Putting points into each of the talents trees will generally improve that trees area of expertise. Paladins that put points in Holy will become much better healers, while paladins who put points in Retribution will deal more damage. But you should not just focus on one tree. Because some talents are not worth getting putting some of your points in other trees will make you more powerful and more well rounded. Putting every last one of your points in Retribution will increase your DPS. But if you took some points out of weak talents like Vindication and put them into Holy talents like Divine Strength your DPS would go up. While many people try to go as far down into a tree as they can there is also a balancing game of going as deeply as you can into the other trees. This juggling of talents has led to the rise of “Builds”. Tested patterns of talents that players have found are the most effective at increasing one or more styles of play. But in the end, the skill of the player determines a characters success more then their build.

Holy Builds
Small scale PVE healing build.
This build is for those who will occasionally heal in small groups and five man instances, but still want to have the offensive power to quest, farm or PVP a little on the side. It is the most balanced healing build.

Raid healing build.
This build is centered around maximizing your healing and survivability. The downside is that you will be very weak for any other activities.

PVP healing build.
This build is similar to the raid healing build, but has more survivability and changes your focus when healing from sustainability to burst. It is designed specifically for arenas but works just as well in battlegrounds.