MoP Classic Protection Paladin — Guide (Phase 5)
viewsAbout the Class
Protection Paladin is a plate tank powered by Holy energy: 
Crusader Strike, 
Hammer of the Righteous, 
Judgment and 
Avenger's Shield build charges, while 
Shield of the Righteous and 
Eternal Flame spend them.
Shield of the Righteous is an active reduction of incoming physical damage, so the rotation works first and foremost for survival. 
Sanctity of Battle turns Haste into shorter cooldowns on your generators, so as your gear improves the rotation becomes tighter. In a raid it is a main tank with high personal damage, excellent self-sufficiency and strong group utility through hands, blessings and 
Devotion Aura.
Strengths
- High personal damage for a tank.
- Huge self-sufficiency thanks to Eternal Flame and Shield of the Righteous.
- Group utility:
Hand of Freedom, 
Hand of Sacrifice, 
Hand of Purity, 
Blessing of Kings. - Powerful defensive cooldowns:
Divine Shield, 
Guardian of Ancient Kings, 
Ardent Defender. - A noticeably more active playstyle than other tanks — Sanctity of Battle speeds up the rotation with Haste.
Weaknesses
- Weak mobility apart from
Speed of Light. - Strong gear dependency because of Sanctity of Battle.
- No AoE taunt.
- Active damage reduction is tied to landing hits, so Hit and Expertise come first.
Stat Priority
- 1Hit rating up to 7.5% (2550 rating at level 90)
- 2Expertise up to the hard cap of 15% (5100 rating; less for Dwarves and Humans with the racial specialization)
- 3Haste
- 4Mastery
- 5Dodge and Parry
- 6Critical strike rating
A missed generator means lost Holy Power charges and a skipped Shield of the Righteous, so Hit and Expertise are capped first of all. Haste comes next: through Sanctity of Battle it cuts the cooldowns of Crusader Strike, Hammer of the Righteous and Judgment. Stamina and armor are not stacked on purpose; gems go into Haste.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Seal of Insight - 2Blessing of Kings
- 3
Potion of Mogu Power - 4Avenger's Shield
- 5Judgment
- 6Crusader Strike
- 7Shield of the Righteous
- 8Crusader Strike
- 9
Consecration - 10Judgment
- 11Eternal Flame
- 12
Holy Wrath
- Seal of Insight — keep the seal active the whole fight for self-healing and mana
- Shield of the Righteous — spend at 3 charges, this is your main physical damage reduction
- Eternal Flame — refresh at 5 stacks of
Bastion of Glory so the periodic healing is maximal - Avenger's Shield — on cooldown, a ranged generator and a silence
Hammer of Wrath — on cooldown when the target is below 20% health- Crusader Strike — on cooldown, the main charge generator
- Judgment — on cooldown, a ranged generator
Execution Sentence — on cooldown, the level 90 talent- Consecration — on cooldown for damage and threat
- Holy Wrath — filler when everything else is on cooldown
Key Abilities
Bastion of Glory
Best in Slot (BiS)
Best in Slot (BiS)Tier 16 Set — Winged Triumph
Tier 16 Set — Winged TriumphEnchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants
Gems
ConsumablesRaces
Best Professions
Nitro Boosts help with repositioning, while Synapse Springs add damage.
Socket Bracer and 
Socket Gloves give two extra gems that make it easy to smooth out incoming damage.
Up to three 
Quick Serpent's Eye are stronger than regular gems.
Fur Lining - Stamina on the wrists is stronger than the standard enchant.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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