Cataclysm Paladin Leveling Spec

Retribution is the way to go for a solid Paladin Leveling Spec. No doubt about it, Retribution paladins will have the highest killing rate and lowest downtime while leveling 1-85 in cataclysm. With today's release of patch 4.0.1, the talent trees have been revised and with it, class specialization has been introduced. So when you pick Retribution as your Paladin Leveling Spec, you will be gifted with a few new abilities right away:

Templar's Verdict - A fun new instant strike that causes a % of weapon damage based on Holy Power
Sheath of Light - Increases spell power by 30% of attack power and increases spell hit chance by 30%
Judgments of the Bold - Judgments restore 25% of base mana over 10 Seconds
Mastery (trainable at 80):
Hand of Light - Auto attacks have a 8% chance to grant Hand of Light causing your next Holy Power ability to consume no Holy Power and to cast as if 3 Holy Power were consumed. Each point of Mastery increases the chance by an additional 1%.

So right off the bat, you have some powerful new abilities to make the leveling process much less painful than when I was a lowbie coming up through the ranks. A retribution paladin Leveling Spec will look something like this:

Level 10-17
Crusade: 3/3
Imp Judgment: 2/2

Levels 17-27
Rule of Law 3/3
Pursuit of Justice 2/2

Levels 27-37
Divine Storm
Communion
Art of War 3/3

Levels 37-47
Seals of Command
Sanctity of Battle
Sanctified Wrath 3/3

Levels 47-57
Rebuke
Divine Purpose 2/2
Long Arm of the Law 2/2

Levels 57-67
Inquiry of Faith 3/3
Eye for an Eye 2/2

Levels 67 and up:
Zealotry
Repentance

Holy
Arbiter of the Light 2/2
Judgments of the Pure 3/3
Blazing Light 2/2

Protection
Seals of the Pure 2/2

This is just one of many routes you can choose while leveling your Paladin. This Paladin Leveling Spec sacrifices some group utility for pure damage and solo killing power. Keep in mind that talent specs are always changing with major and minor update patches. You will want to keep an up to date guide on the best leveling tactics to pair up with your Ret Paladin leveling spec. wowpowercataclysm.com is always kept up to date with the best Paladin leveling specs and with Cataclysm coming soon, the talent trees have received a huge makeover with all new features and abilities. wowpowercataclysm.com will have reviews of all the game guides with all new questing paths and step by step instructions to take you to the new level cap in under 5 days play time.

If you are having trouble leveling, see wowpowercataclysm.com to see more detailed descriptions of guides that even include an in game talent spec and the perfect Paladin leveling spec and questing path that gets you to 80 faster and easier than any other way. No matter what level you are, you load the guide, and it points with an arrow the direction to each monster, quest giver, trainer etc. Its pretty crazy. It also has an in game box that tells you exactly where and how far to run, what to kill, what to pick up, etc. Unlike the Questhelper Addon, it actually shows where to PICK UP quests, and which ones to do, and what order to do them in.

Retribution Paladin Leveling Talent build and gear Guides

The second toon I created was a paladin. I started back in Good Ole' Vanilla Wow, back when Ret specced pallies were absolutely awful for leveling and seen as a joke in groups (even though I topped the damage meters while tanking). Retribution has evolved a LOT since its inception and has seen a huge development since the introduction of Crusader Strike, the revamped seals and judgement system and a boatload of other skills and abilities that I didn't have the luxury of back in 2006.

Well, Retribution leveling has come a long way since then. When getting started, especially if you're new to WoW, it helps to get your bearings straight. I like to use Zygor’s Leveling Guide to clear up a lot of the questions surrounding the game and correct my learning mistakes before I make them. It simply makes the learning curve a little smoother, and makes the leveling process a lot faster. Starting at Level 10, here is your sample

Retribution Leveling Spec:
Add the points in this order

Level 10-20
5/5 Benediction
2/2 Improved Judgement
3/3 Heart of the Crusader
1/1 Seal of Command

Level 21-30
2/2 Pursuit of Justice
5/5 Conviction
2/3 Sanctity of Battle
1/1 Sanctified Retribution

Level 31-39
3/3 Sanctity of Battle
3/3 Crusade
3/3 Vengeance
2/3 2-Handed Weapon Specialization

Level 40-50
3/3 Judgements of the Wise
2/2 Art of War
1/1 Repentance
3/3 Fanaticism
3/3 2-Handed Weapon Specialization
1/1 Crusader Strike

Level 51-60
3/3 Sheath of Light
3/3 Swift Retribution
3/3 Righteous Vengeance
1/1 Divine Storm

Level 61-70
5/5 Divine Strength (Protection)
5/5 Seals of the Pure (Holy)

Levels 71-80
2/2 Sanctified Wrath
2/2 Improved Blessing of Might
2/2 Vindication
4/5 Divinity (Protection)

All of these talents are oriented toward turning you into a righteous killing machine. Ret Paladins should start off with single mob killing, though as you get higher in levels and you have Divine Storm, you can start taking out 2-4 Mobs at a time. I don't recommend this because it will drain your health and mana very quickly. If you are looking for a build that will have you plowing through groups of mobs, you may want to consider a Protection AoE leveling build. This is not recommended until higher levels though, when you have more powerful gear and skills like Hammer of the Righteous.

For the purpose of questing though, it's hard to go wrong in this spec, as most quests won't have you AoE grinding mobs. While questing, speed is a very important factor. Not only killing speed, but efficiency in passing through groups of useless quests, knowing where to pick up the best quests, and where to find the mobs and quest items that you need to kill and turn in. Check out Zygor’s Leveling Guide and see just how quickly you can quest your way to 80. They offer a free version that get you started on your questing path and you can see just how fast you can level, and it is by far the quickest way to go. The best part is it knows which quests you have done, so you can get started at ANY level, at any point in the game. So step your game up with Zygor’s Leveling Guide.