Ret Paladin FCFS Rotations
Here is the current 3.3 FCFS rotation. Yes, we’re still using it. (This is for Ret Paladins under the 2 T9 set bonus. For anything above 2 T9, see below!)
HoW > CS > Judgement > DS > Consecration > Exorcism > Holy Wrath
—–
I know many people dog on this as “easy mode”, and quite honestly, I don’t argue that. It’s true. Start in the optimal sequence of HoW > CS > Judgement > DS > Consecration > Exorcism > Holy Wrath and then start mashing the first ability that comes off cooldown. It’s really not that difficult.
I will vary the rotation up a smidge when fighting packs of mobs, going exorcism as I close in, then judge, then DS, cons, and coming full circle with CS. If I am already within melee range, it goes DS -> cons -> CS -> judge -> ex, rinse and repeat, but mainly focusing on keeping those AoE abilites up. Still, it is easy mode.
What changed with our FCFS in Patch 3.2?
Well, for starters, Hammer of Wrath is now our #1 ability when it is up. Can only be used when the mob is less than 20% health, but it has very high damage and critical strike ratio, so it jumps ahead of Crusader Strike.
Despite the baby bunny rabbit of a hit that Crusader Strike is, it’s still what we’ll be hitting first, followed by the rest of our old FCFS rotation. Exorcism moves ahead of Holy Wrath, but who really cares? Exorcism’s nerf still has me upset. That cast time is just obnoxious.
UPDATED FOR 3.3
Lately our sets have had the ability to alter our resolution system. There are several different scenarios in 3.3, these only apply if set bonuses are equipped.
If you have 2pc T9 equipped your best clash resolution is: Judgement > HoW > CS > DS > Consecrate > Exorcism > Holy Wrath.
If you have 2pc T9 AND 2pc T10 equipped, your best resolution is: Judgement > DS > CS > HoW > Consecrate > Exorcism > Holy Wrath
If you have 4pc T10 equipped, go with: Judgement > DS > CS > HoW > Consecrate > Exorcism > Holy Wrath.
UPDATE 4/4/10: There is some heavy debate on whether CS should come before or after DS. Honestly, that really depends on what your current gear set-up is. If you have mountains of crit and haste, DS might be your second priority due to the high set bonus procs. Faster swings and more crits on white damage lead to more Divine Storms. Otherwise, leaving CS as a second priority might be more beneficial.
First of all, I’m new to WoW (started in Sep ‘09) and your website has been a fantastic resource for me. I’m able to comfortably get 3k to 4k DPS after having only played for this short time, and for some tank-and-spank bosses, I can get close to 5k. I love seeing myself at the top of the recount list and this is mainly due to what I have read on your site.
My first question is what exactly do you mean by Tier 9 and Tier 10 gear? I have two pieces of Turalyon’s of Conquest (lvl 232) and plan to move up to a set of Turalyon’s of Triumph (lvl 245) now that I can comfortably start raiding and get some Trophys of the Crusade. What tier is the set I am using … 8 ?
My second question is why T9 and T10 sets would move Judgement “up” in the FCFS rotation? I see for the Turalyon’s of Conquest or Triumph sets.. if you have (4) pieces this gives you an increase of 5% chance to crit with Judgements, so this might move Judgements “up”, but I’m not sure why Judgements would move up for 2 T9 or 2 T10 pieces.
Thanks
Hey thanks for the comment! I love when I have to go do some research, because I didn’t know the answer to your second question off the top of my head.
First, you have 2 pieces of T9. All the T9 set bonuses are the same for level 232 and 245 versions of the gear. T10 is the Icecrown sets.
Second, because Judgement packs such a substantial punch, it moves up due to Righteous Vengeance. With the damage it creates becoming critical strikes, it moves ahead of Crusader Strike in our FCFS rotation. It amounts to more DPS. Hope that helps!
I just got my T10 2 set bonus and I’m really debating on the rotation. According to RAWR-my DPS would be better by using Judgement > HoW > CS > DS > Consecrate > Exorcism > Holy Wrath. (The orginal rotation) rather then moving DS over CS. I’m going to do some work on the dummy tonight and see whats better.
I’d be interested to hear your results. The 3.3 FCFS rotations is based on some Elitist Jerks info, so I’m definitely all ears if someone has a more optimal rotation.
Ok, so I was on the dummy last night for sometime. And I still think Judgement > HoW > CS > DS > Consecrate > Exorcism > Holy Wrath is the best rotation for the Tier 10 2 set bonus. I thought there was going to be an issue with mana but actually it saved mana. You do less Consecration and exorcism because DS procs pretty often and your rotation restarts over again. I hope someone can argue with this b/c I just felt like this rotation works best and was more fluent them having J > DS > CS. This is still a work in progrees.
what happened to the rotation i saw a while back hell i think ive been doing it wrong for a while last i saw it was CS>JUDGE>DS>CONCE>EXO>HOLY WRATH also khor make sure you use holy wrath as much as possible in icc trash number one it stuns all mobs and according to parrot when i crit which is like 99% of the time with it im getting a total of 32k damage jsut from that ability and about 28k from DS
soo im jsut wondering if maybe having JUDGE B4 CS might change if you are using the new libram because the libram procs off of CS which might have it be beter than judge first …….i dont know im not great at testing this stuff cause there are always too many aoeing fools at the dummies that lag me out but can some one maybe test to see if cs first and then judge like my rotation up their says is beter i would apreciate
I’m curious if anyone here is using addons to help keep track of CDs and rotation adjustments. For example, my hunter uses Kharthus’s Hunter Timers which allows the user to set up the priority order of attacks and shows the CD for each. It’s very easy and a great visual que to know which attack should come next. I haven’t played with it much on my lowbie pally yet. thoughts?
I mistyped… the addon is Watcher not Hunter Timers.
@incrusiable – Since I have 2 T9, I do judge first, then CS. The first rotation I listed here is the basic Paladin FCFS rotation. Tier gear always seems to mix the priorities. For ICC trash, I my rotation is as follows: DS > CS > Cons > HW > Judge > HoW > Ex. All my AoE and SoC attacks take priority, so when one comes off cooldown, that’s first.
I don’t have the new libram yet since it’s a minimal DPS upgrade compared to other badge gear, but you’re right about CS. Only problem is that the new trinket takes a smidge longer to ramp up than the 245 trinket.
@ JeD – I know there is a mod to help with FCFS rotations. I will try and find it. Personally I don’t use it, but that’s just my own gameplay style. I’m not sure if this add-on adjusts for Tier gear bonuses, though.
hmm i was just wondering why you had judgement coming into play first instead of cs
2 piece T9 set bonus has Judgement first for FCFS, according to several sources on Elitist Jerks.
I just wanted to add that you mentioned how annoying the cast time of exorcism was annoying. For me having the talent “art of war” is crucial for damage. When art of war is procing exorcism and flash of light are instant. I use power auras as well to let me know when this ability procs.(which should be all the time if you have t9 gear atleast and use DS in your rotation.) The talent also has a 10% increase for CS, DS, and Judgments.
just a stupid question what is HoW? trying to find it but just find Hammer of justice but can just use it when mob have les then 20% hp?
hammer of wrath*
KHOR r u a warr tank on the relm shattered hand.
if you are ur a jerk and a bad guild leader u favor
Heh, sorry m8, not a Warrior, nor am I on Shattered Hand. I am a Paladin on the US Shadowsong server
Sad to hear there is at least one Khor giving all the rest of us a bad name!
I totally agree with the rotation you have listed, but i’m currently running with the 2piece t9, and 2piece t10, and i find using DS whenever it procs and judge isnt up is the best option,
Anyone else have any feedback on this?
That’s odd, because I am using 2 T9 and 2T10 and using Divine Storm has skyrocketed my DPS…at least compared to what it was before. What kinds of fights are you noticing inefficiency on?
HoW can only be used when target is below 20% health so how can you start a rotation with it as target is at 100% life? I admit I am new to the ret pally ranks but rest of rotation seems fine just wann know how HoW starts rotation when you start a fight and mobs and or boss is at 100% health…
Sturmblade
I think raid buffs and armor reduction on the boss are going to make DS hit harder than on the dummy… This might make DS hit harder than judgement in a raid. dummy damage with a crazy proc like that will be much different with raid buffs than on a dummy and thats all that matters.
Hey Sturm…the FCFS rotations are generalized. If the mob is at 20% HP or below, then HoW takes priority. If not, assume the same rotations, just omit the HoW. Hope this helps!
soo im extrememly close to 4 pc t10 and luckily enough i got a token last night so it will be auto 264
im gonna get my head even though its ugly as hell hopefully with this ill get a huge dps increase even though im already pulling 15k on trash in start of 25 man
Sorry all. 1 noob question. If i have a gear item from Icecrown, item level 251, but it does not contribute to the tier bonus. Does it still consider T10 gears?
Hey Zelyn, no, unfortunately it will not contribute to the T10 bonus unless it is a specific piece of the set.
with your rotation how much dps you have with damage meter?
Hey Boom, that greatly depends on the fight. For ICC, I am averaging around 6-7k DPS for Marrowgar, 5-5.8k for Deathwhisper, 7.5-8.3k on Saurfang, and 7k+ on Festergut.
With my T9 and T10 gear, I use that particular FCFS variation, but that’s not to say I don’t switch it up as different scenarios present themselves.
A good Ret Paladin will make FCFS adjustments by instinct, knowing what abilities will enhance their DPS based on the current fight they are on.
The FCFS rotations listed are the basic rotations to rely upon, but don’t be afraid to tweak them and tailor them to meet your needs.
Just one example would be on ICC trash, in large packs, if you ran in and opened up with Judge, then Holy Wrath, I wouldn’t be arguing your logic much, especially if it was a large pull. Then you can switch to normal FCFS for the rest of the fight.
Hey, quick question about gemming I currently use the meta that gives 21 agility and 3% crit damage increase and aside from the gems needed to activate I purely gem strength. What do you guys use as your gems and here my stats if this will help…
Strength: 2018Agility: 212Stamina: 1713Intellect: 122Spirit: 113Armor: 14853Damage: 2025 – 2424Speed: 3.08Power: 4646Hit Rating: 400Crit Chance: 36.86%Expertise: 19(expertise is 29 when my seal is up)
P.S. for anyone before wondering about a good cooldown/rotation addon i use clcret from curse
Hi Khor
First, thanks for all the great information and your dedication to the posts. It is a challenge to find good, solid info on Ret Pallies.
I am really still curious on your FCFS rotations in ICC. You could please just re-list what you use in ICC Trash and ICC bosses. I guess I keep getting lost on all the posts.
I have Three Tier 10 and Two Tier 9.
On ICC Trash: Seal of Command is activated. Then I use Judge of Wisdom, DS, CS, Consecrate, Ex, and Holy Wrath. Then I add in HoW when mob is less than 20%.
On ICC Bosses: Same as above but I activate Seal of Command
Now when I ran ICC 10 last night, I was averaging about 7K on ICC Trash but down to 5K on bosses. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
thanks and keep up the awesome work!
NoobishPally
Oops..See Khor..Noob error.
On ICC Bosses I activate Seal of Vengeance..not Command.
I had another ret pally running ICC with me last night, and his gear was just under my gearscore, we were both doing the same rotations, but he was averaging 1K more than me on everything! We talked about our gemming, glyphs, and rotations and we were about 99% identical.
thanks
Noobish Forever Pally
Noobish Pally! Thanks for the compliments man!
In regards to my AoE rotation, it always seems to vary…
Generally, I follow a, AoE FCFS rotation of:
DS – Cons – Holy Wrath – Judge – CS – HoW
Divine Storm always, always takes precedence in AoE settings for me personally, unless I am running low on mana, the Judgement will jump to the top so I can take advantage of the Judgements of the Wise talent for instant mana regen. I also use Avenging Wrath when I know the cooldown won’t be up for a boss fight. Now, I am anywhere from 11-13k DPS on trash. Try placing your AoE abilites first and see how that goes. Doesn’t hurt to test it out
In regards to my FCFS rotaiton for bosses, I have 4 T10 with crap tons of crit and haste. My GS is around 3170 (wowheroes). This rotation is what works best for me:
Judge – DS – CS – HoW – Cons – Ex – HW
You can swap DS and CS and see if that helps, but I have alot of crit, so I proc the T10 DS bonus alot, therefore I place it higher in my rotation.
I also pop Avenging Wrath as soon as I have 5 stacks of SoV up on the boss, so that I almost always have a second use ready for later, usually in tandem with Heroism. I also use my +haste potion with Heroism and Avenging Wrath.
P.S.
5k on bosses is pretty good, especialyl on bosses like Deathwhisper. When you hit 4 T10, I guarantee your numbers will jump much higher.
Hello Khor
I havent been very aware of the T9 so i didnt buy it… kinda stupid. But now im on 1 Piece of T10, dropped in VoA. Shall i go for Buying Herkumi War Token or Shoulders for T10?
And if i get 2Piece T10 and no T9 what is then the FCFS Order?
Piraric – Draenor EU
Hey, got a Question:
Rawr says i’m supposed to be doing 9k dps, but i’ve been averaging 5k in ICC. I’m sticking to my rotation: CS-Jud-DS-Con-CS-Exo-HW-HoW
Any ideas? could it have something to do with my talents?
Hey Piraric, definitely go with the T10 shoulders over the trinket. The trinket is very good for us, don’t get me wrong, but you’ll definitely see a larger DPS increase from the T10 gear and it’s respective 2-piece bonus.
In regards to your rotation, you’re probably going to want to go with something akin to:
Judge-CS-DS-HoW-Cons-Ex-HW
You can swap CS and DS and practice on some target dummies to see what yields the best DPS with your current gear set-up.
@ Gladius – Well, first, I would recommend making Judgement your first attack in your FCFS rotation. Judgement is the hardest hitting attack we have, so it takes priority. CS or DS can come next, depending on your gear.
In regards to Rawr, that should be displaying your optimal DPS, which most of us don’t touch. I’m sure my optimal DPS is around 10k or so, but I don’t hit that on bosses
You have to account for some user delays, even if by a half second or so..Rawr accounts for this, but rarely are we as precise as Rawr wants us to be. It also doesn’t account for user ‘error’ in which we modify our rotations based on encounters. Also remember Rawr is thinking your are jsut sitting on a boss DPSing. How many encounters do we really get to do that? Lots of running around for most boss fights. There are many factors that make Rawr misleading. It’s more of a guide to optimize your gear more that anything else.
5k average in ICC isn’t all that bad. If you’re maxed out at 4 T10 and have an average gear item level of 245, then there might be something with your rotations or talents…perhaps glyphs, as well?
Most fights in ICC are running around, i guess. but while i’m fighting i seem to notice that my dps is no where near others in my raid. when they are hitting 7k, i’m barely making 5k. But it could be those things you said. I’ll take a look and see this week.
thanks for the info
Hi Khor
Thanks for the reply and again, I am just lovin this website and the all the fantastic info you are putting into it! Thanks for the great effort again and please keep it up for the rest of us. I think we are all learning a lot from you.
Ok..enough ass kissing.
1. Thanks for the rotation info and and I will see what happens and report back. I am a bit away from getting my next Tier 10, but what you gave me should help.
2. A fellow ret pally of mine, with a GS of 5300 ( mine is almost 5600) keeps out dpsing me. He has the following rotation
Soc/Sov, CS, J, DS, CS, Cons, CS, Ex, CS, J. He has two Tier 9s and one Tier 10. And this rotation gives me almost .5 to 1k dps more than me on either ICC Trash and bosses.
What do you think? He keeps urging me to use his, and I did, but DS Procing so much, I think I am doing worse.
ty…
Noobish Pally
Hi Khor
1. I use jud>DS>CS>cons>ex>CS>HoW(when boss is below 20%) as my main rotation and i don’t have to wait for cooldowns at all most of the time, now i have to ask is why should i be using the one u recoment here?
2.I have a 5.6k GS and i do about 6k dps and i feel i should be doing more any sugestions? my toon name is “Eldunari” and i am on hellscream server wlould u mind having a look and tell me what i am doing wrong.
thank you heeps and hope to hear from you soon ^^
@ Ret Pali – Well, actually, it looks like you and I are exactly the same on our first 3 abilities. You have HoW at the end, whereas I place it immediately after the first CS.
The logic behind HoW falling 4th is because it is a still a very heavy hitting spell with a huge chance to crit (if you’re specced that way). It does weigh heavier than Cons and Ex.
Keep in mind HoW is first on the FCFS rotations pre-T9, so many a beginning Paladin will have this as their top priority.
The reason it falls behind in FCFS after T9 is because of the set bonuses with T9 and T10, where proccing, crits, and seals are drastically enhanced by Judge, DS, and CS.
Hope that helps!
@ Noobish Pally – I’m really at a loss if he is doing more DPS than you and your DS is always proccing. Divine Storm in combination with SoC should be absolutely devastating to trash. It is first priority as far as I am concerned. Do you guys have a WoL or WMO report we could look at?
Hi Khor
Thanks again for your wisdom.
Sorry, I do not know what a Wol or Wmo are?
I do see in the prior threads that you are using Hammer of Wrath. This might be one issue. I really can’t use HoW until the boss is down to 20%. So I am using your suggested rotation, then hit HoW as soon as it lights up? Is that right?
One really dumb question for you is this. Mechanics. I use my mouse to click each spell in the rotation, one by one. And I use my AWSD keys to move my toon around. Are you using something different physical mechanic.
I did a comparison with my fellow ret pally guldie who constantly is out dpsing me. His STR is about 150 more than mine…I have a Cape and Necklace that is geared for Agility instead of STR. Could that make a difference.
Noobish Pally
Thanks all for the advice. I am a lvl80 NOOB but trying to learn how to get my DPS up so that I can go into ICC without making a fool of myself! I am dual spec Ret/Holy My question is do I make a macro to go for trash and another for bosses My GS is 2200
@ Noobish Pally – I myself am a mouse clicker as well. I know this is a WoW sin, but hey, it works for me. Never really liked the keyboard playstyle. Luckily, with our FCFS rotations, this doesn’t present a problem. I mash my mouse click fast
WoL and WMO are two types of reports used for raid statistics, ranging from DPS, heals, and damage taken. Very handy tools if your guild is running raids. I prefer WMO, though WoL can get into more detailed specifics.
In regards to the +str vs +agi, that again largely depends on your set bonuses. 150 strength is goingto net him 300+ more AP than you, which could provide a DPS margin. However, I myself have been out-DPSed by Paladins with less strength than myself, where they had ~3% higher crit than me. Given, I was still gearing up, but your gear combinations really tell the tale on where your DPS is.
HoW is used at 20%, but still falls behind Judge – DS – CS, in that order. It is 4th on your priority list, even when boss is at 20% HP or less.
Hey Lucretia, not sure I understand the question. Macros for trash and bosses? If you’re referring to FCFS, my personal preference is to stay away from macros in our rotations. I just mash the first available ability that is highest on our priority list.
And yes, my personal rotations vary in regards to trash vs bosses. I follow the normal T10 FCFS for bosses, and usuallty stack my AoE abilities first for trash packs. Single trash I go back to normal FCFS.
Maybe a dumb question but here goes. Is the bonus offered by T9 gear enough to offset 264 gear that isn’t tier? I have 2 T10 and I also have shoulders and legs that are 264 (non-tier) as well as a full set of T9. Until I get another 2 T10 I’m trying to mix and match as effectively as possible. Thanks in advance.
If your T9s are 245 or above, that’s a tough call. If they are 232s, then I’d lean more towards the 264s. Your best bet, though, is going to be crunching some numbers on the dummies.
That’s a great question man, it really relies upon your other gear and what stats you have going for you.
Hi Khor, thanks for the great work as always.
Well, after reading all of your advice and practicing, I am still sucking wind in ICC. My GS is 5597 and I have three Tier 10 and two Tier 9. About 12 frost away from the fourth Tier 10.
We got to Putricide in ICC 10, and my best dps was 5K on Saurfang, and about 5.3K on Fester and Rot. I am really at a loss to figure out what I am doing wrong when lesser geared pallys are wiping me off the floor with their dps. Downright embarrassing. I know it is user error or lack of skill but I am determined to solve the issue.
Do you have a set rotation for a full tier 10 set? I should have my 4rth Tier 10 piece next week.
I am thinking that possibly I am moving around too much, especially with Deathwhisperer and Rotface. That should be reducing my dps.
The other thing I think is my rotation. I don’t think I am maintaining your rotation all the time. I seem to get thrown off when HoW procs and I have to use it. I think I end up then just mouse clicking whatever ability lights up for the remainder of the fight. I am sure that is throwing off my dps even further.
I may be not using Cons enough because I seem to be losing mana quite a bit.
My toon’s name is Fubareous on Sen’Jin server if you have any free time to look at him, I would be most thankful.
Thanks again Khor..your rock!
RR
Hey Noobish, I’m going to take this and post it in the forums for this site so it will eb a little easier to follow: Ret Paladin Forums
Hey in all these forum that i’ve read, it always says to use HoW, early in the rotation…..from what i can see from my spells HoW = hammer of wrath, which u can’t use at the start of a fight….i would rly like to know if i’m looking at the wrong spell, or if i’m reading the rotation wrong….or something
So right now I’m a 5768 gs PvE Holy Paladin, and I recently picked up Death’s Choice to disenchant it, seeing as no one wanted it and I was leading the raid, and I thought to myself, hey, I’d really like to abandon holy/prot and go holy/ret. I’m wondering if in your opinion, Khor, it would be worth it to spend the time on gearing and getting skilled under that tree. The main reason I’m having a bit of indecision is that I also have a retired 80 DK with a decent mix of ICC and TOC gear. You being the most brilliant man alive, nigh the god of ret paladins, would you recommend going back and playing my dk or going ret to push optimal dps? Really I’m just curious which class has a higher dps capability. I know it’s possible on ret to be good, but it’s also a lot harder, thus the intregue. Thanks.
Hey Matt! Heh, definitely not the most brilliant man alive, that’s for sure
Grats on the Death’s Choice! I’m sure many of us would love to get our hands on that!
In regards to going Ret vs DK, I wish I could offer more advice, but I just don’t know the details of DK DPS. I do know that I out-DPS our highest DKs by anywhere from 1.5k to 2k DPS on single target fights. That could be a combination of gear, skill, and FCFS…or it could just be the class.
High end Ret DPS DOES become more intricate the higher gear you get. I particularly enjoy hammering out my rotations for each boss fight and focusing on haste/crit to see how much of an impact they have on my single target DPS.
I’d personally say go Ret! I think you’ll like trying to top the meters, which is most certainly possible. If you don’t like it, there’s always the DK waiting for ya!
Hi Khor and everyone else.
As an FYI…hackers are on the rise. If you don’t have the authenticator…GET IT! Only $6. I run three anti-virus, malware, spyware, programs and still go hacked.
I lost my toon for about 5 days due to hackers last week. Blizzard is saying that compromised accounts are on a dramatic rise. Looks like they are preying on Wow based websites and addons that are not as popular as others.
Khor..since I have been out of commission with my toon, I have not been able to try your strategies in the forum. I hope to do so this weekend.
Noobish Pally
Oh no Noobish! Sorry to hear you got hacked. Definitely a good idea to get an authenticator. I have one, and love the extra shield it gives my account. Nothing is bulletproof, but it gives hackers one more wall to break through.
Hi Khor
I’m only 69 so no tier sets yet >,judge>DS>Conc>Exo>CS
I find it’s fluent and cool downs mesh well, I hit and average of 1.8k dps (Total overall).
But reading all this awesome info I wonder if on Trash I should follow a
(HoW)>Judge>DS>Conc>Cs>Exo….?
I know I’m a lowbie but I’m always wanting to improve even if it means by an additional 100dps.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Belgaer-Sen’jin US
5 P’s
Preparation and planning prevents a poor performance.
Edit:
It cut a bit of the original Rotation.
HoW>CS>Judge>DS>Conc>Exo>CS
Thanks again.
Hey ManofEngland! The HoW>CS>Judge>DS>Conc>Exo>CS you are using is spot on. Only when taking on packs of mobs for AoE purposes will you want to vary it up a bit…Divine Storm takes precedence for me in those situations.
Feel free to Armory me, Superiority/Baelgun.
First, it’s confusing to less skilled players to say you start a “rotation” with Hammer of Wrath. Normally, on a boss fight I start out with a judgement, it’s get the replenishment going and let’s be honest, the range is nice and you get some early dps on the boss. After 5 stacks of Seal of Vengeance, I use Hammer of Wrath. I then get another HoW later on during heroism where I also use a potion of speed. To say I have a set rotation is not accurate.
FCFS literally means what it’s hyphenated to be. Your priority should always be a judgement, it keeps mana going to the raid and with 5 stacks of SoV they are quite impressive and the seal proc is nice. After that on single target mobs I always prioritize this way, w/o HoW up. Judge,CS,DS and if it procs with set bonus I use DS again, consecrate and Exorcism. I hardly use Holy Wrath on single target, it’s a mana waste.
Look, I pull 10.5k on Saurfang with this rotation and am usually top 5 in my raid in damage and dps (there’s a difference.) I am easily hanging with rogues,mages,dk’s and am out dps’ng mostly every other class(some who outgear me). Don’t make it too hard or read too much into supposed dps cycles our class isn’t built that way.
I apologize for my above post, it was late. I meant to say I use Avenging Wrath after 5 stacks of SoV at a fight start and then later on in the fight I use Avenging Wrath again with heroism and a speed pot.
Hi im not sure if this question is related here but here it goes
i know the exp cap is 26 correct me if I’m wrong.. And I would like to add that I gem all my slots with Str except for 1 or 2 I think to activate my meta gem.
Anyways… lately i have acquired 2 new items from ICC25 weapon and pants which brought my EXP to 16! =S… which I think is highly not recommended… to my EXP back to 26 I would have to gem 4 pieces of 20expertise gems on my slots.
My question is…. will it benefit me more if i stay at 16 expertise or should I gem for them and get myself back to 26 exp which will mean I’ll be sacrificing 80str to get back to the cap
Actually, keep the 16 exp as is…and use the SoV glyph. You’ll lose much more DPS gemming expertise instead of strength
hello, can anyone tell me what is HoW?? plz^^
Not gonna read wall of text but.. if it hasnt been said
Most rets do terrible dps in decent gear because they think FCFS is a rotation
FCFS means FIRST come FIRST serve
its not a rotation at all
it means whatever move is coming off of cooldown first is what you use (and if there are 2 or more coming up at the same time then you reffer to the FCFS priority list, which some have been wrongly calling a rotation)
tl;dr: Ret uses a priority list, not a set rotation.
@ ivo – HoW = Hammer of Wrath
Hello, I hope that I can find finally the answers to my problem, I’ve a quite good gear (I’m in Eonar if you want to check it out) 6k g/s and 4 T10. During raids in ICC 25 I noticed that few paladins with worse gear are scoring easily more DPS than me. I’m using this Rotation: J, Ds, Cs, How, Conc, Exo. I’m using now 11,5,55 in talents. Any help is more than welcome
ty
Hi,
I am new to the palidin world and I am happy I found a good rotation. My only question is, How is HoW first in the FCFS rotation? Is this for the last 20% of the boss? Maybe I am missing something.
Hey all,
I am a lvl 75 Dual Spec Ret/Holy, and had just a few questions about gear. I have as my professions blacksmithing and enchanting, using disenchant to fund buying mats off the Auction House. I know I’m not up to the required level, but was wondering your thoughts on the Savage Saronite Battlegear set as far as it’s usefulness to a paladin who spends most of his time solo or in a random 5-man. Is it worth the gold spent buying 100+ bars of saronite and the eternal elements? Or am I just going to be spending cash on gear that’s gonna get replaced really quick? Also, I see you recommend using Glyph of Seal of Vengeance vs Glyph of Seal of Command. While I understand that you’re going for the extra expertise, I tried it and found that I like the boost to mana from judgments to allow me to continue my rotation longer without having to pause to utilize divine plea. Combined with Judgments of the Wise, I usually get well over 1100 mana back just for using a judgment spell.
All that being said, my paladin is my first toon and my highest level, so I may just be making a noob error here.
Hey Casey! Glad you found your way here. HoW is first on your priority list only when the mob or boss is at 20% HP or below. When it becomes useable, it becomes your top priority. Otherwise, it’s not useable and not an option. Hope this helps!
Hey Agonus! Your entry gear is entirely up to you when it comes to 5-mans. The Savage gear is honestly not the best option out there, but if it gets you into 5-mans more quickly, I say go for it! That said, you will rpobably be replacing gear very, very quickly.
Many people like Glyph of SoC for mana purposes, but Glyph of SoV is still the better overall glyph, because it increases your DPS by reducing a mob’s chance to parry and dodge.
Divine Plea…you mentioned having to pause to use it…There’s really no pause involved. You should hit it when you need it and continue DPSing through it. There are no penalties using this while DPSing. No need to pause combat while this is active, fight right on thru it!
Any more questions feel free to post up, or use the forums and I can give you some more detailed, structured advice!
@Jedima – Rockstar gear m8! There’s literally nothing I have to suggest. Rotation is perfect, too. Not sure why they are out-DPSing you. Do you have any WMO logs, or at least have the DPS for specific boss fights for yourself and the other Paladins?
Thanks for the quick reply. What gear would you suggest upon reaching level 80? I’ll try changing my glyph to see what happens. When I mentioned that I have to pause, I meant that it takes me out of the pattern as I move my hand to press the hotkey then move it back to where I have the buttons for CS, DS, Judgment, etc.
I’m confused about the rotation. How can you start with HoW when it requires a target to be below 20% health to use? (New lvl 80 pally here)
Hey Nomad! THoW is always first ONLY IF the mob or boss is below 20% HP. In all other situations, where the boss is above 20% HP, you can just forget about the HoW, and drop it off your FCFS.
The HoW part of FCFS is only viable when it can be used
Otherwise, forget it is there!
Ah. Thanks for the clarification. I was lost there for a second. lol
Thanks Khor.
Hi Khor, love the info and tips, but i have a slight problem.
I used to have 2 T9 pieces but I got a new t 10 piece, so i have one t10 and one t9. I hope to get two t10 pieces soon, but for now i dont see any rotations that go with having one t10 and one t9. Would you suggest using one of the rotations you have anyway, or maybe something else?
- Nearmyth, level 80 ret paladin
hey khor, I was wondering if there was any macros that could be made with all of our attacks so when the T10 DS ability procs, and we use, say crusader strike for instance, it will also use DS?
@Blitz, there is no way to chain multiple casts/abilities with one keystroke. That’s against Blizz’s policies. You can use /castsequence in a macro but then still have to spam that one macro-button to go through each attack.
Personally, I use NeedToKnow to monitor things like gear Procs and Art of War. I use bright background colors so they really flag my peripheral vision and get me to throw out that Exorcism or heal (e.g., Art Of War) as appropriate.
Hi Khor & Noobish Pally
I had the same problem as Noobish with a former guildie who out-dps:ed me with lesser GS on ICC. I gemmed STR in all my slots previously, except for to activate metas, but decided to try the gems that Rawr is suggesting (for me it is now mostly CRIT+STR). Noobish, I checked you through Rawr, maybe you should download it, cause it recommends other gems than the ones you have now (if you’re still out-dps:ed by other pallies, that is).
My biggest problem is that I do a lot of dmg on trash, but when it comes down to bosses my dps is getting dramatically lower. The former guildie that I mentioned earlier improves his dps on boss fight. I asked him if he has a particular rotation, but it seems he’s just doing FCFS.
I raided yesterday with my new guild, 25 man ICC, and peaked with 15k on trash, unfortunately I don’t think it was logged, but I figure my average dps on trash is around 10k. I did as low as 4,5k on Putricide, even though I was supposed to stay on him all time and didn’t have to run to take any adds.
So… I’ve tried all sorts of things (rotation, gems, glyphs) and this is getting really annoying. Any advice would be welcome…
Kind regards
Goldwyn
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