Prot Paladins looking forward to MoP?

[Tholle]

Both yes and no. I'm looking forward to MoP due to me being bored out of my mind with Cataclysm at the moment, and wanting to see how the new changes play out. However at the same time I don't like the new talents at all, and find most of them quite useless as a tank - I'm not that fond of Blizzard giving us even less talents to pick from, making things even simpler.
I will still play my pally though, but if things are really bad and I won't like playing my paladin as my main anymore, then this might be the expansion that'll stop me playing WoW.

[Noradin]

Yes, for the most part I think MoP will be fun (I'm not sure about better but it will be interesting enough I guess).
I'm still a bit confused why they give both ret and prot CS and HotR but have only HotR apply the debuff on mobs (for both specs), why not apply it with either one? They share the same CD so prot will only ever use HotR if it stays the way it is. I would like to see a difference between tanking one mob and many the way it is now.
Anyone willing to post this concern on the US boards?

[Krowz]

Yes, for the most part I think MoP will be fun (I'm not sure about better but it will be interesting enough I guess).
I'm still a bit confused why they give both ret and prot CS and HotR but have only HotR apply the debuff on mobs (for both specs), why not apply it with either one? They share the same CD so prot will only ever use HotR if it stays the way it is. I would like to see a difference between tanking one mob and many the way it is now.
Anyone willing to post this concern on the US boards?

I agree here with the debuff only being applied through HoTR. It's strange having to weave it into your single target rotation. There is a glyph to extend its duration by 50% which helps, but I like the current glyph set up and don't really want to change it. I suppose thats on me though.

Playing prot feels fine on beta. With the shield slam buff lasting only a few seconds, its incredibly rewarding to pool your holy power and time everything to consecutively keep it up for 10~ seconds straight during heavy damage phases. I like this a lot because its no longer pushing buttons to hold threat when threat is a joke, but pushing buttons properly directly affecting your survivability. Having 5 max holy power makes the system feel much smoother, especially with having Judgement generate HoPo too, though I think they should experiment with having Shield throw generate it as well and not just when you get a proc.

My only issue is snap aggro. CS/HoTR has a 4.5s cd on beta and only a 3s cd on live. This difference is extremely noticeable. Its a pain when you have Holy Wrath down and are waiting on the cd of HoTR and a group gets pulled or someone just edges over your threat. But really at this point paladins just need major number tuning. Shield slam is extremely weak compared to live but obviously this is adjustable and what beta is for. My damage was so laughable while leveling that my guild mate actually watched as I tried to kill a regular quest mob with a stopwatch up. 40 seconds. Shield slam hitting for only 6k is unbelievably painful and frustrating, so hopefully they fix our damage a bit soon.

[Malthanis]

If you think the current paladin tanking system is better than the cast sequence system we had before you are not paying attention... that your you are a cat and a laser pointer is fun. There is nothing at all complicated about the current system. Forcing me to pay attention to a boring system is not better than being able to ignore a boring system.

Being forced to pay attention to any system is better than what Wrath had. The only problem with the system in Cata was that it didn't go far enough. The only time our resources directly affected our survivability was in T11, when we had a WoG with no CD and the original Holy Shield was a buff from using ShotR (and WoG, if talented). But the only reason they took that away is because they were still trying to balance us against passive mitigation (i.e. block, which we were the most effective at capping). Now that they've reduced the effect of block on our base mitigation, they've opened up new ways for us to increase our own survivability without making us overpowered.

If MoP turns tanking out the way the devs want, we'll have to pay attention so we can hit the right buttons at the right time. There will be a difference between actual good tanks and those that just stand there like a pile of meat hitting random buttons to keep threat.

[Farabee]

While I love my protadin (been my main since the end of BC) and would love to continue playing him in MOP, I just feel that the Brewmaster Stagger mechanic is going to be ridiculously broken, like the way Blood Shield is in DS but worse. I don't see many HM fights being done with anything but a Brewmaster as MT just because of how ridiculously OP it is, especially with the current Mastery scaling. Hence, I'm going to be leveling a monk with RAF (if it's allowed) to get it to 90 ASAP along with my paladin, and gear both concurrently to see which one ends up being better for most fights.

One thing that I really hate is having our CS and HOTR put back to 4.5 second cooldowns, which will make tanking a lot more boring.

[Tomana]

100x this.

Holy Power killed my Paladin for me, especially Holy.

O_o
Holy power is awesum! (especially the mop version where you can stack 2 more of it in reserve)

[Rivin]

I'm still a bit confused why they give both ret and prot CS and HotR but have only HotR apply the debuff on mobs (for both specs), why not apply it with either one? They share the same CD so prot will only ever use HotR if it stays the way it is. I would like to see a difference between tanking one mob and many the way it is now.

I suppose they wanted it to be like the other tanks'. Warriors have to weave Thunder Clap into their attacks every 30 seconds, druids have to use Thrash, monks have to use Keg Smash. DKs either have to give up a Death Strike to reapply Blood Plague when Outbreak is on cooldown or use a glyph slot to remove that cooldown.

[Krowz]

More self-solo ability, more downtime between CS. Yeah, i'll be honest, i dislike how there's a lot more waiting around for ability CD's in MoP. Makes the "rotation" seem lacking in direction.

Its all about timing. You have to line up your holy power to properly deal with burst damage phases. It will separate good tanks from the average.

[Jinivus]

monks have to use Keg Smash.

As of a couple days ago, monk's 'primary' attack(2 Chi on a 10ish second CD) caused the attack slow. That's merely nitpicking though

[Rivin]

As of a couple days ago, monk's 'primary' attack(2 Chi on a 10ish second CD) caused the attack slow. That's merely nitpicking though

That's Keg Smash.

EDIT: The attack speed slowing debuff is gone in MoP, BTW. It's just 10% physical damage reduction.

[Jinivus]

That's Keg Smash.

EDIT: The attack speed slowing debuff is gone in MoP, BTW. It's just 10% physical damage reduction.

Keg smash is great though, you wont be avoiding it on single target by any means. 2 chi and does like twice as much damage from my experience.

[Rivin]

Keg smash is great though, you wont be avoiding it on single target by any means. 2 chi and does like twice as much damage from my experience.

Well, monks are new and things are constantly changing, so we'll see. It's not exactly consistent between classes yet (DKs apply Weakened Blows with a single-target spell, but not a primary attack).

[Austilias]

My only problem is one that is shared with Rogues; the 'combo' system, be it combo points or holy power.

Frankly, the Monk Chi system is what Holy Power/Combo Points should have been. Is there any point to a mechanic whereby you have to have the maximum amount of points/charges for it to be effective, or to even use certain skills? A monk can fire off Fists of Fury and then use the remaining Chi for a Blackout Kick, to name but one example; that is a combo, and they do not lose any DPS on it, and on the contrary, it's what they're supposed to do. What do Rogues/Paladins do? Mindlessly attack until they get their magic 3 HP/5 Combo Points; using these resources before then is absolutely useless.

[Nnyco]

When they released holy power I gave up on my paladin. I played him through all of BC and Wotlk and loved him but as soon as holy power was introduced I had enough. I switched to warrior and have had a blast with him but I still miss my Paladin. I think it has a lot to do with having only a handful of abilities I actually need. Most of the stuff on my bar is never used or rarely used.

I really hope its better in MoP but I have a feeling that Paladin is just going to be more of the same.

smashin buttons, keepin skills on cooldown sure was awesome, oh no i actually look now what i have todo... NEW CLASS PLEASE

[Velosite]

I like pallys now /shrug. I liked them before too but meh. It's a game, just gotta go with it.

[Noradin]

I suppose they wanted it to be like the other tanks'. Warriors have to weave Thunder Clap into their attacks every 30 seconds, druids have to use Thrash, monks have to use Keg Smash. DKs either have to give up a Death Strike to reapply Blood Plague when Outbreak is on cooldown or use a glyph slot to remove that cooldown.

Those abilites don't share their CD with the primary (resource generating) attack which currently feels to be the only difference between AoE and single target tanking, do they?

[Rivin]

Those abilites don't share their CD with the primary (resource generating) attack which currently feels to be the only difference between AoE and single target tanking, do they?

Believe me, I'd love to have Weakened Blows reattached to CS. I'm just thinking that that's Blizzard's logic.

[Zavala_451]

100x this.

Holy Power killed my Paladin for me, especially Holy. I've kept him alive during Cata due to all the achievements, but as soon as MOP lands I'll likely vendor all his gear, equip him in a Transmog set and park him.

They've made some nice tweaks in MOP, but Holy Power's still as clunky as ever. I'm also looking at swapping to my Warrior, or Druid, or DK, or roll a Monk!

While HP didn't really work for ret, it was my opinion that it really shone in holy. It feels so natural to build up a holy light or power within yourself then release it to heal your allies, and didn't feel clunky. We should have another resource for ret and prot...something like energy, would make it feel so much better.

[Adominitis]

Prot Pally tanking as of right now has to be the most boring thing I can think of within the Paladin's range of specs. I'm glad these changes are coming to Prot adding a little bit more complications is a good thing not bad, otherwise ill just fall asleep while tanking. That's a big part of why I went from tanking mainly to pure DPS.

[Noradin]

Believe me, I'd love to have Weakened Blows reattached to CS. I'm just thinking that that's Blizzard's logic.

Maybe. I wish I could post concerns like this on the feedback thread, but it is in the US forums.