PvP Retribution Paladin Pre-BiS & Best in Slot - WotLK Classic - Warcraft Tavern (2024)

When it comes to your Weapon Slots, things will get a bit tricky. What we mean by this is that there are two main ways of playing Retribution Paladin in PvP: You can either focus on a Shield & One-Handed Weapon for long fights and later swap on to a Two-Handed Weapon or you can maintain a Two-Handed Weapon for the entirety of the fight. The only consistent factor is that the One-Handed Weapon & Shield will always be items that focus on increasing your Spell Power. Your Two-Handed Weapon can also be either a high-end PvE Weapon or a high-end PvP Weapon. The choice depends on your current Resilience Rating and whether or not you want to increase it and the accessibility of the PvP Weapon in itself, as not everyone will be able to reach 2200 Arena Rating easily.

With the release of Season 7, we now have access to multiple variants of PvP weapons. You will now be able to buy Deadly Gladiator weapons with Honor Points, Furious Gladiator weapons come in both variants just as in the last season, with the upgraded version having a minimum 2000 Arena Rating requirement. Relentless Gladiator weapons also come in two different variants: The normal version has an 1800 Arena Rating requirement but grants lower stats than the upgraded Furious Gladiator weapons while the upgraded version has a minimum 2200 Arena Rating requirement.

Two-Handed Weapons:

The best possible PvP Weapon that you can acquire is the Relentless Gladiator’s Claymore, however, it requires a minimum 2200 Arena Rating which can be quite difficult to achieve for some players. The Furious Gladiator’s Claymore is the next-best alternative, with a minimum 2000 Arena Rating requirement. If you can’t reach the minimum 2000 Arena Rating, you may use the Relentless Gladiator’s Greatsword as the best possible option once you reach 1800 Arena Rating.

You may also buy the Furious Gladiator’s Greatsword, however, it is quite a costly item that should only be bought if you can’t reach a high Arena Rating or if you don’t have access to high-end PvE content. Luckily, the Deadly Gladiator’s Greatsword can now be acquired with Honor Rating, resulting in quite a decent amount of Resilience, even if the Weapon Damage is quite low for this season.

You should also keep in mind that depending on the race you are currently playing, you will favor variants of this weapon. Human players will favor Maces and Swords thanks to their Expertise Rating racial while Dwarves will strictly favor Maces. Draenei and Blood Elves won’t have a favorite weapon archetype since none of their racial effects enhances a specific weapon type.

For the Hybrid PvP Build, there are 3 different powerful items that you may acquire. Depending on whether you need more Hit Rating or if you struggle against Dodge/Parry Rating builds and you require Expertise Rating, you may use either one of Catastrophe/Grievance or Decimation/Fleshrender. The former option is the best option for increasing your Expertise Rating while the latter is the best option for increasing your Hit Rating.

If you already have plenty of Hit Rating and you don’t desire more Expertise Rating, the best possible option is Justicebringer/Dual-blade Butcher. This item offers the best damage output, even if it grants Armor Penetration, as a considerable amount of your damage is Physical Damage.

One-Handed Weapon & Shield

As mentioned previously, you will be able to use a One-Handed Weapon and Shield when faced against heavy hitter comps, no matter whether you choose the Standard PvP Build or the Hybrid Builds! You will also be able to create a macro in order to swiftly change your Two-Handed Weapon with a One-Handed Weapon and Shield to increase the potency of your Flash of Light. In the second case, you will want to make sure that you are not about to receive heavy damage when doing so as it will take a couple of seconds to take full advantage of the Spell Power weapons and use 1 or 2 Flash of Light casts.

Just as in season 6 the best possible option, no matter whether you use the Standard PvP Build or the Hybrid PvP Builds, is Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings. This is not only due to its extraordinary stat spread, but mainly due to its unique effect which grants an absorption effect whenever you cast any healing spell. This item is strong enough to remain relevant throughout the entirety of Season 7 and even during Season 8!

Just as with the Two-Handed weapons, the One-Handed PvP weapons come in multiple variants, with the Shields remaining the same.

If you can’t acquire Val’anyr, for the Standard PvP Build the Relentless Gladiator’s Salvation offers the best possible stats while also requiring a 2200 Arena Rating. The Relentless Gladiator’s Gavel is a weaker alternative that can be acquired with only an 1800 Arena Rating. However, we now also have access to the Furious Gladiator’s Gavel which can be acquired without any Arena Rating requirement while also costing a decently lower amount of Arena Points. You may also use its upgraded version if you reach a minimum 2000 Arena Rating, however, it would be wiser to try to push 2200 Arena Rating and keep the points for the BiS option.

The Relentless Gladiator’s Barrier is the best PvP Shield that you can acquire with a minimum 1800 Arena Rating! You may now also acquire the Furious Gladiator’s Barrier for half its price with no Arena Rating requirement if you can’t reach the 1800 Arena Rating mark.

As for the Hybrid PvP Build with PvE weapons & shield, the best options will be either one of Misery’s End/Suffering’s End or Blade of the Unbroken Covenant/Mortalis. Both options have the exact same stat spread. meaning that it doesn’t really matter which one you choose. Once again, the main issue with the PvE Spell Power items is that they will be very hard to acquire if you don’t play the Holy Specialization in PvE. The Bastion of Purity/Bastion of Resolve is the strongest PvE shield that you can acquire, with a great stat spread divided between Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating!