Paladin Leveling Guide 70 to 80 for WotLK Classic

The Paladin class is one of two classes in Wrath of the Lich King, besides Druids, that can perform each of the three class roles – damage, healer, and tank. As a result of this, the class is very versatile and can be played and leveled in lots of different ways, so that players of the Paladin can choose their own playstyle, rather than being locked into one way of playing it.

In terms of leveling, Paladins are not the strongest class however, but when played in the damage-dealing spec class can progress through quests adequately enough when in solo situations and has access to lots of sustainability and healing abilities derived from its tank and healer specs.

Although it is not the fastest leveler it definitely isn’t the slowest. The speed at which it can kill mobs is not very fast. One thing that the class does have however is very good sustainability which decreases the downtime between fights, as opposed to other classes that must take food and water breaks constantly.

In endgame, Paladins are fantastic classes to play in the Wrath of the Lich King Classic and perform each of the spec’s role very well in both PvE and PvP scenarios. They are also a fun class to play, and as mentioned above, can be played in a bunch of different ways and that makes the class very versatile.

The following WotLK Paladin leveling guide will provide useful information and tips on how best to level your Paladin efficiently and effectively, for both new players to the game and to the class, or experienced players who simply want to learn more about leveling as a Paladin. This guide will be class-specific, but also it will be only relevant for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, as leveling in other expansions changes and some things that will be mentioned might not be the same or as effective in other iterations of the game.

10 Tips for Leveling a Paladin 70 to 80

Leveling a Paladin from 70 to 80 in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King can be a challenging task, but with the right tips and tricks, you can make the process much smoother. Here are some tips to help you level up your Paladin efficiently:

1. Questing: Questing is one of the most effective ways to level up your character. Make sure to prioritize quests that offer the most experience points and focus on completing them efficiently.

2. Dungeon Runs: Participating in dungeon runs can be a great way to gain experience and valuable loot. Look for groups or guilds that are running dungeons and join them to maximize your leveling speed.

3. Talent Build: Choosing the right talent build for your Paladin is crucial for efficient leveling. Research different talent builds and choose one that suits your playstyle and leveling goals.

4. Gear Up: Make sure to regularly upgrade your gear as you progress through the levels. Look for gear with stats that enhance your Paladin's abilities and make leveling easier.

5. Group Up: Leveling with a group can significantly speed up the process. Find other players who are also leveling and team up to complete quests and tackle challenging content together.

6. Use Consumables: Utilize consumables such as potions, food, and buffs to enhance your Paladin's performance and survivability during leveling.

7. Explore Professions: Leveling up your professions can provide additional benefits and resources for your Paladin. Choose professions that complement your playstyle and make use of the resources you gather.

8. Take Breaks: Leveling from 70 to 80 can be a long journey, so make sure to take breaks and rest when needed. Burning out can hinder your progress and enjoyment of the game.

9. Stay Updated: Keep an eye on patch notes and updates to stay informed about any changes or improvements that can affect your leveling experience.

10. Enjoy the Journey: Remember to have fun and enjoy the journey of leveling your Paladin. Take the time to explore the world, engage in PvP battles, and immerse yourself in the rich lore of World of Warcraft.

General Paladin Leveling Tips

The following are some general tips that can be following when leveling as a Paladin to improve your experience:

• Read and learn each ability as you unlock it, as some of them may seem useless in most cases but have certain niche use cases. For instance, Judgment of Justice stops humanoid targets from fleeing when low on health, which can be very useful when fighting humanoid targets in crowded areas as to not have them run off and pull more.
• Similarly, to the above tip, Resistance Aura abilities do not cost mana and can provide useful defensive stats in certain situations that can reduce downtime as you will take less damage. Make sure you are using the right Aura for the target you are fighting. Reduced downtime usually increases your leveling efficiency as you can progress through quests faster than if you were constantly stopping to consume food and water.
• Your weapon is your main source of damage as a Retribution Paladin – and so prioritize upgrading this over other pieces of gear if you are playing this spec. More on this later, but Retribution Paladin’s are the go-to solo leveling spec for the Paladin class.
• Similarly, to the above tip, make sure you are always auto-attacking when engaging an enemy, as your basic attacks will make up lots of your damage output. Do not wait for abilities to recharge.
• Since Paladins are a class that uses mana, make sure you always have appropriate water in your inventory to reduce downtime in between fights. You should try to keep it a habit to stock up on appropriate water every time you visit a vendor or inn.

Best Paladin Leveling Spec

As mentioned previously, the Paladin class can play each of the three in-game roles. Tank as a Protection Paladin, Healer as a Holy Paladin, and Damage-dealer as a Retribution Paladin. Each of the three specs excels at a different play-style of the game, however they are not equal when it comes to leveling.

Retribution Paladins are the best spec to level for solo players, as the flexibility of being a damage-dealing spec provides is above all other of the three specs. Retribution Paladins are capable of solo questing, whilst also have the ability to do well in grouped and dungeon settings when needed, as the damage output and utility of the class is very good. Retribution Paladins are also able to off-heal should the need arise, although it is not advised to be the main healer in a dungeon as your group will struggle, unless in early levels when spec differences do not really matter.

Holy Paladins can also be useful for healing group settings, so this would be a good choice to pick if you wish to grind dungeons for the majority of your experience gain. However, the Holy Paladin will not be able to output enough damage to make solo leveling a reliable and efficient. If you choose to level as a Holy Paladin, expect to find fast dungeon groups which can be useful, but do not expect to be able to solo quests as efficiently as other damage-dealing classes. Holy Paladins do have some of the best single target healing in the game however, making them a good healer spec to choose.

Protection Paladins are like Holy Paladins in that if you choose to level as one, you should not expect to be able to solo quests as efficiently as Retribution Paladins. This is easily the weakest spec to level a Paladin as, as in early levels its tanking ability is not on par with other tanks, and you will find it very hard to solo quests in this spec as the damage output will not be enough to make it worth your time. If you really wish to level as a Protection Paladin, you will want to stick to dungeons for the majority of your experience gain.

Dungeons vs Questing

In Wrath of the Lich King Classic, dungeon grinding is not as rewarding as in later expansions, and unless playing a spec or class that performs in dungeons very efficiently. Solo questing can often be the same speed when considering downtime. The three Paladin specs can each perform their roles adequately enough in dungeons to complete every dungeon when appropriately leveled. However, none of them are the best at their role compared to other classes. For instance, Protection Paladins are probably the weakest tanks in the game whilst leveling and ungeared, and Holy Paladins excel at single target healing, but lack the AoE healing capabilities of other classes. In a dungeon leveling environment, both Protection Paladins and Holy Paladins will result in a leveling efficiency on par with solo questing as a Retribution Paladin, most of the time.

Retribution Paladins can offer a stable and reliable quest-based leveling experience that is fairly consistent although will pick up once you learn more abilities. It is generally recommended for new players to the game and class to focus on questing for the bulk of your experience gain, especially for the Paladin class as they are not that strong in leveling groups as opposed to other classes in the expansion. Also, the added benefit of playing a Retribution Paladin is that they are very versatile in nature, allowing the player to partake in dungeons when the need to do so. However, a solo quest-based leveling strategy for the Paladin class is a much better leveling method than choosing to focus on dungeons and grouped content.

Paladin Professions

Although most guides will tell you that you should not focus on professions whilst leveling as they can get in the way and slow you down, this is not so much the case in Wrath of the Lich King as they can provide passive abilities that can come in very handy. This is the case for the Paladin class, that can benefit from certain professions and improve the leveling experience whilst not being something too obtrusive to the overall aim to level as efficiently and effectively as possible.

First Aid is always a welcome addition to any class, as it can provide healing that does not cost mana. For the Paladin class, you will have lots of healing abilities from the Holy tree, although these will obviously all require mana. Being able to heal after each fight without using mana will reduce your mana usage and hopefully reduce downtime spent consuming food or water to replenish mana that you would be spending on healing. It is also an easy profession to level as the materials needed to do so will be acquired passively via killing mobs.

Gathering professions are also always a welcome addition to any class, as they provide you with an extra source of income whilst leveling which can be used to fund other activities such as acquiring your mount at level 20 or abilities. The materials gathered can be sold to a vendor or on the auction house usually for extra gold.

Mining is one of those gathering professions that works well for Paladins, as it also provides the player with the Toughness passive that scales with your Mining level and provides incrementally more stamina as you level up the profession. Bonus stamina is great for Paladins as it will make the already very strong class stronger. If you wish to main Blacksmithing at max level, this profession can also provide you with much of the materials that would be needed to do so. Blacksmithing is a great endgame profession for Paladins, as you can craft your own Plate gear which can come in handy to fill in slots that you need upgrading.

Another one of the gathering professions that provide a useful passive is Skinning, which provides players with the Master of Anatomy passive. This passive provides Critical Boost increases that like Toughness, increases as you level up the profession. Bonus Critical Strike rates can increase damage output, thus leading to faster killing of targets which can increase your leveling speed. Skinning is also another very easy acquisition of gold, arguably the easiest out of all the gathering professions, as it is something you can do on each mob that is skinnable.

Regardless of if you think the passive bonuses will aid your leveling experience, it is still useful to choose a gathering profession to increase gold income. As a Paladin, it is recommended to take First Aid, Mining and Skinning whilst you level, or switch out Skinning for an endgame profession such as Blacksmithing. This will allow you to begin leveling your endgame profession as you level, that although will interfere slightly with leveling, when following a guide for the profession won’t be as obtrusive as some say and provides utility and benefit to leveling that makes it worth your time.

Important Class Quests

There are some useful class-specific quests for the Paladin that you will want to complete to increase your leveling speed and efficiency. These are as follows:

• The Redemption quest chain, that rewards you with the ability Redemption from level 12 onwards, is a very useful class quest especially for those wishing to play in grouped settings, as this is a revive ability. Ideally, you want this ability before you start running dungeons as it will be handy in the speed at which you can complete dungeons as you can revive fallen allies rather than have them run from the start to their corpse.
• For Horde Paladins, which in the WotLK expansion of the game is exclusively Blood Elves, a level 20 quest is acceptable from your Paladin class trainer titled The Second Trial that ultimately leads you to receive a very nice blue/rare two-handed Polearm named the Blood-Tempered Ranseur. This is a great Polearm that will likely last you a while, however, is only useful if you are playing as a Retribution Paladin, so you may skip it if you are playing as a tank or healer.
• The Alliance equivalent to the above quest, also available at level 20 from your Paladin class trainer, gives players the two-handed Mace named Verigan’s Fist, which is another blue/rare item. Again, this will likely last you around 10 levels, but is only useful for Retribution Paladins.
• As with all classes in Wrath of the Lich King Classic, the Sunken Temple class chain beginning at level 50 can also be useful for Paladins. Alliance Paladins will have the choice between three blue/rare items, which are the Lightforged Blade, Chivalrous Signet, or the Sanctified Orb, which are all useful for the three specs in the class and will last you a while. For the Horde, unfortunately the Sunken Temple quest chain is lacklustre and only provides Scourgebane, which is a Trinket that provides staming plus an on-effect ability featuring bonus attack power against undead and demons for 5 minutes with a 30minute cool-down. This is really not a good item, so as a Horde Paladin you can skip this.