WoW Wrath Classic: Protection Paladin PVE Guide (WotLK)

This article is part of a directory: WoW Wrath Classic (WotLK): Complete Guide Directory

Table of contents

Paladin Specialization PvE Guides


Basics	Talents	Skill Rotation
Cooldowns	Stat Priority	Best Professions
Best In Slot Gear

Protection Paladins In WoW Wrath Of The Lich King Basics

There is no better tank in Classic Wrath of the Lich King. Prot Paladins top our WotLK PvE Tank Tier list thanks to impressive stats, abilities, utility, and effectiveness. Simply put, there is no better tanking option for Wrath of the Ling King Classic.

This guide will focus specifically on level 80 content and abilities. It will be updated throughout the Wrath of the Lich King expansion as more content rolls out.

Important New and Reworked Talents and Abilities

Divine Protection - This has been reworked to reduce all incoming damage by 50% for 12 seconds.

Hand of Reckoning - A new taunt that isn't on the global cooldown.

Divine Plea - A cooldown that restores mana to the Paladin.

Hammer of the Righteous and Shield of Righteousness - Core new rotation abilities.

Ardent Defender - An extra burst of survivability in dire situations.

Talent Build for Protection Paladins in WotLK

This is the default talent build for Prot Paladins as they begin endgame content Wrath of the Lich King Classic, complete with the ideal glyphs as well.

prot paladin talents wrath — Image courtesy of https://www.wowhead.com/wotlk/talent-calc

prot paladin glyphs wrath — Image courtesy of https://www.wowhead.com/wotlk/talent-calc

The final glyph will ultimately depend on what blessing you'll be giving to your raid.

Protection Paladin Tanking Rotation

It might seem awkward for a tank to have a rotation, but that's the case with Prot Paladins in Classic Wrath of the Lich King.

Commonly referred to as the 9696 rotation, it references the fact that Protection Paladins use an ability with a 9 second cooldown, then an ability with a 6 second cooldown, and so on and so forth.

The spells are as follows:

Six Second Spells

Nine Second Spells

Avenger's Shield
Judgement of Wisdom (any Judgement technically, but this is the one you'll most likely use most often)
Consecration
Holy Shield

Therefore, your core rotation will be as follows:

Single Target Rotation

You'll slightly mix it up a bit for your AOE rotation.

Multi-Target AoE Rotation

Return to Table of Contents

Prot Pally Cooldown Usage In WotLK

You'll naturally have a lot of cooldowns as a tank. Protection Paladins are no exception to this. You have a lot of tools at your disposal to excel at your job. Whether assisting yourself or others, Protection Paladins are a great asset for your raid.

Avenging Wrath - This is a great way to generate an insane amount of threat, but it also triggers Forbearance, which prevents you from casting some key abilities.
Lay on Hands - Can also trigger Forbearance, but serves as a great "oh crap" button.
Divine Protection - A great way to mitigate incoming damage.
Divine Shield - Another key cooldown to help prevent incoming damage, but this also causes enemies to ignore you. Helpful to use during tank swaps.
Hand of Salvation - Salvation was reworked from a Blessing to a Hand that helps the target's threat.
Hand of Protection - Can make any target, yourself or an ally, immune to physical damage.
Divine Guardian - An incredibly handy damage mitigation ability for your raid or party.
Divine Sacrifice - Another solid group mitigation tool, though this one redirects the damage to you.

WotLK Prot Paladin Stat Priority

The most important stats for Protection Paladins in Wrath of the Lich King Classic will depend on what you're going for. Mitigation and threat have two different stat priorities.

Mitigation Stat Priority

Defense - 540 for Crit Cap
Block value - Max of 2400
Stamina
Armor
Expertise
Strength
Hit Rating

Threat Stat Priority

Defense - 540 for Crit Cap
Stamina
Armor
Block value
Expertise
Hit Rating
Dodge
Parry

Keep in mind that with Expertise, getting to the soft cap of 26 is more important than the hard cap of 56.

Best Wrath Professions for Protection Paladins

Jewelcrafting gives you an impressive amount of stamina through its unique gems, making it one of the best Wrath of the Lich King professions for Prot Paladins.
Engineering gets the second nod here due to its utility and gear made available through the profession. It gives less stamina compared to Mining, Leatherworking, and Enchanting, but the vast amount of utilities it provides makes up for it.

Best In Slot Prot Paladin Gear Pre-Raid and Phase 1 WotLK

We've created a separate article detailing the best-in-slot (BiS) gear for both Pre-Raid and Phase 1 of the expansion. It highlights a number of great options for each equipable item slot. There are also best-in-slot lists for all Paladin specializations at the top of the article.