TBC Classic Protection Paladin Guide (Phase 3)

Protection Paladin is a plate tank with a shield. In TBC the specialization became much stronger than in the classic version: new talents and a taunt were added, and Consecration became available to every paladin. A paladin is rarely made the main tank, but they hold bosses reliably, and in holding threat on multiple targets they surpass every other tank. The specialization's resource is mana, so threat generation doesn't depend on whether enemies are hitting you.

• Seal of Righteousness — the main seal on bosses: it gives the most threat both from autoattacks and from judgement
• Seal of the Crusader — only to keep the Judgement of the Crusader debuff up if there's no Retribution paladin in the raid
• Holy Shield — keep it up at all times: it greatly increases block and deals damage on each block
• Consecration — the main source of threat; place it so the target stands in it for its full duration
• Judgement — a sharp spike of threat and a refresh of the seal's debuff
• Avenger's Shield — a burst of damage and threat, but during the cast you don't block, dodge, or parry
• Greater Blessing of Kings — a filler when everything else is on cooldown: the cast itself generates noticeable threat

Multi-Target Priority

• Seal of Wisdom — the main seal: mana is what limits you the most here
• Consecration — the main source of area threat
• Holy Shield — keep it up at all times
• Avenger's Shield — to gather targets and reach those outside consecration
• Blessing of Sanctuary — reduces damage taken and hits back; from 4 targets it's more valuable than Greater Blessing of Kings
• Judgement — on the target where you're losing threat
• Greater Blessing of Kings — a filler, but an expensive one: only when healing is coming in steadily

• Avenging Wrath — +30% damage for 20 seconds, but it applies Forbearance and blocks Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Blessing of Protection on yourself
• Lay on Hands — heals for your entire health pool and gives the target 900 mana, but drains all of your mana
• Blessing of Protection — immunity to physical damage for 10 seconds, but the target can't attack
• Blessing of Sacrifice — transfers part of an ally's damage to you
• Blessing of Freedom — removes slow and immobilization effects for 10 seconds
• Spiritual Attunement — this is a talent, not an active ability: the more you're healed, the more mana you gain. On bosses mana is almost always sufficient

Human

• The Human Spirit increases spirit by 10%.
• Perception sharply increases stealth detection for 20 seconds. 3-minute cooldown.
• Diplomacy increases reputation gained by 10%.
• Sword Specialization increases expertise rating with one-handed and two-handed swords by 5.
• Mace Specialization increases expertise rating with one-handed and two-handed maces by 5.

Dwarf

• Stoneform removes and prevents bleeds, poisons, and diseases for 8 seconds and increases armor by 10%. 3-minute cooldown.
• Find Treasure marks nearby chests on the minimap.
• Frost Resistance increases frost resistance by 10.

Draenei

• Heroic Presence increases the hit chance of the whole party within 30 yards by 1%.
• Gift of the Naaru heals the target over 15 seconds.
• Shadow Resistance increases shadow resistance by 10.
• Gemcutting increases jewelcrafting skill by 5.

Blood Elf

• Mana Tap steals mana from the target and applies an effect that stacks up to 3 times.
• Arcane Torrent silences enemies within 8 yards and consumes Mana Tap stacks, returning mana.
• Arcane Resistance increases all resistances by 5.
• Arcane Affinity increases enchanting skill by 10.

Leatherworking

Provides Drums of Battle and Greater Drums of Battle — the most valuable raid contribution of any profession. You always need at least one leatherworker in the group.

Engineering

Very strong early on. The Goblin Rocket Launcher gives a lot of stamina and slots straight into both trinket slots, and good trinkets are the hardest thing for a tank to obtain. Dense Dynamite helps gather area threat.