Paladin Leveling Guide From 1 to 80 for WotLK Classic (2024)

Last updated on Aug 31, 2022 at 19:42by Sellin3 comments

In this article, we will help you leveling in Wrath Classic as a Paladin.Paladins are not the fastest leveler in the game largely due to their kill speed of mobsbut are the kings of sustainability. As a Paladin, you will have access to a widevariety of abilities that if used correctly can help maximize your up-time, kill speed,and rate at which you are able to gain levels.

Paladins are not one of the fastest leveling classes in the gamelargely due to their mob kill speed, but they are extremely durable with theirability to heal, wear gear with plenty of Armor, and a large number of passive abilitiesthat sustain their Mana and health, limiting downtime and making the leveling process extremelysteady. Retribution is by far the fastest leveling spec if you plan to play solo as aPaladin, as the extra damage that the talents in the Retribution tree grantwill help you level considerably faster than anything you will gain by speccingHoly or Protection.

Providing non-Paladin leveling advice is outside the scope of this article and iscovered in our general Wrath leveling guide.

Every Paladin spec is useful in its own way and fills a role that isimportant to a group, but Retribution will be the best by far for solo leveling, whilealso allowing you to off-heal when needed.

If you are going to be leveling with other people, Holy can be a good choice.Holy Paladins offer some of the strongest single-target healing in the game,regardless of the level, and can spend talent points to make their alreadyextremely powerful blessing spells even stronger.

Protection is another option if you are looking to play a tank role. Protectioncan be played both solo or in a group and is by far the most durable of any Paladinspec. The ability to pull multiple monsters at once and kill them without muchrisk of dying is enticing, but the kill speed still ends up being slower thanwhat you would be able to do as Retribution. Prot shines in group contentsimilar to Holy, but allows you to play solo if you decide.

• Keep a Seal buff up at all times. Depending on your specialization this maychange but typically while leveling you will be using Seal of Righteousness.
• Make sure you have a blessing active at all times. The benefits of your Blessingsare all very different and what blessing you choose to level with is largely up topersonal preference, the two we would recommend for leveling are Blessing of Wisdomfor more uptime and minimizing the amount of drinking you need to do between fightsor Blessing of Might to increase your kill rate and potentially cut downthe amount of abilities you have to use per mob kill.
• Use an Aura buff. Paladins have quite a few different Auras they can choose from.While leveling it is important to make sure you have one up at all times, and thebest practice is using the aura that matches the damage type you are taking. Forexample, if you are fighting mobs doing Physical damage, Devotion Aura is your best choice.
• Always be auto attacking. Paladins deal the vast majority of their damage byauto attacking both from the Physical aspect and the damage that is included inthe seal that you choose, making sure you are always auto attacking ensures you willget the maximum benefit for Mana and time spent in combat.

Leveling in groups both in the open world and dungeons is an increasinglypopular and efficient way to level in TBC Classic. Paladins are able to levelat the same consistent speed solo, but they really shinein a duo or larger parties that utilize their extremely powerful utility. Paladinsare masters of sustained combat and require very little downtime, pairing themwith classes like Rogue, Warrior, or any class thatrequires downtime between fighting mobs can drastically increase your killand leveling speeds.

Leveling through Dungeons is a strategy that many have begun totest and have seen considerable success with, due to the uncertainty of how respawnsin the world can be. Dungeons may be the fastest way to level in Wrath. With astrong group, especially with gear already from The Burning Crusade, you couldrealistically expect to see experience gains as fast as, if not greater,than what you would solo questing. Starting from Level 15 asAlliance for Deadmines or Level 10 as Horde forRagefire Chasm, you could viably farm dungeons all the way toLevel 80 if that is what you wanted to do. Paladinsare an extremely strong support to any class, but some group comps are stronger than others.

A 'spell cleave' group takes advantage of multiple spell casters with strong AoEabilities, namely Mage, Druid, or Warlock, in orderto AoE down large groups of mobs by taking advantage of their area-of-effect damageand slowing abilities, which allows for the mobs to be controlled in a waythat you can survive their large numbers. Your other main option would be a meleecleave group. Paladins are a class that sustains in combat extremely well andmelee cleave groups main advantage is their extremely low downtime, typically filled withWarriors and Rogue, as their main resources for dealingdamage either regenerate quickly or are generated in combat, making the Paladin'sstrengths shine in constant fighting.

Paladins have an extremely small DPS rotation as the vast majority of theirspells are situational or buffs. This means that you can choose to skip many moreabilities than you normally would on other classes, but you will find that it isnot needed and could potentially be a bad choice. Paladins receive their Level20 mount for nearly free as a quest reward, which allows you to spend more goldon item upgrades and training abilities than most classes, who have to savefor riding. Make sure you have the highest ranks of the abilities you are using, as thiswill help make the leveling process as easy as possible and there is no realreason to try and save gold in the earlier levels, given that your first mount is free.

• Seal of Righteousness
• Holy Light
• Devotion Aura
• Blessing of Might
• Heart of the Crusader
• Divine Protection
• Hammer of Justice
• Purify
• Lay on Hands
• Hand of Protection
• Redemption
• Blessing of Wisdom
• Righteous Fury — If you are tanking
• Retribution Aura
• Hand of Freedom
• Flash of Light
• Divine Intervention
• Seal of Command — Retribution Only
• Divine Shield
• Cleanse
• Hammer of Wrath
• Summon Warhorse
• Summon Charger

Devotion Aura and Retribution Aura are the two auras you willgenerally be using while leveling. Retribution Aura deals a small amount of damageto mobs that hit you with Physical damage and can increase your kill speed or savea weapon swing or two, despite the damage being mostly negligible in shorter fights.Devotion Aura increases your Armor and can help not only you but also your party memberssurvive against Physical damage.

Blessing of Might will be your go-to early on, as the vastmajority of your damage will be dealt with Auto Attacks and Judgement,which scales from the Attack Power the buff grants you. When you reach Level 14,Blessing of Wisdom is typically better, as it lessens your down timebetween mobs. Later on, if you choose to level as Retribution, the talent Judgements of the Wisewill help greatly with your Mana problems and choosing Might after that pointwill be better if Mana is not a problem for you anymore. Paladin's biggest strengthis their ability to sustain and limit downtime, but Paladins will rarely be ableto match other classes' kill speeds. You can narrow the difference in experiencegained by maximizing your uptime, however.

Deciding what seal to use as a Paladin while leveling can be a bit confusing,but in Wrath seals have much more defined roles.

Seal of Command Will be your default when fighting 2 or more mobs asits powerful clear effect helps you defeat multiple enemies.

Seal of Righteousness will be your default when fighting a single enemyor having to focus priority damage into a target you must kill quickly.

Regardless of which seal you choose, you will be using either of your Judgmentabilities on cooldown.

Leveling as a Paladin is extremely simple, as almost all of your damage willbe dealt by auto attacking and casting a Judgment ability on cooldown. atlater levels additions of abilities such as Crusader Strike or Divine Stormwill add a bit more to do but overall the leveling rotation just involves hittingwhatever button is not currently on cooldown/If your health is too low to fight more monsters, cast either of your heals:Flash of Light, if you are missing a small amount of health, orHoly Light, if you are missing a lot. There is not a ton ofnuance to the Paladin leveling gameplay while soloing, and the best way tolevel is to focus on just keeping your leveling speed consistent whileminimizing downtime. If you find yourself using too much Mana, you can delayJudgment slightly to make more use of your natural Mana regeneration betweencasts.

If you are rushing to 80, then leveling professions will slow you down. The combatbenefits of each profession are typically not worth the time you wouldhave to invest to obtain them for leveling. There are, however, some professionsthat are very useful for leveling and, at Level 80, that can be worth doing while you level.

First Aid is a must-have profession at max level and while leveling, as itprovides healing for no Mana. The cloth you naturally gather while leveling isusually more than enough to level it as you go. Herbalism,Mining, and Skinning are great choices for makinggold toward your epic or flying mount, and can also be useful for helping tolevel other important professions later on, such as taking Miningto help level Engineering or Skinning to help levelLeatherworking.

By the time you hit maximum level, it will be very helpful to read the restof our guides. Pick Holy Paladin if you intend to heal at maximum level,Retribution Paladin if you intendto play a melee DPS, and Protection Paladinif you intend to tank.