So I noticed this build on the PTR when I was messing around with Ret tonight.
EDIT: Things changed a little but the build still works.
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I’m not sure if this is an over sight but Justiciars Vengeance and Wake of Ashes both don’t require a 2handed weapon and can hit quite hard with a 1 hander. This combined with the changes to auto attacks, judgement and crusader strikes doing aoe makes for a really good self healing solo class. I was messing around solo farming the storms and rare mobs but I’m not sure how well the build actually stacks up in compared to an normal two hander build. At the very least its a fun solo world build that seems to kill fairly fast.
7 Likes
I think this is an interesting potential alternate for Retribution Paladins. If all the periodic damage was changed off of weapon damage and strictly AP (ex. Expurgation swapped to AP metric), and Exorcism added as a holy power spender that’s based off of AP and deals periodic damage…
Retribution could have a valid 1-hander + Shield DPS specialization based around periodic damage.
7 Likes
Better idea.
Add a talent to let you weild a 2-hander and a sheild.
Put it where physical presence is at.
Get the best of both worlds 
10 Likes
If it’s not fixed then I can see it having use in PvP? But that’s for those who do PvP to weigh in on.
1 Like
I’d rather just not arbitrarily gut the possibility. Have weapon damage still affect TV, CS, DS, and maybe BoJ, but have things which don’t actually hit people with your sword (or a summoned one alike to it) not care about weapon damage.
Voila, now you’ve potentially got an interesting pseudo-supportive build available for PvP, rather than just a “strap a shield to your greatsword” talent.
Does it affect your HP generation if you talent into auto-attack thing ? Cause 1h weapon hit faster than 2h
Can you please delete this post? I’ve tried it and it is incredibly fun and satisfying out in the world; we all know what happens when something is too fun in WoW don’t we? Yeah, I shouldn’t have to explain myself… please remove this thread so that we may see this actually go live!
19 Likes
BoJ & Divine Storm still require a 2h, and BoJ is where a large portion of your HP comes from so this is pretty bad unfortunately.
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Yeah, if you take the crusading strikes talent you generate holy power very fast with a one hander as it just spams aoe crusader strike.
I was honestly thinking about this when I posted it. 
Too much fun detected.
2 Likes
so what
sounds like you are trolling for a nerf.
ever play wotlk?
pregs ARE A THING
SO stop your whining and be happy rets are being played they way a paladin should
I don’t know what a preg is in Wrath.
I also meant I almost didn’t post this because blizzard might nerf it if I did. But I posted anyway because I wanted people to try it because I didn’t know how viable it was for other content outside of world play.
the way your post sounds is you are against it.
we should be happy we have spec flexibility.
yes we give up ds and boj, but we make for it with aoe cs.
Google preg paladin.
it’s basically spec with great defense that can deal out big damage.
also
if you really wanted you can creat a weapon swap macro into ds and boj and swap back to shield
Its not that good, Protribution does more damage and has a snare and a silence. Its one advantage is it doesn’t run out of mana like prot will. Its healing doesn’t make much of difference when you can’t catch anything to proc it.
Also I’ve made my own version which hits harder and is pretty decent in Dungeons. But lacks the single target ret can do. But I think with specific gearing it could do well.
For gimmicky build at least it wasn’t as stupid over powered like Proly was.
You can take the talents Boundless Judgement which makes Judgement generate 2 holy power and Crusading Strikes which allows your auto attacks to generate holy power(which is faster with a one hander). Though yeah having no Blade of Justice and its procs(Art of War or Righteous Cause) does hurt its holy generation capability.
2 Likes
Gut? You have the best of all worlds with this. Something unique to only ret paladins. Access to our sheild skill and dps skills (as some requires a 2-hander) get a sword and board dps spec. What do we really lose? We even can go fir a lance and sheild look even.
Did you… read what I wrote?
I just said to make it baseline, not a talent, else you stick it behind a talent-point pay-wall despite it already necessitating enough anti-synergy (lower weapon damage contribution to direct physical attacks) to be relatively niche.
I hope Blizzard embraces what they inadvertently brought into this world. I have wanted Gladiator Stance brought back forever now, and if Ret can have a functional pseudo-gladiator stance, I will be hard pressed not to return to the game.
4 Likes
Issue with that is that not all ret paladins would want to be forced into a sword and board dps spec. Making it into a talent gives the choice whether you would want to or not.
The spec is also obviously not designed for a 1-hander build as well. And most likely, when they get tuned, will not be a viable option.
…No. It’d still be significantly inferior for damage, especially ST damage. It’d be a niche application in PvP at best.
Which is therefore fine to allow baseline by just not having arbitrary restrictions on what can be done with what weapons.
1 Like