Retribution Paladin

Mirrors the current rank-1 Sinister Single parse — every slot is what the best Retribution Paladin actually wears.

Midnight Season 2 · Herald of the Sun · updated 2026-08-05

How it plays

• You press Crusading Strikes more than anything else — about 37 times a minute — but the damage lands on Final Verdict, which is 20% of the total.

Measured on the reference parse below, not a description of the spec — so it changes when the tuning does.

Stat priority

Mastery > Haste > Critical Strike > Versatility

These are not weights pulled from a spreadsheet — they are the live ratings on the reference character this build is taken from, so the order reflects what the best-performing Retribution Paladin is actually stacking right now.

Source: Notaish — the log. Rank 1 Retribution Paladin on Sinister Single (Dummy Dome), avg ilvl 336.

Talent build

Laid out exactly as the in-game talent UI draws it, hero tree Herald of the Sun. Lit nodes and gold lines are the path this build takes; everything dimmed was passed over. Hover any node for what it does.

Rotation

Spend at five Holy Power, and never overcap. Templar's Verdict on one target, Divine Storm on several, and Hammer of Light the moment it is available.

Openers

Single target

1. Judgment into the pull.
2. Execution Sentence, then Avenging Wrath.
3. Wake of Ashes inside the window.
4. Hammer of Light, then the normal priority.

How much damage, and where

The same best-in-slot profile below, simulated across four fights on our own SimulationCraft build. A spec's number moves with the fight — and each card opens its full report: DPS timeline, buffs, and a Copy-SimC button to reproduce it in Raidbots. Compare every spec →

Where the damage comes from

Measured on the reference log — a 300-second single-target parse. Worth comparing against the rotation above: the button you press most is rarely the one doing the most.

Source: Sinister Single, 300s.

Best in slot

The finished loadout, built by Pathfinder — the strongest item available for every slot, with the item level to chase and where it drops. 337 average item level across 15 slots, gathered from 2 places.

Warhelm of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Twin Fangs ✦ Empowered Hex of Leeching

Aqirbane Reliquary 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek ◆ Powerful Eversong Diamond

Pauldrons of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Lost Explorers ✦ Silvermoon's Mending

Cloak of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar

Bulwark of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Mark of the Worldsoul

Spellbreaker's Bracers 331 · Spark Crafted +Myth Epic Profession Items — Blacksmithing

Maze-roa, Warlord's Fury 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) · Two-handed The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar ✦ Acuity of the Ren'dorei

Retribution Paladin 337 average item level

Gauntlets of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Entombed Sentinels ✦ Gloves Enchant (+3 Stamina)

Spellbreaker's Girdle 331 · Spark Crafted +Myth Epic Profession Items — Blacksmithing

Chausses of Unbound Rancor 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek ✦ Forest Hunter's Armor Kit

Greatboots of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Lynx's Dexterity

Apex Brute's Claw Ring 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Sszorak ✦ Nature's Fury◆ Flawless Masterful Garnet

Vile Alchemist's Band 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Nature's Fury◆ Flawless Masterful Garnet

Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar

Voracious Heart of Ula'tek 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek

Where to spend bonus rolls as Retribution Paladin

A Voidcore pays out an item every time — the question is only whether it is one you wanted. For this build, in order:

Roll Nek'zali the Soulcoiler — 2 of its 3 drops are on your list

67% of every roll here lands something on the list. In The Venomous Abyss, it owes you back and feet.

Then Sszorak — 1 of its 3 drops is on your list

33% of every roll here lands something on the list. In The Venomous Abyss, it owes you ring 1.

Then The Twin Fangs — 1 of its 3 drops is on your list

33% of every roll here lands something on the list. In The Venomous Abyss, it owes you head.

The general principles behind this — knockout protection, why finishing one boss beats spreading rolls, and the crests a roll quietly costs you — are in the bonus roll guide.

Week-by-week route

1. Pre-season: the campaign, a world tour of Mythic 0s for a 292 loadout, and the weekly Spark quest. No Myth crests exist yet — bank the Spark.
2. Week 1: farm +10 keys to a full Hero 3/6 (311) loadout and fill the vault. You open the week holding two full Sparks, so craft Spellbreaker's Bracers and Spellbreaker's Girdle back to back if your Myth crests cover both infusions. Every Hero crest goes into lifting pieces toward 6/6 (321).
3. Week 2: first Voidcore — roll Nek'zali the Soulcoiler, where 2 of 3 drops are on this list. Catalyse the set slots for the 4-set. No new Spark this week — the next whole one banks in Week 3.
4. Weeks 3–6: one Voidcore a week down the order above — finish a boss before starting the next. Keep spending Hero crests; every slot should sit at 321 by about Week 6.
5. Week 7 onward: two Voidcores a week (the vault and Orin Straylight). Roll Myth-track bases in the set slots, re-catalyse them, and take each to 6/6 for 80 Myth and 20 Hero crests.
6. Late season: Aqirbane Reliquary, Chausses of Unbound Rancor, Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique, Voracious Heart of Ula'tek and Maze-roa, Warlord's Fury come from the last two bosses at Myth 9 (344). Secure the base items early — that is the only place the extra three ranks exist.

The fast variant

Same stat priority, 3 slots moved. Pathfinder builds the list above for raw power and does not care how many bosses that takes; Slate prices the route as well, and takes an equal-strength item from a boss you are already farming over one that sends you somewhere new. It visits 3 places against the strongest list's 2, at the same average item level.

• Wrist — Aetherlume Guards instead of Spellbreaker's Bracers
• Ring 1 — Vile Alchemist's Band instead of Apex Brute's Claw Ring
• Ring 2 — Alluring Bubbleband instead of Vile Alchemist's Band

Warhelm of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Twin Fangs ✦ Empowered Hex of Leeching

Aqirbane Reliquary 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek ◆ Powerful Eversong Diamond

Pauldrons of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Lost Explorers ✦ Silvermoon's Mending

Cloak of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar

Bulwark of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Mark of the Worldsoul

Aetherlume Guards 331 · Spark Crafted +Myth Epic Profession Items — Engineering

Maze-roa, Warlord's Fury 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) · Two-handed The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar ✦ Acuity of the Ren'dorei

Retribution Paladin 337 average item level

Gauntlets of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Entombed Sentinels ✦ Gloves Enchant (+3 Stamina)

Spellbreaker's Girdle 331 · Spark Crafted +Myth Epic Profession Items — Blacksmithing

Chausses of Unbound Rancor 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek ✦ Forest Hunter's Armor Kit

Greatboots of the Consecrated Flame 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Lynx's Dexterity

Vile Alchemist's Band 334 · Myth 6/6 The Venomous Abyss — Vashnik the Malignant ✦ Nature's Fury◆ Flawless Masterful Garnet

Alluring Bubbleband 334 · Myth 6/6 The Tidebound Grotto — Nymrissa Wavecaller ✦ Nature's Fury◆ Flawless Masterful Garnet

Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — The Coiled Altar

Voracious Heart of Ula'tek 344 · Myth 9/6 (VC) The Venomous Abyss — Ula'tek