WoW The War Within: Protection/Retribution Paladin Hero Talent Tree

The new Hero Talent Tree for Paladins is Templar, here's what to expect from it in World of Warcraft The War Within.

WoW The War Within: Protection/Retribution Paladin Hero Talent Tree
Blizzard

World of Warcraft is preparing for the upcoming release of The War Within. Today Blizzard released a brand new Hero Talents system for each class in the expansion. We can expect changes in Retail as many players have been wishing for more flavor in their classes. Fortunately, these new Hero Talent Trees look promising!

In this guide, we will check out the new Hero Talent Tree for Paladins, called Templar, and we'll judge how powerful we can expect the talents to be.

Templar Paladin Hero Talent Tree WoW The War Within
Blizzard

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WoW The War Within: Templar Paladin Hero Talent Tree

Since there is a lot to cover in the initial Hero Talent tree, we will be separately examining all of the nodes to better understand the core concepts.

Templar Keystone

Light's Guidance: Wake of Ashes (Retribution) and Eye of Tyr (Protection) are replaced with Hammer of Light for 12 seconds after they are cast.

  • Hammer of Light: Hammer down your enemy with the power of the Light, dealing Holy damage to the target and up to 4 nearby enemies. Additionally, calls down Empyrean Hammers from the sky to strike 3 nearby enemies for Holy damage. Costs 5 Holy Power. 

Templar Row 1

 

Choice Node: Templar’s Watch and For Whom the Bell Tolls 

  • Templar’s Watch: Hammer of LightWake of Ashes (Retribution), and Eye of Tyr (Protection) deal 30% increased damage when striking only 1 enemy. This amount is reduced by 6% for each additional target struck. 
  • For Whom the Bell Tolls: Divine Toll grants up to 100% increased damage to your next 3 Judgments when striking only 1 enemy. This amount is reduced by 20% for each additional target struck. 

Shake the Heavens: After casting Hammer of Light, you call down an Empyrean Hammer on a nearby target every 2 seconds for 8 seconds. 

Empyrean Hammer: When Empyrean Hammer critically strikes, 60% of its damage is dealt to nearby enemies. Enemies hit by this effect deal 5% reduced damage to you for 8 seconds. 

Templar Row 2

 

Sacrosanct Crusade: When you cast Wake of Ashes (Retribution) or Eye of Tyr (Protection), gain Shield of Vengeance at 10% effectiveness. 

Higher Calling: Crusader StrikeHammer of Wrath, and Blade of Justice (Retribution) and Judgment (Protection) extend the duration of Shake the Heavens by 1 second. 

Choice Node: Bonds of Fellowship and Unrelenting Charger 

  • Bonds of Fellowship: You receive 20% less damage from Blessing of Sacrifice and each time its target takes damage, you gain 4% movement speed up to a maximum of 40%. 
  • Unrelenting ChargerDivine Steed lasts 2 seconds longer and increases your movement speed by an additional 30% for the first 3 seconds. 

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Templar Row 3

 

Choice Node: Endless Wrath and Sanctification 

  • Endless Wrath: Calling down an Empyrean Hammer has a 10% chance to reset the cooldown of Hammer of Wrath and make it usable on any target, regardless of their health. 
  • Sanctification: Casting Judgment increases the damage of Empyrean Hammer by 10% for 10 seconds. Multiple applications may overlap. 

Hammerfall: Templar's Verdict and Divine Storm (Retribution) and Shield of the Righteous and Word of Glory (Protection) call down an Empyrean Hammer on a nearby enemy. While Shake the Heavens is active, this effect calls down an additional Empyrean Hammer

Undisputed Ruling: Hammer of Light applies Judgment to its targets and increases your Haste by 15% for 6 seconds (Protection). Additionally, Eye of Tyr grants 3 Holy Power.  

Templar Capstone

 

Light's Deliverance: You gain a stack of Light's Deliverance when you call down an Empyrean Hammer. At 50 stacks, casting Hammer of Light empowers you for 12 seconds to cast Hammer of Light an additional time for free. 

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Summary

Blizzard is proposing some interesting design choices in this Hero Talent Tree. There's more movement and haste thrown in. However, it does seem very focused on Damage and not other aspects of the Paladin toolkit.

As more is being revealed regarding the newest World of Warcraft Expansion: The War Within, we are slowly starting to see just how much the scales have changed for Retail WoW. Here is the entire Hero Talent Tree as presented in the most recent blue post.

Templar Paladin Hero Talent Tree WoW The War Within

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