Introduction
Hey everyone, I’m Nate, a main tank in Method. I’ve played every tank at a top level over the years, in both the RWF and High Mythic+.
The guide was written by Asa Spades at the beginning of Dragonflight and updated for Patch 10.1 by Nate.
What has changed
Changes for Protection Paladin in Patch 10.1.7
In patch 10.1.7, Protection Paladins aren’t seeing any changes, just like most classes and specs unfortunately. They are definitely still a powerhouse in regards to their strength both offensively and defensively, in both raid and mythic plus.
Changes for Protection Paladin in Patch 10.1.5
In patch 10.0.5, Protection Paladins are seeing some buffs to their mana pool and mana costs of certain abilities; an interesting addition to the list of spells that have mana costs is Word of Glory.
The mana changes are to coincide with the adjustments Blizzard are making for all specs, but with word of glory now added to that at a cost of 10% base mana, it’ll be interesting to see how much of a nerf that shapes up to be, if at all.
Outside of that, Protection Paladin is receiving a flat 4% ability damage increase, which is a change intended to counteract the Onyx Annulet 40% nerf that is also arriving with the patch.
Changes for Patch 10.1
In patch 10.0.1, Protection Paladins are seeing some nerfs to our passives among other things. These include:
- Aegis of Light stamina bonus reduced to 30% from 35% and armor bonus reduced to 10% from 15%
- Righteous Protector CDR has gone down to 2s from 3s
- Hand of the Protector is now capped at 100% missing HP
- Rebuke duration decreased to 3s from 4s.
- Abilities and passives like Word of Glory, Bulwark of Order and Moment of Glory were adjusted as compensation changes after the 25% health and damage taken increase that globally happened
First Impressions
Protection Paladin has gone through a lot of changes in Dragonflight. Talent tree changes and tuning have shaken things up, but they’re leaving season 1 in a very solid spot, being the best tank by a good margin, and going into season 2 still very strong despite a few nerfs.
The spec is extremely fun and rewarding to play, offering a ton of utility and damage as well as being a defensive powerhouse.