Overview
Ret/Disc is a glass-cannon burst comp. The Ret Paladin is a support-melee that does almost nothing threatening outside of its cooldowns, but during an Avenging Wrath window — amplified by the priest's Power Infusion — a Judgement into Crusader Strike into a twisted Seal of Command/Seal of Blood swing hits like a truck. Everything about the comp is engineered to land one clean burst before the enemy stabilizes.
The hard part is manufacturing that window. Repentance on the enemy healer is your setup CC, Hammer of Justice locks the kill target, and the priest's Fear, Mass Dispel and Power Word: Shield keep you alive long enough to swing. Miss the opener or let the Ret get kited and the comp has almost no follow-up — you're a squishy melee and a mana-hungry priest grinding a game you're built to end quickly.
Win condition
Repentance the enemy healer, blow Avenging Wrath + trinket with the priest's Power Infusion on you, and burst the kill target with Judgement → Crusader Strike → a twisted Seal of Command swing while Hammer of Justice keeps them stunned. The target dies inside that stun or you reset and try to rebuild cooldowns.
Strengths
- +Explosive Avenging Wrath + Power Infusion burst can global a target
- +Double CC school — Repentance and Hammer of Justice don't share DR
- +Priest utility (Fear, Mass Dispel, Mana Burn) buys the burst window
Weaknesses
- −Ret folds instantly when focused and has no gap-closer beyond Freedom
- −Kited to death by Druid teams that outlast a single burst
Cooldown timeline
Open with Repentance on the healer to remove peels, then stack on their DPS. Priest casts Power Infusion on the Ret as you pop Avenging Wrath + on-use trinket; Judgement the seal, Crusader Strike, and time your Seal of Command→Seal of Blood twist to land a double-proc swing, Hammer of Justice layered on top to extend the lockout. If the healer trinkets Repentance early, Fear or Mana Burn them instead and re-burst on the next Avenging Wrath. Priest holds Pain Suppression and Psychic Scream to survive the inevitable return swap.
Positioning
Play tight to a pillar so the priest can LoS casters and the Ret can close from cover — you have no charge, so you must approach behind terrain. Pre-position on the kill target before committing Repentance so the burst starts the instant CC lands. Keep Blessing of Freedom on the Ret for the snare that's coming, and Blessing of Protection or Divine Shield ready when the enemy swaps onto your priest.
Vs. the meta
The Druid kites the Ret with Cyclone and roots while the Rogue chains Cheap Shot/Kidney and Blind onto your priest. Never let the Ret get pulled off the pillar — save Blessing of Freedom for the root chain, Cleanse the roots, and have the priest Mass Dispel the Cyclone off the Ret so you can still burst. Force the Rogue to blow cooldowns on the paladin's bubble, then swap the Druid in a Repentance.
This is a mana and kiting nightmare: the Druid Cyclones and roots the Ret out of range while the Warlock Fears, dots, and drains your priest's mana with a Felhunter shutting down your dispels. You cannot win the long game, so you must land the opener — Repentance the Druid, Hammer of Justice the Warlock, and blow everything to kill the Warlock before Death Coil and the second Fear come online. Mana Burn the Druid on any reset.
Gear requirements
- ▸Ret: resilience to survive the return swap plus the biggest two-hander you can get — weapon damage drives the whole burst
- ▸Priest: resilience and mp5/Intellect — Power Infusion and a long Fear game both cost mana you can't afford to run dry
Tips
- •Repentance breaks on any damage — never open it on a target your priest has a DoT or Prayer of Mending ticking on.
- •Power Infusion is a burst button, not a mana crutch: sync it with Avenging Wrath every time, don't spend it on healing.
- •Practice the Seal of Command → Seal of Blood twist on the target dummy until the double-proc is automatic; it's most of your damage.
- •Save Hammer of Justice for the kill window as a pseudo-interrupt/stun, not to peel early — it and Repentance are your only hard CC.
Gear & talents for this comp
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