Protection Paladin Midnight Gearing Guide

Midnight Season 2 Protection Paladin Tier Set Bonuses:

• (2) Set Bonus: Consecration is 30% larger and enemies inside it have a 5% increased chance to be critically hit by your abilities
• (4) Set Bonus: Enemies hit by Judgment or Blessed Hammers/Hammer Of The Righteous take 20% additional holy damage. If this is a critical hit that damage is increased by 100%

This set gives some additional crit synergy to paladin, where both Templar and Lightsmith already have nodes that encourage stacking it. This is very nice overall, though it does add more emphasis to maintaining Consecration again, otherwise you’ll be missing out on the 5% crit granted by the 2p bonus. Overall this is a very solid bonus and encourages getting more of a stat the paladin already likes.

You should still prioritise the gear you use by running a sim for your character, but the lists below will give you a good idea of what items are considered good for Protection Paladin, and help you target the right content for each piece of loot.

• Overall
• Raiding
• Mythic+

Special Items

Jaw Of The Shackled Goddess (Sword, Ula’tek) - Not only does this weapon come with a double budget of Haste, Prot Paladins best stat, but it also has drops at a higher item level on Mythic and has a proc for even more Haste, making it the best weapon available for defensiveness in season 2.

Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance (Axe, The Coiled Altar) - Like the previously mentioned sword this drops at a higher item level, however instead of a stat proc it comes with a damage proc that can cleave if paired with a trinket off the same boss, making this the best damage option in lower target counts.

Chausses Of Unbound Rancor (Legs, Ula’tek) - Similar to the sword, these legs have a cantrip effect for increased stats and drops at a higher item level, again with an appealing stat in Crit, making this easily the best pair of pants you can get this patch.

Aqirbane Reliquary (Neck, Ula’tek) - The fourth and final cantrip item available to Protection paladins, this one instead boosts Crit, but again it comes at an increased item level and drops with two sockets instead of one, causing it to give more overall stats than any other neck available.

Trinkets

Keeper's Seething Core (Entombed Sentinels) - This stat stick trinket gives flat primary stat along with a stacking haste proc that gives bonus value if you have multiple stacks at once. Since this is paladins best stat, this is looking like one of the best all around options this season.

Gebbo's Bottomless Bag (The Lost Explorers) - Another stat proc trinket, this one rotates between buffs to each secondary stat, which is solid overall but not outstanding

Idol Of The Howling Nexus (Sszorak) - While this trinket is an interesting concept, unfortunately the proc rate and amount are a bit undertuned, making this a relatively weak passive option.

Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique (The Coiled Altar) - The 2nd item required to make the Bite of Zul’jan set, if paired with the previously mentioned axe this is the best damage trinket Prot Paladin has access to in Season 2.

Voracious Heart Of Ula'tek (Ula’tek) - Despite Avenging Wrath being a 1min CD and not lining up perfectly with this trinket, the power it provides during your cooldowns generally outweighs the reduced uptime, making it quite good for burst and overall throughput.

Font Of Venomous Rage (Ula’tek) - This pure damage option likely won’t be good in most situations, however in raid encounters with damage amps or when the fight timer works out nicely for this 4min CD effect this can be extremely potent.

Coiled Fangstone (Altar of Fangs) - Another pure damage option, this one syncs much nicer with Avenging Wrath with it being a 1min CD. Combine that with passive strength instead of a secondary stat, and this is looking like one of the better offensive options this season.

Permafrost Essence (Den of Nalorakk) - This trinket unfortunately caught significant nerfs in season 1, and while the crit rating it provides is still respectable, the consistency of maintaining the effect is a bit lacking, so I generally recommend going for something else.

Idol Of The War Loa (Den of Nalorakk) - This stat proc trinket is a decent option overall, however it's looking like one of the weaker choices compared to similar trinkets since it does not passively give primary stat, making it less consistent.

Resonant Bellowstone (Murder Row) - A passive crit stat stick, nothing super exciting but it is the best passive stat option available from dungeons this season.

Manaheart's Binding Flame (Murder Row) - One of the few defensive trinkets available in season 2, unfortunately the absorb amount is extremely undertuned, so if you want defensive value you’re better off using a stat stick.

Mchimba's Ritual Bandages (Kings’ Rest) - Just like with the Murder Row absorb trinket, the absorb here is very lackluster and is generally best to avoid.

Blazebinder's Hoof (Ruby Life Pools) - This 2min on-use was previously a strong option back in Dragonflight, however with Avenging Wrath now being a 1min CD and tanks getting reduced value from damage effects this is likely something you won’t actively seek out.

Ruby Whelp Shell (Ruby Life Pools) - While this trinket was a decent option back in Dragonflight, with the tank damage reduction on cantrip effects that path is no longer great, and the stat proc isn’t as good as what some of the other trinkets this season provide.

Merektha's Fang (Temple of Sethraliss) - While damage trinkets generally haven’t been good for tanks in the past couple expansions, this one is a decent alternative to the Font Of Venomous Rage if you’re looking to optimize damage in raid.

Tumor Of The Swarm (Voidscar Arena) - After a series of buffs this trinket is now one of the better passive damage options, though the healing remains fairly underwhelming.

Trinket Recommendations

Raid and M+ - Keeper's Seething Core and Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique

Other Good Options - Voracious Heart Of Ula'tek, Font Of Venomous Rage, Gebbo's Bottomless Bag, Merektha's Fang, Tumor Of The Swarm, Coiled Fangstone

Arcanoweave Lining (Armor) - The go-to option in season 1, this is looking like it’ll remain one of the top options in season 2 with its primary stat proc that also buffs a nearby ally for extra value. This also can be crafted on your shield, which similar to a weapon craft is strong early in the season but loses value once you get a myth track option.

Adorned Fang (Armor) - One of the new embellishments coming in 12.1, this instead gives you a stacking Haste buff with a fairly high proc rate, making it competitive with Arcanoweave Lining.

Darkmoon Sigil: Hunt (Weapon) - While this isn’t amazing on its own, since you can throw this onto a weapon craft it has extra value early on when Myth track weapons are scarce, though it loses value later in the season.

Embellishment Recommendations:

If you have access to Mythic Coiled Altar Loot - Arcanoweave Lining on Bracers and Boots

If you don’t - Arcanoweave Lining x2 on Cloak, Bracers, Belt, or Boots

Nebulous Voidcores

The Midnight Season 2 Bonus Rolls (Nebulous Voidcore) will be available from the start of the season as an alternative reward from your Great Vault when you’ve filled at least 3 slots. On top of this, later in the season you’ll be able to obtain one of these a week for a small cost.

Nebulous Voidcore let you target specific loot from a Raid Boss or Mythic+ Dungeon, and once an item is received via Bonus Loot, that item is removed from the Bonus Loot Pool.

Below are the High Priority bonus roll target items and where they drop from:

Omnium Folio

The Omnium Folio is a new player power system released Patch 12.0.7 that will be active for the duration of the Midnight Expansion. By completing a weekly quest, you will unlock more of the Omnium Folio upgrade Tree and can choose from a number of player power enhancements.

Recommended Omnium Folio Powers for Protection Paladin:

• Row 1: Rune Of Unleashed Fire
• Row 2: Rune Of Self-Mending
• Row 3: Rune Of Lingering
• Row 4: Rune Of Critical Power
• Row 5: Rune Of Overload

For more information on this system, check out Method’s Omnium Folio Overview Guide.