Best Gear & Stats for Retribution Paladins – Cataclysm PvP Guide - Skill Capped (2024)

Welcome to Skill Capped’s Guide on the Best Gear & Stats for Retribution Paladins in Cataclysm

All sections for Retribution Paladin PvP have been divided into corresponding sections for the most optimal race, talents, glyphs, gear, professions and macros. This will help you have a good understanding on Retribution Paladin in PvP for Cataclysm and the strengths and weaknesses associated with this specialization. This section will go into more depth on the best PvP gear and stats that are available for Retribution Paladin in Cataclysm Season 9.

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Table of Contents

This section will cover your pre-BiS gear, which will not include any Conquest or Raid specific items. Use the gear provided below to have a competitive advantage against your enemies before stepping into rated PvP content.

Pre-BiS Retribution Paladin PvP Gear

Main Pieces

• Head: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Scaled Helm
• Shoulders: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Scaled Shoulders
• Chest: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Scaled Chestpiece
• Gloves: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Scaled Gauntlets
• Legs: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Scaled Legguards

Off-Pieces

• Back: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Cloak of Prowess
• Belt: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Girdle of Cruelty
• Bracers: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Armplates of Proficiency
• Boots: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Warboots of Cruelty

Jewelry

• Neck: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Choker of Accuracy
• Ring 1: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Signet of Accuracy
• Ring 2: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Signet of Cruelty

Weapons

• Main Hand: Zin’rokh, Destroyer of Worlds
• Relic: Conch of Thundering Waves

Trinkets

• Trinket 1: Heart of Solace or Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Medallion of Tenacity if not human.
• Trinket 2: Bloodthirsty Gladiator’s Badge of Victory

Most of the gear that is BiS for Cataclysm Season 9 will come from PvP. This section will cover all specific pieces from PvP that will put you in a competitive playing-field against other players in arena.

BiS Retribution Paladin PvP Gear

Main Pieces

• Head: Vicious Gladiator’s Scaled Helm
• Shoulders: Vicious Gladiator’s Scaled Shoulders
• Chest: Vicious Gladiator’s Scaled Chestpiece
• Gloves: Vicious Gladiator’s Scaled Gauntlets
• Legs: Vicious Gladiator’s Scaled Legguards

Off-Pieces

• Back: Vicious Gladiator’s Cloak of Prowess
• Belt: Vicious Gladiator’s Girdle of Cruelty
• Bracers: Vicious Gladiator’s Armplates of Proficiency
• Boots: Vicious Gladiator’s Warboots of Cruelty

Jewelry

• Neck: Vicious Gladiator’s Choker of Accuracy
• Ring 1: Vicious Gladiator’s Signet of Cruelty
• Ring 2: Vicious Gladiator’s Signet of Accuracy

Weapons

• Main Hand: Vicious Gladiator’s Bonegrinder or Vicious Gladiator’s Greatsword
• Relic: Vicious Gladiator’s Relic of Conquest

Trinkets

• Trinket 1: Heart of Rage or Vicious Gladiator’s Medallion of Tenacity if not human.
• Trinket 2: Vicious Gladiator’s Badge of Victory

Make sure to use these weapons, Vicious Gladiator’s Bonegrinder or Vicious Gladiator’s Greatsword, as they are essential for human and grant you 3 additional Expertise.

Retribution Paladin Stat Priority

5% Hit Rating > Resilience (3500) > Strength > Critical Strike > Mastery > Haste

Prioritize at least 5% Hit Rating first before focusing on your primary and secondary stats. This makes sure that none of your abilities miss while attacking your opponent. Then focus on receiving at least 3500 Resilience, especially since Retribution Paladins are primary targets in PvP content. Having necessary damage reduction is essential for your survivability.

After making sure you reach Hit Cap and Resilience, focus on getting the most amount of Strength possible, followed by Critical Strike. There is no specific breakpoint for secondary stats, but make sure to stack this secondary as high as possible after prioritizing all stats beforehand. It is also important to get at least 20 Expertise. Don’t forget that 10 Expertise will be given to you while using the Seal of Truth Glyph and 3 Expertise will be given to you for free as a human while equipping Swords or Maces.

For additional secondary stats, you have some variance in what you decide to choose, but is preferable to choose Mastery over Haste from the additional Holy Damage that you will be dealing with your major abilities, Templar’s Verdict and Crusader Strike. If you choose to pick Haste, this will reduce the cooldown of Crusader Strike, the length of your global cooldown for spells, and more frequent melee attacks. Since Retribution Paladin does not gain much from this stat compared to the other secondary stats listed, and Cataclysm Season 9 has lower health pools, it is best to choose Critical Strike and Mastery to make your burst cooldowns and spells more powerful.