Ret Leveling Build

Nothing beats a good Ret leveling build for getting a Paladin to level eighty in a hurry. Not only is it the ideal spec for questing solo, you can toss on a shield, turn Righteous Fury on, and tank as well as Prot until the highest levels. So we’ll discuss which talents to take, when to take them, and why you’re taking them. We’ll also talk about Major and Minor Glyph choices!

5/5 Benediction – Mana is your biggest limiting factor early on; this helps

2/2 Imp. Judgments – More Judgments means more damage (and later, more mana)

2/2 Imp. Blessing of Might – Boring damage buff

1/3 Heart of the Crusader – Filler

2/2 Pursuit of Justice – Faster movement is actually VERY awesome for leveling speed

3/5 Conviction – Filler; and yes, we’re skipping SoC; SoR is better single target damage Glyphed

3/3 Crusade – Boring flat damage buff, but good

2/3 Sanctity of Battle – Another slight damage increase; don’t bother finishing it yet

1/1 Sanctified Retribution – Pretty awesome; good party applications, and a decent damage increase solo

3/3 Two-handed Weapon Spec – Yet another basic damage buff

3/3 Sanctity of Battle – Finish it.

5/5 Conviction – Finish it to get to Vengeance

3/3 Vengeance – You should have enough crit by now to keep this up fairly often

3/3 Judgments of the Wise – YES! Say goodbye to mana issues; probably your biggest single buff for leveling speed

2/2 Art of War – This takes care of the health part of downtime the same way JotW handles mana. You’ll understand why a Ret leveling build is so good now.

1/1 Repentance – A handy CC, and required for Fanatacism

3/3 Fanaticism – A huge buff to Judgment crits; Vengeance is going to be up pretty much always, now

1/2 Sanctified Wrath – Pretty much filler for now

1/1 Crusader Strike – Another instant attack, finally!

3/3 Sheath of Light – Your heals won’t be as wimpy now

1/3 Swift Retribution – Decent but don’t finish it until after RV

3/3 Righteous Vengeance – A fairly big damage buff, considering how often Ret crits

3/3 Swift Retribution – Finish it now, then finish up ret with…

1/1 Divine Storm – A completely AWESOME ability. Mow down multiple mobs effortlessly!

After grabbing DS, I recommend moving on to another tree; there are plenty of good leveling talents waiting.

5/5 Divine Strength – Straightforward but powerful buff

5/5 Seals of the Pure – Same as Divine Strength

2/2 Guardian’s Favor – Nice bit of survivability

3/5 Anticipation – A bit more survivability, but mostly this is filler to get to…

3/3 Imp. Righteous Fury – Great for both soloing and tanking!

You’re only a few levels from eighty at this point, so I recommend ditching this Ret leveling build and picking up something appropriate for endgame play; you’ll want the time to get used to your new build.

As for Glyph choices, I recommend these Majors:

Divine Storm – A nice buff to your best ability

Righteousness – Another good buff; this pushes Righteousness above Seal of Command for single target damage

Judgment – A straight damage buff to a vital attack

As for Minor Glyphs, Might, Lay on Hands, and Sense Undead are my preferences, though these matter much less than your major Glyphs.