Class Q & A Series: Paladin

The 5th Class Q & A Series thread is up on the official World of Warcraft forum. This time around, it's the Paladin's turn. Read the thread Here.

My Paladin just dinged level 80 last weekend and I was kind of hoping to see something useful or informative in the the thread. However, the Class Q & A Series discussion for the Paladin is not very insightful or contains anything I would consider new.

Not that Paladins really need anything in the level 1 to 79 range for leveling purposes. You pretty much just specialize in Retribution and blow through content. Leveling as a Holy Paladin is just dumb and a waste of time. You can level as a Protection Paladin and kill multiple mobs at once. But, the reality is, Retribution is the fastest, most efficient way to go for leveling.

If the level 80 instance running/raiding game is anything like what it was like for the level 70 game before Wrath of the Lich King, Paladins should do fine as healers and tanks despite any changes coming in 3.2. Based on the few instances I have run through as a DPSer, I think Retribution Paladins will do well in the PvE area as well. Although, pressing 3-4 buttons gets pretty boring pretty fast.

This quote is a little confusing based on how much people whine about Paladins being over-powered in PvP.

"Q. All classes vary in dps from one encounter to another; however, some paladins may feel their dps can be less competitive at times in comparison to other classes, more so in straight stationary single-target dps encounters. How do we feel paladins are doing in terms of dps across the board?

A. Retribution dps is too low in PvE in 3.1. We are buffing it in 3.2 through the new way Seal of Vengeance / Corruption will work. This Seal is designed to really deliver damage once the paladin gets five stacks up, which will make it the Seal of choice for boss fights. Seal of Command will be used in PvP or PvE for short fights. We expect overall for Corruption / Vengeance to be the “go-to” Seal much of the time, perhaps even in PvP, provided you can keep the buff up."

If I'm reading this right, Seal of Vengeance / Corruption is getting a buff so it does MORE damage and this will, of course, transfer over to PvP. How exactly is this going to address the cries of Paladins being over-powered? What's annoying is Death Knight damage is getting nerfed (even more) in 3.2 but Paladins are getting buffed and based on playing both of these "over-powered" classes, I find this incredibly bass ackwards.

I'm not saying Death Knights didn't need to be adjusted, but Retribution Paladins need to be adjusted too. Having fought both classes in PvP at the level 80 bracket now, I dread fighting Retribution Paladins a lot more. Big damage plus healing plus bubble of the Paladin outweighs the big damage a Death Knight can deal. Hopefully, Blizzard can make some good adjustments during testing, but I'm not holding my breath.