My second Paladin just hit level 80 over the weekend, so it’s time to start itemizing for a fresh level 80 Holy Paladin. As with my Death Knight gear checklists, I will be targeting pre-raid gear sources in this series. You could also classify these as “non-raid” or even (gasp!) “casual” upgrade lists. I didn’t say “welfare” though.

Like most players these days, you’ll find very significant upgrades in the regular and heroic version of the Trial of the Champion dungeons. For your head slot, you’re in luck as the best pre-raid helm is available in the regular version of ToC. If you prefer to farm Battlegrounds rather than instances, the Deadly Gladiator helm is a nice pickup, even for PvE.

1. Helm of the Bested Gallant
   Trial of the Champion - Champion’s Cache
2. Deadly Gladiator’s Ornamented Headcover
   PvP - 49,600 Honor
3. Helm of Purified Thoughts
   Argent Crusade - Exalted
4. Brilliant Titansteel Helm
   Blacksmith - 540 Gold
5. Titan-Forged Plate Headcover of Salvation
   PvP - 40 Wintergrasp Marks of Honor
6. Helmet of the Constructor
   Heroic Utgarde Keep - Skarvald the Constructor
7. Faceguard of the Hammer Clan
   Heroic Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – Jedoga Shadowseeker

Current prices obtained from Wowecon as of this post.

Dual spec has given me something unexpected: a new alt. Not an “alt” in the traditional WoW-sense. You know, a new character. A re-roll on a different server. An Alliance toon to “experiment” with, and so forth. This time, it’s an alternative build for my main. When dual spec was finally released, I imagined all of the potential — especially for hybrid classes — that this would bring about. It wasn’t until last night, though, that I realized how much fun it really is.

LFM DPS

I’ve always challenged folks who claim that there is a shortage of tanks and healers in the game. My main spec will always be Protection, but I chose Holy for my second spec when the ability to dual spec was introduced to the game. I figured I’d be able to fill one of those two roles that there is an apparent shortage of. Boredom quickly set in as I sat in Dalran with a second “raid spec,” and couldn’t find a group. You would think that in a guild with over 4,600 characters, you’d be able to find an all-guild heroic that needs a healer.

Along Came Retribution

In one night, I ran more heroics as Retribution than I ever did as Holy. So much for that healer shortage. With most of my tanking gear on, I hovered around third on the damage meters for the night. This was partially because the shadow priest in our group disconnected for a bit in Violet Hold. All the mechanics of the class were working, and all those nifty spells and abilities were present on my action bars. The output was lacking, though, and my expectations for high burst damage were failing.

Gearing Up My Alt… Err, Second Spec

In these heroics, I really felt counted on, much more so than in heroic Naxxramas. After successfully completing heroic Violet Hold, Utgarde Pinnacle, and Utgarde Keep, I owed it to myself to start itemizing properly for this spec. The first place I started at was my weapon. I had been using a polearm and, for whatever reason, this really embarrassed me. A trip to the auction house and 1,100 gold quickly took care of that as I became the proud owner of one Titansteel Destroyer. I slapped Greater Savagery on that bad boy and I was off to find me some quests.

I located a nice cave in the Storm Peaks filled with worms that were eager to see me with my new weapon. With Seal of Command refreshed, I ran in, reared back with the mace, and swung as hard as I could… and missed! What happened? What is this “skill in two-handed maces has increased to 2″ all about?

Thirty worms and a few dozen worgs later, my two-handed mace skill was up over 350, and I finally got a taste of what the spec can do when itemized correctly. I hearthed back to Dalaran and turned in some leftover Emblems of Heroism for the Mirror of Truth and the Pendant of the Outcast Hero.  I also added a Jormungar Leg Armor kit to my pants for an additional stamina and agility boost.

Although I made the Kal’uak sad when I vendored their polearm, I now feel like a real Ret Paladin.