Shockadin

Shockadin is a sub-optimal talent spec for a Paladin which focuses on a more offensive Holy gameplay. As of patch 4.0.1 the spec has been made more solid with plenty of offensive talents being added to the Holy tree and quirks such as the removal of cooldown on [Exorcism]. Although not optimized for raiding, both healing and dps can be done fairly well in 5-man dungeons, even if PvP is where the spec truly shines.

Mechanics

Shockadins deal very little physical damage, although they are capable of inflicting a high amount of spell damage in a short period of time. The most important spells for a Shockadin are [Holy Shock] and [Exorcism]. As of 4.0.1, [Judgment] no longer deals respectable damage and should be only used to refresh [Judgements of the Pure] and regenerate mana from [Seal of Insight]. Shockadins may also use [Consecration] to do surprisingly dangerous AoE damage, although this highly compromises mana efficiency. Preferably, [Seal of Insight] should be used to maximize this same efficiency, as [Seal of Righteousness] deals little damage. In addition, [Avenging Wrath] can be combined with [Divine Favor] for a splendid burst of damage. [Holy Wrath] and [Crusader Strike] may be used as fillers when [Holy Shock] and [Denounce] are unusable.

The build provides great survivability and the recent improvements to [Exorcism] allow this to be a viable leveling spec. Although having the majority of its talent points spent in the Holy tree, it's not advised to raid as a Shockadin, although 5-man content should be fairly easy in these conditions.

Glyphs

There are relatively few choices for Shockadins. All viable options are listed below:

Prime Glyphs:

•  [Glyph of Divine Favor] - (Increases the duration of Divine Favor by 10 sec.) - Longer duration on your burst mode spell.
•  [Glyph of Exorcism] - (Your Exorcism causes an additional 20% of its damage over 6 sec.) - Absolutely mandatory to increase your damage output.
• Glyph of Holy Shock - (Increases the critical effect chance of Holy Shock by 5%.) - Increases the critical strike chance of your main spell.
• Glyph of Word of Glory - (Increases the healing done by Word of Glory by 10%.) - Boosts your "Finisher" a little. Optional glyph.

Major Glyphs:

•  [Glyph of Cleansing] - (Reduces the mana cost of your Cleanse by 20%.) - [Cleanse]'s mana cost has been significantly increased, so it's worth it to pick this up.
•  [Glyph of Hammer of Wrath] - (Reduces the mana cost of Hammer of Wrath by 100%.) - Useful for leveling purposes. At higher levels the mana cost shouldn't be a bother.
• Glyph of Light of Dawn - (Light of Dawn can affect 1 additional target.) - Light of Dawn now hits 1 additional target. Not too bad, not great either.
•  [Glyph of Turn Evil] - (Reduces the casting time of your Turn Evil spell by 100%, but increases the cooldown by 8 sec.) - Mandatory for PvP.

Minor Glyphs have incredibly little use for Shockadins, as all Seals and Blessings have a relatively short mana cost now. If absolutely necessary,  [Glyph of Lay on Hands] can be used outside arenas. The other two glyphs are optional and left to your own criteria.

Talents

As of 4.0.1, a player must spend at least 31 points in one tree before placing points in another. Protection is not currently viable for extra points usage, so Retribution will be the secondary tree you will be spending them on. [Holy Shock] is also made available at level 10, which proves a fantastic boost to Shockadins in leveling and low level PvP. The list below enumerates the talents a Shockadin may choose to spend his points on:

Key Talents:

• [Protector of the Innocent] - (Casting a targeted heal on any target, except yourself, also heals you for X.) - A bonus when keeping players you fight alongside with alive. May be useful in certain situations, but worthless while playing alone.
• [Judgements of the Pure] - (Your Judgement increases your casting and melee haste by X% for 1 min.) - Faster heals and Exorcisms.
• [Last Word] - (Gives your Word of Glory a X% increased critical chance when used on targets with 35% or less health.) - Can be a potential lifesaver in heavy damage situations.
• [Blazing Light] - (Increases the damage of your Holy Shock and Exorcism by X%.) - If you don't take this then Shockadin is probably not your spec.
• [Denounce] - (Reduces the mana cost of Exorcism by X%. In addition, you have a Y% chance when casting Holy Shock to make your next Exorcism spell instant and cost no mana.) - Absolutely mandatory.
• [Divine Favor] - (Increases your spell casting haste by 20% and spell critical chance by 20% for 20 sec.) - Nothing says burst quite like this talent.
• [Infusion of Light] - (Increases the critical effect chance of your Holy Shock by X%. In addition, your Holy Shock critical effects reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light by Y sec.) - Higher crit chance on Holy Shock plus lightning speed Holy Lights? No questions here.
• [Daybreak] - (Your Flash of Light, Holy Light and Divine Light have a X% chance to make your next Holy Shock not trigger a cooldown if used within 12 sec.) - No cooldown on Holy Shock is absolutely beautiful.
• [Beacon of Light] - (The target becomes a Beacon of Light to all members of your party or raid within a 60 yard radius. Each heal you cast on party or raid members will also heal the Beacon for 50% of the amount healed. Only one target can be the Beacon of Light at a time. Lasts 1 min.) - This talent defines Holy Paladins. If you question it, what's wrong with you?
• [Sacred Cleansing] - (Your Cleanse spell now also dispels 1 Magic effect.) - Restores Magic removal functionality for your [Cleanse] spell. Epic.
• [Conviction] - (Gives you a X% bonus to damage and healing for 15 sec after causing a critical effect from a weapon swing, spell, or ability. This effect stacks up to 3 times.) - A bit on the RNG side, but ramps up both damage and healing nonetheless.
• [Blessed Life] - (You have a X% chance to gain a charge of Holy Power whenever you take direct damage. This effect cannot occur more than once every 2 seconds.) - Absolutely fantastic for soloing. More dedicated healers might prefer to spend points on [Tower of Radiance].
• [Light of Dawn] - (Send a wave of healing energy before you, healing yourself and all friendly targets up to 30 yards away for X.) - We finally get ourselves an AoE spell, so why skip it?
• [Eye for an Eye] - (All magic attacks against you have a X% chance to cause 30% of the damage taken back to the attacker as well.) - Used to be a crucial talent for PvP, still is.
• [Crusade] - (Increases the damage of your Crusader Strike, Hammer of the Righteous and Templar's Verdict by X% and the damage and healing of your Holy Shock by X%.) - High bonus to our main spell makes this talent mandatory.

Optional Talents:

• [Clarity of Purpose] - (Reduces the casting time of your Holy Light and Divine Light spells by X sec.) - Slight speed boost to your slow heals.
• [Enlightened Judgements] - (Grants hit rating equal to X% of any Spirit gained from items or effects, and increases the range of your Judgement by Y yards. In addition, your Judgement instantly heals you for Z.) - As the healing is minimal, take it if you're not hit capped.
• [Aura Mastery] - (Causes your Concentration Aura to make all affected targets immune to Silence and Interrupt effects and improve the effect of all other auras by 100%. Lasts 6 sec.) - Mainly for PvP purposes and requires timing to use. Does not protect you from stun mechanics.
• [Paragon of Virtue] - (Reduces the cooldown of your Divine Protection by X sec and the cooldown of your Avenging Wrath by Y sec.) - Self-explanatory.
• [Tower of Radiance] - (Healing the target of your Beacon of Light with Flash of Light, Holy Light or Divine Light has a X% chance to generate a charge of Holy Power.) - Invest on this talent if you wish to improve your healing performance.
• [Improved Judgement] - (Increases the range of your Judgement by X yards.) - Matches your Judgement range with that of your Exorcism. Not too interesting.

Sample Builds: 31/0/5 - PvP-focused Shockadin spec with [Enlightened Judgements].

Weaknesses

While Shockadin is a fun spec to play, it is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.

In PvP, a Shockadin is unable to provide the same level of support and healing that a true Holy Paladin would and unable to provide the same amount of damage and control that a Retribution Paladin can. Being a jack-of-all-trades can be useful in battlegrounds, where being able to respond to different situations can come in handy, but when working as part of a small team in arena, the hybrid spec simply doesn't fill any role adequately.

The Shockadin has no place in serious PvE. While they are perfectly capable of clearing 5-man content, they are simply not capable of performing as well as Holy or as Retribution in legitimate raids.

Damage-wise, the Shockadin lacks several key ingredients: the most important of which is the ability to deal a respectable amount of sustained damage. The Shockadin was originally designed as a burst-damage spec in PvP, frontloading several attacks in a very short period of time to catch an opponent off guard. In PvE, the sustained damage of [Holy Shock], [Exorcism], [Consecration], and [Holy Wrath] simply cannot compete with anything that a real DPS class has to offer.

Gear

Shockadins should focus primarily on reaching their hit cap first, which corresponds to 6% in a PvP environment (considering your opponent is the same level as you) and 17% in a PvE enviroment (boss fights). For this effect a Shockadin must first gear for Hit rating, or, Spirit if they are talented for [Enlightened Judgements].

The second most important stat for a Shockadin is Intellect. Not only does Intellect provide mana, it now also boosts your Spell power, improving your overall damage.

Resilience and Stamina come up next on the stat ladder, strictly for PvP and soloing purposes, having no effect in a PvE context. However, since Shockadins are mainly meant for PvP, these stats occupy a high ranking on the priority ladders. Ignore them if you're speccing solely for PvE content.

As always, Critical strike rating is a nice buff, wether to PvE or to PvP. However, it remains a minor stat in comparison to the ones mentioned above.

Lastly, Mastery and Haste rating. The reason for this is simple. Most of the Shockadin's spells are extremely fast or instant, due to talent procs, which highly reduces the efficiency of Haste. Your Mastery wards you for 8% of healing done for 6 seconds, increasing by 1% for each point of Mastery. However, the ward amount continues to be minor over improving your overall healing, which places Mastery low in the stat rankings. If you must absolutely reforge, do so to gain Critical strike rating.

Credits

• Shockadins in Cata and 4.0.1: Haters Gonna Hate - Comprehensive guide on the Shockadin spec.