Prot. Warrior or Pally?

[Judas]

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?

Thanks for any help given

[Recke]

Looking at next tier, your best bet is Prot Paladin. It pulls amazing dps, has amazing survivability, brings a lot to the table (2 bops, bubble, Devo). There are other things that make it better for warriors next tier, but I can't go into them atm.
However, if you aren't comfortable to tanking (very new as you said), I'd recommend warrior tanking as it is very strong with little effort (simple is def stance, Shield Slam>Revenge>Shout>rest, dump rage into Shield Barrier).

For Warrior tanks, it's your basic tank stats after hit/exp caps (stick with soft till you get the gear).
For Prot Paladins, and it's subject to change, it depends on your comfort level, but you can go standard tank stats, or full mastery, or (which seems to be the current best) full haste. Lot of play around.

For leveling, I don't think it matters too much.

[eddytheone]

Paladins will currently pull the highest DPS of the given tanking classes for any given fight, warrior however not being too far behind. In terms of raid CD's I would value rallying cry slightly above AM but that's just me. Warriors have fairly powerful single target damage reduction CD's on others like vigilance or safeguard

I personally enjoy both equally so its really up to your personal preference, I would recommend leveling both anyway and seeing which style you enjoy more