The Gaming Lizard

It is said by a wise man that the night is darkest just before dawn, and that dawn is coming. Ok fine, so he was just a movie character but hey, it's a quote fitting of the Paladin class, especially Retribution.

For the longest time, Rets have been the source of constant mockery in the kindergarden. They are the scrawny little kids who get ridiculed for bringing their own lunchboxes and un-thanked for when they shared those delicious sammiches.

They are the epitome of facerolling, be it in the TBC era where Seal-twisting requires only a simple macro to WotLK where everything's simplified and Rets could only smack their face into the keyboard hoping to outdps that damn rouge. But is it truly their fault? Being the only melee/STR class that utilises mana, they are only restricted by the filling of their blue bar and so Blizz added some CDs to spells to stop us from frontal-unloading which resulted in today's facerolling stereotype.

But that is changing. Cataclysm shall usher in a new dawn, a new era of glorious age for the Paladins.

Holy Power. The much anticipated system that will shake up the very foundation of Paladin gameplay. No longer do you just press any button that lights up, you now have to keep track of your HP as well. It is an elegant system not unlike the Rogue combo system only it affects you instead of the mod. 3 stacks of HP will allow you to unleash devastating attacks while using HP at <3 stacks will make your attacks hit like wet noodles.
Naturally, our abilities are now split into 2 category: HP attacks and Mana attacks. Only by clever managing can you become the best there is.

HP Attacks

Templar's Verdict: The definitive 'strike' of Retribution. A large part of your damage comes from TV at 3 stacks

Divine Storm: The new divine storm is officially dead in a single target environment.

Inquisition: Nobody expects the Spanish (Paladin) Inquisition! Seriously, this is a very awesome buff that Rets will need to keep at 100% uptime to maximise their dps.
Mana-base Attacks

Consecration: This spells lies in a twilight zone category. A single use of gold fart costs you a whooping 12k mana (roughly 51% of your mana). Plan your use of consecration (usually when you lack other skills to hit) or you'll find yourself OoM faster than a fatkin.

Holy Wrath: New icon and a new lease of life for the underused HW. In WotLK, it is happily spammed in Naxx; Ignored in Uldaur and ToTC; Spammed again in ICC. Now, it is a meteor-like attack to be used in both single and multi target situation.

Judgement: Sorry folks, Judgement no longer give you passive mana/health and becomes a boring attack....or so we thought! When talented, it is your ranged nuke, gap closer and Replenishment-buffing in one nifty spell.

Exorcism: Same old same old. Just because the CD is removed doesn't mean it can be spammed. Unless you absolutely have to stay out of boss range for a significant amount of time.

Crusader Strike: The most important ability in our arsenal. Its CD can be changed via haste when talented and it gives you 1 HP per strike.

Guardian of the Ancient Kings
A spell so awesome, it gets it's own section and should be renamed Guardian of the Awesome Kings imo. Changing its effects depending on talent (the first of its kind!), the Guardian summoned is not only sexy and nostalgic (Appearing in WC3), it is also a powerful companion. Use it before Bloodlust for maximum effect.

And last but not least, our Mastery - Hand of Light. No more hand jokes please.


That wraps up the preview of Retibution in Cataclysm. With rumors of Patch 4.0.1 hitting us this week, stay tuned for the spriest preview. Meanwhile, savor what you can with the demise of Bubble-Hearth. It's going away.

May the Light be with you