Protection Paladin Raid Guide

11.0.2 - The War Within

Last Updated:September 10, 2024|Change Log|FAQ

Welcome to the Protection Paladin raid guide for the World of Warcraft patch 11.0! This guide covers everything you need to know to understand your character! Are you starting out and leveling up from 70? Check out the leveling guide!

Overview

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin
Protection PaladinRaid
Single-Target
Strong
AoE
Average
Utility
Excellent
Survivability
Average
Mobility
Weak
Protection Paladin Raid BIS

Hero Talents

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin
  • Templar has very strong single target as of right now and its competitor isn't really in the same league. Lightsmith is still playable as a more support type role, but it lacks the output to compete with Templar. Therefore, for Raiding as Protection Paladin I recommend Templar.
Lightsmith
Templar
  • As Lightsmith you recieve Holy Armaments, which is split between Holy Bulwark and Sacred Weapon.
    • Holy Bulwark is an absorb shield for 15% of the Protection Paladin's health. It gives an additional 2% absorb every 2 seconds and lasts 20 seconds.
    • Sacred Weapon is a damaging buff that has a chance to deal Holy damage or heal nearby targets. The effect is increased when Sacred Weapon strikes 1 target and is reduced above 5 targets. It also lasts 20 seconds.
    • Holy Armaments has 2 charges and rotates from Holy Bulwark to Sacred Weapon.
  • Holy Armaments are something that you can either bestow upon yourself or an ally. However, with Solidarity if you give them to an ally you also gain its benefits. Furthermore, if you bestow an Holy Armaments to yourself, a nearby ally also gains its benefits.
    • Blessing of the Forge lets casting Avenging Wrath / Sentinel summon an additional Sacred Weapon. During Avenging Wrath / Sentinel your Sacred Weapon casts spells on your target and echoes the effects of your Holy Power abilities.
  • With Divine Inspiration you can proc a Holy Armaments for a nearby ally.
  • Blessed Assurance increases the damage of Blessed Hammer / Hammer of the Righteous by 100% after casting a Holy Power ability.
  • Rite of Sanctification is a small and somewhat pathetic buff to armor and primary stat that replaces oils.
  • After casting Eye of Tyr, it is then replaced with Hammer of Light for 12 seconds. Hammer of Light costs 5 Holy Power and is a big damage nuke that hits up to 4 enemies. Furthermore, it triggers Empyrean Hammer from the sky that strikes 3 nearby enemies.
    • Essentially, you want to cast Eye of Tyr off cooldown and use Hammer of Light off cooldown as well. This changes Eye of Tyr to be more of an offensive spell.
  • Shake the Heavens causes you to bring down a Empyrean Hammer on a nearby target every 2 seconds, for 8 seconds after casting Hammer of Light.
    • Shake the Heavens can then be extended through; Blessed Hammer / Hammer of the Righteous, Hammer of Wrath and Judgment.
    • Shield of the Righteous and Word of Glory call down an Empyrean Hammer on a nearby target and while Shake the Heavens is active, this effect calls down an additional Shake the Heavens.
  • You can cast Hammer of Light for free through Light's Deliverance which is gained through having as many Empyrean Hammer casts as possible.
  • Eye of Tyr becomes a Holy Power generator through Undisputed Ruling, granting 3 Holy Power.
  • You gain 5% damage reduction for 8 seconds to enemies hit by Shake the Heavens when it critically strikes, through Wrathful Descent.
  • Unrelenting Charger fixes a lot of mobility issues for Protection Paladin by providing a 2 second longer Divine Steed and increasing your movement speed by an additional 30% for the first 3 seconds.

Talents

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin
Standard Build
Off healing Lightsmith build
Protection Paladin Raid Standard Build

When to use this spec

This is the default loadout going into any boss unless specified otherwise. You have to adjust the class talent tree based on the utility needed for the encounter. To make your life easier, boss-specific talent loadouts are available in the Raids section.

Gameplay Altering Talents

Discover all talents that significantly alter your gameplay within the Spec and Class Talent trees. This section gives a concise overview of these talents and their applications but for a more detailed look check out the Rotation and Deep Dive sections below.

  • Righteous Protector
    • Gives much higher uptime on both Avenging Wrath / Sentinel and Guardian of Ancient Kings. This allows for higher uptime on 2 strong defensives, while also granting a very large DPS increase increased uptime on Avenging Wrath / Sentinel.
  • Blessing of Spellwarding
    • Used to mitigate damage for your allies or yourself on hard bosses.
  • Consecration in Flame
    • Makes Consecration last 2 seconds longer and increases its damage by 20%. This makes Consecration last 14 seconds, which makes it much easier to weave into the rest of your abilities without having to worry about refreshing it very often unless there is heavy movement.
  • Sanctified Wrath
    • Both Avenging Wrath / Sentinel are given increased uptime to 25 seconds duration. Additionally, giving Judgment increased Holy Power generation by 1.
  • Zealot's Paragon
    • Extends the duration of Avenging Wrath with each cast of Judgment and Hammer of Wrath.
  • Shining Light
    • Makes your Word of Glory free after 3 Shield of the Righteous and has a maximum of 2 stacks. This talent is integral to playing Protection Paladin!
  • Barricade of Faith
    • You want to prioritize Avenger's Shield to keep up this potent defensive buff active.
  • Sanctuary
    • The effects of Consecration persists for 4 seconds after leaving, which makes heavy movement more manageable.

Class Tree

  • Sanctified Plates
    • Increases your armor by 10%, Stamina by 10%, and reduces damage taken from area of effect attacks by 10%. This is an incredibly strong passive defensive talent.
  • Resolute Defender
    • Allows you to use Ardent Defender and Divine Shield a lot more often, which makes for higher uptime on some of your strongest defensive cooldowns.
  • Greater Judgment
    • Judgment causes the target to take 40% increased damage from your next Shield of the Righteous.
  • Cavalier
    • This talent gives Divine Steed 2 charges, which makes planning movement much easier.
  • Divine Purpose
    • Hole Power spending abilities can make your next Word of Glory or Shield of the Righteous free and deal 15% increased damage and healing.

Hero Talents

  • Zealous Vindication
    • Hammer of Light causes 2 Empyrean Hammer to be cast on your target.
  • Unrelenting Charger
    • Divine Steed lasts 2 seconds longer and you get bonus movement speed at the start of Divine Steed.
  • Sanctification
    • Casting Judgment increases the damage of Empyrean Hammer by 10% for 10 seconds and multiple applications may overlap.
Protection Paladin Off healing Lightsmith build

When to use this spec

This Talent build is more for offhealing if you don't care about your damage too much and want to minmax a fight by keeping your allies alive.

Talent Adjustments

Listing all the changes within the Class and Spec tree compared to the default build

Spec Tree

  • Added
    • Seal of Charity
      • When you cast Word of Glory on someone else, you are healed for 50% of the amount healed.
    • Hand of the Protector
      • Casting Word of Glory on someone else increases the healing by up to 100%, based on the target's missing health.
  • Removed
    • Inspiring Vanguard
    • Seal of Reprisal

Hero Talents

  • Rite of Sanctification
    • Weapon Oil that gives 5% armor and 1% Strength for 1 hour.
  • Blessed Assurance
    • Gives 100% increased damage to Blessed Hammer whenever you use a Holy Power ability.
  • Fear No Evil
    • While wielding a Holy Armaments, fear effects have 50% reduced duration.
  • Divine Inspiration
    • Spells and abilities have a chance to spawn a Holy Armaments on a nearby ally.

Rotation

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

Tier Set

  • 2-Set: Shield of the Righteous deals 10% increased damage and 3% damage reduction.
  • 4-Set: Casting a Holy Power ability increases the damage and healing you deal during your next Avenging Wrath by 0.5%. This effect stacks.

Opener

  • The goal of your opener as a Protection Paladin playing in a Raid is to minmax damage. Use high damage generators inside your offensive cooldowns, such as;Judgment and Hammer of Wrath, while also making sure you're standing in Consecration at all times.
Lightsmith
Templar
Protection Paladin Lightsmith Opener in Raid
  • Important thing to note when using Sacred Weapon is that it cannot stack. This means that the Sacred Weapon that spawns from Avenging Wrath / Sentinel should be used first and the normal cast one used later after the first one has run out.
    • This can also occur with Divine Inspiration, so be careful and make sure you track this buff well.
    • Other than the above, use Holy Armaments off cooldown.
Protection Paladin Templar Opener in Raid
  • Cast Eye of Tyr always off cooldown to be able to cast Hammer of Light off cooldown as well.
  • To optimise damage for Single Target you bascially dont want to cast Avenger's Shield at all as Templar.
    • On 3+ targets and for survivability ignore this and use Avenger's Shield frequently.

Priority List

General
3+ Targets
10+ Targets
  1. Always stand in Consecration for damage reduction from Mastery and Sanctuary, aiming for 100% uptime.
  2. Cast Avenging Wrath on cooldown.
  3. Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
  4. Cast Bastion of Light on cooldown.
  5. Cast Judgment if you have 2 charges.
  6. Cast Hammer of Wrath on cooldown.
  7. Cast Judgment on cooldown.
  8. Cast Avenger's Shield to maintain Barricade of Faith.
  9. Never cap Holy Power; always use Shield of the Righteous at 3-5 Holy Power.
  10. Cast Blessed Hammer whenever you cannot press anything else.
  11. Only use Word of Glory with Shining Light procs when below 70% health, or in emergencies when Shield of the Righteous uptime is high.
  12. Refresh Consecration.

On 3+ targets, prioritize Avenger's Shield over Judgment and Hammer of Wrath for more damage. Utilise Bulwark of Righteous Fury buff to maximize Shield of the Righteous damage, especially in AoE. You do this by making sure to cast Shield of the Righteous when you have stacks of Bulwark of Righteous Fury. If you delay Shield of the Righteous when Avenger's Shield is near or when you have Grand Crusader procs you will be able to do higher damaging casts of Shield of the Righteous.

  1. Always stand in Consecration for damage reduction from Mastery and Sanctuary, aiming for 100% uptime.
  2. Cast Avenging Wrath on cooldown.
  3. Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
  4. Cast Avenger's Shield on Cooldown.
  5. Cast Judgment on Cooldown.
  6. Cast Hammer of Wrath on Cooldown.
  7. Cast Blessed Hammer on Cooldown.

In scenarios with massive target numbers (10+), prioritize Blessed Hammer over Hammer of Wrath, unless priority single-target damage is needed. As with 3+ Targets utilising the Bulwark of Righteous Fury buff to maximize Shield of the Righteous damage is even more important!

  1. Always stand in Consecration for damage reduction from Mastery and Sanctuary, aiming for 100% uptime.
  2. Cast Avenging Wrath on cooldown.
  3. Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
  4. Cast Avenger's Shield on Cooldown.
  5. Cast Judgment on Cooldown.
  6. Cast Blessed Hammer on Cooldown.
  7. Cast Hammer of Wrath on Cooldown.

Defensive Cooldowns

  • Ardent Defender
    • This as your main defensive in Raiding, pressing it almost on cooldown, especially at the start of a pull. With Unbreakable Spirit and Resolute Defender, its low cooldown makes it ideal for frequent use. It also has a cheat death component, allowing survival against extreme hits.
  • Eye of Tyr
    • Used to smooth damage intake or for large tank hits, this ability is a debuff on enemies within 8 yards. In AoE with Inmost Light, spam it on cooldown for damage and survivability.
    • Note that it does not work on environmental damage.
  • Guardian of Ancient Kings
    • Use Guardian of Ancient Kings for extremely large tank hits or to smooth very high damage intake.
  • Sentinel
    • Use this spell almost off cooldown. The health and damage reduction bonuses decay over time, so ideally enter Sentinel with 5 Holy Power to keep it up as long as possible.
  • Blessing of Spellwarding
    • Use this spell for large magic damage hits or to preemptively prevent powerful magic debuffs from applying. Remember, it can be used on others as well as yourself. Occasionally, this spell can "bug" and cause certain mobs to target the second highest threat instead, but this is rare.
  • Divine Shield
    • With Final Stand talented, this becomes the most powerful defensive ability in the game, making you immortal for 8 seconds. Utilise it around very hard hitting tank abilities or to immune and prevent a debuff.

Offensive Cooldowns

  • Avenging Wrath
    • Use Avenging Wrath almost off cooldown due to high cooldown reduction from Righteous Protector, allowing you to spend a lot of Holy Power and get the cooldown back faster. Occasionally, hold it briefly to align with better cooldown windows, which is very boss or dungeon-specific. In progress raiding, you can talent into Sentinel if you feel unsafe.
  • Divine Toll
    • Use Divine Toll almost off cooldown. Hold it briefly only if delaying for boss add spawns offers more value.
  • Bastion of Light
    • 2 minute cooldown that makes your next 5 casts of Judgment generate 2 Holy Power extra. Basically use off cooldown inside Avenging Wrath if possible.
  • Eye of Tyr
    • Using Templar, Eye of Tyr becomes an offensive cooldown that you want to use off cooldown as much as possible.

Deep Dive

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

Holy Shield and Block

  • Block is a mechanic exclusive to Protection Warriors and Protection Paladins. Block is more random since there isn't a 100% block chance active mitigation spell. It's good to know whether a tank mechanic is blockable to determine how threatening it is. Holy Shield for example allows using fewer defensives for spell-blockable tank busters compared to other tanks.

Consecration and Movement

  • Keep Consecration up 100% of the time and stay inside it when possible for passive damage reduction. Don't press it off cooldown without thinking, or you lose Holy Power from abilities like Judgment and Blessed Hammer. Optimizing movement is important since it frees up globals for other abilities. With Sanctuary talented the Consecration buff lingers for 4 seconds after you leave it, allowing you to min-max Consecration more easily. I recommend using a Consecration WeakAura to track its duration, as tanking outside of it can be dangerous.

Shield of the Righteous and Word of Glory

  • Shield of the Righteous is your main active mitigation, it costs 3 Holy Power and grants a 4.5-second armor buff based on Strength. Don't use Shield of the Righteous past 13.5 seconds duration of the buff, as it's capped at that amount. The only reason to keep on using Shield of the Righteous is for more damage or if you‘re otherwise overcapping your Holy Power.
  • Word of Glory costs 3 Holy Power and heals up to 250% of your missing health. With Hand of the Protector it heals up to 100% of an ally's missing health.
    • Make sure to cast Word of Glory with Shining Light procs.
    • Use Word of Glory when you are at around >60% Health and have 9 or more seconds left of Shield of the Righteous.
    • Get ready to cast Word of Glory if a big hit is coming and you need to be topped beforehand.

Utilizing Divine Shield, Blessing of Protection and Blessing of Spellwarding

Properly utilizing Divine Shield, Blessing of Protection, and Blessing of Spellwarding allows you to break certain fights and mechanics.

  • Using Hand of Reckoning can be min-maxed where even inside Blessing of Protection or Divine Shield you can keep threat while the 3 seconds duration of Hand of Reckoning are in effect.
  • You can then use a cancel aura macro, such as:
/cancelaura Blessing of Protection  
/cancelaura Divine Shield

in order to cancel the immunity when the 3 second fixate is about to end.

  • The idea is that you're invulnerable during the 3 second fixate of Hand of Reckoning. However, don't cancel too late as you lose all threat when inside Divine Shield and Blessing of Protection without the fixate.
  • Remember that both Blessing of Protection and Blessing of Spellwarding have a shared cooldown.
  • Blessing of Spellwarding prevents the application of many magic damage associated debuffs and Blessing of Protection does the same for physical damage debuffs, such as bleeds.
  • Blessing of Protection can be very useful for making a player that is fixated by enemies immune to their damage which allows them to minmax their DPS/ healing.
  • Often times you can save someone with clever use of Blessing of Spellwarding and Blessing of Protection, which can make progressing a boss much faster than usual.
  • An important thing to note with both Blessing of Protection and Divine Shield is that it can allow you to bypass a mechanic completely if used at the appropriate time, eliminating the spell cast entirely. For example; Divine Shield and Blessing of Spellwarding can be used before Mortal Stoneslam, which prevent Stoneslam Detonation from happening at all.

Understanding Mechanics

Rotational min-maxing is just one aspect of mastering a specialization, but there are numerous other key mechanics that influence your performance. Use the following guides to improve them.

Nerub-ar Palace

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

The following tips are mainly applicable to Heroic Bosses. Mythic tips are going to be released after our progression concludes.

← Scroll for more Bosses

Ulgrax
Bloodbound Horror
Sikran
Rasha'nan
Broodtwister
Nexus-Princess
Silken Court
Protection Paladin Raid Ulgrax

Tank mechanics

  • Brutal Crush
    • After being hit you receive 20 applications of Tenderized which results in a 200% healing reduction.
      • Every second, you lose one application stack which fully clears your debuff after 20 seconds.
      • The boss casts this mechanic roughly every 15 to 20 seconds.
      • As the inactive tank, taunt when the cast succeeds.
      • Divine Shield removes Tenderized.
  • After Hulking Crash the Boss transitions into the intermission.
  • Ravenous Spawn appear in a cocoon on one side of the room, make sure to move there.
    • These cocoons break staggered after some time spawning Ravenous Spawn pick them up and watch aggro since they are spread out.
      • Disembowel is cast on the target that has aggro so watch your DPS and Healer players if they are getting attacked.
    • Disembowel is a bleed which can be removed by Cauterizing Flame and Stoneform.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • At the start of the fight, bring the Boss to a corner as this makes Stalkers Webbing easier to clear.
  • During Carnivorous Contest, use Divine Shield while soaking to not get sucked to the boss.
    • Do not walk under the boss Devour, kills you almost instantly.
  • Clean up any undesired webs from Stalkers Webbing with Divine Shield and Blessing of Protection.
Protection Paladin Raid Bloodbound Horror

Tank mechanics

  • Gruesome Disgorge is both a tank mechanic and a raid mechanic.
    • Gruesome Disgorge is cast at the active tank and shows a huge cone that faces and moves with you.
    • As the inactive tank, taunt when the cast succeeds.
    • When hit by Gruesome Disgorge you and anyone inside the cone is sent into a different phase, Baneful Shift.
      • During the phase, you need to kill the Lost Watcher and Forgotten Harbingers while preventing Blood Horrors from reaching the boss
    • Lost Watcher is your tank target make sure to taunt it.
      • Black Bulwark needs to be interrupted.
      • Spectral Slam is cast on you doing moderate damage.
      • Position the Lost Watcher between or close to Forgotten Harbingers.
      • Save Divine Toll for each add wave that you are tanking in. Use it to interupt the adds and to keep a target locked down with Divine Resonance.
  • Spewing Hemorrhage.
    • Spewing Hemorrhage creates two beams on each side of the boss while being cast.
    • Boss facing determines where the beams are.
    • The active boss tank can move accordingly to adjust final beam positions during the cast.
    • Your goal is to place the beams as far away as possible from the inside group with Baneful Shift.
    • These Beams always turn clockwise so keep that in mind.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • Blessing of Spellwarding can be useful to keep someone alive who is struggling to live or doesnt have a defensive for Goresplatter.
  • The boss can be quite annoying to tank as Protection Paladin because of movement and wanting to be inside Consecration. Make sure to use big defensives while moving for the beams, as you don't need any defensives when you are inside the realm.
Protection Paladin Raid Sikran

Tank mechanics

  • Captain's Flourish is the tank combo mechanic during this fight.
  • Sikran starts with 2x Expose followed by 1x Phase Lunge.
    • Taunting during any of these casts changes the destination target to the taunter. Watch out when to taunt here.
  • Managing Captain's Flourish:
    • The active tank takes two hits of Expose increasing his physical damage taken.
    • The Inactive tank taunts during Phase Lunge increasing his damage taken by the next Phase Lunge.
    • After this combo, the tanks swap roles meaning the tank who took Phase Lunge now takes the next two Expose.
    • While the previous Expose tank now takes Phase Lunge.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • Move the boss to be in a line with the Phase Blades images. This makes it easier for Decimate targets to hit them.
  • Divine Shield is very powerful for removing Expose and Phase Lunge. Use it wisely, but also make sure to not mess up the tank combo otherwise either you yourself or your partner dies.
Protection Paladin Raid Rasha'nan

Tank mechanic

  • Savage Assault is the only tank mechanic on this fight.
    • As the inactive tank, taunt when the cast succeeds.
  • The mechanic does a high amount of damage and applies a dot based on 60% of unmitigated damage done to you, meaning you need mitigate the damage as much as possible.
    • The damage is split into magic and physical damage.
    • Both instances are calculated separately when it comes to the dot application. If you only have a physical absorb, you receive the full magic dot + the unmitigated physical one.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • Use Divine Steed to counter Web Reave.
  • Save Divine Toll for every add wave.
Protection Paladin Raid Broodtwister

Tank mechanics

  • Volatile Concoction is the very short duration tank mechanic.
    • It's very important that the inactive tank taunts when the cast succeeds.
  • When you have Volatile Concoction on you it's very important to stay at the highest HP possible.
    • The debuff is a big magic dot and only 8 seconds long.
    • After the debuff runs out, you explode on the whole raid and the damage is reduced based on your current health percent when the debuffs drops. Staying healthy and as close as possible to 100% is your goal.
    • Volatile Concoction also applies a +damage taken debuff to you preventing you from tacking 2 back to back so make sure to taunt of your partner tank.
  • Experimental Dosage spawns different add types throughout the fight. Your main concern is the Colossal Spider.
    • Whenever they spawn be ready to taunt or attack them to pick up the aggro.
    • They cast Vicious Bite at the target with aggro, this does magic damage to you.
    • At 25% HP they enrage and start stacking up a damage done increase.
    • Whenever you have Volatile Concoction be extra careful of your HP.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • During this fight make sure to position the boss next to the eggs you want to break next.
    • Here you want to make sure that the boss model is not covering the eggs. If it is covering the eggs, it is substantially harder for other players to break them.
  • Use Blessing of Spellwarding for yourself to mitigate Volatile Concoction. Furthermore, use Divine Shield when Colossal Spider's overlap with Volatile Concoction.
Protection Paladin Raid Nexus-Princess

Tank mechanics

  • Void Shredders
    • This ability consists of 4 hits each dealing damage and applying one stack of Chasmal Gash to the active tank.
    • As the inactive tank, you can taunt at any point during the cast or after it is over as it does not change targets.
  • This mechanic is just a regular tank swap mechanic and there is nothing more to it.
    • Sometimes it can be paired with a good amount of raid damage which can be dangerous.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • Use Divine Steed to avoid the pull from Nether Rift.
  • Rotate very strong defensives for each Void Shredders as it does a ton of damage. Speculate using Blessing of Spellwarding on yourself on this boss as well.
Protection Paladin Raid Silken Court

Tank mechanics

  • This council boss consists of two bosses: Anub'arash and Skeinspinner Takazj.
    • Both tanks want to preemptively decide on one boss to start on so make sure that is clear.
  • Anub'arash casts Piercing Strike.
  • Skeinspinner Takazj casts Poison Bolt and Void Bolt which are both magic casts that leave a dispellable dot behind.
  • Piercing Strike deals a decent amount of physical damage to the active tank and leaves an increased damage taken debuff.
    • As the inactive tank, taunt after the cast succeeded.
  • Skeinspinner Takazj casts either of her "Bolt" spells whenever she is not casting any encounter-related mechanic.
    • Both bolts are quite harmless on low stacks, but become dangerous fast when reaching higher stacks.
    • Poison Bolt is a poison only dispel mechanic.
      • Cast Cleanse Toxins to remove this on yourself or the other tank.
    • In Phase 2 Poison Bolt changes to Void Bolt and becomes a magic dispel that can be dispelled by any healer.
  • The goal is to keep the bosses stacked as much as possible while swapping tanking roles after each Piercing Strike.

Boss Tips and Tricks

  • Divine Shield is very strong for removing Piercing Strike stacks.
  • This is a high movement fight, which means that Protection Paladin struggles a little bit. When moving with Piercing Strike or Poison Bolt and Void Bolt be sure to rotate strong defensives as you might not be in Consecration.

Stat Priority

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Blood Death Knight

Understand your secondary stat priority and the tertiary stats needed for optimal performance during Raid as a Protection Paladin. For more detailed information, visit the Stats and Attributes guide.

Survivability

Protection Paladin Survivability Stats in Raids

Damage

Protection Paladin Damage Stats in Raids

Higher Item level items are better in most scenarios. For an accurate representation of what item to equip you should use Simcraft! A static "Stat Priority" is just a starting point and can easily shift depending on your individual gear.

All secondary stats are affected by diminishing returns. Click here to learn more!

Tertiary

  • Avoidance - Great stat to reduce the damage intake of "Area of Effect" abilities.
  • Leech - Provides additional healing through damage dealing.
  • Speed - Niche tertiary that can be very useful and has been proven useful in the past. Makes playing certain mechanics a lot easier.

In Raiding Avoidance is much stronger than Leech and provides a greater benefit to a tank's survivability.

Gear

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin
Overall BiS
Farmable Alternatives
SlotItemLocation
HeadVisor of the Ascended CaptainSikran, Captain of the Sureki
NeckSureki Zealot's InsigniaSikran, Captain of the Sureki
ShoulderEntombed Seraph's PlumesTier / Catalyst
CloakWings of Shattered SorrowRasha'nan
ChestEntombed Seraph's BreastplateTier / Catalyst
WristEverforged VambracesCrafting
GlovesEntombed Seraph's CastigationTier / Catalyst
BeltNether Bounty's GreatbeltNexus-Princess Ky'veza
LegsEntombed Seraph's GreavesTier / Catalyst
BootsEverforged SabatonsCrafting
Ring 1Key to the UnseemingThe Bloodbound Horror
Ring 2Seal of the Poisoned PactQueen Ansurek
Trinket 1Ara-Kara SacbroodAra-Kara, City of Echoes
Trinket 2Skarmorak ShardThe Stonevault
WeaponDuelist's Dancing SteelSikran, Captain of the Sureki
ShieldCrest of the Caustic DespotQueen Ansurek

Below you are presented with a good list of farmable alternatives that are obtainable outside of WoW’s weekly lockout system. While replaced in time as you progress, these offer immediate character power.

SlotItemLocation
HeadWrathbark GreathelmMists of Tinra Scithe
Neck"Emergency Stop" KeychainThe Stonevault
ShoulderEarthshape PauldronsGrim Batol
CloakAnvilhide CapeThe Stonevault
ChestDark Priest's CarapaceThe Dawnbreaker
WristBracers of Umbral MendingGrim Batol
GlovesMachinist's Searing HandguardsThe Stonevault
BeltGirdle of Somber PloysThe Dawnbreaker
LegsLegplates of DualityCity of Threads
BootsBallast SinkersSiege of Boralus
Ring 1Band of the Ancient DredgerSiege of Boralus
Ring 2Devout Zealot's RingThe Dawnbreaker
Trinket 1Ara-Kara SacbroodAra-Kara, City of Echoes
Trinket 2Skarmorak ShardThe Stonevault
WeaponShipwrecker's BludgeonThe Dawnbreaker
Shield Acidslough BulwarkMists of Tirna Scithe

Trinkets

Below you can find active and passive alternatives to our recommended trinkets. Do note that some trinkets are better than others depending on the Raid boss.

Active Trinket alternatives

  • Foul Behemoth's Chelicera
    • Strong trinket for both defensive and offensive value.
  • Swarmlord's Authority
    • Haste statstick, that gives a good all-around absorb on use every 1min.
    • Due to having only haste as a stat, only recommended if the absorb is needed.
  • Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg
    • Strong trinket that gives stacking strength that diminishes when moving. Additionally, while moving you gain your highest secondary stat, which also diminishes when stationary. On Use makes you able to not lose any stats for 20 seconds on a 2 minute cooldown allowing you to minmax the effectiveness.
  • Mad Queen's Mandate
    • Damage on use, nerfed for tanks by 33% compared to a DPS spec.

Passive Trinket alternatives

  • Ceaseless Swarmgland
    • Passive trinket that does damage and provides little damage reduction.
  • Void Pactstone
    • Trinket proc does some damage and provides haste, not the best.

Embellishments

  • 2x Elemental Focusing Lens.
    • Craft preferred on Rings, Neck, Bracers.
    • It's possible to put on any crafted piece.

Remaining Sparks

  • Crafted items are 636 item level and regular items are 639 on max item level, therefore, it's a small loss to equip crafted items outside of your 2x embellishments unless you don't have access to other high item level gear on that slot.

Simcraft

To find the best combination of gear available to you or identify the best possible upgrades, visit our Simcraft guide to learn how to utilize Simcraft easily and effectively.

Consumables

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin
  • Phials
    • Flask of Alchemical Chaos -- maximum DPS.
    • Flask of Tempered Swiftness -- less DPS but more survivability.
  • Food
    • Feast of the Divine Day
  • Combat Potion
    • Tempered Potion
    • Potion Bomb of Power -- group potion, this is a DPS loss for you.
  • Health Potion
    • Algari Healing Potion
  • Weapon Stone/Oil
    • Ironclaw Whetstone -- this 1260 strength and is your default.
    • Oil of Deep Toxins -- Damage
    • Algari Mana Oil -- Crit + Haste
  • Augment Rune
    • Crystallized Augment Rune
  • Sockets
    • Masterful Emerald
    • Culminating Blasphemite -- Unique, use one of each gem colour to enhance your Blasphemite.
      • Quick Onyx
      • Quick Ruby
      • Quick Sapphire

Enchantments

HeadNerubian Gemweaver
NeckMagnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x
CloakEnchant Cloak - Chant of Winged Grace
ChestEnchant Chest - Crystalline Radiance
WristEnchant Bracer - Chant of Armored Avoidance
Nerubian Gemweaver
BeltNerubian Gemweaver
LegsStormbound Armor Kit
BootsEnchant Boots - Scout's March
Ring 1Enchant Ring - Radiant Haste
Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x
Ring 2Enchant Ring - Radiant Haste
Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x
WeaponEnchant Weapon - Authority of Radiant Power
Protection Paladin Raid

You buy ‍Nerubian Gemweaver from the Great Vault Vendor to add sockets to your Helm, Wrists and Belt.

Races

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

In this section of the Protection Paladin Raid Guide, we showcase and explain how impactful certain racials can be in World of Warcraft:

  • Stoneform -- Dwarf
    • Might of the Mountain gives 2% crit damage and healing, which is very strong for Protection Paladin.
    • Valuable due to the fact that you can dispel yourself or remove dangerous bleed effects.
    • Gives 10% physical DR which can be like a small extra personal as a tank for 8 seconds.
  • Arcane Torrent -- Blood Elf
    • Strong racial to dispel or purge enemies, the value is very limited but sometimes can come in handy.
  • War Stomp -- Tauren
    • Strong AoE stun that can be used as a stop that lasts for 2 seconds.
    • Brawn gives 2% crit damage and healing
Protection Paladin Race sims for Raid

Recommendation

I almost always play Dwarf since they are the overall strongest offensive (tied with Tauren) race, as well as being the strongest defensively because of Stoneform ability to remove nasty debuffs.

Macros

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

Discover recommended macros for Protection Paladin for Raids and watch a quick video guide on creating simple macros for your character.

Macro Import Guide Video

Taunt Macros

Taunt at Mouseover --- Mouseover macro for Hand of Reckoning (Taunt) that allows you to get aggro easily from targets that just come into view or spawn without having to change target. If you have no mouseover it taunts your primary target.

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][]Hand of Reckoning

Boss 1 Taunt --- Casts Hand of Reckoning on Boss1

/cast [@boss1] Hand of Reckoning

Boss 2 Taunt --- Casts Hand of Reckoning on Boss2

/cast [@boss2] Hand of Reckoning

Mouseover Macros

Focus Macros

Utility Macros

Player Macros

Addons

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

Below, you see a screenshot of the author's User Interface for their Protection Paladin, outlining which addons are used and how they are utilized in Raids to make your life easier.

Fixed Protpala Raid Mxr 1024 X 647
Protection Paladin Interface in Raids

Addons

Weakauras

Changes this Patch

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

Patch 11.0.2

Patch 11.0.1

FAQ

Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Protection Paladin

Q: Why do I keep dying?

Credits

Written By: Andybrew

Reviewed By:

© 2024 Maxroll Media Group, All Rights Reserved