The Ret Commandments

In the spirit of Aldriana's 7 Commandments of Rogue DPS (found in this post on the EJ Forums), I present my Ret Commandments - rules to live by for a raiding Retribution Paladin:

1. Thou shalt not die.


2. Thou shalt not do anything that causes raidmates to die.


3. Thou shalt maximize thine time on target.


4. Thou shalt Crusader Strike every cooldown.


5. Thou shalt Judge every cooldown, so long as it dost not interfere with Crusader Strike.


6. Thou shalt ensure 100% Seal of Command up-time


7. Thou shalt use the maximum ranks of Consecration & Exorcism that thine mana can support.


8. Thou shalt use thine Avenging Wrath early and often, threat allowing.

Yea, most of the rules are ripped off from Aldriana's list. BUT, Rogues are melee damagers as well, and melee damage mechanics are applicable across all melee classes. #1-3 should be abided by all melee damagers, not just Rogues. And, being that not every Paladin has read the Elitist Jerks threads relating to Rogues, I'm willing to bet that many Ret Paladins out there have not seen the 7 Commandments of Rogue DPS. So, here they are, adapted for your viewing pleasure in Retribution Paladin language. Need explanations for some of these? I'd be happy to oblige -

1. Dead damage-dealers are not capable of dealing damage. (Unless you're a Warlock. DoT's are gorram hacks, I say.) Stay alive and you'll definitely do more damage than the alternative.

2. Doing something that kills a fellow raider or causes a wipe is always bad. What can you do that would kill a raidmate? Examples would be standing too close to others during a shatter on the Gruul encounter, killing an Ember of Al'ar when others are in explosion range during the Al'ar encounter, or attacking a boss while standing in his frontal arc, causing potential parry-hasted attacks on the tank. Having dead raidmates limits raid effectiveness, and is just as bad as you dying. No matter how much of a noob you think Timmy is, he's better to you and your raid alive rather than dead.

3. Time-on-target is important. Start attacking as soon as possible to get as many attacks in as you can. If you have to run away from a boss, get back into melee range the moment it's safe enough. In encounters where you have to move around a lot to avoid environmental hazards or boss abilities, this becomes very important, and getting back on the target 1 second earlier when you have to disengage 20 times during a fight can account for a handful of extra attacks, which in turn present more opportunities for Seal of Command damage, and more JoWisdom procs...

4. Crusader Strike is your #2 source of damage behind auto-attack (white) damage. Make sure to use this ability every time you can to maximize your damage. Crusader Strike should take precedence over every damage ability you have.

5. Judgement is your #4 source of damage behind auto-attack, Crusader Strike, and Seal of Command damage. In addition, the [Libram of Divine Judgement] gives an attack power bonus when you judge. Use this ability as much as possible, so long as it doesn't decrease the amount of times you can Crusader Strike during a fight (when the cooldowns overlap, choose Crusader Strike).

6. Seal of Command is your #3 source of damage. Every time you auto-attack it has a chance to proc. If you auto-attack without SoComm active, you just missed an opportunity. Make sure SoComm is up at all times so you don't miss procs - make a Judge-Seal to ensure this happens.

7. Consecration and Exorcism are additional sources of damage and should be maximized whenever possible. Having mana when the fight ends is wasteful, turn that mana into damage. Obviously you cannot spam Consecration r6 for an entire fight without outside buffs or extenuating circumstances (high amounts of Spiritual Attunement mana return, for example), but choosing the highest rank that you can support for the length of a fight is advisable for maximum damage.

8. Your Avenging Wrath cooldown is one of your most powerful tools, use it early in a fight so that it will come up again before the fight is over. Having 30% increased damage for 40 seconds of a fight is favorable to having 30% increased damage for 20 seconds of a fight. The only caveat is when timing Heroism/Bloodlust - try to arrange with your Enhancement Shaman when he will be using his cooldown so you know, and you can use Avenging Wrath simultaneously.

These are the rules, and they are undisputed. Break them, and I break you.