Welcome to WoW The War Within Protection Paladin Guide. Here we share the best tips on Protection Paladin gameplay: from rotation and gearing to consumables and macros, you’ll find it all in our comprehensive guide. Make sure to read other useful guides on our platform, for example, Best Addons for The War Within Guide.
4.9Protection Paladin Overview
Protection Paladin is a tank spec, with a shield in one hand and a massive weapon in the other. This spec always shows great results on tests and usually can be found in the Tank Tier List as the best choice.
Just like any other Paladin, Protection’s primary resource is Holy Power which is generated via specific builders (abilities, that allow one to accumulate HP on use), and spent on the most powerful spells called spending abilities (or spenders).
Protection Paladin Strengths and Weaknesses
If you choose to play Protection Paladin, you should know the strongest and weakest sides of this spec. While in general, it’s a pretty simple class to master, you can still meet some cons.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| ✅ Great group utility. | ⛔️ Low Health pool. |
| ✅ Very effective CC and defensives. | ⛔️ Mistakes crucially affect your performance. |
| ✅ Impressive AoE damage for a tank. | ⛔️ Limited mobility. |
Protection Paladin Season 3 Changes
Protection Paladin enters Patch 11.2 of WoW The War Within witout any notable updates.
Protection Paladin Season 2 Changes
In WoW TWW Patch 11.1 Protection Paladin did not receive any significant changes to abilities or talents. However, with the release of the new raid in TWW Season 2 Protection Paladin gained a new tier set Oath of the Aureate Sentry with powerful bonuses.
Protection Specialization Ability Changes
In Patch 11.1 Protection Paladin did not receive any changes to specialization abilities.
Protection Paladin Talent Changes
In Patch 11.1 the damage of one Protection Paladin talent was reduced.
- Refining Fire — reduced damage.
Protection Paladin Hero Talent Changes
Additionally, in Patch 11.1 TWW Protection Paladin received changes to two Hero Talents.
Templar:
- Light’s Guidance — reduced damage.
- Undisputed Ruling — Hammer of Light grants Shield of the Righteous, erupts a Consecration beneath its target, and increases your Haste by 12% for 6 seconds. Additionally, Eye of Tyr grants 3 Holy Power.
Protection Paladin Changes In The War Within
The War Within expansion has a low amount of changes in Protection Paladin WoW talents and in general spec and class trees. The most notable ones are the removal of Crusader’s Reprieve, and the separation of Incandescence and Touch of Light. In the spec tree, lots of talents became 1 pointers, and also lots of them were replaced.
Also, the Warbands feature became active in the pre-patch, so now you can transfer your resources between your alts, and share warbound gear and resources. To do this, you just open the portal to the Warband Bank and put the items there like you normally do in the Bank. However, this feature needs to be unlocked first by completing several quests. Or, our team can assist you with this boring task and unlock the Warband Bank, and even a few more tabs if you want.
Protection Paladin Hero Talents
Together with Delves, Warbands, and other nice adjustments, The War Within brings a new WoW Protection Paladin talent tree — Hero Talent Tree. This is a whole new Hero Tree with mostly passive abilities for each class, and each spec can choose between 2 trees. Now, aside from class, spec, and PvP Talents, you would need to choose a Hero Tree layout.
For Prot Paladin, the trees are:
- Lightsmith: this tree is centered around its initial Dawnlight talent, which deals Damage over Time through your Holy Power spenders;
- Templar: with this tree, Light’s Guidance talent replaces your Eye of Tyr with Hammer of Light.
Changes to The Existing Abilities And Talents
Though the changes are minor, Protection Paladin can still see their impact. Thus, Shining Light from our spec tree now stacks twice, Improved Holy Shield and Sanctuary are now split from the choice node, and the latest has been redesigned. Bastion of Light talent can now be found at the very bottom of the tree, and it amplifies Judgment Holy Power generation.
Protection Paladin also received a 2-piece bonus and 4-piece bonus from the newest Tier Set, so make sure to read our guide to the end to learn all the latest news.
Basics of Protection Paladin Gameplay
Playing Protection Paladin in The War Within is not rocket science, but the experience is pleasing and fascinating. This spec has lots of defense to withstand the longest fights and keep the enemy busy while your team secures consistent DPS flow.
There’s one thing you must remember: always place Consecration under the enemy for DoT and easy kills. Now, it works even better with the Sanctuary rework, as it allows Consecration effects to last 4 seconds longer even when you leave it.
Protection Paladin Rotation
The range of abilities of Protection Paladin is rather versatile, and thanks to that they excel both in Single Target and AoE combat. Therefore, there are two WoW Protection Paladin rotations:
| Single Target Rotation | AoE Rotation | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consecration | Consecration |
| 2 | Shield of the Righteous when you are at 3-5 Holy Power | Shield of the Righteous when you are at 3-5 Holy Power |
| 3 | Judgment | Avenger’s Shield |
| 4 | Hammer of Wrath | Judgment |
| 5 | Avenger’s Shield | Hammer of Wrath |
| 6 | Hammer of the Righteous / Blessed Hammer | Hammer of the Righteous / Blessed Hammer |
| 7 | Consecration | Consecration |
Offensive Cooldowns
| Spell | Cooldown | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Avenging Wrath | 2 min | Causes Holy Power to explode om use, damaging nearby enemies. |
| Moment of Glory | 1,5 min | Grants you a shield and increases the damage of Avenger’s Shield. |
| Avenger’s Shield | 15 sec | Hits the target with a shield, dealing massive damage. |
Defensive Cooldowns
| Spell | Cooldown | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Divine Shield | 5 min | Grants immunity to all damage for 8 seconds. |
| Lay on Hands | 10 min | Heals a friendly target for 100% of your max HP. |
| Ardent Defender | 2 min | Reduces incoming damage by 20% for 8 sec. |
| Guardian of Ancient Kings | 5 min | Reduces incoming damage by 50% for 8 sec. |
Protection Paladin Build
Being a tank involves adjusting your WoW Protection Paladin build to the tank’s primary objectives: increased survivability, high threat, good HP regeneration, and decent damage output. We have gathered the best Raiding and Mythic+ The War Within Protection Paladin Builds for you here in our guide, so you don’t have to figure out the most powerful talents all by yourself.
Protection Paladin Standard Raid Build
Protection Paladin Damage Focused Raid Build
Protection Paladin Mythic+ Build
You can copy the talents layout for the Protection Paladin build WoW that you need and import it right into the game, just click it to copy and open your talents in the game to paste.
Standard Raid Build
CIEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsMmZMzixyDYmZmhNzMjZWYYGAAgBAAAAAAg0wMzsYgZGmZWMMzMbAwYAAMgBYAAQAmZWWWaZmxiBDamage Focused Raid Build
CIEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsMmZMziZWwMzMsZmZYYGmBAAYAAAAAAAINMzMLGYmhZmFDzMzGAMGAADYAGAAEgZmlllWmZsYGAMythic+ Build
CIEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsNjZYWM2eAzYmxymZmxMGzYGAAAAAAAAAA0WDzMziBmZYmZxgxsBAjBAwAGgBAYmplZZWmBIwmZAProtection Paladin Stats
The primary stat for Protection Paladin being a tank spec is Strength. Next goes a full set of important secondary stats. Therefore, we have a WoW Protection Paladin stat priority that looks like this:
- Haste;
- Mastery;
- Versatility;
- Critical Strike.
Considering this, you should know that the first three stats are relatively close in value, though their effect is different. Haste reduces the GDC for our abilities, which is good, as fast and easy spell casting is a must for Prot Paladin. Moreover, lots of noteworthy talents benefit from Haste: Shield of the Righteous, Word of Glory, Righteous Protector, etc.
Mastery is important for Mastery: Divine Bulwark, which is essential for damage reduction while Consecration is active.
Versatility is generally good for damage increase and the effectiveness of healing.
Critical Strike grants us a chance for a critical attack, but it’s mostly needed for DPS, not tanks.
Protection Paladin Leveling
Leveling is the most time-consuming part of the game on a new character, minutes feel like hours and hours feel like eternity while you wait for your XP bar to be full. Therefore, you should prioritize the fastest leveling options:
- Dungeons. Just queue for dungeon after dungeon (time walkings are the best) and gain your XP. The method slows down closer to the max lvl, but it’s easy and doesn’t require lots of effort;
- Questing. Choose Draenor or Legion timeline at Chromie and start a storyline. The quests are located close to each other, and you get to know the lore, which is a nice bonus to your XP;
- Ask our pro players for Power Leveling service and go spend time with your friends or watch a good movie, while your character grows and evolves without your efforts.
Protection Paladin Leveling Tips for The War Within
What else can you do for successful The War Within WoW Protection Paladin Leveling? Here are a few tips:
- Use Heirlooms, if you have any. This is the fastest way to upgrade your gear, get additional damage from better items, and increase the speed of XP gain by killing tougher mob packs.
- Stack mobs in one place and spam your AoE. Protection Paladin shows the best results in AoE scenarios, so it should be convenient.
- Do not change the spec to DPS if leveling in dungeons. Even if you are a first-time tank, it’s a chance to train, and it’s far easier for a tank to find a group in a few seconds.
Additionally, you can obtain some consumables and items for easy leveling:
- Gunshoes;
- Light-Step Hoofplates;
- Comfortable Rider’s Barding;
- Bear Tartare;
- Drums of Deathly Ferocity;
- Potion of Phantom Fire;
- Cosmic Healing Potion;
- Potion of Spectral Agility;
- Spectral Flask of Power.
You can also unlock the Adventure Mode, especially if Protection Paladin is your main. This mode will allow faster leveling for your Warband, so it’s really worth it, but it takes time to meet the requirements, so if you don’t feel like dealing with it, ask for the Starter Bundle, and our pro players will level up your Paladin and provide some pleasant bonuses which you’ll definitely like.
How to Gear Up Protection Paladin
Gearing is an essential part of the gameplay, as you won’t be able to reach your peak performance without proper Protection Paladin Gear. When gearing in WoW, players usually prioritize BiS options and aim to get these exact items from a particular Raid boss or Mythic+ dungeon.
When you obtain this or that item, you should look at its stats and ilvl to choose which item is the best and if it is worth changing an equipped item to a new one. If the stats are good, but the ilvl is the weak point of the item, you can upgrade it to a particular level you need to use Harbinger Crests.
Best Gear for Protection Paladin
When choosing WoW Protection Paladin BiS gear, you should always look at the ilvl of the item and the stats. If you are an experienced player, you understand what you are looking for and can analyze the items all by yourself, comparing them side by side or via SimCrafting.
However, if you like to choose the easy way, have a look at the Overall BiS Gear in our guide:
| Slot | Item | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Head |  Crown of Absolute Command | Tazavesh: So’leah’s Gambit |
| Neck |  Cabochon of the Infinite Flight | Tazavesh: So’leah’s Gambit |
| Shoulders |  Chargers of the Lucent Battalion | Catalyst | Manaforge Omega | Vault |
| Cloak |  Reshii Wraps | Patch 11.2 Questline |
| Chest |  Cuirass of the Lucent Battalion | Catalyst | Manaforge Omega | Vault |
| Wrist |  Everforged Vambraces | Crafting |
| Gloves |  Protectors of the Lucent Battalion | Catalyst | Manaforge Omega | Vault |
| Belt |  Everforged Greatbelt | Crafting |
| Legs |  Cuisses of the Lucent Battalion | Catalyst | Manaforge Omega | Vault |
| Boots |  Interloper’s Plated Sabatons | Manaforge Omega |
| Ring |  Logic Gate: Alpha | Plexus Sentinel |
| Ring |  Devout Zealot’s Ring | Dawnbreaker |
| Weapon |  Oath-Breaker’s Recompense | Nexus-King Salhadaar |
| Shield |  Ward of the Weaving-Beast | Loom’ithar |
Best Protection Paladin Trinkets
When it comes to trinkets for WoW Protection Paladin, these are the top picks you should be aiming for.
Tier Set Bonuses for Protection Paladin
Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Gladiator
Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Heroic
Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Mythic
Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Normal
Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Raid Finder
Protection Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Elite
WoW The War Within Patch 11.2 Protection Paladin tier set is Vows of the Lucent Battalion.
Protection Paladin Lightsmith Tier Set Bonuses:
| 2-piece | Hammer and Anvil’s damage is increased by 15% and it can also be activated by at 40% effectiveness. |
|---|---|
| 4-piece | Hammer and Anvil also grants a stack of Masterwork, causing your next Holy Armament to cast one Lesser version of itself on a nearby ally for each stack. |
Protection Paladin Templar Tier Set Bonuses:
| 2-piece | Your Empyrean Hammer deals 20% increased critical strike damage and its critical strikes have 50% chance to grant an additional stack of Light’s Deliverance. |
|---|---|
| 4-piece | Hammer of Light deals 35% increased damage to its primary target, strikes 3 additional secondary targets, and can now be cast 1 more time after Eye of Tyr. |
Protection Paladin Season 3 Tier Set Bonuses
WoW TWW Protection Paladin PvP 2 Tier Set
Protection Paladin PvP 1 Tier Set
Protection Paladin Mythic Tier Set
Protection Paladin Heroic Tier Set
Protection Paladin Normal Tier Set
Protection Paladin LFG Tier Set
Oath of the Aureate Sentry is the new tier set for Protection Paladin in Season 2 of TWW.
| 2-piece | Each time you take damage you have a chance to activate Luck of the Draw! causing you to cast Guardian of Ancient Kings for 4.0 sec. Your damage done is increased by 15% for 10 sec after Luck of the Draw! activates. |
|---|---|
| 4-piece | While you have Luck of the Draw! Shield of the Righteous refunds 1-3 Holy Power and extends the duration of Luck of the Draw! by 0.5 sec, up to 10 sec. |
Protection Paladin Season 1 Tier Set Bonuses
Protection Paladin Normal Set
Protection Paladin Heroic Set
Protection Paladin Mythic Set
Protection Paladin PvP 1 Set
Protection Paladin PvP 2 Set
Protection Paladin Raid Finder Set
Entombed Seraph’s Radiance is the Protection Paladin Tier Set for Season 1 in the War Within.
| 2-piece | Shield of the Righteous deals 10% increased damage and grants a 3% damage reduction. |
|---|---|
| 4-piece | Casting a Holy Power ability increases the damage and healing you deal during your next Avenging Wrath by 0.5%. This effect stacks. |
The Tier Set needs only 4 pieces to get the bonus, but you still can gather the rest of the items for transmog, or if you consider them suitable for your style. Yet, it usually takes several weeks to complete the set. Raiding with pugs can be difficult with one wipe after another, and you can lose interest in the idea of obtaining the set really quickly.
If you want to ensure the obtaining of raid gear, you can reach out to our team. We are willing to help and offer you our Heroic Battle Pass, which makes your chances of obtaining raid gear much higher.
Best Crafted Gear for Protection Paladin
Crafted gear is usually one of the best options for your character, as you can use Optimal Crafting Reagents to adjust the gear to your needs.
- Everforged Vambraces and Everforged Greatbelt with Elemental Focusing Lens;
- Algari Alchemist Stone;
- Any Low Item Level Piece + Spark of Omens.
Best Consumables for Protection Paladin
No end-game activity is possible without consumables. Phials, potions, and flasks are always needed when Raiding or completing M+. Weapon buffs help to increase your DPS.
| Type | Best |
|---|---|
| Flask |  Flask of Alchemical Chaos  |
| Combat Potion |  Tempered Potion |
| Health Potion |  Invigorating Healing Potion |
| Weapon Buff |  Algari Mana Oil for Templar Rite of Sanctification for Lightsmith |
| Augment Rune |  Crystallized Augment Rune |
| Food |  The Sushi Special Beledar’s Bounty |
| Diamond |  Elusive Blasphemite |
| Other Gems |  Masterful Emerald |
Best Protection Paladin Enchants
| Slot | Best Enchant |
|---|---|
| Weapon |  Enchant Weapon – Authority of the Depths for Single-target Enchant Weapon – Stormrider’s Fury for AoE |
| Cloak | Enchant Cloak – Chant of Leeching Fangs |
| Chest | Enchant Chest – Crystalline Radiance |
| Bracers | Enchant Bracer – Chant of Armored Leech |
| Legs |  Stormbound Armor Kit |
| Boots | Enchant Boots – Scout’s March |
| Ring – Regular | Enchant Ring – Radiant Haste |
Protection Paladin End-Game
End-game as a Protection Paladin is all about Raiding, Mythic+ dungeons, and World quests. These are the sources of BiS gear and Great Vault rewards, as PvP activities are no longer included in the ones granting the Vault gear. But, you still can enjoy Arenas and BGs and explore the newest ways of obtaining PvP gear.
Mythic+, by the way, adds extra challenge and competition into WoW, as you can farm Mythic+ ratings and try to reach new heights. Read our The War Within Mythic+ Guide and learn the M+ rotation, new affixes, and more.
If you like to collect things, then focus on WoW Protection Paladin transmog obtaining. Some older legendaries, beautiful raid sets from previous expansions and more can be found in the Adventure Guide.
Best Races for Protection Paladins
The best race for Protection Paladin WoW The War Within is the one that you like. However, there are some options that can have an effect on your performance. Here, we provide the best options for both Alliance and Horde players.
Alliance
Though Human is the most popular Alliance race, granting Will to Survive and The Human Spirit racial abilities, you can also choose Dwarf, as this race also has nice abilities to offer: Stoneform, Might of the Mountain, and Frost Resistance.
Horde
Blood Elf is WoW best race for Protection Paladin from the Horde side, as you can use Arcane Torrent and Arcane Acuity. Another good choice is Zandalari Troll with their Regeneration and Da Voodoo Shuffle abilities for a tank.
Best Profession for Protection Paladin
In The War Within, Professions are a source of good gear and gold. So, basically, you can choose whatever you like, but the most obvious and popular option is one crafting and one gathering profession. For Protection Paladin, it would be Mining + Blacksmithing.
This choice will make it possible to earn some money on crafting orders and make the best-crafted gear with The War Within crafting reagents. If you want to start crafting ASAP, we offer you our help in obtaining up to 500 Profession Knowledge, which our pro players will get you.
Improving as Protection Paladin
Playing The War Within WoW Protection Paladin is most enjoyable when you see the best results: timed M+, high Mythic rating, decent DPS on the Details! and so on. It all can be achieved via constant training, but you should know what areas require most of your attention:
- Manage Holy Power efficiently. Avoid capping at 5 and time your abilities to maximize damage, especially Shield of the Righteous when Judgment is active.
- Maintain Consecration uptime but avoid unnecessary recasts. Be aware of its duration in your rotation.
- Use the Word of Glory wisely. Don’t waste it when health is only slightly low, but also don’t hesitate when you’re at risk.
- Always have an Aura active. Pick the right one based on your group’s needs.
- Use blessings strategically. They can save your teammates, especially Blessing of Sacrifice for co-tanks.
- Hand of the Protector can save allies, but use it carefully as it disrupts your rotation and defense.
- Lay on Hands is a powerful emergency tool. Use it when immediate healing is critical.
- Plan your defensive cooldowns. Know when to use them and track your teammates’ cooldowns for coordinated survival.
- Balance offense and defense. Too much focus on either can lead to issues, so find your comfort level and adjust based on the situation.
Protection Paladin Macros
One more way to improve your performance is using WoW Protection Paladin macros. This is the most convenient instrument to optimize your combat button-spamming scenarios. In our comprehensive guide, we have gathered the best macros for you.
Protection Paladin Macros
- Blessing of Protection Mouseover. Stops your current cast and applies Blessing of Protection to your mouseover target.
#showtooltip Blessing of Protection
/stopcasting
/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] Blessing of Protection - Blessing of Freedom Mouseover. Stop your current cast and applies Blessing of Freedom to your mouseover target.
#showtooltip Blessing of Freedom
/stopcasting
/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] [] Blessing of Freedom - Blessing of Sacrifice Mouseover. Stops your current cast and applies Blessing of Sacrifice to your mouseover target.
#showtooltip Blessing of Sacrifice
/stopcasting
/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] Blessing of Sacrifice - Lay on Hands Mouseover .Stops your current cast and applies Lay on Hands to your mouseover target.
#showtooltip Lay on Hands
/stopcasting
/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] Lay on Hands - Cleanse Toxins Mouseover/Self-Cast. Cleanses your mouseover target of toxins or yourself if no valid mouseover exists.
#showtooltip Cleanse Toxins
/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] [] Cleanse Toxins - Divine Shield with Stopcast. Stops your current cast and applies Divine Shield immediately.
#showtooltip Divine Shield
/stopcasting
/cast Divine Shield - Divine Shield Cancelaura. Casts Divine Shield and allows you to cancel it by pressing the button again, but won’t cancel if Final Stand is talented.
#showtooltip Divine Shield
/cast Divine Shield
/cancelaura [noknown:Final Stand] Divine Shield
4.9Well, thank you for your attention to our WoW Protection Paladin Guide. We hope that with the information about rotation, abilities, builds, and gear you will be able to maximize your Prot Pala performance and enjoy the game. This spec promises to stay in the top tier for long enough to steal your heart, so remember everything that we’ve discussed here and read other handy guides on our platform to be fully prepared for TWW.
