Updated for Patch 4.3
Note: Some aspects of this guide may not apply to your character until higher level. If are interested in getting your character to max level quickly, take a look at this leveling guide.
Glyphs come in three varieties, Prime, Major and Minor. Prime glyphs enhance core aspects of your class and generally provide the greatest benefit of the three types.
Major Glyphs, while not quite as powerful as Prime Glyphs, are still useful and continue to provide a myriad of benefits.
Minor Glyphs often times provide small quality of life improvements or visual changes, such as the Glyph of Shadow Form for priests which makes the character more visible through Shadow Form. However, a few are known to provide more significant benefits such as the warrior glyph of Berserker Rage.
Prime Glyphs:
Major Glyphs:
Here are your highest priority abilities.
Crusader Strike is your primary attack ability and method of generating Holy Power. Whenever you reach 3 Holy Power, use that for either Inquisition or Templar’s Verdict. Keep inquisition active at all times, only using Templar’s Verdict when Inquisition is already active.
AoE Rotation
Multi-Target fights will have you using the same rotation as single-target except using Divine Storm instead of Crusader Strike.
Cooldowns
The most important aspect of managing your cooldowns as a damage dealer is making certain to use them whenever they’re avaliable. Don’t be afraid to use them during any fight, even against trash mobs, as the higher the uptime you have with them, the greater your overall damage will be so long as you aren’t using them when a fight is about to end.
The only time to hold off on using your cooldowns is when you’ll be unable to attack the boss due to fight mechanics, such as during Morchok’s Black Blood of the Earth ability or when Hagara is about to cast Water Shield and become immune to all damage.
Melee DPS will have to watch out for this more than ranged, as they are far more vulnerable to situations where an encounter requires constant movement or the boss is utilizing some form of AoE attack that makes fighting in melee range impossible.
Strength > Melee Hit (8%) > 26 Expertise > Mastery > Critical > Haste
Strength:
Strength increases your attack power, and thus damage, making it your most effective stat.
(8%) Melee Hit:
Hit rating reduces you chance to miss with attacks. A hit rating of 8% makes it so that your special abilities will no longer miss on bosses, thereby avoiding loss of DPS.
(26) Expertise:
Expertise reduces the chance for an enemy to dodge or parry your attacks. At an expertise rating of 26, the ‘soft’ cap, your attacks will no longer be dodged when behind your target.
Mastery – Hand of Light:
Retribution Paladin Mastery increases the damage of Templar’s Verdict, Crusader Strike and Divine Storm.
Haste:
Haste rating increases attack speed and reduces the Global Cooldown.
Critical Strike:
Critical Strike rating increases your chance to critically hit with attacks.
Reforging
When reforging gear, it’s important that you look to reforge from your least effective stat into the most effective for whatever gear goal you are currently aiming for. See our stat priority list for more information.
8% Melee Hit > (26) Expertise > Mastery
(8%) Melee Hit:
First check that you have 8% melee hit, and if not, reforge until you reach it.
(26) Expertise – Mastery:
Once you’ve reached the 8% melee hit cap, optimize the amount of Mastery on your gear while also aiming to reach the (26) Expertise Cap.
Keep in mind that the Glyph for Seal of Truth adds 10 Expertise, allowing you to further reduce your Expertise Rating in favor of Mastery, Haste and Critical while maintaining your Expertise, when the Seal is active, at the soft cap of 26.
Gems
- Red – Bold Inferno Ruby
- Blue – Etched Demonseye
- Yellow – Skillful Ember Topaz
- Meta – Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond
Unless a socket bonus offers strength, it’s more effective to gem for pure strength and ignore the bonus.
Enchantments
- Weapon: Landslide
- Helm: Arcanum of the Dragonmaw – Arcanum of the Wildhammer
- Shoulders: Greater Inscription of Jagged Stone
- Cloak: Enchant Cloak – Greater Critical Strike
- Chest: Enchant Chest – Peerless Stats
- Bracers: Enchant Bracer – Major Strength
- Gloves: Enchant Gloves – Mighty Strength
- Belt: Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
- Leggings: Dragonscale Leg Armor
- Boots: Enchant Boots – Mastery
Our class guides for whichever class you’re playing:
Death Knights – Druid – Hunter – Mage – Paladin
Priest – Rogue – Shaman – Warlock – Warrior
The GotWarcraft Gold Guide
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