With the last update, the Retribution Paladin in World of Warcraft was revised. Now – nearly 14 days later – Blizzard has released a major nerf. Both damage and healing have been reduced because the class was simply too strong.
What has changed about the Paladin? On March 23, the Patch 10.0.7 was released, which brought a new area, a new faction, and some additional changes. Included was also a revision of the Retribution specialization:
- The amount of “useless feeling abilities” has been reduced.
- New talents have been added, including the “Atonement of the Crusader,” which granted some abilities a range of 3m and additional life steal.
- The Aura of Retribution has been revised to be more useful for the group.
- In general, it has been ensured that the Retribution Paladin gets better survival chances and can deal more damage outside of strong burst phases.
The changes paid off. In the highest difficulty level, the Retribution Paladin is currently one of the strongest DPS classes (via Warcraft-Logs) and even in PvP, it has made it to the A-tier (via WoWMeta). Many currently find the specialization too strong, including Blizzard itself. They have weakened the class in a hotfix.
Here you can rewatch the cinematic for Patch 10.0.7:
Retribution Paladin loses damage, but mainly healing
What is changing now? With a hotfix, the Paladin has been noticeably weakened. Overall, damage has been reduced by 3%. In addition, the duration of the “Instrument of Retribution” has been reduced from 12 to 9 seconds.
Blizzard writes:
Retribution Paladins have performed above average in terms of their damage, so we are making some adjustments here to bring them more in line with our intentions.
But not only the damage will be addressed. Especially in terms of healing and survivability, the adjustments went too far.
- Due to the talent “Fading Light,” the “Blessing of the Evening” created a shield for abilities that generate Holy Power, amounting to 10% of the damage dealt or healing done. This effect has now been reduced to 3%.
- Thanks to “Aegis of Protection,” the “Shield of Retribution” protected you from 20% more damage. This effect has now been reduced to 10%.
- The “Shield of Retribution” now lasts only 10 seconds instead of 15.
- The “Lightforged Blessing” now heals you and your group for 2% of maximum health (previously 3%).
How is the change being received? In the forum, many are in favor of the change. With 3% less damage, the Paladin would still remain one of the best DPS classes. Many have also not necessarily been bothered by the damage, but by the defense and additional healing. This has now been significantly weakened more specifically with the hotfix.
What do you think about the Retribution Paladin? Was the nerf justified?
