Another Cataclysm Beta build is upon us, and with it comes a good amount of changes and new information.  Tier 11 set bonuses, in addition to further talent tree tweaks highlight this most recent build.  We continue to see ups and downs in the modification of our Retribution Paladin talent tree, so this build gives us no surprises.

If you would like to see the full notes on Build 12942, you can find them at MMO Champion.  Here are our relevant notes:

Retribution

• Zealotry now lasts 20 sec, up from 15 sec.
• Acts of Sacrifice now also affects Hand of Sacrifice.
• Selfless Healer now also boosts your damage – When you heal others with your Word of Glory, it increases the effectiveness of the heal by 50/100% and increases your damage done by 2/4% per charge of Holy Power for 10 sec.
• Sanctified Wrath is now a Tier 4 talent, down from Tier 5. Now increases the critical chance of Hammer of Wrath by 20/40%, down from 25/50% and reduces the cooldown of Avenging Wrath by 20/40 secs, down from 30/60 secs.
• Seals of Command now affects Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Truth and Seal of Justice.
• Divine Purpose is now a Tier 5 talent, up from Tier 4.
• The Art of War now causes your next Exorcism to be instant, free, and cause 30% additional damage at all ranks.
• Eternal Glory now has a 15/30% chance to proc, down from 20/40%.

Also, we have from the Holy tree:

• Exorcism now costs 30% of base mana, up from 20%. Deals [((96+110)/2)+(0.15*if (SP>AP) then SP else AP)] Holy damage.

The biggest thumbs up here for me is Zealotry’s duration climbing to 20 seconds.  The biggest thumbs down is the mana cost of Exorcism rising.  Exorcism seems to want to play a decent role in our DPS, and Blizzard keeps driving up costs of our attacks mana-wise.

I have had several Ret Paladins in Beta telling me that at level 85, FCFS rotations are all but gone, and long fight are leaving us mana drained and needing to drink often.  Of course, we still have a long way to go, but as of right now, my sources tell me DPS is still okay, rotations are situational and completely dependent on how much Holy Power you have in terms of prioritizing.  Also, mana usage is VERY high in its current state.

With all the changes, I re-visited the Cataclysm Retribution Talent Tree calculator and came up with this build:  7/3/31.

My intuition continues to tell me we may be small role combat healers, since Word of Glory keeps getting more utility.  I tried to find a way to avoid it, but ultimately, there weren’t enough options for me to stay out of it.  Looks like we may have to embrace the role sooner or later!

Tier 11 Paladin Set Bonuses

• Paladin T11 Retribution 2P Bonus – Increases the damage done by your Templar’s Verdict ability by 10%. / Instant
• Paladin T11 Retribution 4P Bonus – Your Inquisition ability’s duration is calculated as if you had one additional Holy Power. / Instant
• Paladin T11 Protection 2P Bonus – Increases the damage done by your Crusader Strike ability by 10%. / Instant
• Paladin T11 Protection 4P Bonus – Increases the duration of your Guardian of Ancient Kings ability by 50%. / Instant
• Paladin T11 Holy 2P Bonus – Increases the critical strike chance of your Holy Light spell by 5%. / Instant
• Paladin T11 Holy 4P Bonus – Whenever your Holy Radiance spell is active, you gain 1620 Spirit. / Instant

Our 2-piece and 4-piece bonuses both look solid.  If any of you Beta guys out there know how much this helps, leave a comment and I’ll post it up!