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Protection Paladin Guide for WoW Forever

Protection Paladin builds for WoW Forever. A Level 30 dungeon tank plus raid and dungeon tanks at 60, with Seal of Fury threat, gear and macros.

PaladinProtectionTankDungeonsRaidsPvEAoE

By stillsixty staffUpdated

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Variants

Overview

Protection is a real tank in WoW Forever, and it plays nothing like the Classic spec you remember. Seal of Fury gives you a taunt: judge the Seal and the target attacks you for 4 seconds. Judgement no longer consumes your Seal, so that taunt comes back every 10 seconds, and Consecration is baseline at level 20 instead of sitting deep in the Holy tree. You hold packs from your first dungeon.

Your threat is Holy damage. Righteous Fury multiplies it by 60%, and every tool you press adds more: Seal of Fury on every swing, Holy Strike every 10 seconds, Consecration under the pack and Holy Shield on every block. Your survival comes from blocking. Blocks refill your mana through Shield Specialization, and Seal of Fury turns part of your damage into absorb shields while you hold a shield.

Play Protection if you want to tank dungeons from 13 to 60, or tank in the raids opening December 9: the 10-player Barrow Deeps and the 20-player Hyjal Summit.

Strengths

  • A taunt on a 10-second cooldown, plus Swift Judgement to reset it when a taunt misses.
  • Multi-target threat from level 20: Consecration is baseline and hits the first 4 enemies that enter it for extra damage.
  • Mana that comes back while you tank: every block restores a share of your maximum mana, and Improved Seal of Fury refunds more against higher-level attackers.
  • Huge cooldowns: Templar's Bulwark absorbs your full health, Divine Protection and Divine Shield make you immune, and Sacred Duty takes a minute off all three.
  • Party utility no other tank brings: Blessings, auras, Blessing of Protection, Purify and Redemption to bring the healer back after a wipe.

Weaknesses

  • No interrupt. Hammer of Justice is your only way to stop a cast, and it's on a long cooldown.
  • Everything costs mana. Tank a long pull with no blocks coming in (casters, spell damage) and you run dry.
  • Consecration only adds its big damage to the first 4 enemies. On a pack of 6 or more, the last two need Holy Strike or a Judgement.
  • Your immunities share Forbearance: after one, the others (and Blessing of Protection) are locked for a minute.
  • Low burst threat on the opening second of a pull. You build threat per swing, so let the pull land before the DPS opens up.

What's new in Forever

New in Forever
  • Seal of Fury is a new tanking Seal learned at 10, with new ranks at 18, 25, 34, 42, 50 and 58. Every swing deals extra Holy damage, and while you hold a shield each hit also gives you an absorb shield worth 50% of that Holy damage. Judging it deals Holy damage and taunts the target for 4 seconds.
  • Judgement no longer consumes your Seal. Judge on cooldown and the Seal stays up.
  • Holy Strike is a baseline instant weapon attack at 6 with a 10-second cooldown, dealing 25% of weapon damage plus Holy damage at rank 1 and 50% at rank 8.
  • Consecration is baseline at 20. The first 4 enemies to enter it take a large extra chunk of damage over 8 seconds.
  • Hammer of the Righteous is trained at 40: it hits your target and up to 3 nearby enemies for three times your main-hand damage per second, as Holy damage, every 6 seconds.
  • New Protection talents: Improved Seal of Fury, Sacred Duty, Swift Judgement, Templar's Bulwark and Iron Creed. Holy Shield now needs Templar's Bulwark, and the talent rank has 4 charges.
  • Righteous Fury adds 60% threat to your Holy attacks and lasts 30 minutes. Improved Righteous Fury now reduces all damage you take by 6% instead of adding threat.
  • Redoubt now triggers from any damaging melee hit (10% chance) and adds up to 30% block chance.
  • Shield Specialization adds 10%, 20% or 30% shield absorption, and makes your blocks restore 6% of your maximum mana, once every 3 seconds.
  • Blessings last 1 hour, Blessing of Kings is baseline at 20, and Blessing of Sanctuary is gone.
  • Divine Protection, Divine Shield and Blessing of Protection apply Forbearance for 1 minute. Divine Shield now halves the damage you deal instead of slowing your attacks.
  • Undead Paladins bring Protection to the Horde for the first time.

Talents

The build for tanking every dungeon up to 30. For soloing packs while you level, the leveling guide uses a different first 21 points with Toughness and One-Handed Weapon Specialization. This one takes the block and mana talents first, then the threat and safety tools: Improved Seal of Fury at 20, Swift Judgement as your backup taunt, and Templar's Bulwark at 30 for the pull that goes wrong.

Split 0/21/0 · 21 points at level 30 · Open in calculator

Holy

0 points

Protection

21 points

Retribution

0 points

Talent order

  1. Levels 10–14: 5/5 Redoubt. Every melee hit you take has a 10% chance to add 30% block chance for 10 seconds or 5 blocks. More blocks mean less damage and, from 21, more mana.
  2. Levels 15–19: 5/5 Anticipation. +20 Defense Skill: fewer crits and crushing blows land on you, and you dodge, parry and block more.
  3. Level 20: 1/1 Improved Seal of Fury. When a Seal of Fury shield is fully absorbed, you get mana back, with up to 45% more against attackers above your level.
  4. Levels 21–23: 3/3 Shield Specialization. Your shield absorbs more, and every block restores a share of your maximum mana (once every 3 seconds). This is the talent that keeps you tanking instead of drinking.
  5. Levels 24–26: 3/3 Improved Righteous Fury. 6% less damage from everything while Righteous Fury is up, which is always.
  6. Level 27: 1/1 Swift Judgement. Finishes your Judgement cooldown and makes the next one free. When a taunt misses or a second mob breaks loose, you judge again immediately. 1-minute cooldown.
  7. Levels 28–29: 2/2 Sacred Duty. +4% Stamina and a minute off Divine Shield, Divine Protection and Templar's Bulwark.
  8. Level 30: 1/1 Templar's Bulwark. An absorb shield worth 100% of your maximum health for 8 seconds. With Sacred Duty it's back every 4 minutes.

Flexible points

  • Tanking mobs that miss a lot but still out-damage your healer? Swap Anticipation for 5/5 Toughness: 10% more armor from your gear.
  • Seeing your Judgement taunts miss? Move Sacred Duty into 2/3 Precision. A missed Judgement is a missed taunt, and every missed swing is lost Seal of Fury damage.

Races

Best races

Alliance: Dwarf. Stoneform removes every Bleed, Poison and Disease, makes you immune to them and cuts Physical damage taken by 10% for 8 seconds, on a 3-minute cooldown. That is a tank cooldown with no Forbearance attached. Mace Specialization adds 1% critical strike chance with a mace, and Big Game Hunter adds 5% damage against Beasts.

Alliance alternative: Human. Will to Survive breaks any stun every 3 minutes, and Sword Specialization adds 2% critical strike chance with a sword. Humans give up Stoneform for a stun break, which matters more in PvP than in a dungeon.

Horde: Undead. Undead are the only Horde Paladins. Will of the Forsaken removes Charm, Fear and Sleep on a 2-minute cooldown, so a feared tank walks straight back to the boss. Cannibalize restores 7% of your health and mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds from a Humanoid or Undead corpse, and Touch of the Grave gives your attacks a 5% chance to drain health.

All playable races

  • Human: Sword Specialization, The Human Spirit, Will to Survive, Perception.
  • Dwarf: Stoneform, Mace Specialization, Big Game Hunter, Find Treasure.
  • Undead (Horde, new in Forever): Will of the Forsaken, Cannibalize, Touch of the Grave, Underwater Breathing.

Rotation

Before the pull

  1. Righteous Fury on. It lasts 30 minutes, so check it after every death and every long break.
  2. Devotion Aura for the party, or Retribution Aura on big trash packs.
  3. Seal of Fury active. Keep a shield in your off hand, or Seal of Fury gives no absorb shields.
  4. Blessing of Kings on yourself. Blessings last an hour now, so buff the party once per dungeon wing.

Single target

  1. Open with Judgement from 10 yards. With Seal of Fury up, it deals its Holy damage instantly and taunts: the mob runs to you.
  2. Holy Strike on cooldown (10 seconds).
  3. Judgement again every time it comes off cooldown. It no longer consumes the Seal.
  4. Refresh Seal of Fury before it expires (30 seconds).

Packs

  1. Judge the most dangerous mob to taunt it.
  2. Walk into the middle of the pack and cast Consecration as soon as they are all on you. The first 4 enemies in it take the big extra damage.
  3. Holy Strike and Judge the mobs that aren't taking Consecration damage or are hitting the healer.
  4. Recast Consecration every 8 seconds while the pack lives.
  5. Hammer of Justice the caster you can't pull off the healer. You have no other interrupt.

When it goes wrong

  • A mob on the healer: Swift Judgement, then Judge it. The taunt holds it for 4 seconds while Consecration and Holy Strike build threat.
  • You're about to die: Templar's Bulwark first. It absorbs your full health for 8 seconds and you keep attacking. Divine Protection shares Forbearance with Bulwark, so you get one of the two per minute. Cast it at least a minute after Bulwark, knowing you can't attack while it lasts.
  • Your healer is out of mana: Lay on Hands on yourself or the healer. It drains your mana but no longer stops your mana regeneration.

Stat priority

Dungeon tank

  1. Stamina
  2. Armor
  3. Defense
  4. Strength
  5. Intellect

At 30 your healer is the limit, not your threat. Seal of Fury, Consecration and Judgement taunts hold a pack without help, so take every Stamina and armor upgrade you find. Intellect is a mana pool for long pulls. Strength adds Attack Power to Holy Strike and your white hits.

Gear

What to wear

Mail until 40, plate from 40. Take Stamina and Strength first, armor second. Always hold a shield: Seal of Fury only gives absorb shields while a shield is equipped, and Shield Specialization only works on blocks.

Weapons

A one-handed weapon with a fast or average speed. Seal of Fury deals its Holy damage per swing, so more swings mean more threat and more absorb shields. Pick the highest damage per second you can find at your level after that.

Class quest

Alliance Paladins pick up The Test of Righteousness (quest level 21): speak to Jordan Stilwell in Ironforge. Next comes the collection step (level 22), which sends you after four components, and the final step ends with Jordan forging a weapon for you.

Professions

Blacksmithing and Mining is the tank pair. Blacksmithing makes your armor and weapons from level 10 to 60, plate from 40, and the Sharpening Wheel is a camping object you place for your party. Mining feeds it.

Engineering is the raid tank's choice at 60 for Force Reactive Disk and explosives for trash.

For gold, level with Mining and Herbalism, then switch once you're geared.

Group play and dungeons

Your job is to hold every mob, stay alive and keep the party buffed. In that order.

  • Taunt on pull. Judge the mob you want first. With Seal of Fury, Judgement is a 4-second taunt, so it lands on you before the DPS can pull it.
  • Consecration first on packs. It deals its extra damage to the first 4 enemies that enter it. Cast it the moment the pack reaches you.
  • Hammer of Justice is your interrupt. Paladins have no kick. Save Hammer of Justice for the heal or the fear the party can't handle.
  • Blessings for the party. Each player gets one Blessing per Paladin, and they last an hour. Kings on everyone is the default. With two Paladins, the second covers Blessing of Might for melee and Blessing of Wisdom for casters.
  • Auras. Devotion Aura on physical pulls, Retribution Aura on big packs for extra damage, Concentration Aura when the healer is being hit.
  • Cleanse the party. Purify removes a Poison and a Disease, and from 42 Cleanse adds one Magic effect.
  • Blessing of Protection a DPS who pulled aggro. Physical attacks can't touch them for up to 10 seconds, which is all the time you need to Judge the mob back.

Tips

Every Judgement taunts

With Seal of Fury active, Judgement taunts. Don't Judge the other tank's boss or a mob a Mage just sheeped, and don't Judge in Seal of Fury while off-tanking unless you want the target.

Swift Judgement is a second taunt

Swift Judgement finishes your Judgement cooldown and makes the next one free. When a taunt misses or a second mob runs for the healer, you get a second taunt in the same second.

Righteous Fury drops on death. Recast it before every pull after a wipe. Without it, your Holy damage loses 60% of its threat, and Improved Righteous Fury and Iron Creed's damage reduction stop working.

Hold a shield at all times. Seal of Fury's absorb shields, Shield Specialization's mana and Holy Shield all need one.

Bulwark keeps you attacking. Templar's Bulwark is a shield, so you keep swinging and generating threat. During Divine Protection you can't attack, and during Divine Shield you deal half damage.

Blessing of Kings is baseline. You get it at 20, not from a talent, and it lasts an hour.

Macros

Judgement at your mouseover, or your target if you have none. Taunt a loose mob without losing the one you're tanking.

Mouseover Judgement
#showtooltip Judgement
/cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Judgement

Hammer of Justice on your focus target. Set focus on the caster, and stun it the moment it starts a heal.

Focus Hammer of Justice
#showtooltip Hammer of Justice
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][] Hammer of Justice

Blessing of Protection on your mouseover, or your target. Save a DPS without dropping the mob you're tanking.

Mouseover Blessing of Protection
#showtooltip Blessing of Protection
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][] Blessing of Protection

Holy Strike that also starts your auto-attack.

Holy Strike
#showtooltip Holy Strike
/startattack
/cast Holy Strike

Divine Shield that cancels itself on a second press, so you get your full damage and threat back the moment you're safe.

Divine Shield toggle
#showtooltip Divine Shield
/cancelaura Divine Shield
/cast Divine Shield

Changelog

  • Guide published with Level 30 Dungeon Tank, Level 60 Raid Tank and Level 60 Dungeon Tank builds.
  • Corrected the Shield Specialization description; removed raid encounter guesses and unreleased dungeons; linked dungeons and raids.

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