1
Show all 51 points · levels 32–60
  1. 32–33Consecrated Ground2/2
  2. 34Divine Precision1/3
  3. 35–39Holy Power5/5
  4. 40Light's Vigil1/1
  5. 41–45Illumination5/5
  6. 46–48Healing Light3/3
  7. 49–53BenedictionRetribution5/5
  8. 54–58ConvictionRetribution5/5
  9. 59Seal of CommandRetribution1/1
  10. 60Pursuit of JusticeRetribution1/2

Protection leveling build

0/38/13 at level 60Swift Judgement at level 25

A shield build that pulls several enemies and lets them hit you. Redoubt and Shield Specialization raise block and return Mana on blocks, and Reckoning from 31 turns blocks into extra attacks. Holy Shield at 40 deals Holy damage for each attack blocked.

Open in the calculatorHow Protection playsGear for Protection Share

Key decisions

  • Redoubt comes first: Shield Specialization needs all 5 points in it.
  • Improved Seal of Fury at 20 opens Swift Judgement at 25.
  • Templar's Bulwark at 30: Holy Shield requires it.
  • Four points of Iron Creed are enough to open Holy Shield at 40. The fifth follows at 41.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Redoubt5/5
  2. 15–17Precision3/3
  3. 18–19Toughness2/5
  4. 20Improved Seal of Fury1/1
  5. 21–23Shield Specialization3/3
  6. 24Sacred Duty1/2
  7. 25Swift JudgementMilestone1/1
  8. 26–28One-Handed Weapon Specialization3/3
Show all 51 points · levels 29–60
  1. 29Sacred Duty2/2
  2. 30Templar's Bulwark1/1
  3. 31–35Reckoning5/5
  4. 36–39Iron Creed4/5
  5. 40Holy Shield1/1
  6. 41Iron Creed5/5
  7. 42–44Toughness5/5
  8. 45–47Improved Righteous Fury3/3
  9. 48–52BenedictionRetribution5/5
  10. 53–57ConvictionRetribution5/5
  11. 58–59Improved JudgementRetribution2/2
  12. 60Holy ConduitRetribution1/2

Compare the picks

Two builds side by side at level 60, with every talent where they differ.

The 3 Paladin trees

Holy, Protection, Retribution: the one-rank talents and their levels.

The one-rank talents in each tree, and the earliest level you can take them.

What changed for Paladins · 11

Changes from Classic, and what the beta showed.

  • Protection has a taunt: Judgement while Seal of Fury is active. Judgement does not consume the seal. Classic Protection had no taunt.

  • Holy Strike arrives at level 6: an instant weapon strike that deals Holy damage on a 12-second cooldown.

  • Consecration is baseline at level 20, with high damage and threat on the first four targets.

  • Blessing of Kings is baseline. It no longer costs a talent point.

  • Seal of Fury favors fast weapons and grants a small absorb.

  • You still have no interrupt and no slow. You stay strongest against Undead and Demons, through Exorcism, Holy Wrath and Turn Undead.

  • Retribution can raid, and seal twisting is in. Twist of Light echoes a replaced Seal on your next melee swing.

  • Paladins are on both factions now. At 60, Forsaken Paladins get their own epic mount quest.

  • Bonus healing also adds bonus damage, at one third.

  • The character sheet shows a tank's Critical Strike Immunity and Crushing Blow Immunity. Defense can still help past that cap. Beta

  • A new spell rank may not replace the old one on your action bar. Check your bars after each trainer visit: the spellbook hides lower ranks until you choose show all ranks.

Dungeons and the 1-60 route · 9

Levels 13 to 60, the same for every class.

The same for every class. Run each dungeon once with every quest in your log.

Open the 1-60 route

Changes that apply to every class· 2

  • All 27 talent trees are meant to be viable for all content. They are not equal, and none should be strong enough to stack a raid with.

  • Hit and crit are one stat each for melee, ranged and spells. Hover a stat on the character sheet and it explains itself.

Races that can be a Paladin · 3

Undead Paladin is new in Forever and needs no pack.

Undead Paladin is new in Forever and needs no pack.

Alliance

Horde

The race and class table

In the patch digest · 3

Paladin: the tools the Deep Dive named for each tree

Keep reading

Sources and what isn't confirmed

Not announced

  • A leveling talent order from Blizzard
  • Dual specialization
  • Respec prices
  • Holy Strike: its damage
  • Consecration: the amounts
  • Retribution and seal twisting: seal-twist timing
  • Horde Paladins and their mount quest: the quest's name
  • Tank stats on the character sheet: exact ratings
  • Spell ranks on the action bar: which spells are worth keeping at a lower rank
  • Most new quest names
  • Experience amounts for dungeon quests
  • Level ranges for Shen'dralas and Mount Hyjal

Sources

  • Deep Dive recap: Protection taunt; Consecration; Seal of Fury; Interrupts, slows and Undead; Retribution and seal twisting
  • Deep Dive: Holy Strike; Bonus healing as damage
  • Community beta data: Blessing of Kings
  • Windows Central, 22 Sep 2026: Retribution and seal twisting
  • Blizzard: Horde Paladins and their mount quest
  • Wowhead, 21 Sep 2026: Tank stats on the character sheet; Hit and crit
  • Wowhead, 22 Sep 2026: Spell ranks on the action bar
  • Tim Jones, Windows Central, 22 Sep 2026: Talent tree balance

Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.