Seal of Command – Ret Pally

After much seal swapping from patch to patch, it’s hard to know which seal is the best to use. Seal of Command never has quite functioned like we Ret Paladins would like it to, but I am a fan of the new form.

A recent comment on this blog left on a Ret Pally leveling post made me aware that I hadn’t quite cleared up when exactly to use Seal of Command, so I am going to atempt to remedy that.

Seal of Command is available at level 20 via the Retribution talent tree. From levels 1-19, you will be using Seal of Righteousness. At level 20 through 80, you will be using Seal of Command hands down for leveling and grinding.

Seal of Command now deals additional holy damage with all melee attacks, and will chain that damage to 2 additional targets with single target melee attacks, functioning as a cleave.

This is a monstrous buff for Paladin leveling, which is already cake as it is. Retribution Paladins are already an extremely strong leveling class due to our survivability, high DPS, and low down-times. So, giving us an addition to Seal of Command to make leveling that much easier is something I embrace with open arms.

Now, at level 80, things get a little trickier. For bosses in raids and dungeons, Seal of Vengeance is hands down the seal of choice. But for packs of mobs, Seal of Command goes head to head with Seal of Righteousness. I have determined that ultimately, it depends on how you play your Paladin. There are wide varieties of skill at end game, and you will see varying DPS results across both seals.

For me, Seal of Command has proved to be the higher DPS on packs of mobs in dungeons and raids, as well as on single target trash. In fact, it was quite a heavy DPS boost. Regardless, it is going to depend on your play style and skill.

For level 80 grinding and questing, Seal of Command is still your hands down seal of choice.

Seal of Command chain damage will proc off of:

• Crusader Strike
• Seal of Command’s additional holy damage.
• Divine Storm

Abilites that are not affected by chain:

• Hammer of Wrath
• Exorcism
• Judgements
• Holy Wrath

Hope this helps, and remember, there will always be sites telling you what the optimal gear and rotations, etc. are…but the key is to find out what combinations mesh with your play style for maximum DPS.