Hey guys, very new to tanking as I've been a caster for the past 5 years on my Mage/Lock/SP.
I'am trying to figure out which class has the better dps/survivability, Prot. Pally or Warrior.
From what guildies have said the pally is the way to go.
I dont intend to raid with this guy but I do intend to be able to solo stuff like ICC at 90 as best I can, its more of a challenge project than a progression through raiding thing I'am trying to achieve.
Most vids I've seen show either a DK or a Warrior so was a bit surprised to see a pally thrown into the mix as a substitute.
I did read here that dodge and parry were stats we look at as Prot. but werent recommended over others so having said that which of the heirloom gear am I looking at buying, the Burnished or Polished set?
If you intend to solo stuff I would say that paladins are probably stronger at soloing the "hard" stuff, but warriors are a lot easier to solo the east stuff with. Second wind = immortal against easier raids. Though I would probably still go for paladin for soloing.
Warriors are a lot more fun while leveling though. So much mobility, can just leap, charge, intercept everywhere. Like a monkey basically, weeeeeee!
I mean, I really like the warrior class and a lot of fun, though paladins are also fun.
Warriors and paladins are very comparable in dps and survivability, imo. I'd say the differences arise more in PvP, where I find retribution weak (protadin useless; holy is great if you want to heal) whereas arms is strong.
For soloing old content, I'd prefer a paladin as the self-healing is more controllable - you might often use retribution but can switch to seal of insight to heal yourself. Lay on hands and bubbles may also be stronger CDs for old content than what warriors have.
In terms of heirlooms, either would be ok and the choice does not really matter as for leveling, min-maxing stats is not required. I'd probably go with the dps ones as you could use them both outdoors and in instances, whereas the avoidance on the tanking heirlooms would be rather wasted while leveling. Heirlooms are getting revamped in 5.2, so I would hold out until then if you can. Put crusader enchant on a heirloom weapon and you'll be golden until Outland.
You'll have to try both and decide what you like best. Ultimately, you're the one playing the character, and only you would know if you like it or not.