Paladins are a strong class in WoW Classic, but though their leveling experience can be varied, players inevitably would always end up healing rather than doing DPS or Tanking. However, in the Season of Discovery, Paladin Runes are changing all of that, and the class is getting some seriously powerful damage abilities, as well as significanly improved ability to Tank and gain Threat.
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WoW Season of Discovery – What Class Should You Play?
All nine classes in World of Warcraft Classic got major updates in the Season of Discovery – but which class should you play in SoD?
Though many of these WoW Paladin Runes have been found, their effects and power levels will change as the Season of Discovery progresses. Because only one Rune can be equipped to each slot, each section below ranks Paladin Runes against other Runes within the same gear category.
Updated Feb 21, 2024 by Erik Petrovich: With the release of SoD Phase 2 new Runes were left up to players to discover with little to no direction in-game. Now that it’s been around two weeks since launch, the locations for every new SoD Rune have been found – including all new SoD Paladin Runes. There are six new Paladin Runes SoD players can acquire in Phase 2: three for the Belt slot and three for the Boots slot, for a total of 18 Runes. Look towards the bottom of this Season of Discovery Paladin Runes tier list to find out what the best new Paladin SoD Runes are, what they do, and how to get them.
Check back in the future as this tier list of all Paladin SoD Runes is updated to reflect the meta and class updates, as well as more detailed explanations as to why certain Runes are better than others.
All Paladin Chest Runes, Ranked
Aegis, Divine Storm, Horn of Lordaeron, & Seal of Martyrdom
Paladins are a great class with some serious drawbacks, but SoD seems to balance things out across its three available specs. Paladin Tanks get some great options in the form of Divine Storm, a close-range AoE that damages and heals thereby generating lots of Threat, as well as Aegis, an active ability that increases’ the Paladin’s Block effectiveness. Of the two, Aegis will tend to be the better option overall, but Divine Storm complements the Paladin’s already-strong AoE Threat generation quite well, too.
Horn of Lordaeron is a party-wide active buff that increases all targets’ Strength and Agility for a short time. Though not an incredibly strong buff, it’s still better than manually applying Blessing of Might to every party member, though it doesn’t do much for spellcasters.
Seal of Martyrdom shows some serious potential in SoD, though. If the player can manage their HP well while active, Seal of Martyrdom is a straight-up 30% damage boost that also restores Mana to allies. Seal of Martyrdom has a high skill cap, but it’s worth leaning and optimizing, especially as a DPS Paladin.
Horn of Lordaeron
Human
characters must defeat Undead enemies until they acquire the Libram of Blessings. Equip it, then Bless five players.
Dwarf
characters must head to the Tavern in Thelsamar and look for the Libram of Blessings on a table. Equip it, then Bless five players.
Horn of Lordaeron Effect
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- The Paladin blows the Horn of Lordaeron, which increases the total Strength and Agility of all party members within 30 yards by 6.
- Lasts 2 min.
- Exclusive with Blessing of Might.
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Related
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery – All Rogue Runes, Ranked
Rogues get lots of great DPS runes in the Season of Discovery, as well as the ability to Tank, making them a great choice for PvP and PvE both.
Divine Storm
Both Humans and Dwarves must head to the Tower of Althalaxx in Darkshore and interact with the Orb at its very top. Then, head to Maestra’s Post to begin Advice From Stormwind, part of a quest chain that leads players to the Redridge Mountains. Here, kill Blackrock Summoners to get Summoners’ Salt, then kill demons in Ashenvale to get Motes of Mannoroth. Once players have 12, interact with Mannoroth’s Weapons to get the final part of the quest chain.
Divine Storm Effect
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- An instant weapon attack that causes 110% of weapon damage to up to 4 enemies within 8 yards.
- The Divine Storm heals up to 3 party or raid members totaling 25% of the damage caused.
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Aegis
Human
characters must find a Paladin at the end of the Jasperlode Mine in Elwynn Forest and use Purify on him.
Dwarf
characters must find a Wounded Adventurer near the entrance to Gnomeregan and use Purify on him.
Aegis Effect
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- Increases your block value by 30% and damaging melee and ranged attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 30%.
- Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks
- Effect not cumulative with Redoubt
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Seal of Martyrdom
Both Human and Dwarf characters must speak with Brother Romulus in Stormwind to gain access to the Cathedral Catacombs. Interact with a Note down here, then head to an island near Hogger to find the elite enemy Ada Gelhardt. Players
must
get the killing blow on this enemy to trigger the Rune reward.
Seal of Martyrdom Effect
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- Fills you with holy spirit for 30 sec, causing each melee attack to deal 30% extra weapon damage, but damaging the player for 10% of the damage inflicted.
- While this seal is active, party members within 40 yards each gain mana equal to 10% of the damage you take from this seal.
- Unleashing this Seal’s energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing 70% weapon damage at the cost of health equal to 10% of the damage inflicted.
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All Paladin Legs Runes, Ranked
Avenger’s Shield, Divine Sacrifice, Exorcist, Inspiration Exemplar, & Rebuke
With Paladin Leg Runes in SoD, two of the class’ biggest weaknesses are rectified – but because they are both Legs runes, the instant interrupt Rebuke and Avenger’s Shield compete for the same slot. Tanks will have to make a hard choice here, as Avenger’s Shield is an enormous boon to Paladins’ ability to gain and maintain threat, but having an instant Interrupt is also crucial. Generally, Avenger’s Shield will be the pick here for a Tank, while damage-dealers should pick up Rebuke.
However, there is also Divine Sacrifice to consider. This ability redirects a chunk of damage from other party members to the Paladin, which can singlehandedly save a party from wiping in bad spots. Avenger’s Shield still takes the proverbial cake here, but keep a chest piece with Divine Sacrifice engraved on it for fights with a particularly high chance of wiping.
Inspiration Exemplar can be great in some situations, and in PvP, but it’s outclassed by the other Paladin Legs Runes. Similarly, the ability to cast Exorcism on any target with the Exorcist Rune is powerful, especially for Healing Paladins, but melee Paladins should pick up the interrupt instead.
Inspiration Exemplar
Human
characters must right-click on the Adventurer’s Remains found near Jerod’s Landing in Elwynn Forest. Two Paladins are needed to complete the ensuing ritual.
Dwarf
characters must right-click on the Adventurer’s Remains found inside of the Wendigo Cave just outside of Coldridge Valley. Two Paladins are needed to complete the ensuing ritual.
Inspiration Exemplar Effect
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- Your inspiring presence periodically dispels Fear and Sleep effects on nearby party members.
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Related
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery – All Hunter Runes, Ranked
A primarily ranged DPS class, Hunters get some of the most powerful runes in the Season of Discovery – melee Survival could be viable, now.
Exorcist
Hoth Human and Dwarf characters must kill Defias enemies in Duskwood to get the Libram of Banishment. Equip this, then use the Turn Undead ability on five Undead enemies, and get the killing blow on each with the Exorcism ability while turned.
Exorcist Effect
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- Exorcism can now be cast on any target and has 100% increased critical strike chance against Undead and Demons.
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Divine Sacrifice
Purchased from Grizzby in the Ratchet Inn after completing a series of quests requiring several items – 24 Fish Oil, 20 Dark Iron Ordinance, and 16 Shredder Turbochargers. Players have at least 5 Gold to interact with Grizzby.
Divine Sacrifice Effect
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- 30% of all damage taken by party members within 30 yards is redirected to the Paladin for 10 sec.
- Damage which reduces the Paladin below 20% health will break the effect and grant the paladin 10% increased damage and healing done for 10 sec.
- Divine Sacrifice cannot be used while you are under the effects of Blessing of Protection, Divine Shield, or Divine Protection, and prevents you from being targeted by those abilities while it is active.
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Rebuke
Both Human and Dwarf characters must speak to the innkeeper in the Stormwind Park. Defeat the enemy that the bartender leads the Paladin to earn the Rune. Players must get the final hit on the enemy.
Rebuke Effect
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- Interrupts spellcasting and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 2 sec.
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Avenger’s Shield
Both Human and Dwarf characters must head to a cave in northern Redridge Mountains and kill a unique elite Orc that spawns
Avenger’s Shield Effect
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- Hurls a holy shield at the enemy, dealing Holy damage, Dazing them and then jumping to additional nearby enemies.
- Affects 3 total targets. Lasts 10 sec.
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All Paladin Gloves Runes, Ranked
Beacon of Light, Crusader Strike, Hand of Reckoning
One thing that Tank Paladins lacked in vanilla WoW was a direct Taunt, a way to generate threat against an enemy instantly to pull them off of allies. With Hand of Reckoning, this weakness is shored up, and it should be the default Gloves Rune choice for Paladin Tanks – it even increases Threat generation and mana recovery for other abilities, too.
Similarly, one thing that DPS Paladins have lacked – specifically the Ret spec – is, well, buttons to press. Ret is notorious for being a spec in which players load up on buffs and auto-attack targets until they die. With Crusader Strike, Ret Paladins have a real rotation to play with, as well as a way to recover Mana reliably.
Holy Paladins have a new ability to play with too, the well-known Beacon of Light. This Paladin Rune lets Holy Paladins target an ally with a Beacon, then heal other party members to apply the same healing on the Beacon’s subject. The best use of this ability is to always target the Tank. If a party member needs healing, the Tank gets the same healing. If the Tank is taking a lot of damage, it effectively doubles healing on them. It’s one of the most powerful healing spells in all of World of Warcraft, and one that will make Holy Paladins sorely missed.
Beacon of Light
Purchased from Waylaid Supply vendors after reaching Honored with the new faction, the Azeroth Commerce Authority/Durotar Supply and Logistics.
Beacon of Light Effect
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- The target becomes a Beacon of Light to all members of your party or raid within a 40 yard radius.
- Any heals you cast on party or raid members will also heal the Beacon for 100% of the amount healed. ‘
- Only one target can be the Beacon of Light at a time. Lasts 1 min.
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Related
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery – All Priest Runes, Ranked
Priests in WoW Classic are a go-to healer, and in Season of Discovery, the class gets better at its primary role and Shadow DPS, too.
Hand of Reckoning
Both Human and Dwarf characters must kill Defias Drones in Westfall, or find the Sunken Reliquiary in Loch Modan, to find the Libram of Justice. Equip this, then kill ten different enemies while they are Stunned – use Hammer of Justice when they are at low HP to guarantee the proc.
Hand of Reckoning Effect
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- Taunts the target to attack you, but has no effect if the target is already attacking you.
- While you know this ability, the threat bonus from Righteous Fury is increased to 80% and Righteous Fury causes you to gain mana when healed by others equal to 25% of the amount healed.
- Additionally, while Righteous Fury is active, damage which takes you below 35% health is reduced by 20%. Righteous Fury will remain active until cancelled.
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Crusader Strike
Both Humans and Dwarves get this Rune from the Level 2 quest that introduces the Rune system.
Humans
must find and equip the Libram of Judgement from Defias enemies, while
Dwarf
characters get the Libram from Frostmane Trolls. After equipping it, use a Judgement on enemies ten times.
Crusader Strike Effect
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- An instant strike that causes 75% weapon damage and regenerates 2% of your maximum mana.
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All Paladin Belt Runes, Ranked (PHASE TWO)
Enlightened Judgements, Sheath of Light, & Infusion of Light
Enlightened Judgements
To get the Enlightened Judgements Rune (via the Rune of Piety), players will need to collect three Tarnished Prayer Beads by defeating certain enemies in the Arathi Highlands. Kill Dark Iron, Syndicate, Boulderfist, and Witherbark enemies until you get each of the three. Then, each Bead must be purified by performing specific actions.
The
first
Tarnished bead can only be purified by casting Blessing of Might in combat.
The
second
Tarnished bead can only be purified by casting Divine Shield while under 10% HP.
The
third
Tarnished bead can be purified by casting Seal of Justice and Judgement on a fleeing enemy.
After turning the Tarnished Beads into Divine Prayer Beads, right-click one of them to form a Rosary of the Light. Head to Stomgarde Keep in western Arathi Highlands to turn in the Rosary to Brother Atticus for the Rune.
Enlightened Judgements Effect
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- Increases the range on Judgement spells by 30 yards
- Increases chance to hit with all spells by 17%
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Related
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery – All Shaman Runes, Ranked
Shamans might not be getting their coveted 2H Runes yet, but there’s still plenty to love coming in the Season of Discovery.
Sheath of Light
To get the Sheath of Light Rune, go to Mannoroc Cove in southern Desolace and look for a Broken Hammer on the ground at approximately (52.5, 84.5). Begin the quest it triggers, then kill nearby Burning Blade Summoners to get a Torn Letter. Then, go to the Stormwind Cathedral and talk to Katherine the Pure to pick up the next part of the quest chain.
Go to Menethil Harbor and talk to Harold Riggs, who is located on the docks. After continuing the quest here, go to the far western shore of the Wetlands and begin swimming south, hugging the coastline the whole way. Swim until you get to Newman’s Landing, on the western side of Coldridge Valley in Dun Morogh. Look for the body of a fallen Crusader on the docks here, and defeat the ambushing enemies. Pick up the Orders of the Grand Crusader from the body, then go back to the Stormwind Cathedral and speak to Katherine the Pure again.
Finally, defeat High Inquisitor Whitemane in the Scarlet Monastery Cathedral dungeon, and go into her chambers to free Aeonas the Vindicated. Return to Katherine once more to unlock the Sheath of Light Rune.
Sheath of Light Effect
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- Melee damage increases SP by 30% of your AP for 1 minute
- Critical Healing spells heal the target for an additional 60% of the healed amount over 12 sec
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Infusion of Light
The Rune of Infusion (and the Infusion of Light Rune) unlocks via the Phase Two Dark Rider questline. To begin, head to Ariden’s Camp in Deadwind Pass at around (52, 34.5) in the zone. Talk to the Dalaran Agent at the camp to get Ariden’s Sigil. He will ask you to recover seven Dalaran Relics from Dark Riders throughout Azeroth. Each of the Dark Riders is about as difficult as a Dungeon boss at 40, but because all classes have one Rune tied to the SoD Dark Rider, it’s not too hard to get a five to ten-man group together.
The Dark Riders can be found in Duskwood, Deadwind Pass, Swamp of Sorrows, Badlands, The Barrens, Desolace, and the Arathi Highlands. After killing each one, head back to the Dalaran Agent and give him the recovered Dalaran Relics. After completing each quest (which reward about 1.5g at Level 40), the Agent will give you a bag containing the Rune.
Infusion of Light Effect
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- Increases the damage of Holy Shock by 20%
- Damaging critical strikes with this ability reset the cooldown for both Holy Shock and Exorcism, and refunds the cost of Holy Shock
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All Paladin Boot Runes, Ranked (PHASE TWO)
The Art of War, Guarded by the Light, & Sacred Shield
The Art of War
To get the Art of War Rune, head to Desolace, and look for an extinguished Campfire just northwest of the Kodo Graveyard (slightly north of the “D” in “Kodo” on the map). Pick up the quest Highway Robbery, then go directly northwest to find Kormek’s Hut on the ridge overlooking the graveyard. Turn in Highway Robbery, pick up the next quest On The Lam, then head to Booty Bay.
In the Inn, talk to Tokal to continue the questline and pick up Cherry For Your Thoughts. Purchase some Cherry Grog from the barkeep and give it to her to continue onto the next part, No Honor Among Thieves.
Go to the border of the Wetlands and the Arathi Highlands and look for a boat underneath the Thandol Span bridge. Jump down into the water and interact with this boat to teleport to the far eastern shore of the Highlands. Talk to Illari Duskfeather, choose either Dialogue option, and kill her to get Illari’s Key. Open the nearby Illari’s Loot Cache to get the Rune.
The Art of War Effect
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- Melee Critical Hits reset the cooldowns on both Holy Shock and Exorcism
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Related
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery – All Warrior Runes, Ranked
In WoW Classic, Warriors scale better than any other class, and in the Season of Discovery, they’re getting a lot of new toys to play with.
Guarded by the Light
To get the Guarded by the Light Rune, head to the Alterac Mountains, directly into the center of the zone in the Ruins of Alterac. At about (36.5, 61), you will should find a skeleton leaning against a wall. Interact with this Skeleton to get the Dormant Holy Rune. Then, cast Divine Intervention on a player, have a healer resurrect you, and interact with the Dormant Holy Rune to unlock the Guarded by the Light Rune.
Guarded by the Light Effect
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- Each time you hit a target with your melee weapon, you gain 5% of your maximum mana every 3 seconds for 15 seconds (5 instances)
- The amount healed by Flash of Light, Holy Light, and Holy Shock spells is reduced by 50% during this mana regeneration period
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Sacred Shield
To get the Rune of Sacred Shield, head to Nijel’s Point in northern Desolace and look for a book inside a building at about (66.5, 7.6). You should get the Libram of Deliverance upon interacting with this book. Then, use Blessing of Freedom five times on other players to remove movement-impairing debuffs from them. The Rune will be unlocked upon interacting with the Libram of Deliverance after.
Sacred Shield Effect
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- Each time the target takes damage they get Sacred Shield, absorbing damage
- Also increases your own (caster’s) chance to Crit with Flash of Light by 50% for 6 seconds
- Causes your Flash of Light to heal targets with Sacred Shield for an additional 100% over 12 seconds
- Targets cannot gain this effect more than once every 6 seconds, and can’t be active on more than one target at a time
- Lasts 30 seconds
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World of Warcraft
- Released
- November 23, 2004
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)