VertigoElation's Prot Pally Guide
Table of Contents
1: Spell Legend
2: End Game Prot Pally Spec
2.1: Talents and Glyphs
2.2: Purpose and Description
2.3: Entering Battle
2.4: Spell Rotation
2.5: When/How to use other Spells
3.1: Stats
3.21: Gems
3.22: Enchants
4: Professions
5: Macros
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1: Spell Legend
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AS: Avenger's Shield
AW: Avenging Wrath
BK(G): Blessing of Kings (Greater)
BM(G): Blessing of Might (Greater)
BW(G): Blessing of Wisdom (Greater)
BS(G): Blessing of Sanctuary (Greater)
CL: Cleanse
CON: Consecration
DI: Divine Intervention
DP: Divine Plea
DPRO: Divine Protection
DS: Divine Shield
DSAC: Divine Sacrifice
EX: Exorcism
HAND: Hand of Reckoning
HFRE: Hand of Freedom
HJ: Hammer of Justice
HOW: Holy Wrath
HP: Hand of Protection
HR: Hammer of the Righteous
HS: Holy Shield
HSAC: Hand of Sacrifice
HSAL: Hand of Salvation
HW: Hammer of Wrath
JDJ: Judgment of Justice
JDL: Judgment of Light
JDW: Judgment of Wisdom
LOH: Lay on Hands
PUR: Purify
RED: Redemption
RD: Righteous Defense
RF: Righteous Fury
SS: Sacred Shield
SR: Shield of Righteousness
TE: Turn Evil
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2: End Game Prot Pally Spec
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---2.1---
Talents and Glyphs
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Prot Core
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#sZV0tAbuMusIufdxo:pNZmzcEvery Protection Tree should have those talents and glyphs at a minimum. Your last Glyph should be either Glyph of Judgment (Judgments 10% more Damage) or Seal of Vengeance (10 to Expertise when Vengeance is active). You would only use Seal of Vengeance if you aren't at expertise cap. Expertise cap can be anywhere from 41-56 depending on race, spec, and weapon choice.
The first 2 talent trees (Seals, Crusade) are the most common used. All 3 trees have equal survivability and damage mitigation. Seals of the Pure has slightly less threat generation than Crusade but it won't cause problems. The 3rd Tree (Improved Mana) trades off threat to gain mana generation. The loss of threat won't cause any problems. The extra mana generation can go a long way when you are off tank or doing randoms.
Seals of the Pure
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#sVZE0tAbuMGsIufdxb:pN0zcmThis tree takes advantage of your Seal of Righteousness and Vengeance to increase their damage and judgment damage by 15%.
Crusade
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#sZV0tAbuMusIufdxf0x0c:pN0cmzThis takes advantage of the Crusade Talent which adds 3% damage done plus another 3% when dealing with Humanoids, Demons, Undead and Elementals. This spec provides the highest threat generation possible.
Improved Mana
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#sZV0tAbuMGsIufdEobb0M:pN0cmzThis spec reduces the mana cost of all spells you will use while tanking by 10% and you gain 10% of the amount healed in mana. You should never run out of mana. The loss of threat generation is a hair under that of the Seals of the Pure spec thanks to the 2 points in Crusade. I just re-spec’d to this. If you want even better threat generation you can take the 2 points out of Improved Blessing of Might and put them in Conviction. That would give you better threat than Seals of the Pure.
---2.2---
Purpose and Description
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As a Protection Paladin it is your job to make sure you (and/or the other tank) are the only one(s) being hit by any/all mobs/bosses. From time to time there are exceptions but they are few and far between. Protect your healer at all costs.
---2.3---
Entering Battle
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There are a few things to consider when you enter battle. Are you fighting a small group of mobs, large group of mobs, or a boss? All of these are going to determine how you enter. There are something’s that will remain constant.
Before entering battle you should have the following buffs applied to yourself. Righteous Fury, Greater Blessing of Sanctuary, Seal of Vengeance, Divine Plea. Once Divine Plea is up you have about 10 seconds to start your combat rotation. Divine Plea will refresh itself once you hit someone but your opening attack will usually be Consecration. Seal of Vengeance puts out the greatest amount of threat and is spread to multiple targets by Hammer of the Righteous.
When pulling a group of mobs you have a two options besides just running in. Hand of Reckoning and Avenger's Shield. The first is single target while the last hits up to 3 targets that are within 5 yards of each other and dazes them. If your group of mobs has a caster you should always use Avenger's Shield on the caster because they won't be able to cast and should bring them into the melee group or range of your Consecration.
Always turn the boss/mobs away from the rest of the group. Your DPSers will always do more damage when hitting the back. This also protects them from Cleaves allowing the healer to focus only on you. Never let a mob hit you from behind. Adjust yourself so that everyone attacking you is in front of you. That is an easy way to lose a lot of health fast. You should try not to pull the mobs out of your Consecration so if they get behind you just run through the mobs to the other side of it.
One other thing to consider is your Divine Plea. Do your best not to let it fall off of you while it is still on it's cool down. You may have to kite mobs or skip out on some loot to rush to the next group. You can also hit things like rats along the way to keep it up. Your last option for this is to loot while you fight. That is typically frowned upon but it is an available option. Implying these strategies I have been able to keep my Divine Plea up for around 8 minutes while only fighting mobs and never having to reapply it.
---2.4---
Spell Rotation
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Your rotation will consist of 5 spells and is known as the 9,6,9,6,9 rotation. This is because it consists of 3 "9" second rotation spells and 2 "6" second rotation spells.
9 second spells
Consecration
Holy Shield
Judgment
6 second spells
Shield of Righteousness
Hammer of the Righteous
Your Consecration and Holy Shield are actually 8 seconds and your Judgment is 10 seconds. This is why you need 1 talent point in Improved Judgments. It is pointless to have 2 points in there because you won't rotate through your other spells fast enough for it to make a difference. So... What order do these go in? 96969. Some will say it doesn’t matter where you put the spells as long as they are in their prospective cool down spots. This is not true. There are only 2 spells that are interchangeable and which order they go in is debatable. Your rotation will be:
Consecration, Hammer of the Righteous, Holy Shield, Shield of Righteousness, Judgment (repeat)
The 2 that could be switched are Consecration and Holy Shield. Consecration provides instant threat generation while Holy Shield provides instant damage mitigation. I prefer to make sure that I get and keep aggro first.
---2.5---
When/How to use other Spells
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Avenger's Shield: To pull, daze a caster to bring them closer, interrupt a healer.
Avenging Wrath: At the very beginning of a boss fight or when a group of unexpected mobs rushes in and you need to gain instant aggro. Don't use it if you think you might need to use Divine Protection within 30 seconds.
Greater Blessing of _______: Always unless another one of the same classes wants something different. In that case cast the regular blessing of that type on them. Or in a raid situation when you have more than one pally.
Blessing of Kings: Good for every class.
Blessing of Might: Good for Melee classes and Hunters.
Blessing of Wisdom: Casters. Your healer may want this over Kings if they have mana troubles.
Blessing of Sanctuary: Tanks. Every tank needs this over all other blessings.
Cleanse: Handy to dispel yourself for a healer that isn't paying attention. Just make sure that its a spell you are supposed to dispel. It’s better to leave this to the healers.
Divine Intervention: This can be used on that person that loves to pull aggro. NEVER use this on a healer. The only time you might use it on a healer is if you know you are going to wipe. Then you can cast it on the healer so that they can revive everyone to avoid the run back. I ignore it all together.
Divine Protection: This is a great damage mitigation tool that should be used when things get hairy.
Divine Shield: This is an instant aggro wipe. NEVER use it unless you are the last person alive and the boss is near death.
Divine Sacrifice: This is a dangerous spell. In theory nobody should be taking damage but you. Either way. Make sure that the healer is capable of healing you though this. I ignore it.
Exorcism: No reason to use.
Hand of Freedom: Handy to free healers. I never use it though.
Hammer of Justice: Interrupt a healer
Holy Wrath: This is a handy tool for you to use under a number of circumstances. Sends bolts of holy power in all directions, causing X Holy damage to all Undead and Demon targets within 20 yds, and Stunning them for 3 sec. I use this in all the ICC instances and raids. I use it shortly after the pull when all the mobs are in range to gain a bit of extra aggro. Typically after I cast Holy Shield. You can also use this to Stun them while you target that pesky caster who isn't near you to pull aggro on them.
Hand of Protection: This follows the same rules as Divine Intervention. It won't help in wipe events though.
Hand of Sacrifice: This is good for protecting healers or that one person that doesn't pay attention to aggro. I won't waste this on the aggro puller so they learn their lesson. I almost always forget about this spell.
Hand of Salvation: Follows the same rules as Hand of Sacrifice. If at all possible this should be cast before the person you cast it on pulls aggro from you.
Hammer of Wrath: I use this on boss fights whenever it is off cool down.
Judgment of Justice: While it may seem handy there is no real reason to use this.
Judgment of Light: If you don't have to worry about mana why not help the healer out?
Judgment of Wisdom: This is good for maintaining your mana supply.
Lay on Hands: I prefer to use Divine Protection. But you should use this under the same circumstances.
Purify: Cleanse is better. Don't use it.
Redemption: You survived but the healer died.
Righteous Defense: Healer Protection
Sacred Shield: I typically don't use this but I will just before a boss fight.
Turn Evil: I ignore it. It a 1.5 second cast that turns into 5 seconds if you have a bunch of mobs hitting you. Don't lose the aggro.
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3: Stats
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---3.1---
Stats
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In order of importance...
Defense: This is the most important stat until you reach the soft cap at 540. Once you reach 540 a boss can no longer get a critical hit on you. A soft cap means that anything above that 540 cap will provide diminishing returns.
Hit: This comes second until you reach cap at 8%. 7% if you are Draenei.
After you reach your Caps stats should be broken down accordingly. Agility, Defense, Dodge and Parry are nearly equal in value. They are each slightly under each other with the difference from Agility to Parry being a full step.
Agility: This adds to Crit, Armor and Dodge. 100 agility points can be broken down as: 11 points to survival, 82 to damage mitigation, 7 to threat. It provides less damage mitigation than straight up Defense Dodge and Parry but isn't far off.
Defense: This is all Damage mitigation. Any points here after 540 provide stats toward Dodge, Parry, Block.
Dodge: Chance to completely be missed by a melee strike.
Parry: Chance to parry an attack which is almost like a complete miss but it causes you to swing faster.
Stamina: It is a full step under Parry. 1 Stam = 10 health.
Strength: 3 steps under Stam. It adds to your Block and Threat. 100 points could be broken down into 85 towards threat generation and 15 towards damage mitigation.
Block: A step and 1/2 under Strength. Chance to absorb the amount of damage taken.
Expertise: A full step under Block. Prevents your target from dodging or parrying. Only worry about reaching the cap. Expertise cap can be anywhere from 41-56 depending on race, spec, and weapon choice.
Armor: A hair under Expertise. 20 Armor equates to about 1 Stam as far as survivability goes even though it is really damage mitigation. Armor is only good for physical damage taken. It reduces it by a percentage. 29000 Armor will reduce physical damage taken by 65.5% at all times.
---3.2---
Gems
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You should gem according to Stat values. This means that Defense and Hit are going to come first until Cap is reached.
www.wow-gem.comThat website can help you find the gems you need.
Gems are based around 3 basic colors
Red, Blue, Yellow
As such your gear will have slots for those 3 types. Your gears slots will be colored in accordance with these colors. Just because a slot may be red does not mean that a red gem must go into it. That only means that a gem corresponding to the slots color must be there if you want the socket bonus. You will typically ignore this unless it is for your Meta Gem slot. The only other reason would be if you only lose a few points by shooting for your socket bonus. Any more than 5 lost points is not worth the socket bonus. Most of the time the socket bonus isn't worth the loss in Stamina.
Even though your sockets come in 3 colors gems come in 6. The primary 3 plus:
Orange: Fits Red and Yellow
Purple: Fits Red and Blue
Green: Fits Yellow and Blue
Let’s use a purple gem as an example. Sovereign Dreadstone is a Purple gem that gives +10 Strength +15 Stamina. It may be placed in a red or blue socket and still count for the bonus. The gear you place it in requires a Red Gem. The Chaotic Skyfire Diamond is a meta gem that requires 2 blue gems in order to work. Even though the Sovereign Dreadstone is placed in a red socket it still counts as both a red and blue gem and therefore you only need one other blue gem to get your Meta Gem bonus.
To place a gem on a piece of gear hold your mouse over the gear and press Shift + Right Click
Here are a list of the gems you should be using and in the order you should be using them. Only use Defense and Hit gems to reach cap.
Gem Name Color Stat
Solid Dragon's Eye Blue +51 Stam (Requires Jewelcrafting)
Thick Dragon's Eye Yellow +34 Defense (Requires Jewelcrafting)
Rigid Dragon's Eye Yellow +34 Hit Rating (Requires Jewelcrafting)
Solid Majestic Zircon Blue +30 Stam
Nightmare Tear All +10 Agility, Stam, Strength (Always equip 1 of these)
Shifting Dreadstone R/B +10 Agility, +15 Stam
Enduring Eye of Zul Y/B +10 Defense, +15 Stam
Vivid Eye of Zul Y/B +10 Hit, +15 Stam
Glinting Ametrine R/Y +10 Hit, +10 Agility
Meta Socket:
Austere Earthsiege Diamond +2% increased armor from items and +32 Stam
---3.3---
Enchants
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These websites can help you find enchantments you need:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Enchantments_by_slothttp://www.wowhead.com/items=0.6You can also use enchants to reach hit/def cap.
The following listed are Best in slot.
Head: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector (Requires Exalted with Argent Crusade)
Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle (Requires Exalted with Sons of Hodir)
Back: Mighty Armor +225 Bonus Armor or Major Agility +22 Agility
Chest: Powerful Stats +10 Agility, Stam and Strength
Wrist: Major Stamina +40 Stam
Hands: Glove Reinforcements +240 Bonus Armor
Waist: Eternal Belt Buckle +gem socket
Legs: Frosthide Leg Armor +22 Agility, +55 Stam
Feet: Greater Fortitude +22 Stam
Weapon: Mongoose +occasionally increase Agility by 120 and attack speed slightly. Or Exceptional Agility +26 Agility always.
Shield: Titanium Plating +81 Block
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4: Professions
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Helpful website to speed up the process:
http://www.wow-professions.com/#1 Jewelcrafting (My Profession)
3x + 51 Strength or +34 Hit/Defense Gems which comes out to +63 more Stam than 3x+30 Gems. The good thing about being a JC is that if you decide to DPS or Heal you can also make other Gems to help in that endeavor.
#2(Tie) Blacksmithing (My Profession)
+60 Stam or 40 Hit gain which come in the form of 2 extra sockets for gems you can add to your gear. These sockets don't take the place of enchants so you can still use those too. Not quite as valuable as being a JC but you can also make some of your gear to help get started on end game content.
#2(Tie) Mining
+60 Stamina or 600 Health gain from Toughness. Fairly easy to level and compliments Jewelcrafting or Blacksmithing. It is also a form of income.
#4 Enchanting
Provides ring enchants that are as good as the black smithing sockets but it doesn't provide the flexibility of said sockets or Jewelcrafting. You don't need to gather anything for this profession but it is quite costly.
#5 Engineering
You can get a 885 Armor enchant for gloves. You can also get an Agility enchant for you cloak that is about equal with the standard enchant but adds a parachute. The Saronite Bomb can also be used for gaining aggro AOE style.
#6 Inscription
Master's Inscription of the Pinnacle gives 40 dodge rating more than Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle from Sons of Hodir and you don't have to be exalted. However, like Enchanting this profession isn't very flexible.
All others
Not worth it.
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5: Macros
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Here are some helpful macros
Rotation Macro
While in fights this could be the only button you have to press. It is my "1". It only resets after you leave combat so you are going to have to be mindful of where you left off during fights like Escaping the Lich King in Halls of Reflection or the Tribunal of Ages fight in Halls of Stone. That or just use the spells manually. I find this macro quite helpful because it allows me to focus on other things than my rotation. You can also change out your Judgment or create another macro with Judgment of Light if you see fit.
/castsequence reset=combat Consecration, Hammer of the Righteous, Holy Shield, Shield of Righteousness, Judgement of Wisdom
Boss Macro
As you might have guessed I use this macro at the very start of a boss fight. It uses an Indestructible Poition, Avenging Wrath, and any Trinkets that have a DPS type use over Damage Mitigation uses such as dodge or parry.
/use Indestructible Potion
/cast Avenging Wrath
/use (Insert Trinket if applicable)
SHIT! Macro
This is like the boss macro but it is used when things start to go bad.
/cast divine protection
/use runic healing potion
/use fel healthstone
/use (damage mitigation trinket if applicable)
BUFF Macro
This is just going overboard really but its my way of making sure I don't miss something important like Righteous Fury. Press the button 3 times and you have everything you need. Just make sure you don't have someone else targeted.
/castsequence reset=combat righteous fury, greater blessing of sanctuary, seal of vengeance
