WoW TBC Arena
PaladinPaladinB

Ret Paladin / Holy Paladin — TBC Arena 2s Guide

BurstDifficulty Season 2

'Ret/Holy.' All-in burst with unmatched melee uptime — Freedom and Blessing of Protection mean the Ret never gets kited or trained off. Ceiling is capped by no CC, but the floor is very high.

Overview

Ret/Holy is a burst-and-uptime comp with an unusually high floor. Blessing of Freedom keeps the Ret on target and Blessing of Protection resets any melee train onto him. You look for a single big Avenging Wrath window to force a kill.

The ceiling is limited: with no hard CC and no Mana Burn, control and kiting comps beat you at higher ratings. But into most ladder teams the raw burst and un-peelable uptime carry.

Win condition

Land an Avenging Wrath + trinket + Freedom burst on a target the enemy healer can't out-heal in one window.

Strengths

  • +Huge burst windows with Avenging Wrath + trinket
  • +Freedom + BoP make the Ret impossible to peel or kill
  • +Very easy to pilot

Weaknesses

  • No hard CC and no Mana Burn — kites and patience beat you
  • Predictable burst that good teams simply peel/LoS

Cooldown timeline

Ret builds up on the kill target → pop Avenging Wrath + trinket + Freedom → holy paladin bursts heals only to cover the trade. BoP the Ret if he gets trained; bubble the healer to reset a bad opener.

Positioning

Ret sticks to target; holy paladin pillars. Freedom pre-empts snares so the burst window is never kited out.

Vs. the meta

vs Frost Mage / Disc PriestGuide →

The mage kites your only damage. Freedom through the Nova chain, tunnel the mage, and force an Ice Block early — you have no way to win a long kite, so all-in fast.

Gear requirements

  • Ret: resilience + a big two-hander for burst
  • Holy paladin: resilience + mp5

Tips

  • Freedom is your enabler — the Ret should never be snared during a burst.
  • Blessing of Protection is a full melee reset; use it, don't hoard it.
  • You have no CC — commit your burst windows fully, don't half-send.

Gear & talents for this comp

Retribution PaladinPvP BiSTalents
Holy PaladinPvP BiSTalents

Plan your arena points

Gearing this comp? Use the arena points calculator to see your weekly points from your team rating and how long each piece takes to earn.