Ret Paladin Guide (for Erotica/Barb)

This guide is written for a friend on my server, however if anyone else stumbles upon this feel free to use it as well as it is for anyone that can make use of it.
Since this is a long post I am going to break it up click the link for the complete post
Lets start this post talking about stats. In order or importance (in my eyes)
STATS
Strength-This will be your main DPS stat to stack. 1 point of STR will give you 2 points of Attack Power
Hit-Yes I am putting this at the top of the list because being hit capped is still one of the best DPS stats to have. You must hit 8% hit. To tell what percent you are st mouse over hit and check. Anything less than 8% and you hamper your DPS.
Attack Power/Crit- Lumping these 2 stats together As the balance of Attack Power will come from STR, but if you get it on an item dont slough it off. Crit is a nice stat as well. As the more you crit the more damage you do.
Agility-Many people will tell you to never get gear that has AGI on it as it is wasted. But this is not true. AGI will give you AP as well as crit. Do not go out of your way to gear for it. Off items like necks and rings that have AGi and are better than your current items grab them.

What NOT to stack
Intellect- NEVER and I mean NEVER gear for INT. This is bad. Yes we use manna but we do not need it (as I will explain later)
Spell Power- Again this is a stack to never stack. To many paladins forget that we do not need it, again I will explain this later on.

SPEC
Now that we got stats out of the way, lets talk about your spec.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#sVMZVZVfrtbIuGdIfsu
That is a good spec to use. Let me point out a few talents.
2/5 Divine Intellect- I chose this because there were 2 points left over and no real use for them. More INT through talents is good.
Seal of Command-This talent still remains in a Ret Paladins spell book for 1 reason and 1 reason only. Trash, Put this on when you are doing trash and you got 2 attacks that trigger the cleave effect of it. Crusader strike and judgment, also auto attack will as well.
Judgment of the Wise- Remember when I said stacking INT was wrong? Well here is where I explain that. JotW will on every judge grant you replenishment this will give you 1% of your maximum manna every 5 second AND give you an automatic 25% of your manna. Now you may think "Well Valkiryn, if I had more manna it would be better right?" Well that is wrong thinking. Ret Paladins work off of base manna. That is your manna when you are naked. All your spells are based off that manna. More mana would be nice and that is why you have 2/5 Divine Intellect. But stacking it will cause you to forgo DPS stats.
Fanaticism-This talent is great. Ret Paladins can pull treat really easy. This will reduce your threat by a lot. Always have this talent in your tree maxed out.
Sheath of Light- Remember when I said Spell Power was a bad stat to stack? This talent is why. For this talent will take 30% of your AP (attack power) and roll it into Spell Power. This is why you want as much STR as possible. Remember for every 1 STR you get 2 AP.

GEMS
Now on to gems. There are few selection of gems that you want to have.
Meta-Chaotic Skyflare Diamond. This is the only gem you want in this slot
Red Slots- For these slots stack 20STR (Bold) gems in them. Nothing else 20STR if you are a JC put your JC only STR gems (max of 3)
YELLOW- For these slots 20STR as well. You can also place an Inscribed Ametrine in there But ONLY if the socket bonus and gem will be better than a straight 20STR gem. The way to tell is if your crit is low or if the socket bonus will net you more DPS. But conventional thinking is forgo yellow bonus and go straight 20STR
BLUE- For these slots Sovereign Dreadstones. BUT you only need 1 of these. Rest place 20STR gems. Just keep 1 blue open for a Nightmare's Tear. The reason is that you need to have 2 blue gems to activate your Meta socket. A nightmare's tear and that 1 Sovereign will activate it. The best place to put the Nightmare's Tear is in your gloves.

ROTATION
The Ret Paladin's rotation is simple. FCFS. This is First Come First Served. Meaning there is no real rotation just use what is off off cooldown. However with that said, A simple "rotation" to keep in mind is Crusader Strike>Divine Storm>Judge Then use what ever comes off cooldown first. Now since you have the ability to get an instant Exorcism on a crit through Art of War, use that every chance you get provided you have the manna. Now when the BOSS is below 20% Hammer of Wrath is your main attack to use. Use this every time it is off of Cooldown. So bosses that are under 20% rotation is this Hammer of Wrath FCFS Hammer of Wrath will be off of cooldown before your other attacks so keep an eye on that and use it every time you can.

GEAR
I gave gear its own section down here at the bottom only because I wanted to. Gear and stats are in fact the same thing. You want plate gear that gives Strength, Stamina, Hit, Crit, Attack power. However I fell the need to point out a few things. Grab your Tier 9 as fast as you can. With random dungeons this can be done quite fast. Few key items to pick up.
Libram-Libram of Valiance. Pick this up as soon as you have 2 pieces of Tier9. On bosses this is a good libram until you can afford the Frost Badge one.
Ring- Bloodshed Band. 35 Triumphs. This is a good ring to grab if you find yourself in 3 piece Tier9 and do not have better.
Neck- Spiked Battleguard Choker. This is bought with Emblems of Conquest. Just trade Triumphs in for that. However only do this if you can not get better.

Buffs Flasks and Food
For your flask you want Flask of Endless Rage. For food you want Dragonfin Fillet. This will give you STR and stam. Fish Feast is good if you don't have any Dragonfin on you. Also if you are below the 8% hit cap you can eat Snapper Extreme. This will give hit and stamina. For your buff Might is an all around good talent. Kings is also really good. The way to tell what one to use when solo or if you are the only pally in the group is by this. Look at your stats. If your stats are kind of low, Crit/AGI/STR use kings as it will buff all of those. However Might is generally better so stick with that.

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
The only way to get better is to practice and practice. Use the training dummies in the main towns and even unfinished quests. You can't become a good player with out practice. Also use your resources. If you have friends and guild members that will take the time to help you use them as much as you can. I will say stay clear of people that do not play Ret Paladins or Paladins in general. Reason is that most people do not understand how we work and will (even though they think they are helping) will and can give out false advice. I am always there to answer any question you may have and to give tips.

DO NOT GIVE UP
Never let anyone tell you that you suck. This does nothing to help you. Never let anyone tell you that you are bad. There are things that you can do better but people telling you that does nothing but cause hatred, distention, and stress. If you see you are preforming badly as fellow Ret Paladins or use the Paladin section of the WoW forums. Or me. If you hear people calling you bad or saying you suck forget about them, chances are they are elite asshats or people that do not understand that you may be having issues at some fights.

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions leave a comment or send me a tell in the game.