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Paladin or Warlock: Which Should You Play in WoW Forever?
Pick the Warlock if you want fast, low-downtime leveling, strong PvP and good gold farming. Pick the Paladin if you want a tough plate class that can heal or tank in groups.
Paladin vs Warlock verdict
1 Paladin 4 Warlock 1 even
Most players should pick the Warlock. It levels faster, solos elites with a demon tanking, wins more duels and farms gold without stopping to rest.
The Paladin wins dungeons, where Holy and Protection fill the roles groups wait for. Raid value is even: Holy Paladins and Warlocks are both wanted.
Paladin vs Warlock: head-to-head comparison
| Category | Paladin | Warlock |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling speed | Retribution is the fastest Paladin spec: steady and safe, but slower than the pure damage classes. | Winner Dots tick while the Voidwalker holds aggro; drain-tanking means almost no downtime. The grinder just keeps going. |
| Solo play | Bubbles and blessings get you out of almost anything; you rarely die. | Winner Voidwalker tanks, dots kill, drains refill your bar. Dies about as rarely, kills far faster. |
| Dungeons | Winner Tank or healer on demand; groups always make room. Templar's Bulwark is a 100% max-health absorb for 8 seconds. | Bane of Havoc splashes a share of everything onto a second target; still one damage dealer among many. |
| Raiding | Even Holy and Protection fill the scarcest raid roles; hard to kill, harder to replace. | Even Top-tier ranged DPS with Bane of Havoc cleave and Demonic Pact utility; every raid wants several. |
| PvP | Weaker in PvP; Retribution has burst but little control. | Winner Strong in PvP. Fear plus drain-tanking wins long fights. |
| Gold farming | Safe farming with zero risk, but slow kills make it a chore. | Winner Affliction dots half a zone at once, free mounts cut travel, almost no downtime. Top-tier farmer. |
Playing Paladin in this matchup
Retribution levels slowly but safely. Plate, heals, Divine Shield and Lay on Hands keep you alive through bad pulls.
At 60 Holy heals tanks with Holy Light, Holy Shock and Oath of Light, Protection tanks with Holy Shield, Templar's Bulwark and Shieldsworn, and Retribution ends in Unsealed Wrath and Champion of the Light.
Where the Paladin falls short
Leveling and gold farming are slow, and Retribution is not a top damage spec in raids.
Playing Warlock in this matchup
Warlocks level as Affliction with damage over time spells, a Voidwalker to tank and Drain Life with Life Tap, so you rarely stop to rest.
At 60 Affliction gains Pandemic, Wrack and Soul Siphon, Destruction has Incinerate and Bane of Havoc, and Demonology keeps its buff with Demonic Pact. Fear, Death Coil and drains make it strong in duels.
Where the Warlock falls short
You only deal damage, and you manage several demons, curses and Soul Shards.
How WoW Forever's talent changes shift this matchup
The Paladin changed far more. All three trees were rebuilt on 30 October: Blessing of Light and Salvation are gone, and Oath of Light, Boundless Light, Stoicism, Shieldsworn, Turn Evil and Unsealed Wrath are new. Righteous Fury now comes at level 10.
Warlocks had their main changes earlier in testing and got the general damage increase at launch.
Which should you pick: Paladin or Warlock?
- You want to tank or heal with instant groups at every level.
- You hate dying more than you hate slow kills.
- You want the new Undead Paladin playstyle on the Horde side.
- You like active cooldown play: Light's Vigil, Templar's Bulwark, seal swapping.
- You plan to raid as Holy, the healer that is hard to kill and harder to replace.
- You are drawn to the holy crusader playstyle more than the fel one.
- You want the best solo grind in this pair with almost no downtime.
- You want top-tier gold farming: Multi-dotting plus free mounts.
- You like PvP and want a strong PvP class with fear and drains.
- You prefer demon pets and damage-over-time to plate and blessings.
- You want a simple, effective game plan over three roles of homework.
- The new Troll Warlock combo appeals to you.
Paladin and Warlock race options
Paladin has 3 race choices and Warlock has 5. Races marked new could not play the class in Classic Era. See the racials guide for what each race brings.
| Faction | Paladin | Warlock |
|---|---|---|
| Alliance | Human, Dwarf | Human, Gnome |
| Horde | UndeadNew | Orc, Undead, TrollNew |
Plan your Paladin or Warlock build
Plan your points before paying for a respec. Open the Paladin talent calculator or the Warlock talent calculator, or try a starter build for your preferred role. The class picking guide compares all nine classes if you are still undecided.
Paladin vs Warlock: common questions
Which one is actually harder to kill while leveling?
The Paladin is harder to kill: plate, heals and Divine Shield. The Warlock stays healthy in a different way, by draining health and letting the demon take hits.
Is Retribution viable at 60 now, or is it still a meme?
Yes, for leveling and casual raids. Unsealed Wrath and Champion of the Light help, but Retribution is still behind the top damage specs.
Which one makes more gold?
The Warlock. It grinds without resting, so it kills more mobs per hour.
Warlock or paladin for world PvP?
The Warlock wins more fights with Fear and drains. A Paladin survives longer and is hard to finish off.
Which races can play Paladin and Warlock in WoW Forever?
Paladin: Human and Dwarf on the Alliance; Undead on the Horde. Warlock: Human and Gnome on the Alliance; Orc, Undead and Troll on the Horde.
What is the best leveling spec for Paladin and Warlock in WoW Forever?
For leveling from 1 to 60, play Retribution Paladin or Affliction Warlock. On our leveling tier list, Paladin is A tier and Warlock is S tier. Each class leveling guide has a talent path from level 10 to 60.