Protection Paladin Tank Easy Mode — The War Within (11.0.5)

This build is optimal for pure single-target situations.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

This is our recommended build for AoE scenarios. This works well for AoE Fights in Raids, as well as most Mythic+.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

The main goal of your rotation is to generate Shield of the Righteous charges while also maintaining Consecration uptime.

• Avenging Wrath
• Eye of Tyr if you have 0-2 Holy Power
• Hammer of Light if you have any Blessing of Dawn stacks
• Bastion of Light
• Consecration (if you are not standing in it)
• Shield of the Righteous when you are at 3-5 Holy Power to prevent overcapping on Holy Power.
• Hammer of Wrath
• Judgment
• Hammer of the Righteous / Blessed Hammer if Shake the Heavens is active
• Word of Glory if you have Shining Light and Shake the Heavens is active
• Avenger's Shield
• Hammer of the Righteous / Blessed Hammer if Shake the Heavens is not active
• Word of Glory if you have a charge of Shining Light and are below 50% Health
• Consecration if everything else is on cooldown to refresh the duration

The Protection Paladin rotation is not very complicated since all abilities have different cooldowns, and you basically just press whatever is coming off cooldown next. When two abilities are ready at the same time, you prioritize according to the list above. Having downtime with nothing to cast is not uncommon. Note that casting Consecration overwrites any previously active Consecration on the ground.

A quick word on Auras and how to best pick the one for the situation you are in:

• If you are the only Paladin in your group/raid, you should use Devotion Aura.
• If there is a Holy Paladin in your group/raid, they should be using Devotion Aura, and you should use Retribution Aura.
• If there are multiple Paladins in your group/raid, discuss who should use- which aura.
• If you are mounted, use Crusader Aura.

You can go to the rotation page to find out more about the rotation and what it means for Protection Paladins here.

Note that the above-mentioned points do not include your active mitigation (covered in the defensive spells portion of this page).

Shield of the Righteous and Word of Glory are your two active mitigation abilities (though Word of Glory is a heal, so it does not really mitigate damage). Since Shield of the Righteous is off the Global Cooldown, it is easy to fit in whenever best suited to reduce physical damage intake without upsetting your rotation. However, due to Word of Glory, being on the global cooldown, it is likely to delay your rotation when you use it. There is no issue with this if the healing will save your life.

Shield of the Righteous uptime is relatively high under normal play scenarios. Your aim will be to have it as close to 100% as your gear/talents will allow.

However, if you have low amounts of haste, you will want to pay attention to not overcapping the buff. It can be extended for 3x the base duration 4.5s x 3 = 13.5s. If you are above 9-second duration, try to avoid pressing Shield of the Righteous unless you are about to go over 5 Holy Power.

Due to the strength of Shield of the Righteous, it is best to try to use these cooldowns in a plan based on the damage you anticipate to take.

• Guardian of Ancient Kings should be used before a period of high damage intake or when your healers are unable to heal you for a while.
• Ardent Defender is best used to bypass deadly encounter mechanics or to save your life in critical moments or at the start of an encounter before you get your first Shield of the Righteous.
• Avenging Wrath increases damage done and healing done by 20%, as well as 20% critical strike chance. This is a good offensive cooldown, but also very useful defensively for self-healing.
• Lay on Hands should be used as an emergency reactive cooldown to top yourself off when you have dropped low on health. Note that you can also use it to save other raid members.
• Divine Shield can be used to clear debuffs or avoid fatal damage as you are immune to damage for its duration. Final Stand turns Divine Shield into a usable tank cooldown that makes you immune to damage while also forcing all enemies to attack you; without the Final Stand talent, however, the boss will not attack you and instead move to the next target on the threat table.

You can read more about all the spells in the spell summary page.