[Pally Spec]Basic's

It’s very important for any class to set the right foot forward when they begin the game. All race and class combinations within World of Warcraft are viable but many are not for everyone. It’s up to you to pick the right combination of both Race and Class to make the perfect character both visually and play wise.
The first thing to do is consider, is the Paladin class right for you? There is a lot of great things about the Paladin class, and unlike most other classes the Paladin class really does have something for everyone. To get a better idea of what the Paladin class stands for, we’ve compiled a list that describes what the Paladin class is. Essentially though, unless you are looking for a ranged damage dealer, the Paladin can be for you. If you’re not sure, then try one out! The low levels don’t showcase everything about a class, but it’s a good way to get a basic idea of how a class will work.

• Paladins are a hybrid class and with that brings numerous options
• Paladins are good at several things so you can change and adapt to different situations. They can heal, tank or DPS. However, while they can do all these things they can not do all of them well all the time. To be truly effective at any of the things they are able to do you will need to specialize your talents and gear to that one thing, giving up much of your flexibility.
• Paladins can wear any kind of armour they choose and can equip shields. This gives them a great amount of choice and a very high survivability in plate armour later in the game (past level 40).
• Paladins once they have the ability to wear plate armour at level 40 are probably the most survivable class in the game. They can have huge armour and health numbers, and can heal them selves and bubble! Bubbling is a term for their multiple abilities to protect them selves (or others) from all incoming damage for a short period of time.
• Paladins have excellent group and raid buffs in the form of auras and blessings and are always in demand.
• Paladins can taunt enemies off lesser armoured classes.
• Paladins can resurrect other players.

So in summary, the Paladin class is a mixed class that is generally a support class. They can heal, tank and DPS but need to specialize to do so well. This combination though makes them an exceptionally versatile and survivable class. It is not uncommon to see a Paladin fighting a MOB several levels higher than themselves and defeating. Sure it takes a while with their low DPS (unless they are retribution spec'ed), but they can and will survive.
Race Selection

There really is no perfect race combination for a Paladin. so it's up to you what you choose to play. If you play for the Alliance you have several choices as you can be a Dwarf, Human, or Draenai. If you choose to play for the Horde your only choice is a Blood Elf. If you do not like the look of your character you are not likely to enjoy playing it so pick whichever race you like. There are however benefits for selecting certain races depending on your play style.
Alliance

• Dwarf - Dwarves get bonus expertise with maces, which are a useful Paladin weapon. They also get Stoneskin which is a great tanking ability as it reduces incoming damage and removes poisons.
• Human - Humans are a great class to select as a Paladin, especially if you PvP. Humans get the "Every Man for Himself" ability which works like a PvP trinket to get them out of snares, fears, and other control removing abilities. Humans also receive a bonus to their expertise when using a sword or mace which are both viable weapons. Lastly Humans get a bonus to reputation earned which is great for any class.
• Draenei - As a Draenei you gain an extra heal, but not a great one. More importantly Draenei grant themselves and everyone in their party an extra 1% to hit through their Heroic Presence ability. 1% doesn't sound like a big deal but in end game raids it allows players to focus more on other player stats.

Horde

• Blood Elves - This is your only choice as a Horde player, so if you want to play as a Horde, then the bonuses shouldn't matter. Blood Elves do have a really nice PvP bonus though with their Arcane Torrent ability which provides back some mana and inflicts a silence on enemies.

Picking a Profession
While professions will not make or break any character there are some nice benefits to many of the professions that make them attractive to a Paladin. Some of the ones to consider are as follows.

• Alchemy - This is a good profession for almost any class but especially a Paladin since you will be using a variety of potions and flasks in your various roles. Alchemy can also be used to make an assortment of extremely useful potions, elixirs, and flasks that can be sold for cash or used to make combat easier.
• Blacksmithing - Many players find early on that creating your own weapons and armour can be very helpful compared to trying to obtain them through quests or the Auction House. The armour created through Blacksmithing can be very useful to a Paladin. Blacksmiths can also add extra gem sockets to their bracers and gloves.
• Inscription - Being an Inscriptionist gives you access to the best shoulder enchants in the game. This has the side benefit of letting you skip the long Sons of Hodir reputation grind.
• Jewelcrafting - Being a Jewelcrafter grants you access to several jewelcrafting only items and access to better jewelcrafter only gems. These gems provide additional stats which is welcome no matter your spec.
• Engineering - Engineering is useful for Paladins since it provides yet another method to pull enemies from range. Stun grenades and a large assortment of gadgets can be very helpful in stopping escaping enemies. There are also some very good goggles and other gadgets that can be helpful while leveling up.

Which profession you take is ultimately up to you. You should pick one that you enjoy and that works well with the talent build you choose. Which one is the absolute best changes from patch to patch, so don't get to worried if they change a bit over time.
Mana and Casting Spells
Mana is the magical energy that you have to draw on to cast your spells and use your abilities and special attacks. Depending on which spec you choose to be mana will be more or less important. While all types of Paladins use mana Retribution and Protection Paladins generate it back very quickly and have small mana pools. Holy Paladins have large mana pools but do not regenerate it in the same way.
The amount of mana you have is determined by your intelligence, and the speed at which it regenerates is determined by your spirit and mana per 5 stats. Having mana is critical to a Paladin, since it is used for all of your abilities. If you run out in a fight you will only be able to use your regular attacks. You need to learn to manage your mana to always ensure you have some left. If you run short in a fight you are very likely to die.
Depending on your talents and abilities there are various ways that you will gain mana back. If you are a protection based Paladin you will be counting on your Blessing of Sanctuary that restores mana to you when you block, parry or dodge an attack and your Spiritual Attunement which provides mana back for being healed. The retribution talent tree has the ability to return mana when you judge seals on opponents. The holy tree returns mana to you when you cast critical heals.
No matter which talent build you are, spells have a cast time and a mana cost. The cast time for many of a Paladins spells are instant, meaning as soon as you use the spell they are cast. There are other spells though, such as your healing spells, that longer cast time in which you must remain stationary while casting the spell. Mana cost for spells in generally a percentage of your base mana pool, so while having more mana helps, it doesn't help as much as you would think it does. One important thing to note about mana cost is that you do not pay the mana cost until the spell completes casting, so if you are casting a big heal on someone and they get healed from someone else, you can simply move to cancel your cast and never have to pay the mana cost since the spell did not complete.
Seals and Judgements
Paladins have spells that are called "seals" that grant them bonuses in combat. The bonuses can be anything from additional damage to mana regeneration, with many other abilities in between. Once cast, seals last for 30 minutes. A Paladin can only have 1 seal active at a time. While active that seal provides its benefit to the Paladin.

• Seal of Righteousness - This is the base seal for Paladins, it causes holy damage per hit hit on an enemy. When judged it does additional holy damage.
• Seal of Command - This seal has the same basic abilities as Righteousness however when used with abilities that strike a single target, it allows you to hit additional targets as well. Due to its burst damage it is generally a PvP seal.
• Seal of Light - This seal returns health to you per melee hit. When judged it causes holy damage to the enemy.
• Seal of Wisdom - This seal returns mana to you per melee hit and causes holy damage when judged.
• Seal of Vengeance / Seal of Corruption - These seals deal holy damage per melee hit as well as applying a stacking Damage over time effect to the target. When judged it causes holy damage that is increased by each stack of the DoT on the target. This is you main seal once you can learn it in your mid 60's.

In addition to the basic benefit a seal provides it can also be "Judged" onto an enemy, to produce another effect. The effect that Judging a seal provides is based on the type of judgement you are using. Judgement of Light grants health as well as causing damage, while Judgement of Wisdom provides mana and causes damage. There is also the Judgement of the Just which prevents creatures from running in fear and from moving faster than normal speed, this is a solid PvP Judgement to prevent players from sprinting away from you. Judged effects will remain on the enemy for 20 seconds.
An enemy can have one judged effect per Paladin that they are fighting. They can have different seals or judgements on them from multiple Paladins as long as they are different effects.
Auras
Paladins have access to powerful auras that provide a buff to everyone in their group or raid that is within 30 yards (40 yards with talents). The auras are continuous effects, and will last until you change them. You can only have one active aura. The benefit provided depends on the aura but ranges from damage caused to attacking enemies, extra armour, resistance to interrupts when casting, and various resistances.
Paladin auras do not stack, but if there are multiple Paladins in a group they can each have a different aura active and everyone in the group will receive the effect of both auras.
Blessings
Blessings are character buffs that paladins can give to themselves or other players that last 10 minutes for a normal version or 30 minutes for a greater blessing that uses a reagent. The blessings apply very beneficial bonuses such as enhanced mana regeneration, enhanced attack power and many more. Any given player (including the Paladin) can only be under the effect of one blessing per Paladin in a similar manner as auras. You can be under the effect of multiple paladin blessings though, just each one must be a different blessing and from a different Paladin.

• Blessing of Kings - This is the blessing that most people will want to use, it provides a 10% boost to all stats. This increases your tanking ability (by increasing health), damage dealing ability (by increasing strength), and healing ability (by providing more mana through increased intellect). It provides benefits to all classes and is therefore usually the best seal to use.
• Blessing of Might - This blessing provides greatly increased attack power and is the best blessing for melee classes and hunters.
• Blessing of Sanctuary - This is available only to Protection based Paladins. It reduces damage taken by 3%, increases your strength and stamina by the same amount Kings would. It also returns mana you the player for any attack against them that is blocked, parried, or dodged.
• Blessing of Wisdom - This blessing provides additional mana regeneration by providing a set amount of mana back every 5 seconds.

Character Stats
Being a hybrid class Paladins rely on many statistics, the primary ones depend on what talent build you are working towards. If you are tanking then you are looking for Stamina and Strength. If you are going Retribution (DPS) then you need to focus on Strength. If you are healing then your primary stats will be Intellect and possibly Spirit, however many holy Paladins skip spirit unless it comes by default with gear and instead go for Critical hit so that they generate more mana return.
Strength - Increases your Attack Power thereby increasing your damage. Strength also increases the damage that you can block with your shield.
Stamina - Increases your health points. This is critical for tanking Paladins since you will take a beating.
1 Stamina = 10 Health points
Intellect - Increases your mana pool and your critical hit chance with spells.
1 Intellect = 15 Mana
100 Intellect = 1% Spell Crit

Spirit - Spirit raises your health and mana regeneration rate. While it is noticeable at higher levels of spirit, it takes a significant number of points in this to regain mana quickly enough that you will not want to stop and drink to gain it back.
Agility - Agility increases the following: attack power with ranged weapons, armour, critical hit chance and your chance to dodge attacks. The ranged weapon bonus is meaningless to Paladins as we can not use ranged weapons. The armour bonus is also relatively small for Paladins since we can use plate armour. The main reason to boost agility is for the critical hit %.
Defence - Defence is a key stat for Protection Paladins. The more you have the less chance an enemy will be able to critically hit you. At level 80 you need 540 defence to be able to tank without suffering critical hits.
Hit - Hit is critical for Retribution Paladins, and important for Protection Paladins. At level 80 you need 263 Hit rating to ensure that you do not miss melee attacks. This number drops to 230 if you are a Draenei or have one in your party.
Expertise - This stat is another critical one for Retribution Paladins and important for Protection Paladins. You need 214 expertise at level 80 to reach the soft expertise cap or 460 to reach the hard expertise cap. The soft cap prevents your attacks from being dodged, while the hard cap prevents them from being parried as well. Retribution Paladins only need to aim for the soft cap since they should be attacking enemies from behind, where they can not be dodged anyway. Protection Paladins should aim to reach the hard cap since they will be attacking from the front.
Spell Power - Spell power affects all Paladin abilities, however it is only highly critical for Holy Paladins. It greatly affects the amount their healing spells heal a target for.
Critical Hit - This is important for both Retribution and Holy Paladins. For Retribution Paladins it increases their melee damage output. For Holy Paladins the increase in the amount healed is nice but not as important as the the mana that is returned when you cast a critical heal.