PvE Protection Paladin Tank

Protection Paladins in Mists of Pandaria are a tanking specialization focused on potent mitigation tools, self-healing spells, and utility. Their playstyle is dynamic, with some even referring to it as “spammy,” resulting in engaging gameplay and considerable damage output and threat generation.

In this guide, we’ll cover every aspect of a Protection Paladin, ranging from playstyle to gearing to quick tips & tricks so you can successfully lead and protect your allies against the most dangerous foes.

In Mists of Pandaria, Protection Paladins received huge overhauls to their entire gameplay and kit compared to their previous Cataclysm Classic version, with most changes being massive quality-of-life improvements. First of all, Holy Power generation is no longer awkward, with many more spells generating it. The Holy Power cap is also increased to 5 x Holy Power charges thanks to the Boundless Conviction effect. Now, abilities such as Judgment, Crusader Strike, Hammer of the Righteous, and Avenger’s Shield under the Grand Crusader effect will provide Holy Power. Meanwhile, Shield of the Righteous and Word of Glory & Eternal Flame are the base Holy Power spenders, but none of them are bound by GCD anymore, meaning that they can be macroed together with other abilities. At the same time, Shield of the Righteous is now not only your main Holy Power spender, but also your main defensive and self-healing effect. It grants a buff that reduces all Physical Damage taken by a considerable amount and another stacking buff that amplifies your Word of Glory & Eternal Flame heal. Sadly, in exchange for those buffs, they lose access to Holy Shield, meaning that they must now acquire most of their Block Chance from their Mastery: Divine Bulwark effect.

Besides many buffs to their abilities and an entire suite of new ones, such as Sanctified Wrath, Eternal Flame, Hand of Purity, Divine Purpose, Light’s Hammer, and Execution Sentence, they also gain access to the Sanctity of Battle effect, which was reserved for Retribution Paladins back in Cataclysm. This makes their entire rotation “spammy”, ensuring close to no downtime when Haste is stacked.

Their utility & defensive potential are still as strong as ever! They keep many of their old spells, with some being reworked for the better. Overall, auras are no longer part of their kit, but they still bring powerful effects such as Divine Protection, Guardian of Ancient Kings, Devotion Aura, and Ardent Defender.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• High Survivability & Potent Defensive Tools
  Protection Paladins showcase an even higher survivability and more potent defensive tools, even if they lost Holy Shield. Shield of the Righteous‘s Physical Damage reduction buff and self-heal amplifier are excellent, while Sanctuary, Mastery: Divine Bulwark, and Guarded by the Light also received significant buffs. Besides the new effects, they still have access to powerful defenses such as Ardent Defender, Guardian of Ancient Kings, and Divine Protection.

• Engaging & Dynamic Gameplay
  Due to the overall gameplay overhaul, Protection Paladins have an easier time generating & spending Holy Power! Their overall rotation also performs much smoother, leaving them with close to no downtime when properly geared. New effects such as Boundless Conviction, Sanctity of Battle, Grand Crusader, Sanctified Wrath, and Divine Purpose boost their performance by a considerable amount.

• Strong Utility
  Protection Paladins have a wide array of utility spells in their kit, some of them being strong enough to mitigate large amounts of damage! Among the traditional tools, such as Cleanse, Blessing of Kings, Blessing of Might, Hand of Protection, Hand of Freedom, Hand of Sacrifice, they also have amazing AoE utility spells, such as Devotion Aura, or powerful AoE CC tools, such as Blinding Light.

• Strong Damage Output
  Even before they have their perfect gear setup, Protection Paladins showcase impressive Damage Output! Due to this, they have no issue generating Threat or quickly killing groups of mobs. While their Damage Output may not be so high during raid environments, in dungeons or the open world, their damage is surely one of their strong points. Once they acquire a large amount of Haste, their damage skyrockets even higher.

Weaknesses

• Very Stat Dependent
  Protection Paladins are highly dependent on multiple stats to reach their true potential, making their early gameplay feel sluggish when compared to endgame builds. In addition, due to the Sanctity of Battle & Grand Crusader effects and how tied they are to their performance, Protection Paladins experience issues generating consistent Holy Power without the proper equipment.

• Limited Repositioning Tools
  The only real repositioning tool that Protection Paladins have in their kit is Speed of Light, which is locked behind a talent choice and functions as a strong movement speed boost. While they have mobility tools in their kit, the truth is that they can’t keep up with Charges or Rolls used by other tanks such as Protection Warriors, Feral Druids, or Brewmaster Monks.

• No AoE Taunt
  Sadly, Protection Paladins only have access to a single Taunt spell, Reckoning. The spell only works on Single-Target entities, meaning that they have to rely on their AoE damage tools and Righteous Fury to generate AoE Threat.

• Weak Self-Healing Tools Without Haste
  While Protection Paladins have a strong self-healing tool at their disposal through the Bastion of Glory effect, which can stack, the reality is that a large amount of Haste is required to generate enough Holy Power to trigger the effect consistently through the use of Shield of the Righteous. As such, their self-healing tools are weaker at the beginning of the expansion compared to the later parts.

Best Races

While racial effects were extremely important in previous versions of WoW, their importance has been reduced overall in MoP Classic. The effects now act as slight bonuses instead of actual game-changing mechanics.

Horde

For the Horde, Taurens are somewhat better as Protection Paladins due to the enhanced survivability thanks to Endurance and War Stomp. We all know that Blood Elves are pure PvP, even if Arcane Torrent may have some niche uses in some scenarios.

• Tauren: Endurance, Cultivation, Nature Resistance, War Stomp.
• Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Affinity.

Alliance

In contrast, races in the Alliance have suitable PvE racials that focus on survivability and improving Hit Chance & Expertise. The best Alliance race for Protection Paladin is Dwarf, thanks to Stoneform and Mace Specialization. Draenei are next with the Heroic Presence & Gift of the Naaru, followed by Human with Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization & Will to Survive.

• Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Crack Shot, Frost Resistance.
• Draenei: Gift of the Naaru, Heroic Presence, Shadow Resistance, Gemcutting.
• Human: Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Will to Survive, The Human Spirit, Diplomacy.