It’s likely that Blizzard will use the upcoming patch to make further tweaks to Retribution Paladin, as the developer looks to bring the spec back in line with the rest of the damage specs in the game. With the new patch just around the corner, players can expect to see a more balanced PvP and PvE landscape in the weeks and months ahead.
The recent patch 10.0.7 for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight brought with it a much needed rework to Retribution Paladins, with the goal to improve their performance. Blizzard may have gone too far in the other direction, as what was once one of the MMORPG’s lesser-played DPS specs has now skyrocketed to the top of the PvP and PvE charts, much to the frustration of non-Paladin players.
Statistics from the week of March 28 show Retribution Paladins at the top of high-level Mythic raid play when it comes to overall damage done and the third most-played spec for the week behind Beast Mastery Hunters and Havoc Demon Hunters. In Mythic+ dungeons, Retribution Paladins were found in nearly 14% of all runs for the week of March 28, a huge jump from the 1.68% they were found in the week before the patch.
On the PvP-side of the equation, Ret Paladin went from below a 5% pick rate in all forms of rated-Arena content to pick rates in the high teens (or in 3v3, high 20s). Most Arena matches now include at least one Ret Paladin, leading to a lot of frustration among players who were trying for one final push up the PvP rankings before the end of the season, only to be continually stomped on by Retribution Paladins.
Blizzard has responded to the Ret Paladin rework by nerfing the spec’s damage by 3% across the board and targeting a number of the spec’s potent defensive talents. The developer is now looking to bring the spec back down a notch, with the upcoming patch 10.1 for Dragonflight set to arrive on May 2. This patch will bring with it a massive new underground zone in the form of the Zaralek Caverns, along with a new rotation of Mythic+ dungeons, a new raid, the long-awaited arrival of cross-faction guilds, and the continuation of various expansion storylines.
It’s likely that Blizzard will use the upcoming patch to make further tweaks to Retribution Paladin, as the developer looks to bring the spec back in line with the rest of the damage specs in the game. With the new patch just around the corner, players can expect to see a more balanced PvP and PvE landscape in the weeks and months ahead.