Swapping to prot to level 88-90?

[Bryce]

I keep pulling way to much while leveling as ret and just go splat in a couple seconds. I'm wondering if I could get the same leveling speed if I went prot from 88 til 90 now. Since things are starting to hit a lot harder and seem to be in packs, etc. If I just start pulling 4-6 packs (which I can live as prot) would it be just as fast or should I just stay ret and pull more carefully?

[Kuthe]

I actually leveled from 85-90 in Guard spec as a dr00d.
Just either Cat formed solo mobs, or Bear formed and grabbed a heap and pulled them all.
I don't play Warriors, haven't for ages, but as log as you can heal yourself, then you'll be fine.

[Deleted]

I actually leveled from 85-90 in Guard spec as a dr00d.
Just either Cat formed solo mobs, or Bear formed and grabbed a heap and pulled them all.
I don't play Warriors, haven't for ages, but as log as you can heal yourself, then you'll be fine.

I am sorry, but this is relevant to the OP how exactly? He is asking about going from Retribution to Protection "Paladin" not druid or warrior, because those two classes you listed are far different from Paladin.

At the OP, stick with retribution, protection damage is soo low that you will be crying to kill something, sure you will not die, but the damage outside avengers shield is just not there. Stick with retribution, use hammer of righteous as opener on mobs, build hopo and burst them down with aoe. I find that using Selfless healer is very good for retribution and has great synergy with Supplication.

Also adding some survival glyphs like Divine Protection (extra Physical dmg reduction) and Templar's Verdict really helps. But my honest advice to you would be not to level as protection paladin, because the damage is very poor, at least that is what i feel.

Hope this helps you and happy levelling.

[Bryce]

As prot I can pull literally endless amounts and basically keep SOI to keep me alive, but it does take a while to kill though. I may just go prot when a mage friend gets on so he can do the killing while I do the pulling of mass mobs lol.

I just tried questing as Ret again and yea, I'm doing something wrong or it's just hopeless. I keep trying to pull 8-10 mobs at a time -__-. So I just gave up and went back Prot. I'm now pulling anywhere from 40k to 55k and about 24k hps on aoe packs with about 12-15k vengeance at the least. Yes, I pull a shit ton of things every pull XD. I'm kinda mote farming to so that's also why.

[Rocketsauce]

I keep pulling way to much while leveling as ret and just go splat in a couple seconds. I'm wondering if I could get the same leveling speed if I went prot from 88 til 90 now. Since things are starting to hit a lot harder and seem to be in packs, etc. If I just start pulling 4-6 packs (which I can live as prot) would it be just as fast or should I just stay ret and pull more carefully?

I just dinged 90 on my paladin yesterday (2nd 90).

I went prot until 89, and then the HP on mobs got so high it started taking 2 minutes to kill a single mob.

Sure, I could pull 5 of them at once and not die, but it took SO LONG.

So I went ret, bought a green set of 408 and had a 435 2hander from running a dungeon.

Flew through 89 like it was going out of style.

[Ulvhedner]

I lvled my DK as blood, once you pick up enough mobs and get a nice amount of vengeance, killing 10 mobs as a tank would take the same time to kill 5 mobs for a DPS

[sandbenders]

I am leveling Ret, and just shy of 89 right now. I also die if I pull 8-10 mobs, but I can do fine with 3 or 4, as long as I have a few cooldowns. I haven't had many situations were I just couldn't avoid pulling that many. I think the key may be using your heals and cooldowns like you vote- early and often. My main has been a shaman, with no amazing defensive cooldowns, so I have learned to heal when things are starting to go down hill, not when I'm already at the bottom. Bubble and Lay on Hands are also among the best 'Oh Shit' buttons in the game. Also, don't be afraid to run away if you're really screwed. I also use Word of Glory a lot for self-healing. That slows things down a bit, but a 3HP-Word of Glory is a big heal. Divine Purpose has saved me a few times when bubble and LoH are both on cooldown, although it's obviously not reliable.

Overall, I'm a sorta-casual player and have been doing fine with Ret- I'm not some crazy videogame ninja, so I think it's pretty do-able. Hopefully this helps.

-SB

[Lanthanum]

My paladin hit 90 yesterday and I leveled as Prot from 85-90.

I have to admit it was quite a painful experience. You never have to worry about dying but the speed at which you kill things is abysmal. I started on some of the dailies and quickly decided that I can't do it as Prot. I will be questing as Ret from now on.

[Canadin]

did ret until 87-88 levelling swapped to prot. Between the insta-queves for instances and quest rewards it's pretty painless. Pretty easy to pull 6-10 mobs with out going splat and you can keep fighting literally forever. It does get tedious sometimes though. Good luck

[Maruka]

I leveled it all as prot and it isnt horrible if you can pull a bunch of mobs and aoe them down. The minute the area is full and its a fight for tags and you have to pull one at a time (golden lotus daily style) its painful as hell to do.

Also, yes it is very hard to die as prot leveling.

[Ferocity]

Do some Alterac Valleys in-between quests. Pick up any resource on your way (competitive exp) if you have gathering prof. Your goal is to get lv90 before you are done with Kun-Lai Summit. Don't level in Townlong Steppes/Dread Wastes no matter the spec, it takes just way too long with all those fat mobs having anti-melee abilities.

[Deleted]

Just remember to use seal of insight if you'va got to many mobs.
It's WAY superior to damage seals+WOG on ret.
Slow swing speed-> procs every attack-> heals a lot if used with hammer of the rightous.
I handled 3-4 quite fine while leveling, and can now take on 6-8 without using cooldowns.

[seijo]

You won't die as much but damn it'll be a slow painful experience. In fact I was even killing much faster using Holy :P The good news is you'll be able to solo rares easier. Best solution would be simply to stay Ret and stop pulling large packs. Even if you do, we have so many cooldowns that a random bad pull shouldnt be killing you so often.

[sandbenders]

Overall, I'm a sorta-casual player and have been doing fine with Ret- I'm not some crazy videogame ninja, so I think it's pretty do-able. Hopefully this helps.

So I owe you an apology for the above statement, OP. I just started leveling my elemental shaman, and I'm blowing through mobs like a hot knife through butter. Ret is slow, I just never realized it because I had nothing to compare it to. I would say the survivability of my pally is better but now that I see how much faster the elemental shaman is, I understand the temptation to pull several mobs at once.

-SB