Strategies

Resto Druid/Ret Paladin (Paladin PoV)

Author

Talmie
Kazzak
EU-Misery

Top Teams View All

RankTeamMakeupRatingRecordBattlegroupRealm
1. Leaf and a prot nub 2629204 - 95US-NightfallKel'Thuzad
 
MembersTalentsRatingRecordGuild
Lynxo
0
53
18
2631204 - 95
Blackleaf
16
0
55
2631204 - 95
2. WizardCleave VolTwo 2612198 - 88US-StormstrikeExecutus
 
MembersTalentsRatingRecordGuild
Hula
21
0
50
2613197 - 85
Prettypapa
0
53
18
2612155 - 66
3. TPP number one 2481179 - 61EU-RampageThe Venture Co
 
MembersTalentsRatingRecordGuild
Piekpiek
0
53
18
2562138 - 42
Tuoppi
13
0
58
165323 - 11
Zezamer
18
53
0
153018 - 8
4. Ji Mo Jiaodoushi 2480254 - 154US-BloodlustBlackrock
 
MembersTalentsRatingRecordGuild
Left
18
0
53
229391 - 71
Leonardo
51
20
0
160421 - 7
5. JONAY AT LIVE DOT DK 2479274 - 116EU-BlackoutZenedar
 
MembersTalentsRatingRecordGuild
Druia
0
59
12
250598 - 31
Bubbleóseven
7
13
51
2175101 - 45
Kinjiro
44
4
23
13179 - 1
Shiftface
13
0
58
11333 - 0

Top Builds View All

Druid
2404723.2%
1305818.2%
180539.1%
Paladin
0531829.0%
7115314.0%
512009.0%

General Information

Intro
I have been playing this comp since the first days of Season 5, almost touching 2400 with a positive win-loss ratio against every team we've met before the patch 3.0.8. At the time of writing, we're 2521 rated with a 81% winratio.

It is worth noting that even though Ret Paladins are perceived as kings of burst by many, this is a very defensive setup and in our games we focus on survival and outlasting while waiting for opportunities to set up CC chains and get kills.

It's also worth saying that while a good Paladin here will make worlds of difference vs competent opponents, at lower ratings a skilled Druid can really carry the team - I started playing my Paladin in PvP as a WLK reroller with very little experience (and I must admit I still do some retarded mistakes every so often :P). In many situations you have a good margin for error where you can recover and turn the game around.

Addons, Macros
Being an addon junkie myself, I can't help but recommend some as well. As a Paladin, you've got a plethora of tools to assist your partner, and you will have to utilize them all to succeed; so keeping good track of what the enemies are doing and countering it swiftly is paramount.

I highly suggest using SCT (or a similiar addon) with custom warnings for buffs / debuffs on both friendly and hostile targets. Having big red letters, "SILENCE ON X" "Y USED RECKLESSNESS" is really a lot more helpful than straining your eyes staring through buff lists on your target frames. Apart from that, some sort of a cooldown tracker both for your partner and your opponents is very useful. Knowing at a glance when the next strangulate can come, when their trinkets are back up, or when your Druid's innervate is ready is much more efficient than keeping track of that in memory or chatting about it on ventrilo or something.

I also suggest macroing every support ability to cast it on your partner and hotbinding them all; /cast [target=name] hand of protection, /cast [target=name] cleanse, etc. The split second saved by using a single hotkey over some sort of a click to cast or a mouseover macro can save you the game, considering the damage output in WLK.

General tips:
Coordinate your positioning, CC, and cooldowns! This is true for any arena team, but especially so for this setup - both of you are very helpless on your own. Your druid needs to know when you may be stunning your target, as well as when you might be going to bubble or when your repentance is up for a CC train.

As the Paladin, you're probably going to use Seal of Martyr / Blood in this setup alot, that combined with DP should keep your mana up indefinitely. If you're ever going OOM, you're probably wasting mana on unneccessary things.

Hand of Reckoning is amazing, learn to love it. You can get in combat to avoid saps, keep rogues from restealthing and healers from drinking, eat totems, there's all sorts of things you can do with it, so be creative and put it on a handy bind if you haven't yet.

Be ready to assist with cleanses, heals, and blessings as required - there's no reason for your druid to waste trinket on a blind if you can safely spend BoP on it, and so on. Make sure you're aware of your Druid's mana state - you can keep yourself up for a good while through JoL / AoW / SS - so use that if your partner needs to drink.

If you are able to get some tet-a-tet time with a healer, you can very reliably force trinket or get a kill by HoJ'ing them, going through judge > cs > ds, then dropping a repentance on top of the HoJ and finishing with another Judge + HoW when it's about to go off. This is pretty much guaranteed to kill a Shaman, an unshielded Priest, or a Druid who doesn't have full hots up; just make sure your Druid is keeping their partner busy as most classes have a way of getting you off their buddy.

vs most classes, judging Wisdom is the best choice, but do have Light handy for when your partner needs some help on healing. Justice should be the judgement of choice against Hunters, Ferals, and Rogues, but it is also situationally useful against other classes as well - it negates stuff like rocket boots, runspeed talents / metas etc, so be smart about it. That nasty Priest is going to rage a lot when he blows his rocket boots to fear your Druid but finds himself moving at normal speed.

For the Druid, you'll probably spend majority of time healing rather than CC'ing like you did in tBC, but be ready to go aggressive on CC at the right opportunity. NS'ing a cyclone can win you the game, don't forget about bear bash and roots either - just make sure you don't overextend yourself, as you're extremelly vulnerable in caster form. Also, remember that your Paladin may be using repentance as a part of their DPS cycle - cycloning a low health target when your partner is about to judge them can cost you the kill.

Be aware of your partner's LoS if they're away while you're being targetted, especially if you're in danger. Your partner have lots of ways to relieve pressure from you, but none of it will work if there's a wall in between of you.

Against Holy Paladins specced into Divine Purpose, using roots / bear bash aggressively is a good idea. Every BoF used on something else than your partner's HoJ is a point in your favor.


If you have any further questions / comments on this guide, please ask either in game, this thread, or the forum PMs. I'm always happy to assist and I'll try to keep this up to date as any changes come along or we come upon new matchups / tactics.

Matchup difficulty is rated 1-5, 1 being easy, 2 means you're at an advantage, 3 is an even matchup, you get cookies if you guess what 4 is, and 5 being a hard counter.

Thanks for reading, and as said before, I will do my best to keep this up to date and accurate as patches come and things change. Should you have any suggestions or questions, or want some tips on comps not listed above, don't hesitate to ask!

Builds

Druid

Deep resto 15/0/56 is what we found to work best. While a Feral / Resto hybrid spec may seem appealing for the extra Druid's survivability, the Paladin can get gibbed just as quickly in this setup so missing out on deep Resto talents is probably not worth it, and you want the efficiency of ToL vs healer/dps teams anyway.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0VG0uoZZf0IubuxVuAhst - this is the exact spec my partner uses, there's a few slight changes you could make but not really much room to play around.

Paladin

I would highly suggest a 20-51 Divine Guardian spec. Different players may prefer different variations of the spec, but DG is a lifesaver against certain setups, and the rest of points in Prot are good as well while the Ret alternatives aren't all that.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=sZ0ebVfZxdrtbfufMsTzho - this is my preferred talent spec. Toughness over Imp RF as you're usually saving BoF for kidneys / whatever stuns so snares can be up quite often. Imp BoM over 3/3 HotC since 250 AP > 2% crit that isn't always up. No points in RV since right now RV is bugged to break repentance, if they ever fix that I'd drop 1 point out of Fanaticism and put it back in RV, useful against stealth classes.

Gear

Druid

You will be the primary target most of the time here, so you can't go wrong with resilence and stamina. Wearing 2p Kodo 2p Wyrmhide for the double resilence bonus is a good idea, but remember that you need a decent amount of regen as well. You'll want to use the "of Salvation" offset pieces, as Spirit is amazing for Druids.

Paladin

You can get by with little resilence as the Paladin in this setup, but considering how good our 4P gladiator bonus is, and how horrible majority of currently available PvE gear is, there's really no reason not to use PvP gear. In my opinion, the ideal setup is 4 parts gladiator with 1 offset PvE item (Obsidian Greathelm or Spiked Titansteel Helm, or perhaps Belabored Legplates are probably the best choices for that). You probably want PvE rings as well, as the PvP ones are pretty awful. Rest of deadly offset pieces are quite good, except for the trinkets - I would highly suggest using either Bandit's Insignia, Darkmoon Card: Greatness, or some AP on use trinket - or even the engineering lightning generator.

In terms of weapons, Betrayer of Humanity is by far the best choice, if you are unlucky like me or just don't do much raiding, Titansteel Destroyer is a decent alternative, or pretty much any other PvE drops. In my opinion, Betrayer > Death's Bite / Crypt Fiend's Bite > Armageddon / Jawbone / Maly10 spear (forgot it's name) > everything else.

Overall, I would aim for something like ~3500 AP, ~30% crit, and as much hit rating as possible. Since so many classes / races have extra chance to be missed these days, I find that going OVER the hit cap is actually not a bad idea at all. Missing judges / hojs / repentances is very annoying, doing 100 less damage per judge on other hand is something I can live with. Do not ever gem for crit - if you want raw damage, go for str instead. Honest, it's better. Your meta should either be the 21agi 3% crit dmg or 21crit 3% crit dmg; agi gives a bit of dodge and has lesser gem color requirements, 21crit gives (very slightly) better dmg stats.

By the way, don't even consider Haste rating when comparing items. It's awful for you, even more awful than armor penetration is (and that stat is seriously bad for Ret Paladins in PvP).

Matchups


Comments:

KaylFeb 23, 2009 - 11:03 AM (HideShow)
You've got to be kidding me, making a guide for possibly the easiest setup that has ever walked the arena's.
KrolinnyyttiFeb 23, 2009 - 3:26 PM (HideShow)
Tacs for ret palas in 3.0 :DDDDDDDDDDD
LethlorFeb 23, 2009 - 4:28 PM (HideShow)
Says the shaman @ Kayl. Not found a survival hunter yet then?
SwiftsureFeb 23, 2009 - 4:34 PM (HideShow)
Hangon, @ Kayl are you saying that Feral/Holy is OP, or Ret/Rdruid is Op, because the 'Top 5 teams' has lots of Feral/Holy teams in it, which is a mistake seeing as this is a Ret/Resto guide.

Anyone have the answer?
JeruxFeb 23, 2009 - 4:50 PM (HideShow)
Eeally respect for taking this setup so high, I don't play a paladin but I can imagine it must be pretty damn hard for this setup to get high on a ladder since they have SO many counters. Really guys, keep it up.
SéleneFeb 23, 2009 - 4:53 PM (HideShow)
Damn Jerux it almost looks like you are not being sarcastic!
NaisoraFeb 23, 2009 - 5:43 PM (HideShow)
Why are people being so rude on this strategy? It's well written and something that doesn't have a DK, Hunter, or Holy Paladin.
PeanutteFeb 23, 2009 - 6:06 PM (HideShow)
indeed this is very well written guide. good job :)
AlifieftwFeb 23, 2009 - 8:16 PM (HideShow)
I farmed you all anyway so care D:
BlitzcriegFeb 24, 2009 - 12:42 PM (HideShow)
This is the best strategy out there and it's clear that he put a lot of time and effort into writing it. Talmie really didn't have to do any of it so I am confused as why a hunter, a shaman, and a rogue are bashing this strategy when it doens't even pertain to you.
MikkiFeb 24, 2009 - 1:35 PM (HideShow)
Really good job on this 1 talmie, Its amazing you can do this, i just dont seem to be able to it.
DraanikvinnaFeb 24, 2009 - 2:26 PM (HideShow)
Alifie go and pwn with your dawn's edge that are enchanted with icy chill \o/
XinooFeb 24, 2009 - 6:40 PM (HideShow)
Neilyo:

http://img26.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tatyb9.jpg

Talmie:

http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=talmie.jpg
BbauFeb 24, 2009 - 9:36 PM (HideShow)
It makes me sad to see so many people hate on a resto druid comp. Seriously now!
AlifieftwFeb 25, 2009 - 6:18 AM (HideShow)
Draanikvinna im gonna go bust on ur sister if you want np

And xinoo D: ghahahaha
TalmieFeb 25, 2009 - 9:29 AM (HideShow)
xinoo, still can't get over the fact that my lev70 geared ALT warr has better ratings than your main does? :(

but yeah, this is indeed the most easy comp to play there ever was - that's why top100 is FILLED with resto druids & ret paladins - the guide is here to help all the faceroller idiots succeed even better. OBVIOUSLY
TalmieFeb 25, 2009 - 9:35 AM (HideShow)
and thanks for the good comments <3
CinvidFeb 25, 2009 - 12:48 PM (HideShow)
great this is usefull for me :d
ClippyFeb 25, 2009 - 2:15 PM (HideShow)
xinoo please come back :(!! ;D
BrinnFeb 25, 2009 - 2:22 PM (HideShow)
People saying this is easy obviously has no idea what they are talking about. Just look at the top 100 on Misery/Cyclone and count the number of Ret/Resto and compare it to other 2v2 setups. They aren't many. The lack of an MS-effect really is a bitch, so co-ordination and CC is super important. As Talmie states.

Nice guide. I'm playing a ret pala on Misery as well and I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU. Been trying to figure out how you did it and I must say I was on the right track with SoB and stuff :D
BrinnFeb 25, 2009 - 2:27 PM (HideShow)
This setup is hard evidence that skill > class. If you're good you can go high with almost any combo.

An example is Mobywan/Stgeorge during s3. No OP'd retris then, and still managed to win the 2v2 bracket with 2.4k rating. Respect.
BrinnFeb 25, 2009 - 7:14 PM (HideShow)
No, you are. And you're also immature.
SupremebaronFeb 25, 2009 - 11:44 PM (HideShow)
Any idea vs lock shaman? Im at 2100 right now and when we get lock shaman we just try to wait the 45 min or just leave.
ÄniaFeb 26, 2009 - 6:33 AM (HideShow)
Hi Talmie!!

We play this same setup. We habe problems against DK/Holly pally. You can conment any stagedy againts this setup?

Thanks and sorry for my english.
CliqueFeb 26, 2009 - 8:31 AM (HideShow)
I lol'd at the -shaman- Kayl. Surely you must be talking about feral / hpala? Resto druid is probably the toughest and gimped class to play as a healer during this season.
TalmieFeb 26, 2009 - 10:33 AM (HideShow)
@Supremebaron - I've never met that particular matchup myself, but I'd imagine it's similiar to Lock/Paladin. Try and focus on the Shaman but make sure you don't get separated too far from your healer, be ready to assist on healing when needed and try and keep the Shaman from drinking as much as possible. If your Druid needs to innervate, try to coordinate that with some cc on the Shaman so it doesn't get purged of. Remember to get groundings down and go for the kill when his trinket is down while yours is up and you've got at least some DR on fears - or your Druid is in position to cyclone / root the lock somewhere away from his partner.

Don't forget you can use bubble as an extra trinket if you need that last fear broken but can't afford the dmg output reduction - just click it off immediately and pewpew; can be a bit risky but it's invaluable vs lock teams, if done right.


@Ania, the best general strategy/tips I could give on that matchup is listed in the guide already :> check it out; if you've got any more specific questions, I'll be glad to help.
ZauneFeb 26, 2009 - 11:56 AM (HideShow)
Great guide Talmie, very impressive that you were able to take this comp so high.
NeimoFeb 26, 2009 - 4:57 PM (HideShow)
Stunning, you're trying too hard. You must be inexperienced with trolling :<
BrinnFeb 27, 2009 - 4:00 AM (HideShow)
I have a question about SoB/SoM for you Talmie. Do you always use SoB as long as they don't focus on you, and instantly switch back to SoCom if they focus on you? Or do you feel it's possible to still use SoB/SoM even if they focus on you?
BrinnFeb 27, 2009 - 4:03 AM (HideShow)
+ I must say that my 2h mace Inevitable Defeat is somewhere between Death's Bite and Armageddon :D

Guess you forgot that one.
FlattieFeb 27, 2009 - 11:57 AM (HideShow)
Brinn, saying mobywan and stgeorge didn't have a strong setup as any other in s3 is just wrong. A double dps team with a rogue and perception vs the mainstream druid teams hmmm hmm.. Think about it.

Nice that someone write a resto/ret tac, I'm not a fan of how retri has turned out but i'm sure the ones who play it got use for this.
RolexFeb 27, 2009 - 1:22 PM (HideShow)
Good written guide. Thanks for your input.
Coordination > skill > class for most ret+healer setup imo (in which I lack atm =X)
BrinnFeb 27, 2009 - 1:50 PM (HideShow)
Perhaps you are right Flattie, but at least it was a rare setup, and not mainstream, AND before super-retridins! :)
BlitzcriegFeb 27, 2009 - 2:36 PM (HideShow)
Neimo do you always way the double set bonus wymhide and kodo? I feel like whenever I do that I am very gimped for mana and have to innervate so quickly and do you have fraps video's coming soon:)?
VnzFeb 27, 2009 - 4:36 PM (HideShow)
Very nice, guide and for all the hate the setup aint good. in order for you guys to successfuly win against many comps ur CC/coordination has to be near perfect. Props

Ret/disc is same shit just make hutners and rogues alot harder
BrinnFeb 27, 2009 - 8:46 PM (HideShow)
Stunning, just stfu already. You're lame, really lame.
KrolinnyyttiFeb 28, 2009 - 7:52 AM (HideShow)
lol @ brinn :DD
BlitzcriegFeb 28, 2009 - 11:58 AM (HideShow)
Have you guys played Mage Priest yet?
BringerofashFeb 28, 2009 - 1:40 PM (HideShow)
when she said the addon PCT what is the full name i cannot find pct on curse
KolczinioMar 1, 2009 - 4:42 AM (HideShow)
Nice guide, all tactics works nice and it really helps my team. but can you write something about lock/rshaman setup? We are at 1800 now and we never won against this team :<
DerockMar 1, 2009 - 10:42 AM (HideShow)
I had a problem with Priest warlock because every time i got out to heal he would mana burn me ... Im not that great but any advice?
BrinnMar 2, 2009 - 2:51 PM (HideShow)
Lolz @ Stunning. Pro-tips from the master himself. ;D
HaiguizeMar 4, 2009 - 6:28 PM (HideShow)
Nice guide but the DK part is the one I don't understand. I reached 2,2k with my drood partner some time ago but we just get our asses handed to us by dk + healer teams. Just like today.. Everything was smoothsailing untill those futile 3 dk teams. My druid just dies Q_Q
HourusMar 5, 2009 - 1:35 PM (HideShow)
"Apart from that, some sort of a cooldown tracker both for your partner and your opponents is very useful."
I'm having a hard time finding an addon like this. anyone have any ideas?
RolexMar 5, 2009 - 2:49 PM (HideShow)
Party Ability Bars and Afflicted are two addons I use to track CDs.
IcebearMar 6, 2009 - 12:25 PM (HideShow)
I'm (Resto Druid) trying 2v2 with my Retribution Paladin mate. I'm around 800 Resilience, he has 500 Resilience. We can't get past 1650 rating because usually either of us is chain-CC'd (fearfearfear cyclonecyclonecyclone) or a Priest is Manaburning me to 0.
PeliquaMar 6, 2009 - 1:02 PM (HideShow)
I think LoS is the key to your succes Icebear. However, dont take my word too seriously, im just a newb :)
AlifieftwMar 8, 2009 - 11:03 PM (HideShow)
5/5 stunning,you made my day!
MikkiMar 9, 2009 - 11:24 AM (HideShow)
Im playing with icebear, we made a new team the other day after i got my new weapon(jawbone) and we played from 1535 to 1653 with 30 - 5, so i think we are getting the hang of it, thanks Talmie <3
FraklolMar 10, 2009 - 6:36 PM (HideShow)
hi Talmie/Neimo, you guys are the best :=)
FraklolMar 11, 2009 - 9:19 AM (HideShow)
:DD
HottnessMar 11, 2009 - 12:08 PM (HideShow)
I want to start doing arenas for rating instead of just points and was wondering which seal you usally use? I am still pretty new to the paladin class in general and thought it was just SoC all the time =p
HorsteMar 11, 2009 - 2:23 PM (HideShow)
Big respect to you guys, and thanks a lot for the guide. Just started playing it and we're at 2K. Do you have any suggestions what might be possible against an offensive dispelling priest with a DK? I can't switch out of tree due to the pressure a DK puts, but this way I'm very vulnerable to manaburns. If my ret switches on priest he just gets burned and I go oom very quick due to no defensive dispells.
HorsteMar 11, 2009 - 2:23 PM (HideShow)
sorry, meant to say that he got feared to the other side of the map :)
TalmieMar 11, 2009 - 7:12 PM (HideShow)
@ Hottness, depends a lot on your gear but SoB is generally the best seal to use, unless you're being focused a lot / 2x dps team etc.

@ Horste, I'm lucky enough to have no Priest/DK teams in my BG but I can see it being a real pain to face; reckon your best bet would be switching targets a lot and HoJ / Repentance the Priest whenever it looks like he's in position to burn alot soon with no LoS to avoid it. Pala should be saving trinket / bubble as long as possible unless the Druid is getting eaten, too.
ShimabukuroMar 12, 2009 - 12:17 AM (HideShow)
Im still gearing with the little time I have and when im fully geared to get better seasons ill actually try at arena and get a good setup partner, right now im on team FAILADIN just a 2v2 for fun. Just message me if you have suggestions on my talents im not so sure about it or if its any good but it works.
InsanioMar 12, 2009 - 1:54 PM (HideShow)
"don't forget about bear bash and roots either" <--- I am not sure how you bear bash if you're going deep resto like this guide suggests...
MarthyMar 13, 2009 - 12:25 AM (HideShow)
Probably because bash is a druid ability that you learn at lvl 14.
GhadMar 13, 2009 - 3:33 AM (HideShow)
I need help, we cant beat pretty much any team with a DK. They take away all my hots to where i cant do absoloutly anything at all. its really obnoxious and i cant figure out how to survive.
TalmieMar 13, 2009 - 10:03 AM (HideShow)
@Ghad duel dks, a lot. no amount of strategies and suggestions will help you better than dueling them and working out their moves will.
HorsteMar 13, 2009 - 2:09 PM (HideShow)
@ stunning: me and my partner were stuck in the 1800's-1900's with another partner and this guide helped us a lot when we started together. it ain't an easymode comp in any way.
@ talmie: tried what you said against DK-priest, but nothing works :(, it's an even bigger counter then rogue-priest so far, so if anyone else has even the slightest hint, please share it :)
TolariaMar 14, 2009 - 9:41 AM (HideShow)
any one have advice for ret/dk vs H pally/dk? at a wall at 2100 on them
ÄtroposMar 14, 2009 - 9:29 PM (HideShow)
any advice for mage/lock? usually get them but having some trouble lately.
HorsteMar 15, 2009 - 4:49 AM (HideShow)
to tolaria: read the posted strat, it works very good.
And to Ätropos: just have your pallie go very offensive so they're forced to dot him up. let him kill pet and stick to the warlock from there on. Mage shouldn't be able to control him decently (no sheeping etc), so lock should go down before you used your trinket and bubble.As long as druid trinkets first fear, you should get lock down before diminishing returns are down again.
ÇloudMar 16, 2009 - 5:51 AM (HideShow)
Stunning your an idiot to think this is an OP team, I can name 10 different team combinations that are way more OP then resto Druid/ret Pally. stop QQ'ing and roll DK
IcebearMar 16, 2009 - 1:40 PM (HideShow)
We (Resto Druid, Retri Paladin) are struggling with Death Knights, Priests and dual DPS teams like Rogue/Warlock where they put a lot of damage on one and CC the other a lot. We're basicly down to 1550 rating again (from 1650, top) because we keep meeting 1700-rated teams and one of us dies almost instantly before I even can get a heal off.
IcebearMar 16, 2009 - 1:54 PM (HideShow)
And currently we're losing to 1400-rated teams. Deathknights mostly, usually coupled with a Shaman or Priest.
HorsteMar 16, 2009 - 2:20 PM (HideShow)
I can see the problem in DK-priest, we get countered full stop by them too. Double dps shouldn't be all that hard since you have so many tools to fall back on (eg. bubble, trinket, instaheals,...) the general thing is to just prehot both of you to the fullest, then play gay and stay around a pillar. It works almost always as long as you don't allow them to reset the fight.
DK-shaman is something completely else tough: the general problem here is an offensive shaman blowing you up with his DK during bloodlust and then spampurging your hots. The best thing to do here is this: a shaman has NO defensive dispells, and I mean NONE, a DK without a person to dispell him is pretty easy to CC, so have your paladin force earthshield on the shaman, then switch to the DK. rinse and repeat this, go turtle when low on mana, and you should be able to finish them of eventually.
Hope this helped :)
IcebearMar 16, 2009 - 6:12 PM (HideShow)
Prehot both of us? I usually follow my Retridin mate in Prowl, stand on his consecration if there's a stealther and grab (PounceMaimCyclone) either the stealther who opens on him or an other opponent. If we're unlucky by that time my mate is already down to 50% health.

Do you think I should stay behind more and focus only on hotting in the start?
TalmieMar 16, 2009 - 8:33 PM (HideShow)
Don't follow your paladin in stealth vs a double DPS team, just start off in tree and roll lifebloom + rejuv on both of you.

DK-Priest is tough, met this the other day and it was one of the most intense games we've played; I open on the DK, switch to the priest as soon as he gets close to manaburn or try to fear, if he's getting in position to fear both of us - HoJ or repentance to stop it, and dispel the druid asap if he gets feared. You're gonna have to use cooldowns aggressively, wings early might be a good idea so you have bubble up later if you need an extra fear break once your trinket is down; don't be afraid to use bop/sacrifice/freedom early on your druid as well if he's in trouble, in turn your druid should be ready to assist with bash or even an ns cyclone at the right time. Chances are the priest will be going oom fast so you have to do whatever it takes to keep pressure on them, if you don't manage to run the priest dry or kill one of them before you're out of cooldowns, you're probably dead.
IcebearMar 17, 2009 - 10:54 AM (HideShow)
I started to record (and Tube) some matches with me and my Paladin mate. Although it's just one at the moment, can you look into it when you have time (and are interested)?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoPM1vVpaTM&fmt=22

We made a mistake here to let the Shaman drink. The Shaman was largely in the open so I tried to drag (and root) the Warrior behind the pillar so the Shaman had to move around (and expose himself to my Cyclone) to heal him.

It's just low rating and we're still a noob team, but we're open to suggestions and tips how to improve.

Icebear
HorsteMar 17, 2009 - 2:14 PM (HideShow)
To icebear: prehotting is the biggest advantage a druid has against double dps because it allows healing to go trough while your CC-ed, basicly messing a big part of the way of play by double dps.
I watched the video of shaman-warrior you made and here's some hints that I would like to state :) first of all, if you know you're very open to getting focussed by a dps, stick to tree form more, since you'll be running into mana problems later on when they'll go turtle if their healer is CC-ed. Second, alternating roots on dps and healer works especially well against shaman healer teams, since they can't dispell them of themself, meaning the DPS has to either let you go or LoS his healer when going behind a pillar with no way of shaman following him.
Hope this helped, and if you have any more questions, I'll do my best
AlifieftwMar 18, 2009 - 3:35 AM (HideShow)
Does this setup require more then 1 braincell?Sorry i couldnt help myself talmie dont take it personally :D
VixonMar 19, 2009 - 3:15 AM (HideShow)
Sad that all of this setup dodges all normal time arenas, sitting and hugging early morning arenas to not be facing any good teams.
TalmieMar 19, 2009 - 8:22 AM (HideShow)
Yeah, fucking dodgers we are, not playing vs teams 300+ rating below us, so stupid!
CrazyscrubMar 20, 2009 - 8:13 AM (HideShow)
Wondering if yall tried a Feral Charge/Resto build for your druid at the beginning or not. It looks good for survival, but not sure if its worth it.
BloodcutMar 22, 2009 - 10:40 AM (HideShow)
Ok, this is gonna sound really really dumb, and im not in any way affilated with that annoying guy stunning, but what are the advantages of rolling with a feral druid instead of a shadow dance dagger rouge?

NuboMar 23, 2009 - 5:20 PM (HideShow)
Still not sure if i hate you . ill keep you posted when i make the call.
MentalshockMar 24, 2009 - 10:53 PM (HideShow)
Loooool Stunning....Damn just get out of here.
Your comments are just retarded , useless and NOT FUNNY A SECOND. Think you're funny with the OOOH /FACEROLL COMP LOL DO 10 MAN NAXX AND THEN 25 MAN NAXX , WIN GAMES SO EASY LOL* ? Well, it isn't. If its what you really think then...die? Its just sad.Lol failure wannabe troll ,not making any one angry or anything. And as Çloud said, yeah , you should roll a Dk
BlowiMar 28, 2009 - 9:22 AM (HideShow)
Already been called out, and you lost

- lulz
NigunitMar 30, 2009 - 6:02 AM (HideShow)
I like playing this comp on my druid but any time we meet DK/pala a tear drops down my cheek.
CrazyscrubMar 30, 2009 - 9:38 AM (HideShow)
Hi, well me and a ret bud of mine ran into a Mute Rogue/DK...It was a very difficult team. We prolly lost 40pts to them and we only won once. They usually just burst down my pally. Well they usually try to blind>strangulate me, which worked at first. But even after being out of range for the blind its veryvery hard to keep my pally up between the dk ripping hots off and the rogs poison. I have to just start nourish spam to keep him up. And thats just keeping him barely alive. Then my pally bubbles and by that time im almost to oom to heal my self.

Any ideas about this comp? plz thanx
ВелеварMar 31, 2009 - 7:29 AM (HideShow)
About tears, we feel really hard vs shamy+lock. Against this setup we lost 99% of games i think. Really have no idea what to do with it =(
SarggizMar 31, 2009 - 10:31 AM (HideShow)
u cant do anything againts lock/Sham :) just dodge ;>
XewlieApr 5, 2009 - 9:54 AM (HideShow)
TAUNT THE PET BEHIND A PILLAR ANd 1 SHoT iT YAyAYay

Worked once cause this warlock had his pet on aggressive.
KelbillaApr 5, 2009 - 12:31 PM (HideShow)
Yo Talmie, when you see this add my xfire, slimmdimm. I got a couple questions about retribution, don't worry they arent dumb ones.
FatflufybirdApr 6, 2009 - 6:32 AM (HideShow)
Could you list your keybings? or a screenshot of your UI?
AndromeApr 6, 2009 - 11:31 AM (HideShow)
Very well written guide. It inspired me and my friend to start playing this setup :) We're currently the 2nd highest Resto/Ret on our Battlegroup with 2217 ratings. But we're having serious problems vs Fury Warrior + HolyPaladin/RestoShaman. Or Afflication Warlock + HolyPaladin/RestoShaman. And finally Death Knight + HolyPaladin/RestoShaman. Which I guess is pretty understandable as all of the setups I mentioned contains a Holy Paladin in it :p
DrakkixApr 8, 2009 - 2:13 AM (HideShow)
We ran into Disc Priest // DK 5 games in a row. Turns out the DK was in full deadly, yet we were losing 15 points per game =/. Need some help. With priest dispels, AMS, and the DK spamming plague strike. Wondering if this team is beatable (pre 3.1 =/)..
DrakkixApr 8, 2009 - 2:15 AM (HideShow)
Just saw your other post, we'll try that out and see if it works.. Seems like any drooler could play that comp and beat us =/. Should be able to beat it though. My pally was camping the DK and we were trying to look for a burst opportunity but couldn't do it with plague strike / spam dispels.
MiláApr 8, 2009 - 1:59 PM (HideShow)
never beaten priest/Dk ever lol impossible to even keep hots up they just train druid and collect
TyrovaApr 9, 2009 - 5:15 AM (HideShow)
I really feel this guide is missing the key advice needed and not always so obvious to the average player. I've played this combo to 2050 (after 2 days) on my druid as resto, and to 2300 (after one night with my current partener but at least 3 months with various druids) on my paladin as ret. Nowhere in the main body of the guide does it mention the ret's ability to smash things as an effective peel, against any melee (even hunters) the best way you have to save your druid is to beat the crud out of the person killing your druid while your druid stands directly out of LoS from the opposing dps' healer. (no, you cant beat shaman/warlock)
TyrovaApr 9, 2009 - 5:35 AM (HideShow)
Icebear, more time in tree form will save your skin against any physical dps. Also, have your paladin train the warrior (not losing you when hes in need of heals of course) and the shaman will not be able to drink for more than a few seconds, if the shaman is drinking or looking like he wants to wings can be just as effective as moonfire to get him in combat, that is, if you smash the warrior he doesn't have time to drink, and must heal or let his partener die.
TyrovaApr 9, 2009 - 5:38 AM (HideShow)
side note on the shaman+warlock thing, we usually leave the match then queue dodge in hopes of greener pastures. Not good advice for 1000-2000 but at 2300 the shamans are reliably not retarded and will not let you randomly kill something as rets tend to do.
For all you druids gasping at dks, my advice for the next 6 days (or hopefully not 13 days) is to learn to fake cast and mash nourish (it works and is infinitely more mana efficient than feeding hots to the DK)
AdvanteApr 9, 2009 - 7:07 AM (HideShow)
TACTICS:
(AS QUOTED BY BRUTAL GLAD ICEMATIX) DRUID : SPAM LIFEBLOOM TO DEADLY GLAD
PALADIN : HAMMER OF JUSTICE ONE GUY, SHOULD KILL HIM BEFORE THE STUN DURATION IS OVER IF NOT YOURE BAD
AdvanteApr 9, 2009 - 7:07 AM (HideShow)
RET PALLY JUST MASH / HEADBUTT THAT CRUSADER STRIKE BUTTON TO HIT HARDER
DogmanxzApr 12, 2009 - 2:40 AM (HideShow)
OMG WAD DO WE FUCKING HAVE HERE... OMG RESTO DRUID/RET PALLY... OKOK GUYS LISTEN UP HERE IS THE STRATS.. DRUID.. JUST FUCKING STAY BEAR FORM AND PALLY JUST MASH THAT CRUSADER STRIKE BUTTON AND KEEP DOING 8K JUDGEMENT CRITS... FUCKING EZ MODE.. ANYONE RUNNING THIS COMBO AND IS BELOW 2.7K RATING.. UR JUST FUCKING BAD
BarönlolApr 12, 2009 - 5:22 PM (HideShow)
FUCKING DK PALLY WTF WE CANT DO ANYTHING ANYMORE

use to own them.. now cant do shit dk just keyboard turns all over the fuckin place and lol plague strikes
IdofacerollApr 13, 2009 - 6:35 PM (HideShow)
I think rogue/mage failed in arena and went here to QQ, when you meet 90% dk's, and your druid dies in ~10sec, its not that easy to faceroll, I can bop him, but doesnt matter when DK just PEWPEW LAZER MAGIC
AndromeApr 26, 2009 - 3:20 AM (HideShow)
From my experience with the new season, it seems like this setup got hit by the nerfbat a bit. Or maybe the other classes were buffed in such a way, giving them the upper hand vs this setup. We can't possibly beat setups containing a Disc Priest. Especially not Disc Priest - Rogue. Unless the Rogue is as bad as Advante that posted here not long ago. Warlocks is still a major threat. As it's near impossible for a Retribution Paladin to even deal damage in the first place to a Warlock.
DrakkixApr 26, 2009 - 3:31 PM (HideShow)
I'd disagree. This comp got buffed imo. Any team with a DK (especially shaman/DK) was absolutely miserable, and unbeatable. Now these comps are at least somewhat manageable. Went 20-6 yesterday with about a 2k MMR.
EräjormaApr 27, 2009 - 8:36 PM (HideShow)
There seem to be half thinking this got nerfed and other half thinking it got buffed. I wouldnt know, i just started arenas this season. But i gotta say imo its alot harder than most think. And considering the writer of this guide, who got over 2k easily, has now managed only 27-24 win/loss ratio, i'd say it got nerfed kinda lot.

We struggled ALOT to get even up to 1400+ on this first week, i suppose there are some really top teams too facing us, just hope its not as hard all the way. But when my druid gets abit more than 300 resi (lol) perhaps he will start surviving more.
AzemóthMay 2, 2009 - 7:29 AM (HideShow)
Hello Talmie ;) I've recently started playing with a druid ;) not that high rated atm (Only 1341 tbh) but i've got some questions

Why do you use Seal of Matyr/Blood ? I would personally agree more to a seal of justice since that stun is so epic... The proc chance is about every 3'th hit for me, and the stuns is in 2 sec... i usually get a priest down without he even gets a chance of healing... And the health you loses by using Matyr/Blood can be a big problem vs. DK/Hpala for example. When my mate starts kiting the dk around i take a lot of damage from the matyr... and then the dk suddenly switch to me and the other way around... but still, a Hpala should be able to take me(retri pala) down when i only got like 20% hp left....

What would you say about that ?
GhadMay 5, 2009 - 11:47 AM (HideShow)
To whoever was saying you couldn't beat priest rogue, yes this is a hard comp. I usually win about half of those games. Once the rogue is out i throw him a farie fire(which seems like it is useless, oh well) and then just keep up hots. my pally partner just stays on the rogue, every now and then switches to priest for presssure, but eventaully the rogue dies, by CCing the prest as much as possible. The priest will be so mana burn happy on the druid (me) that sometimes he forgets to heal the rogue, and sometimes they go to drink, and that gives us the window to kill the rogue. This combo is good this season in my opinion, the only major issue you wil have is with warriors.
SaidiwouldntMay 5, 2009 - 1:15 PM (HideShow)
Running this comp now in s6, some games go for 10+ minutes, others are done in a matter of cooldowns if something goes wrong, but that's just an outskilled issue atm (Both me and my 2s partner new to the classes in arena basically) We've lost matches we really should have won but hell *shrug*

I haven't personally tried Feral/Resto and like the slightly more offensive build dipping down to insect swarm to turn and pop of wraths, that when I crit shoot out in under a second. Team we're having issues against are disc/survhunter disc/arms, but then, gear and skill issues there :-/
AtsumoriMay 12, 2009 - 9:27 AM (HideShow)
I'm running this comp now in season 6, only 1703 rated now, but then again I only have 395 res. My main problem is surviving MS warriors. I haven't seen anything about them in this guide but they are putting out so much dmg now it's ridiculous. I can survive them if I do everything right but I go OOM pretty quick considering I have to put everything into staying alive (including 3 stacks of lifebloom, very costly).

DK healer teams are a bit of a problem to, any time my paly partner gets the healer close to dead the DK pulls him off. I don't seem to have any trouble whatsoever surviving the DK's.

And we've beaten several teams with Disc priests, our success has been with my partner staying on the DPS and just cyclone/repent the priest when he's ready to go for the kill. Priests get mana burn happy and forget to heal.

As I've seen stated in the comments numerous times... pre-hotting in tree form is key in this build, they will almost always try to cc one of you at the start, if you are both pre-hotted this won't be a problem.
DookiMay 12, 2009 - 11:25 AM (HideShow)
Atsumori, against warriors what we do with my partner usually is this: the warrior obviously stays on me, so I always try to kite the warrior into los, so its healer would have to run. the healer gets a repentance, 2 cyclones and the warrior usually dies. If not, I cyclone the warrior once, so the healer gets some immune heals into the warrior. After doing this couple of times, it would be easy to kill the warrior, because neither he, nor its healer will have trinkets or cds. And try to look out warrior charges, it should never catch you in normal form, so be careful with cc, however if the warrior is hitting you, you can mostly come out for a quick cyclone, because most of the warriors stay in battle stance, so they cant interrupt your cast. This is what we usually do against any warrior+healer combos and we beat them mostly (sometimes they are lucky with suddendeath and they kill me in 2 secs :D).

Anyway, I would also need some help against priest warriors, thats the only warrior healer combo we have never beaten. (maybe once) Any suggestion or idea would be more than appreciated :D
XuanMay 14, 2009 - 1:25 PM (HideShow)
Can anyone suggest a general approach against Mage/Priest Team?

We tried repentance on mage with 2 cyclone and a bash and try to kill the priest.
My problem is, we dont seem to have enough dps to drop the priest even with the assist of the druid.
CC priest and going on mage resulted in ret getting sheeped and fight resets.
Granted, mage/priest have hard time to kill Ret/Resto as well, if the druid HoT up when priest try to fear him out of position.
SububuduhMay 16, 2009 - 11:54 PM (HideShow)
A+

Curious about the druid's PoV for certain set ups. Does he plan on contributing?
JromeMay 17, 2009 - 11:40 PM (HideShow)
Any plans on updating this guide?
TalmieMay 19, 2009 - 9:32 PM (HideShow)
Hey everyone,

It's really great to see interest in this guide and the comments are certainly warming my heart. Apologies for the lack of S6 updates, I've been really swamped with PvE stuff in my guild and barely had any time to play my 10 games/week, nvm working out updates for this piece or whatever. Starting to play arena more seriously again and there's definitely a few important changes to this comp as well as other classes - I'll do my best to do a proper update / rewrite for the strategies listed, as well as post my thoughts on new 'fotm' comps I run across in the ladder. For the time being, I'll try to answer any questions here and under strats already posted.

Thanks for your interest guys, it's really great to see this was of use to so many players out there! :)
KrodaMay 21, 2009 - 4:06 AM (HideShow)
Looking forward to updates. Hit 2.4k relatively easily but having a bit of trouble with some of the better players playing tough comps.
JeannedarcMay 21, 2009 - 7:27 AM (HideShow)
Okay, feeling a little noob here, but I came across a paladin yesterday that kept stunning me as if he were a back in the day combat mace rogue. I was at lost for words and couldn't understand why he was able to stun me back to back and no it wasn't repentance. Any ideas? Is there something I'm not aware of? Glyphs? Gear? Talents? Racials?
JeannedarcMay 21, 2009 - 7:40 AM (HideShow)
Sorry to double post but, it's not JoJ is it? Cause I have never seen my judgements stun.
JeannedarcMay 21, 2009 - 7:52 AM (HideShow)
Okay, take back everything I said its really early in the morning here and I'm stupid....lol I totally forgot about Seal of Justice.

So, with that said do you seal twist for stun procs, run straight SoB, or straight SoJ?
I haven't seen many paladins run SoJ since the SoB has been rampant and best. Just looking for some advice to push my 2's higher.
ZuthosMay 22, 2009 - 9:05 AM (HideShow)
I don't know if anyone else wrote about lock/shammy. But when ever my team goes against them, I kill warlocks pet, then stick to shammy like glue. If you can kill his mana tide in 0-1 ticks. You can probably outlast his mana pool. Have Shadow Resistance Aura up, and either you'll get a massive crti streak, or you'll manage to get the HoJ/ Repentance down great, OR you'll destroy his mana pool.
SkiptMay 23, 2009 - 2:02 AM (HideShow)
Some HARD counters for Ret/Druid would be Priest/Feral and Warlock/Druid (as rare as they are).
HitremMay 24, 2009 - 2:22 AM (HideShow)
I hope you were kidding when you said Warlock/Druid lol
MiláMay 25, 2009 - 9:47 AM (HideShow)
this guide was the only reason i carried on playing ret/druid after 10games in s5 xD <3
JeannedarcMay 25, 2009 - 7:31 PM (HideShow)
Anyone got any strats on Disc Priest and Dk's....very very annoying comp with the constant chains of ice and slowing effects.
AndromeJun 1, 2009 - 5:51 PM (HideShow)
Pretty impossible to play this setup against people with a brain at 2.5k rating etc on our battlegroup atm. We basicly get farmed by all sorts of setups, Prot Paladin/Warrior. Ret Paladin/Resto Shaman, ROGUE ROGUE even, Rogue/Destro Lock, Disc Priest/Rogue.. We're doing as we always do, but we just can't seem to be keeping the upper hand during a fight once we gain it.
ZorphJun 3, 2009 - 3:56 AM (HideShow)
What about lock/mage?
TerrabornJun 4, 2009 - 3:56 AM (HideShow)
Cant wait for your Season 6 update and some tips from your Druid partners POV would be great ;)

Great work!
TerrabornJun 4, 2009 - 4:07 AM (HideShow)
Thanks for all the info and can't wait to see the S6 updates. Any chance of some pro tips from you Druid partner?

Great Guide!
SecondsJun 6, 2009 - 11:12 PM (HideShow)
Very good guide! Well written, its much appreciated! Played holy in S6 with a DK, im not a PvPer really so we only reached 2200 with a easy setup, going ret now in S6 with a resto druid, gonna start this week. Been too busy with PvE until now. Looking forward to the update!
SecondsJun 6, 2009 - 11:13 PM (HideShow)
Played holy pala in S5* :P
SimsinJun 9, 2009 - 2:52 PM (HideShow)
Alright ive been having alot of trouble with ms warriors and holy pallies [ret/holy hybrids]- main problem is the ms warrior pretty much tears me up as a ret pally and my resto druid has problems healing me. I run specs of [0/19/52] and i usually have sacred shield rolling on whoever is being focused, and if i drop to 70-60% instantly i roll salvation [20%damage reduction] but that seems to do nothing and than i switch inbetween SoL - SoJ and use Judgement of Light on the warr but i still get ripped up. If this isnt a problem, my partner[Resto druid] and i switch from target to target and roll out our cc's she will cast cyclone, my repentenance when the pally rolls out a heal, and another cyclone if we get close to killing the warr, but at the same time she runs out of mana quickly and this occurs to the over amount of cc's and of course i changed my seals/judgements back to martyr-judgement

Thanks for the advice if you guys have any
BallaholicJun 17, 2009 - 11:36 PM (HideShow)
prot pally in healing gear + warrior.help please!
AelmirethJun 20, 2009 - 5:18 PM (HideShow)
I've run ret/resto for a while and we did pretty well, the trick with priest/rogue, with the ones we've encountered is seperating the two. If I could get the priest to run from me while the rogue is trying to battle my druid's HoTs I did a pretty nice job of DPSing the priest and OOMing him. We've beaten 3 out of 4 priest/rogue combos.

Then he dropped me and went with a lock but that's another story.
BloodworkJul 17, 2009 - 11:40 AM (HideShow)
Me(druid) and my paly partner seem to be hitting a wall at 1800 =/ What usually happens is the other team puts wayyyy too much pressure on the paly forcing me to use every last cd to keep him alive, usually ending in him bubbling and me eating an enormous amount of manaburns and dispels. I think the obvious problem to our situation is that he only has 300 resil, can anyone confirm? Or are we doing something wrong.
SkippedJul 19, 2009 - 3:47 AM (HideShow)
^ pretty sure its a gear prob
SkittadinJul 22, 2009 - 6:44 PM (HideShow)
We keep losing to Dk/Resto druid, im not sure if its the skill level of either of us, (very possible as this is my first season playing ret) but just seems their burst + interupts/silences get us 9/10, (playing at a 2200 MMR on the worst BG in the world ;) )
AegìsAug 2, 2009 - 9:57 AM (HideShow)
having a hard time with priest rogue and moonkin ret any help
LuumAug 4, 2009 - 8:35 PM (HideShow)
having trouble with lock healer how can i own this combo? anyone help plz
ZeulSep 5, 2009 - 4:23 PM (HideShow)
Having trouble with lock/shammy teams (often Lock/Elemental or Lock/Resto), just seem to burst one of us down in the space of a CC without being able to do anything after our first bubble and CDs popped.
MilenniaSep 18, 2009 - 4:32 PM (HideShow)
Basicly this setup needs loads of switches these days. DoubleDps shouldnt be a problem since the Pally can do well against all kind of dps class if they aint got healed. Just prehot and nuke them. Healer/dps is harder but switching is the key. Im even doing switchtes just for 1-2 hit to confuse them and make them use more mana. Always cyclonx3 even if you aint going for the kill to maintain pressure. Against dk/resto always make switches if your target is fully hotted since you cant kill him with hots up, and if you got for the druid when the dk is hotted he hots are useless-> druid uses more mana.
RukíaOct 16, 2009 - 9:47 AM (HideShow)
loeads of good timing cc here, and would not say this is the easiest setup as kayl says, its was good guide..
AzxamOct 20, 2009 - 11:51 PM (HideShow)
awesome guide... :D thanks
HealloweenNov 9, 2009 - 12:03 PM (HideShow)
i'm haveing trouble on seeing the biulds...
CyclonesJan 4, 2010 - 12:38 AM (HideShow)
My partner and I keep losing to Priest Mage comps any advice?
BucksJan 15, 2010 - 7:45 PM (HideShow)
Thank you for an amazing guide!
My partner and I have been running this comp since the beginning of this year. We are doing ok - considering that he has never really done any pvp and I "only" played Holy during s1-s3.
We do not really stand a chance vs. lock/healer. We figured separating both lock and healer kind of works while trying to dispell fear and killing pets while LOS.
What is also really getting to us is frost mage / disc. Certainly we are not very high skilled but I would like to know if there's anything in peticular that we could try? Thanks so much in advance
SaggeJan 26, 2010 - 1:09 PM (HideShow)
ok noob question time...i play a resto druid and seem to be having problems with rogues. Any advise on how to get away from them or better protect myself. hots yes, BS yes, trinket yes. My resil is almost 1k and hp is 25k buffed. Yes to some I should probably quit the game right now but you can't learn without asking questions right lol...thank you for any help..it's very appreciated.

Reply: