Welcome to the Protection Paladin guide for World of Warcraft the Burning Crusade 2.4.3. In this guide, you will learn about playing a Protection Paladin in dungeons and raids. The guide includes Talents, Gems, Enchantments, Gameplay & Skill rotation tips.
Talent tree
Below we have a standard Protection build. As you can see there’s not much room for changes, but Pursuit of Justice can be taken instead of Improved Judgement and Blessing of Kings. BoK will be taken by Holy Paladins in raids, but if you are just starting with 5-man dungeons as the only Paladin, it will be a great addition to your kit.
Gems
- Meta: Eternal Earthstorm Diamond or Powerful Earthstorm Diamond as an alternative
- Red: Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst, or Runed Crimson Spinel (only if the socket bonus is needed, otherwise fill with Blue)
- Yellow: Enduring Seaspray Emerald or Rigid Lionseye
- Blue: Solid Empyrean Sapphire
Enchants
- Head – Glyph of the Defender
- Shoulder – Greater Inscription of Warding or Greater Inscription of the Knight
- Cloak – Dodge
- Chest – Exceptional Health
- Bracers – Major Defense or Fortitude
- Gloves – Threat or Heavy Knothide Armor Kit
- Legs – Nethercleft Leg Armor
- Boots – Boar’s Speed or Fortitude
- Weapon – Major Spellpower
- Shield – Shield Block or Major Stamina
Enchanters can also benefit from Spellpower on both of the rings
Note: it’s important to understand that spells play a big role in Protection Paladins rotation and threat generation, and that is why we are increasing the Spell Damage with enchants.
Professions
Enchanting is useful for the unique Spellpower enchant on rings and keeping down the costs of armor enchants.
Jewelcrafting is a great choice for making gold. It also provides you with starter trinkets, rings, necklaces, and epic gems.
Alchemy can be used to create consumables that are mandatory in serious raids. If you’re just starting, Alchemy will also set you aside from tanks that are not using Flasks, Elixirs, and Potions.
Engineering is usually referred to as the PvP / Fun choice, but it does have different tier Goggles that you can craft.
Blacksmithing is costly to level up and will allow you to craft some starter gear. Higher tier armor will be mainly from drops because of the unique stats that Paladin requires. Not the worst possible choice, but a Warrior would get more out of this profession.
Gameplay & Rotations
Rotation
Use appropriate blessings if you are the only Paladin. A detailed breakdown can be found in the Holy Paladin guide. Keep up Righteous Fury and use Auras accordingly. Retribution aura is used when fighting against a physical encounter, and Resistance auras are for specific encounters which use certain school of magic.
Pull the boss with Seal of the crusader, followed up with Holy shield, Avenging Wrath, Avenger’s Shield and Judgement. Apply Seal of Vengeance (A) or Seal of Righteousness (H) depending on the fraction you play for. Keep up Holy Shield and Consecration at all times. Every Judgement should be followed with a Seal since it doesn’t trigger a global cooldown.
Consumables
Elixirs are providing more stats in theory, but the Flask persists through death making it a better option in most cases.
- Flask: Flask of Fortification or Flask of Blinding Light for increased damage when having problems maintaining threat
- Elixir: Elixir of Major Defense combined with Elixir of Major Agility or Elixir of Mastery
- Potion: Super Mana Potion, Super Healing Potion
- Healthstones
- Food: Spicy Crawdad, Fisherman’s Feast
- Superior Wizard Oil
Stat Priority
Defense -> Stamina -> Spell Damage -> Block Value
Defense cap is 490 for raids, making you uncrittable. This stat can be increased by acquiring gear with Black Rating, Dodge Rating, Defense Rating, and Parry Rating.
Hit and Spell Hit are beneficial stats but don’t focus on them. The above-mentioned stats should be a priority. Same goes for Expertise – don’t disregard armor with it, but don’t focus on it either.