Paladin Hero Talents — The War Within (11.0.5)
This guide will walk you through the best Hero Talents for Protection Paladin for Raiding and Mythic+, how they impact your gameplay, and more.
Best Hero Talents for Protection Paladin in The War Within
This page is specifically about Hero Talents in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents for Protection Paladin, check out our Talents page:
Raiding Hero Talents for Protection Paladin
Templar
Both Hero Talent choices are as good as each other in raiding. Templar will provide more DPS on Single Target encounters, however it does not provide any raid utility in comparison to Lightsmith.
Lightsmith
Both Hero Talent choices are as good as each other in raiding. Lightsmith provides a wider raid benefit by giving shields to players with Holy Bulwark and buffing players with Sacred Weapons (this damage all gets attributed to you).
Mythic+ Hero Talents for Protection Paladin
Templar
Templar is not very functional in Mythic+ as you need to rotationally use Eye of Tyr and Hammer of Light with Avenging Wrath / Sentinel to get the most out of it.
Additionally, you are actively encourage to de-prioritise Avenger's Shield to make the most of Higher Calling, which can become problematic for your AoE damage output and interrupt potential.
Lightsmith
Lightsmith is the better option for Mythic+ by default due to how Templar plays. It has similar issues with de-prioritizing Avenger's Shield as Blessing of the Forge demands you use Holy Power abilities during Avenging Wrath / Sentinel to get the most out of it.
More importantly, you get full control of when you want to use your defensive cooldowns rather than Eye of Tyr needing to be used on cooldown.
Best Hero Talent Builds for Protection Paladin
Hero Talents Rotation for Protection Paladin
Templar
Playing as a Templar paladin will change your rotational priorities. Eye of Tyr and Hammer of Light must be used on cooldown; therefore, this build works on a 45-second cycle. After casting Hammer of Light Shake the Heavens becomes active, and your focus shifts to keeping this active for as long as possible by generating Holy Power ( Higher Calling).
Lightsmith
There are two main changes to your rotation as a Lightsmith paladin. The first is using Holy Bulwark / Sacred Weapon as they become available. The second is while you are in your Avenging Wrath / Sentinel window, you need to focus on generating as much Holy Power as possible to get the most value from Blessing of the Forge. Outside of these periods, you will go back to your normal rotation.
Changelog
- 22 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5 with new Lightsmith Trees to take the new talent option into consideration.
- 16 Sep. 2024: Changed Hero Talent Tree imagery to be smaller.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Page added.
More Paladin Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Panthea, who raids in Catalyst and is the author of TankNotes. He plays all tanks and is a Moderator for the Hammer of Wrath Paladin Discord. You can follow him on Twitter.
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