The Guardian of the Light, the Paladin is an Iconic class in the Warcraft World. All the way back to the RTS games, the Paladin has been a staple of the Alliance's forces. In World of Warcraft, Leveling a Paladin is very fun, and with the right Paladin Leveling Build, you can be 85 in no time. Read on and we will discuss the exact "how to" level a Paladin in World of Warcraft.
Picking the right Paladin Leveling Build is crucial to leveling your Paladin. There are really a few different options, but overall it's best to start with a Retribution spec at level 10, and pick up Protection at level 30 when Dual Spec becomes available. For questing, Retribution is absolutely the best choice. The single target damage is staggering, and the survivability and resource regeneration are sufficient enough to keep you going with zero down time. You can even handle smaller groups of 3 or more once you get Divine Storm. In addition, you get a great movement speed increase through Pursuit of Justice and Long Arm of the Law that can significantly decrease the time you spend leveling.
However, Protection is an excellent Paladin Leveling Build if you are interested in running dungeons. Tanks have almost instant queue times in the dungeon finder, allowing you some fast experience if you have a good group. Protection is also good for grinding a large number of mobs at a single time, or very difficult elite mobs. Having protection as a secondary spec is an excellent compliment to Retribution.
Holy is not really recommended since it's ONLY good for instances. In addition, the queue times for healers are higher than tanks, so even for dungeons, Protection is preferable. In higher levels, you can always switch so that you can get some practice for end game raiding, but you need to start collecting the appropriate gear.
Gear is the next aspect you want to focus on for Leveling a Paladin. You want to wear plate, always. Stack strength, as it directly contributes to your attack power, and the damage you do. Crit is the next important stat. Find as much of this as you can to start filling the screen with big numbers. Haste is another stat that starts to shine once you pick up the talent Sanctity of Battle. Stamina is also important. If you run out of life, you're dead. And death puts a serious damper on leveling a Paladin. Now, while you're leveling, you shouldn't have to worry about hit or expertise too much. You have plenty of abilities to fill in the gap when one fails to land. Of all the secondary stats, you should pick crit and haste to maximize damage output.
When Leveling your Paladin, there are several abilities you want to make sure you are using all the time. First is Avenging Wrath. This ability gives you a 20% bonus to all damage you do, and allows you to use Hammer of Wrath regardless of health. Open up with this, and mobs will drop really fast. Second is Zealotry. This is great for chain pulling single mobs at a time. Essentially you can alternate crusader strikes with Templar's Verdict. All the while throwing out your Judgements and instant Exorcisms. The final ability that you want to make sure you use whenever it's available is Inquisition. This increases holy damage by 30%, which boosts your Seals, Judgements, Exorcisms, and Hammer of Wrath. This makes up a significant portion of your damage overall. When paired with Avenging Wrath, you can probably 1-shot or 2-shot many mobs your own level.