Paladin overview
The paladin is a holy warrior in heavy armor who heals, protects and fights in melee. It is the sturdiest class to level, one of the best healers in raids, and the class that brings blessings every group wants.
At a glance
| Roles | Healer, tank, melee damage |
| Resource | Mana |
| Armor | Mail, plate from level 40 |
| Difficulty | Easy to level, deep in raids |
| Talent calculator | Paladin talents |
Who can be a paladin
In the Forever client the paladin is open to Human, Dwarf and Undead. Undead paladins are new: in the original game the class was Alliance only, and the Horde now has its own paladins.
How the class plays
A paladin fights with a seal active on the weapon and a judgement that releases it on the target. On top of that come auras (one active at a time, shared with the party) and blessings cast on allies. Most of your power is in these buffs, so in a group you are worth more than your own damage meter shows. You also have the strongest defensive tool in the game: a few seconds of full immunity.
Talent trees
Holy is the healing tree. It ends in 
Holy Shock, an instant spell that heals an ally or hurts an enemy. 
Holy Power below it makes your critical heals larger.
Protection is the tanking tree. It ends in 
Holy Shield, which raises block chance and deals Holy damage on every block. Paladin tanks are strongest against many enemies at once.
Retribution is the melee damage tree and the usual leveling choice. Its top talent in Forever is 
Repentance, a crowd control that puts a humanoid to sleep, and 
Vengeance one tier below now raises both Physical and Holy damage after a critical strike.
Leveling
Level as Retribution with a two-handed weapon. Paladins rarely die while leveling: heavy armor, self-healing and the immunity bubble cover most mistakes. The cost is speed; fights are long, so keep a seal and judgement rotation going and drink between pulls.
In a group
Most groups want the paladin to heal. Even as Retribution or Protection you are expected to keep the right blessings on everyone and to pick a useful aura. Learn the cleansing spell early; removing poisons, diseases and magic is a big part of the job.
Strengths and weaknesses
- Strong: survives almost anything, heals itself and others, buffs the whole group, three viable roles.
- Weak: slow kills while leveling, few ranged tools, Retribution damage depends heavily on weapon and gear.
Races and talents come from the Forever client files (build 1.60.1.70790); play advice follows the original game and will be checked against Forever’s changes.