Starting a paladin So , you ' re thinking of playing a paladin ? This page is intended to give a short overview of what to do over the first 10 levels or so , just to get you started on the right path . If you ' re looking for more of an overview of the class ' s abilities , see the main paladin page . For more advanced topics , see paladin tactics . Things to consider when picking a paladin : For a more general overview on starting out playing WoW , please check out the newbie guide . Race selection . In the original World of Warcraft game , paladin s were an Alliance - only class . Even in the Alliance , only dwarves and human s could be paladins . In general , neither race is better than the other . Dwarves have a few nice abilities that will help you out ( Cold Resistance , Stone Form ) , while humans have benefits to maces and swords that help as well , not forgetting the + 10 % reputation gained . The one primary thing to note is that the bonus dwarves get , the gun skill , is lost on a paladin since they can never use guns . Not a gamebreaker , but just be aware of it . Dwarves start with higher Strength and Stamina , but have less Intellect than Humans . With the Burning Crusade expansion , blood elves , the new race of the Horde , are able to choose the paladin class ( also referred to as Blood Knight s ) . Arcane Torrent , a blood elven racial , is an AoE silence which is very useful against casters . It also restores a small portion of total mana , which is particularly useful for paladin healers . Draenei , the new Alliance race , are also able to choose the paladin class , and have two abilities useful for a paladin ; one is a HoT spell , while the other is a + hit % aura . With the Cataclysm expansion , Tauren can play the Paladin class . However , they are named Paladins for the purpose of game mechanics - the canon term is ' Sunwalker ' . Starting weapons : All of the Alliance races start with proficiency in maces , while blood elves start with proficiency in swords . Humans have a 3 - point expertise bonus when wielding a sword or mace . Starting Stats : . Overall though , particularly for casual gamers , there ' s really no major difference between the races aside from faction - choose the race that you want to play , whether for its looks , its voice , its starting area , or because it ' s simply good fun ! Early leveling . The easiest way to progress through the early levels is to simply do any and all of the quests you can find . Not only will you breeze through the first 5 to 10 levels , but you ' ll get useful gear and precious money . Money is particularly important so you can purchase your spells and abilities . You will spend levels 1 to 5 in your starting town . Make sure you get all the abilities and spells you can from your trainer . Between level 5 and 6 you ' ll find yourself heading off to your second town and a new trainer who can teach you various things . At the second town , repeat the process - do each and every quest you can find . It ' s important to keep up with your abilities and your gear , because mostly a paladin can not win battles of higher level without having his / her new abilities . Now is also an appropriate time to start training in your chosen professions . It is no longer necessary to train new weapon skills . Since Cata expansion , these are starting skills . See the paladin quests page for more information about the paladin - specific quests . Notable early quests . A listing of all paladin specific quests can be found over at Thottbot here . The quests listed below are the low level quests ( 1 - 10 ) that get you some equipment useful for a paladin at that time . Also , be sure to complete your Level 10 - 13 quest series ( Tome of Divinity ) which gives you the ability to raise others . On soloing and grouping . Soloing . During the early levels , you should spec retribution for higher melee damage . Use a 2 - hand weapon with good DPS , and wear mail armor ( plate after level 40 ) with Strength and Stamina . You should also keep a shield and a fast 1 - hand weapon in the bag for special situations . Be sure to get Improved Judgements at 14 - 15 , Seal of Command at 20 , Art of War and Judgements of the Wise at 40 - 44 , and Crusader Strike at 50 . The other talents should be pretty self - explanatory ( more damage is good ) . Paladin soloing is dull but fairly fast . At early levels , you don ' t have very many buttons to press , but with a good weapon you have enough burst that things will die quickly . Pull with ( at level 16 or above ) Hand of Reckoning ; this does a lot of damage for very little mana and is off the GCD . Judge whenever you can . That ' s basically it . If the mob runs , Hand of Reckoning will finish it off ( since it ' s no longer targeting you ) . Exorcism is useful when cast while pulling but not while the mob is hitting you , since it interrupts your melee attacks . When you have Art of War , Exorcism becomes instant cast and should be used whenever possible . You ' ll finally get a short - cooldown attack at 50 with Crusader Strike , and another at 60 with Divine Storm . After level 20 , you can kill 3 - 5 mobs pretty easily by using Consecration and Seal of Command ' s cleave ability . Don ' t bother using Consecration on single mobs until you get Judgements of the Wise , since it ' s a big mana hog . When fighting , always remember to keep your Aura , Blessings and Seal up all the time ! You generally want Retribution Aura , Blessing of Might and Seal of Command , but consider Blessing of Kings and Devotion Aura when soloing elites . You have a lot of options when things get dicey . Lay on Hands is a full heal on a moderate timer . Hand of Protection and Divine Shield make you invulnerable long enough to heal up with Holy Light . If these are all on cooldown , put on Concentration Aura and try to get Holy Light off before you die . Hand of Justice , Turn Evil and Repentance can all help incapacitate a particularly dangerous mob . Glyph of Seal of Command is great to reduce downtime at lower levels , though between 40 and 45 you ' ll get Judgements of the Wise , giving you nigh - infinite mana and making the glyph unnecessary . Glyph of Judgement and Glyph of Exorcism are both moderate DPS boosters . The minor glyphs worth using are Glyph of Blessing of Might , a nice time saver , and Glyph of Sense Undead , the only minor glyph that increases damage . Grouping . As a paladin you can play any of three roles ( described in greater details in the paladin tactics section ) . Paladins can DPS , tank , or heal , but which of these roles you are strongest at is based on your talent spec and the gear you bring with you . It is important to know what your role is before getting into combat and acting accordingly to prevent unnecessary party deaths and disasters . As DPS , you ' ll use a a slow , hard - hitting two - hand weapon and points in the retribution talent tree . On multiple mobs , keep up Consecration and use Seal of Command . If you ' re really taking a beating , you can swap in a shield in combat to increase your survivability , or use your Hand of Protection or Divine Shield skill to remove aggro from yourself and back out of melee to heal . Always be prepared to help off - heal if it becomes necessary or to cleanse debuff s off of party members . A DPS paladin can also be very useful for helping the tank get aggro off of a healer , since the paladin can taunt the mobs at range using Righteous Defense and allow the tank to take them off of him without having to run across the room . At higher levels , use Seal of Vengeance on single mobs that live longer than 20 seconds ( bosses ) , Seal of Righteousness on single mobs that don ' t live long , and Seal of Command on multiple targets . As a tank , you bring the benefit of being able to hold aggro very well on multiple mobs and you can front load a lot of aggro quickly , allowing DPS to get into the fight early . As a paladin you must rely on your spell damage output to hold aggro . Use Righteous Fury and do as much holy damage as you can . Try to start with Avenger ' s Shield if you have it , and Hand of Reckoning if you don ' t . Retribution Aura can be very effective against multiple mobs , since you ' ll passively generate threat on each one every time it hits you . Consecration is also a great way to build aggro . Keep up the buff s on your teammates - it will help the entire group in the long run . As a healer , remember to heal the tank . Since your mana pool will be small at lower levels , use Flash of Light instead of Holy Light whenever possible , since it ' s far more efficient . Only use Holy Light if the tank ' s health is dropping too fast for Flash to keep up . Make certain you continue to keep everyone buffed to the best of your ability . Keep Devotion Aura up to help the tank out , unless you need an elemental resistance aura or Concentration Aura for your own heals . If you ' re low on mana after a fight and need to drink , tell people ! Overeager tanks may charge on ahead if you don ' t ask for time . Be sure to have a stack of water ready before going into a dungeon , though a mage can give you free drinks if you ' re grouped with one . Note that in anything below a level 80 heroic you do not need to specced for healing or tanking to perform those roles . You do , however , need appropriate gear . That means a one - handed weapon and shield and plate / mail armor ( ideally with lots of Stamina and Defense Rating ) for tanking , and gear with Spell Power and Intellect on it for healing . To tank as retribution , keep Righteous Fury on , pull with Hand of Reckoning and use Seal of Command and Consecrate to keep your threat up . To heal , take advantage of Sheath of Light , and consider healing at close range in order to get mana back with Judgements of the Wise . Useful professions . The paladin can benefit directly and indirectly from many of the professions available . Primary professions . In the end , do what you want . Many of the combinations help a certain style of play and selecting a combination based on your play style will just enhance your enjoyment of the game . Remember that you can later change professions if need be . Start your professions early : they are usually inexpensive , and starting early helps ensure that anything a Paladin can create with his / her skills is applicable to the character ' s level . If you ' re choosing professions with an eye toward end - game viability : Secondary professions . Cooking and First Aid are of less use to paladins than most melee classes , since paladins can heal themselves . Many cooked foods , however , do provide buffs such as a boost in total health and / or spirit . In addition , cooked foods typically sell for more than their components , providing a useful source of extra money after normal hunting . First Aid can be useful for healing when you are trying to conserve mana ( or are simply out of it ) . Many high - level raiding groups require every character to have a high First Aid skill for those reasons . Fishing is no longer the money - maker that it once was , but can still be useful to raise your cooking skill and provide buff food . Paladin - specific quest rewards . Verigan ' s Fist This two - handed mace is a decent weapon for a young Alliance paladin and can be obtained at level 20 . Because of its high damage and stats , it will last you until the mid 30s . For more information about the quest to obtain this item , see the Paladin Quests entry . Blood - Tempered Ranseur This polearm is a decent weapon for a young Horde paladin at level 20 , but you must train the polearms weapon ' s skill to use it , and the Sin ' dorei Warblade , a two - handed sword , is an easier to obtain weapon with similar stats . See also . Paladin attributes Paladin quests