Good tanks are hard to find, and for a while now, Protection Paladin has been at the forefront. As we enter The War Within, this build remains in excellent condition, providing a blend of exceptional defensive capabilities and strong damage output.
Despite facing challenges in Dragonflight, the spec remains a top performer among its peers.
The Protection Paladin performs much better in PvE than PvP due to its talent trees, which limit its potential and effectiveness in the latter. Keeping this in mind, we have put together a guide to help you maximize your Protection Paladin’s abilities in The War Within.
Changes to the Protection Paladin Class in The War Within
As Dragonflight came to an end for the final time, there were notable changes made to the Protection Paladin. With the release of The War Within, there are even more changes to take note of. One of the most notable updates is the revamp of Sanctuary, which now offers a much greater reduction in damage when standing in Consecration.
The Protection talent tree has also undergone significant changes. The layout of Dragonflight has been reorganized, and there are now changes to the underlying statistical mechanics, which provide more opportunities for players to craft their builds and have a wider range of viable options. Instead of listing all the specific differences here, the following section will provide a detailed explanation of what to expect.
Protection Paladin Talents, Hero Talents, and Build
Despite undergoing some adjustments and gaining more strength, the once underwhelming Lightsmith Hero Talent tree has now become the top choice for Mythic+ content. Furthermore, its effectiveness in raid situations is comparable to that of the Templar, prompting us to tailor our talent tree accordingly.
The Paladin tree is our starting point, where we focus on developing all the crucial active abilities that define the class. This includes Lay on Hands, Cleanse Toxins, Blessing of Freedom, Divine Steed, and Blinding Light, which are all essential for providing the highest level of utility in any situation.
As we continue down the tree, Avenging Wrath becomes crucial for sustaining survivability and aggro by providing extra healing and damage. Additionally, Protection’s overall damage output is enhanced by the inclusion of Hammer of Wrath and Divine Toll.
The remaining portion of the tree primarily focuses on increasing buffs and reducing cooldowns. This is achieved through nodes such as Seal of Alacrity, Sacrifice of the Just, and Of Dusk and Dawn. While some players may choose to pursue certain Holy Power nodes instead, the recommended setup is to prioritize these options for optimal effectiveness.
The Protection tree focuses on a combination of active abilities and passive buffs in its first six nodes. Avenger’s Shield continues to serve as a core component and acts as the foundation for the talent setup. Other important nodes in the early stages include Blessed Hammer, which provides damage reduction, Redoubt for stat buffs, and Grand Crusader for cooldown resets.
The upcoming significant node in the Protection tree to keep an eye out for is Sanctuary, which has been greatly enhanced in the War Within. This will also enable us to further develop our Hero Talent nodes when we discuss them in the following section of this guide.
Despite being more suitable for Templar, Eye of Tyr remains a strong ability and is still a critical part of the Prot Paladin’s toolkit for unavoidable damage phases or high-density encounters. Guardian of Ancient Kings continues to be as influential as ever, making it a crucial aspect of the Paladin’s arsenal. Even without direct benefits from Lightsmith, it remains a powerful skill that we still invest in later in the tree.
The remainder of the tree is focused on maximizing the effectiveness of active abilities. This includes enhancements such as Soaring Shield and Strength in Adversity for Avenger’s Shield, as well as Resolute Defender and Final Stand for Divine Shield. It is essential to also acquire Inmost Light, which greatly boosts the damage output of Eye of Tyr.
Hero Talents
Despite initially struggling during the lengthy beta testing for The War Within, Lightsmith has now reached a point where it can offer significant advantages to Protection Paladins. Despite neither talent tree having any specific synergy with Avenger’s Shield, Lightsmith’s additional defensive options are slightly superior in Mythic+ runs and just as effective as Templar in raids.
Lightsmith’s Hero Talent trees stand out with four nodes that allow players to customize their playstyle. Each node offers viable options, with specific advantages tailored to improve a particular area rather than providing a general buff. This is a unique feature compared to other Hero Talent trees.
For our initial selection, we have opted for Rite of Sanctification due to its 5% armor boost. In the following slot, you may choose between Blessed Assurance or Divine Guidance. However, we slightly lean towards Divine Guidance due to the improvements made to Sanctuary and the overall advantages of Consecration.
When playing with a group, it is recommended to choose Divine Inspiration as the third option in order to provide your allies with the benefits of Holy Armaments. However, in situations where you are playing with random players or on your own, it may be more beneficial to opt for Forewarning and take advantage of its 20% cooldown reduction for Holy Armaments.
The final node’s effectiveness is dependent on the situation. In most PvE scenarios, it is recommended to choose Excoriation over other options. However, for Protection Tanks, having an additional Fear removal can be advantageous, so consider taking Fear No Evil if there is a high probability of encountering it.
If you opt to play as a Templar, the decision nodes for Prot Paladin are mostly fixed (there are just three this time). For the initial slot, select Zealous Vindication, as the extra Empyrean Hammers significantly aid in generating threat and boosting outgoing damage.
Unrelenting Charger is a handy option in the second slot for escaping difficult situations. The final slot is specifically designated for Sanctification, as it provides a stacking damage boost to Empyrean Hammer.
Stat Priority
It is clear that the most important stat for a Protection Paladin to focus on is Strength. This will boost overall Attack Power, enhancing the effectiveness of all abilities, and also increase Parry Chance against melee opponents. After Strength, the priority for other stats is as follows:
- Haste
- Mastery
- Critical Strike = Versatility
Haste is an excellent secondary stat for any specialization as it decreases the Global Cooldown. This is especially beneficial for Prot Paladin, as it helps minimize downtime while tanking. Additionally, it speeds up the cooldown of rotation abilities, allowing for faster generation and expenditure of Holy Power, making the spec more powerful right away.
Mastery is a highly beneficial stat to have as it boosts the effectiveness of Mastery: Divine Bulwark, providing substantial damage reduction when standing within the area of effect of Consecration. Additionally, it enhances Attack Power, resulting in more powerful class/spec abilities that we can utilize frequently due to our elevated Haste rating.
Due to the modifications made to Sanctuary, the duration of Consecration has been extended, resulting in a decrease in the effectiveness of Versatility compared to its previous state. Although it still enhances damage and healing abilities, as well as reducing damage received, its contribution to the overall defensive capabilities of Protection Paladins is now inferior to that of Mastery.
Similarly important to Versatility is Critical Strike, as it also boosts damage output and the likelihood of successfully parrying melee attacks. However, in the early stages of The War Within, where magic plays a significant role, this stat seems to be the least effective for this particular specialization.
Rotation
Despite being a modern WoW spec, the Prot Paladin rotation is refreshingly uncomplicated. The key to success lies in effectively managing resources and generating threat. Utilizing abilities such as Judgment and Hammer of Wrath can help generate Holy Power, but it is important to avoid wasting opportunities for HP generation by creating excess amounts.
In dungeons and raids, your primary outgoing ability will be Shield of the Righteous, which should be used when your Holy Power is capped. Additionally, do not forget to utilize abilities such as Word of Glory for emergency healing. This is especially important when you have three stacked uses of Shield of the Righteous, as it will activate Shining Light and eliminate any associated Holy Power costs.
Keeping all of those factors in consideration, and assuming the role of a Lightsmith Prot Paladin, the subsequent basic rotation should prove to be effective:
- Consecration
- Pull with Hand of Reckoning
- Avenger’s Shield
- Avenging Wrath
- Hammer of Wrath
- If you built into Bastion of Light (our guide doesn’t) then use that here
- Judgment
- Shield of the Righteous
- Divine Toll
- Holy Bulwark
- Rotate back around to step 3 when Avenger’s Shield is off cooldown and sprinkle Word of Glory in when appropriate
- Blood Elves can also take advantage of Arcane Torrent throughout
When looking for a major boost to damage and healing, keep an eye out for Avenging Wrath. Use it whenever possible, but aim to activate it at the same time as Divine Toll and Moment of Glory in order to maximize its effectiveness.
Breaking Down the Protection Paladin Tier Set
The Heartfire Sentinel’s Authority tier set is now available for Protection Paladins in the opening of The War Within. It has been specifically created to take advantage of the Ally of the Light buff, which grants both the player and an ally a valuable increase in Versatility. The tier-set bonuses are detailed below:
- The 2-Set Bonus states that Avenger’s Shield will now grant you and your nearest ally the Ally of the Light buff, which boosts Versatility by 8% for a duration of 8 seconds.
- The 4-piece set bonus grants a 7% increase in Parry for 10 seconds and extends the duration of Ally of the Light by 1.0 second when casting Hammer of the Righteous or Blessed Hammer.
This will have a minimal impact on gameplay, as you should prioritize using Avenger’s Shield when Ally of the Light is not active, which should not occur frequently if the spec is played correctly.
Gems and Enchants
Like in previous WoW expansion cycles, there are notable Enchantment choices for each gear slot. When starting The War Within, the top selections to consider are:
| Slot | Best Enchantment |
| Weapon | Enchant Weapon – Authority of Radiant Power |
| Cloak | Enchant Cloak – Chant of Burrowing Rapidity |
| Chest | Enchant Chest – Crystalline Radiance |
| Bracers | Enchant Bracer – Chant of Armored Speed |
| Legs | Stormbound Armor Kit |
| Boots | Enchant Boots – Scout’s March |
| Ring – Regular | Enchant Ring – Radiant Haste |
| Ring – Cursed | Enchant Ring – Cursed Haste |
The significance of the Radiant Power Weapon Enchant for this spec cannot be overstated, as it deals substantial damage, generates a significant amount of threat, and offers a substantial boost to the Primary stat. As a result, we have carefully chosen a range of Enchants that enhance the Primary stat even more, as well as Secondary stats such as Haste, which will greatly benefit the overall performance of the spec.
This is the entire guide! Additionally, we have divided each DPS and Healer specialization into individual tier lists to ensure that you are informed about the overall meta.
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