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Protection Paladin Guide — Class Guides · WoW Forever

Tanking with a shield: Holy Shield, more block and armour, damage reduction and threat.

A plate-wearing holy warrior who heals with the Light, protects with blessings, auras and seals, and fights in melee. Paladins heal, tank or deal damage with a two-handed weapon. More about the paladin

Class
Paladin
Roles
Tank
Used for
Raids and dungeons
Top talent
Holy Shield
Popular builds
1
Version
WoW Forever

How to play

Protection in WoW Forever is a shield tank: Holy Shield strikes back on every block, Seal of Fury puts a shield on you, Iron Creed turns Holy Strike into a threat tool that also cuts the damage you take, and Templar's Bulwark absorbs a burst as large as your health.

Righteous Fury raises your threat, Consecration holds packs, Hammer of the Righteous hits several enemies and Swift Judgement resets Judgement for free. Sacred Duty adds Stamina and shortens your defensive cooldowns.

Mana flows back from Improved Seal of Fury when its shield breaks, so Protection paladins can tank long pulls.

At a glance

Single-target threat
Holding several enemies
Survivability
Utility for the group
Solo play and leveling
Ease of play

Rated 1 to 5 against the other specs in WoW Forever.

Rotation and priorities

  1. 1Righteous Fury and Seal of Fury on before every pull.
  2. 2Holy Shield whenever it is ready.
  3. 3Holy Strike whenever it is ready, for Iron Creed's threat and damage reduction.
  4. 4Consecration and Hammer of the Righteous on packs.
  5. 5Judgement when ready; Swift Judgement for a free extra one.
  6. 6Templar's Bulwark, Divine Protection or Lay on Hands for emergencies.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • Strong at holding packs with Consecration and Hammer of the Righteous.
  • Templar's Bulwark absorbs a huge burst.
  • Mana comes back through Seal of Fury.

Weaknesses

  • Many short cooldowns to juggle.
  • Depends on a shield and block.
  • Few ranged tools.

Stats and gear

Stat priority

Most valuable first. Bars compare each stat with the best one; a cap in the note means the stat drops off once you reach it.

  1. 1

    StaminaSacred Duty raises it

  2. 2

    Defenseenough that bosses can't crit you

  3. 3

    Spell damagethreat

  4. 4

    BlockHoly Shield

  5. 5

    Armour

  6. 6

    Intellect

What to look for

  • A one-handed weapon and a shield with high block.
  • Stamina and defense first; spell damage for threat on packs.
  • Enough Intellect that your mana lasts a whole pull.

Builds

Each bar splits the build's talent points by tree.

  • Holy
  • Protection
  • Retribution

  • Iron Creed Templar

    TankPvE
    5/41/5

    A shield tank: Holy Shield strikes back on every block, Iron Creed turns Holy Strike into a threat and defense tool, and Templar's Bulwark absorbs a burst.

    • One-Handed Weapon Specialization 3/3
    • Templar's Bulwark 1/1
    • Reckoning 5/5
    • Iron Creed 5/5
    • Holy Shield 1/1

    Open in the talent calculatorTheorycrafting

Key talents

  • Holy Shield · top talent, up to 1

    Increases chance to block by 30% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.

  • Precision · tier 2, up to 3

    Improves your chance to hit by 3%.

  • Anticipation · tier 2, up to 5

    Increases your Defense Skill by 20.

  • Improved Righteous Fury · tier 3, up to 3

    While Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 6%.

  • Shield Specialization · tier 3, up to 3

    Increases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 30%, and gives your blocks a 100% chance to restore 4% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.

  • Sacred Duty · tier 3, up to 2

    Increases your total Stamina by 4% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 60 sec.

  • One-Handed Weapon Specialization · tier 4, up to 3

    Increases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 10%.

  • Templar's Bulwark · tier 5, up to 1

    When activated, this ability grants you an absorb shield equal to 100% of your maximum health for 8 sec. Applies Forbearance for 1 min. Cannot be cast while Forbearance is active.

  • Reckoning · tier 5, up to 5

    Gives you a 40% chance after Blocking and a 100% chance after receiving a non-periodic critical strike to gain an extra attack. Stores up to 4 extra attacks. Cannot occur from Blocks more than once every 1.5 sec.

  • Iron Creed · tier 6, up to 5

    Increases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability by 25%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 10% for 6 sec.

Protection abilities by level

When each ability arrives: trained abilities at the level a trainer first teaches them, talent abilities (gold frame) at the first level the talent can be taken.

What WoW Forever changed

New talents in this tree

  • Improved Seal of FuryWhen Seal of Fury's shield is fully absorbed, restore 60 Mana, increased by 15% per level the attacker is above you, up to 45%.
  • Sacred DutyIncreases your total Stamina by 4% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 60 sec.
  • Swift JudgementFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.
  • Templar's BulwarkWhen activated, this ability grants you an absorb shield equal to 100% of your maximum health for 8 sec. Applies Forbearance for 1 min. Cannot be cast while Forbearance is active.
  • Iron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability by 25%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 10% for 6 sec.

Classic Era talents the class no longer has

  • Improved Devotion Aura
  • Blessing of Kings
  • Improved Concentration Aura
  • Blessing of Sanctuary

Spells

New: Seal of Fury, Swift Judgement, Revoke, Templar's Bulwark, Hammer of the Righteous. Changed: Righteous Fury, Blessing of Kings, Salvation, Divine Shield, Holy Shield, Greater Blessing of Kings, Mass Salvation.

Related

Other paladin specs: Holy, Retribution