Paladins are the vestal guardians of the weak and tireless enemies of the undead. The original paladin order, "The Silver Hand" was formed in the Second War sand lasted until the time of the plague. As paladins were immune to the plague (and indeed all diseases), many members of the order survived the initial push of the Scourge. Unluckily, the corrupted arthas killed many paladins upon his return leaving only a scattered few. Following the invasion of the scourge, many of the order's paladins joined a avid group of followers of the Light known as the Scarlet Crusade. After leaving the crusade, some paladins decided to join the argent dawn.

Others fled south, to the kingdom of stormwind. The paladin rrder, still referring to themselves as the order of the silver hand, now flourishes under their new leadership at thecCathedral of light in stormwind city. Over time, the followers of the holy light spread their philosophy to the dwarves of ironforge who soon adopted the dogmas of the order as well. After the crash-landing of the exodar, the draenei, already with a natural affinity for magic, heard of the brave tales of the alliance who fought off the advance of the burning Legion, particularly the efforts of fighting the deadly scourge, and adopted the responsibility of the paladin mission.

The blood elves learned the powers of the Light by performing experiments on a Naaru (a powerful being of Light) named m'uru they had captured in tempest keep. lady liadrin, a former priestess, had recently renounced her vows, for she felt the light had abandoned her people. She volunteered to be the first to bend the stolen powers to her will. With her decision a new order was born: the blood knights. These renegade paladins are able to harness the sacred powers of the alliance's noblest heroes.

The paladin is a hybrid melee fighter. Paladins use an assortment of spells, auras, blessings and seals to aid themselves and others. Paladins also have powerful offensive spells against undead and demons, as well as several defensive abilities including a shield that makes the paladin immune to damage for a given amount of time.

While paladins have offensive abilities against undead characters, these abilities do not affect the "undead" horde race (rather they are "The Forsaken" and are thus considered humanoid in the context of gameplay mechanics).

Paladins play an assortment of roles in raids and groups, but their primary role is as a healer. Paladins are the most mana-efficient healing class in the game, and thus are responsible for either healing the "main tank"(primary warrior) or healing multiple groups at once. Paladins are also responsible for "cleansing", or the removal of harmful magical effects, from the members of the raid/group. The tanking and melee damage dealing aspects of the paladin are rarely used in a raid/group, but as groups progress into the new burning crusade encounters, more and more paladins are fulfilling these roles.