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Beta, level cap 30 · data read 13 Oct

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Protection Paladin guide

Tank · our guide of 13 Oct 2026 Recommendation

Talent trees, every tier list's rating and the sim: the Protection tab.

In short

  • A tank with a one-handed weapon and a shield, holding threat with Holy damage.
  • Number 1 of 3 tanks in our newest sim run, at 551 DPS. The sim measures a tank's damage, not its threat or how long it survives. Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
  • Blocks pay for your spells: Shield Specialization can give back 6% of your maximum mana when you block, at most once every 3 sec. Sourced: Talent database
  • Weak spot: no interrupt and no snare of your own, so casters in a pack need someone else's kick.

How it plays

Up to level 30. Seal of Fury stays up the whole fight, because Judgement no longer uses it up, and with Seal of Fury, Judgement also taunts for 4 sec at 10 yards. Use Holy Strike on cooldown, Consecration on packs when your mana allows, and Exorcism on Undead and Demons. Redoubt 5 of 5 comes first, since Shield Specialization needs it. Your 21st point buys Templar's Bulwark: use it for a shield that absorbs damage up to your maximum health for 8 sec. Sacred Duty shortens its cooldown.

Sourced: Guide · 2 Oct, Talent database

At level 60. Theory Keep Holy Shield up: 30% more block chance for 10 sec, with 4 charges that deal Holy damage when you block. Then Judgement, Holy Strike, Consecration, Hammer of the Righteous on two or more targets, and Exorcism. Iron Creed makes Holy Strike cut the damage you take while Righteous Fury is on. Since 8 Oct, Seal of Fury gives mana back only with Improved Seal of Fury.

Sourced: Talent database, Dev notes · 8 Oct

Talents at a glance

  • Level 20: Redoubt 5, Precision 3, Anticipation 2, Shield Specialization 1

    Block and hit keep 13–20 dungeons smooth; Shield Specialization (needs Redoubt 5/5) starts the mana-on-block loop.

    Tested · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 30: Redoubt 5, Precision 3, Anticipation 2, Shield Specialization 3, Improved Righteous Fury 3, Improved Seal of Fury 1, Swift Judgement 1, Sacred Duty 2, Templar's Bulwark 1

    Finish the L20 base, Shield Specialization 3/3, Improved Righteous Fury, Improved Seal of Fury, Swift Judgement (row 4 at 15), Sacred Duty 2/2 to reach 20, then Templar's Bulwark with the 21st point. Sacred Duty also cuts Bulwark's cooldown by 60 sec.

    Planned · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 60: Redoubt 5, Toughness 5, Precision 3, Guardian's Favor 2, Anticipation 5, Improved Seal of Fury 1, Improved Righteous Fury 3, Shield Specialization 3, Sacred Duty 2, Swift Judgement 1, One-Handed Weapon Specialization 3, Templar's Bulwark 1, Reckoning 5, Iron Creed 5, Holy Shield 1, Divine Intellect 5, Improved Seals 1

    Community 8/43/0 minus the removed Improved Holy Strike; freed points to Guardian's Favor. Loop: Holy Shield, Judgement, Holy Strike on cooldown, Consecration, then Exorcism on Undead/Demons; Templar's Bulwark as the panic button; time Holy Strike with Iron Creed.

    Theory · See the trees · Open in the calculator

Rotation at level 30

Recommendation

Single target

Open with Righteous Fury, Retribution Aura, Blessing of Kings, Seal of Fury.

  1. Seal of Fury always
  2. Judgement on cooldown (taunt or snap threat); Swift Judgement to reset a missed taunt
  3. Holy Strike on cooldown
  4. Consecration on every pack
  5. Exorcism on Undead/Demons

Groups

  • Consecration first
  • Judgement the target your healer is looking at
  • Holy Strike

Tips

Templar's Bulwark (row 5, L30) = 100%-HP absorb; Sacred Duty cuts its cooldown by 60 sec.

No interrupt and no snare — ask a Rogue/Mage for kicks.

Stats

Each guide's stat order as it gives it, the sim's stat weights, then ours. Guides dated before the last big tuning are shown but not counted.

Guides differSpell power first on one guide, Weapon damage first on another.

WhereStat order
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctSpell power › Hit › Stamina › Defense › Armor › Block › Intellect › Strength › Agility
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctWeapon damage › Hit › Strength › Intellect › Spell power › Stamina › Armor
Guide · 25 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedNot ranked
Sim · stat weights level 60 · run 12 Oct, 5,000 iterations

Per 1%: Expertise 3.37 tied with Crit 3.33 › Attack speed 2.33 › Spell crit 0.0592

Per point: Main-hand weapon DPS 1.23 › Spell damage 0.285 › Strength 0.193 › Agility 0.186 › Attack power 0.0876 › Armour penetration 0.0263 › Intellect 0.0009

No DPS change in this run: Stamina, Hit, Spell hit, Defense skill, Block, Block value, Dodge, Parry, Armour, Bonus armour.

The DPS each stat adds, for a level-60 character on the engine's preset gear in a 2-minute fight on a beta engine, for damage only: a direction, not a verdict. = marks a tie: stats within each other's margin. Not counted toward "Guides agree".

Where they differ: ours puts Intellect before Strength, which the sim weighs higher per point; the sim measured no DPS change from Stamina and Block value.

Ours RecommendationStamina › Defense › Spell power › Intellect › Block value › Hit or expertise › Strength

Ours adds Block value, which neither guide lists.

Where ours differs: ours puts Stamina before Spell power and Hit or expertise, which both guides rank higher; ours puts Intellect before Hit or expertise, which both guides rank higher.

Race

Each guide's race picks for Protection, then our pick for the Paladin.

Alliance

One guideHuman on 1 guide.

  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctHuman, Dwarf
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Guide · 25 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedDwarf
  • Ours, for the Paladin RecommendationDwarf S

Horde

One guideUndead on 1 guide.

  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctUndead
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Guide · 25 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedUndead
  • Ours, for the Paladin RecommendationUndead S

Professions

Guides differThe guides name different professions.

  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctEngineering, Mining, Blacksmithing
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctMining, Blacksmithing, Herbalism, Alchemy
  • Guide · 25 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedEngineering
  • Ours, for the Paladin RecommendationMining + Engineering; or Mining + Blacksmithing

What changed for Protection

  • 8 Oct: Retribution Aura base damage back to Vanilla values (about 33% lower), spell power ratio 6% (was 13.3%); it now uses the Paladin's own spell power.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • Protection: Reckoning can trigger at most once per 1.5 sec; Seal of Fury returns mana only with Improved Seal of Fury talented; the mana from Shield Specialization and Improved Seal of Fury no longer adds threat.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • 1 Oct: Redoubt block chance 4/8/12/16/20% (was 6–30%); Holy Shield block 30% (was 20%); Retribution's Champion of the Light 20/40/60% (was 33/66/100%). 3 Oct sim run: Prot Paladin tank DPS from 318 to 464, level with Prot Warrior.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct

  • Holy Strike's weapon damage per rank now goes from 25% to 50% (was 25% to 40%); cooldown 10 sec baseline; Improved Holy Strike removed from the Holy tree.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Righteous Fury Holy-threat bonus lowered to 60% (was 90%) — the one Protection change to watch in the L30 dungeons.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Consecration bugs fixed; Echo of Justice proc rate fixed; Retribution Aura scales with spell power.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

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