March 25th, 2008
*****This Paladin leveling guide is now outdated due to the new Wrath of the Lich King expansion. A newer guide will be posted when new data and strategies are tested*****
Paladin Protection tree AoE leveling guide is currently a work in progress. This guide is the result of countless hours of work by various authors that I rounded up and mixed together into this post. This will be a summary of their work and my experiences following their guidance. Feel free to look at their guides and do your own research.
I just created my Paladin and would like to see what it is like to level my pally using the Protection Tree, aka AoE Prot Pally, that I heard so much about lately.
Pro:
- Mobs practically kill themselves!
- Handle 5-6+ mobs equal or lower, 4 mobs two levels above, with full health and mana
- Extremely tough to gank, in PvP servers
- Great practice for tanking; ready to tank instances
- Safer than Frost Mage AoE grinding
Con:
- Weak DPS against single mob compared to Ret Paladin
- Caster/Ranged mobs will be a problem as they avoid your damage mitigation
- Popular grinding spots can often be busy
The main idea of Prot Pally AoE grinding is to have a lot of reflective damage and mitigation damage while taking on 4+ mobs, preferably melee. One or two ranged/casters might be unavoidable but they do make things harder for you.
Reckoning and Seal of Light are the bread and butter of the AoE Protection as this skill will able you to get extra attacks in while 4+ mobs are beating on you, thus proc’ing this talent, while Seal of Light heals you on chance on hit. Since Reckoning is a Level 30 talent (max at level 35) and Paladins obtain plate armor and Holy Shield at level 40, most guides don’t recommend starting AoE Protection grinding till level 40.
Gear:
As all the guides will say, Shield Spike is very important part of Prot Spec grinding. This is combined with a good 1-handed weapon, no faster than 2.1 speed to get the 4 hits in (tip provided by a user). Other than these two essential pieces, anything with reflective damage is welcome but don’t go out of the way for them. Shield Spikes requires a Blacksmith to put them on a shield.
Try to aim for items with reflective damage, if possible, but they are not needed. As for stats, look for Stamina, Intellect, and Defense. This is optional but a Firey, Crusader, or Lifestealing weapon enchant would be a great bonus. I would aim for Firey mainly because it is cheaper and weapons are quickly replaced, but Lifestealing would be best.
Shield Spike
Felsteel Shield Spike
Thorium Shield Spike 20-30 damage (recommended)
Mithril Shield Spike 16-20 damage (second option)
Notable Gear
Weapons
Sword of Serenity - Scarlet Monastery - Quest Reward (Alliance)
Sword of Omen - Scarlet Monastery - Quest Reward (Horde)
Flurry Axe - World Drop (Fast speed for Reckoning plus extra attacks = more heals)
Thrash Blade - Maraudon - Quest Reward (Extra attacks are nice)
Shields
Aegis of the Scarlet Commander - Scarlet Monastery - Commander Mograine
Gizlock’s Hypertech Buckler - Maraudon - Tinkerer Gizlock (Mana regen shield!!)
Aegis of Stormwind - World Drop
Skullflame Shield - World Drop
Force Reactive Disk - Engineer 300 (Must get for those with Engineer and spare gold to craft)
Petrified Lichen Guard - Zangarmarsh - Sporeggar Rep (Honored) 15x Glowcap - Mycah (high recommended)
Armors
Herod’s Shoulder - Scarlet Monastery - Herod
Carapace of Tuten’kash - Razorfen Downs - Tuten’kash (Crypt Fiend - ring the gong)
Icemetal Barbute - Razorfen Downs - Amnennar the Coldbringer
Truesilver Breastplate - Blacksmith 245
Big Bad Pauldrons - Zul’Farrak - Chief Ukorz Sandscalp (Talk to the goblin after the alter event - Don’t kill him)
Wyrmslayer Spaulders - World Drop (If can’t get Big Bad Pauldron as this only cost gold)
Demon Forged Breastplate - Blacksmith 285
Bracers of Valor - Blackrock Spire - Random Drop (check the AH for this item)
Belt of Valor - Stratholme - Random Drop (check AH for this item)
Boots of Valor - Scholomance - Kirtonos the Herald (aka Batman)
Gauntlets of Valor - Stratholme - Ramstein the Gorger
Spaulders of Valor - Blackrock Spire - Warchief Rend Blackhand
Helm of Valor - Scholomance - Darkmaster Gandling
Rings & Trinkets
Dragonclaw Ring - Razorfen Downs - Quest Reward
Arena Master - Stranglethorn Vale event (Arena area) - 3 hr spawn time starting midnight server time (You might need to bring a few friends…)
Mark of the Chosen - Maraudon - Quest Reward (Excellent trinket)
Figurine - Truesilver Crab - Jewelcraft 225
Uther’s Strength - World Drop
Hand of Justice - Blackrock Depths - Emperor Dagran Thaurissan
Naglering - Blackrock Depths - Golem Lord Argelmach
(More to come)
Spells/Talents/Abilities:
Retribution Aura
Blessing of Sanctuary (this is combined with a Shield Spike for added effect)
Improved Righteous Fury
Seal of Light
Consecration
Holy Shield (use this after Redoubt proc for added effect)
Protection AoE Strategy:
Have Retribution Aura, Righteous Fury, and Blessing of Sanctuary buffs on. Round up mobs then activate Seal of Light then cast one or two Consecration. Use Holy Shield for more damage mitigation and reflective damage at level 40. Judge Seal of Light if health gets low then reactivate again. Rinse and Repeat.
Keep Seal of Light up at all times and judge it when buff timer is running low. Don’t bother chasing after mobs when they run away, just target another mob, the mob will come back…they always do… OH, don’t forget to Bubble if things get rough…heck, hearth too if you feel like it, especially when a level 70 tries to gank you…haha. You will be surprise how well you fair against melee classes couple levels higher than you.
Leveling/Grinding:
I will be using Jame’s Horde Leveling guide to help speed things up while following Insanity’s Retribution build to level 35, you can continue to level 40 as a Ret Pally but I want to try out Prot Spec Paladin as soon as possible.
Basic Retribution Attack Order
Seal of the Crusader -> Judgement -> Seal of Righteous/Seal of Command -> Consecration (optional) -> Judgement (optional to finish off mob)
Level 40 Ret Build Order
Improved Blessing of Might -> Improved Judgement -> 3/5 Benediction -> Seal of Command (replace Seal of Righteous) -> Pursuit of Justice (love this) -> Conviction -> 5/5 Benediction -> Two Handed Weapon Specialization -> Sanctity Aura (replace Retribution Aura) -> Vengeance -> Repentance
Insanity recommends carrying around a 2-handed weapon as well for single mobs. As for Protection Tree build, there are Iloveari’s build and Insanity’s build up to level 60. Both specs seem reasonable but I’ll comment on them when I have actually experience using them.
Iloveari spends 41 talent points into Protection and 10 points into Holy Tree, starting at level 41. Insanity goes deep into Protection tree with 44 points, obtaining Ardent Defender in the process but only investing 2 points into One-Handed Weapon Specialization, and finishes with 5 points into the Retribution tree. Note: Iloveari’s build seems incomplete so I used his level 70 build to fill in the gaps, while Insanity suggest you stop Prot AoE grinding at 58 and respec to Ret, then enter the Outlands.
Level 40 Protection Spec Build Order
Redoubt -> Toughness -> Blessing of Kings -> Improved Righteous Fury -> Shield Specialization -> Precision -> Blessing of Sanctuary -> Reckoning -> Sacred Duty -> 2/5 One-Handed Weapon Specialization (Iloveari goes for 5/5) -> Holy Shield
Basic Protection Attack Order
Seal of Light -> Consecration (1 or 2 times) -> Holy Shield
That’s it. Just keep Seal of Light up and judge it when timer is low. Make sure Blessing of Sanctuary and Righteous Fury is up. Simple.
My Experiences:
I respec to Prot at level 35, however, the swtich was a little rough for me as I need to level my one hand weapon skill and overcome my Ret seal/judgement attack routine. At this level, I’m missing Holy Shield talent and damage mitigation of plate armor of level 40.
I initially wasted too much mana as I would activate and judge Seal of Light on the first mob and pretty much anytime Seal of Light’s timer is low. After many practice pulls, I realize you don’t really need to judge Seal of Light till you need health as the extra heals are not needed at the start of the battle where you are near full health. Plus, as your weapon skill catches up to your level, procs from Seal of Light becomes more frequent.
I’m also still doing killing quests since I’ll be AoE grinding certain mobs anyways. I’ll switch to pure AoE grinding later to see if there’s a difference in leveling speed.
HotSpots (Iloveari and WowWiki)
30-32 — Duskwood - Nightbane Vile Fang
32-34 — Desolace - Hatefury Satyrs
35-38 — Dustwallow Marsh - Mirefin Murlocs
40-42 — Badlands - Earth Elemental, Ogres, Troggs
41-43 — Swamp of Sorrows - Murlocs
43-46 — Feralas - Woodpaws
45-48 — Tanaris - Southsea Pirates
46-48 — Tanaris - Ogres
46-48 — Feralas - Frayfeather Skystormers
48-50 — Feralas - Harpies
48-50 — Blasted Lands - Nethergarde Miners (Horde Only?)
48-50 — Un’Goro Crater - Marshland Raptors
48-51 — Tanaris - Thistleshrubs
50-54 — Western Plaguelands - Sorrow Hill & Felstone Field Undeads
52-60 — Dire Maul East - Lashers
54-56 — Felwood - Iron Tree Woods cave Elementals
54-59 — Western Plaguelands - Dalson’s Tear Undead
54-60 — Western Plaguelands - Scarlet Lumberjacks
Resources:
Iloveari’s Prot Spec Leveling and Hotspots
Insanity’s Retribution/Protection
WowWiki Paladin AoE Grinding
wowPaladin.org Protection Tree Leveling
Jame’s Horde Leveling Guide (2.3 friendly)
Jame’s Alliance Leveling Guide (2.3 friendly)
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