Should I go Ret/Prot or Prot/Holy?

[izziebot]

Hey, just looking for some advice from more experienced Pallies.
I've got an 80 alt that I use mostly for farming, but I feel like that's kind of a waste. I was hoping to step him up in Cata.

Pre 4.0 I was running as prot/ret, even though the reason I made a pally in the first place was to heal (ironically).
Not sure if I should continue with this in Cata.
Do you guys think Prot with DPS gear will put out enough damage to make leveling as Prot decent?

[KennyBoi3]

First MMO-Champ post, but a former-WoW theorycrafter gone serious college student.

To directly answer your main question: Yes, Prot in DPS gear will get the job done. However, don't expect to global mobs since Blizzard wants you to work for a kill leveling in Cataclysm.

Anyway, the important thing I want to get out before people tell you what to do is that you can choose for yourself what spec you want in Cataclysm. I read your post in three ways and by going these following specs, you should know what route and general playstyle (not THE way) your paladin will go. Blizzard wants Cataclysm to promote the player's individual artistic freedom to reflect on their spec and playstyle, so what the veterans say nowadays shouldnt matter as much as it used to when WoW was linear in its approach:

1. Prot/ Ret: You are a tank focused on dealing on threat. If you want to be a threat tank, go for this spec and pick some survival glyphs and threat glyphs to compliment it. This spec is perfect for when you want to give your DPS room to hit and to be a hard to kill damage dealer in PvP. This would also be good as an offspec for dual-specialization if you want to tank casually but do dailies with it.
2. Prot/ Holy: Tank focused on survivability. Word of Glory would most likely be your focus on this build, but keep in mind you will need to still maintain threat. If living is your issue when you are tanking in Cataclysm, start out with this spec. This spec could be useful in PvP, but PvE your DPS you group with needs to be mindful that you have low threat-generation.
3. Holy/ Prot: This is the spec that I think you wanted to go for a healing paladin (specifically you). If you wanted to spec into Prot as a priority, then you will most likely want to go 33/5/3 for PvE. Again, the 33 points can go wherever you want, but the primary points that can go into prot and ret are the ones that benefit holy directly.

Those are the general guidelines for what I can recommend to you for Cataclysm, some of the current players/ beta players will most likely build on my observations based on experience, because this is what they devote their lives to. This post was mainly intended to spark their urge to build on my general information. Hopefully this helps!

[Deleted]

in pvp its good

[izziebot]

Ack!

I was apparently unclear about what I was asking. I meant which 2 specs to go with, as I have dual spec, haha. I wasnt' sure if I should go with Holy & Prot, or Prot & Ret. Or, hell, even Ret & Holy.

Kenny, still, thanks a ton for that information. I think it helps me out a bit in my decision either way as I was toying with using my pally for rated BGs, and dungeon-leveling my way to 80 as prot. So that tree information is very useful.
I don't grasp pally specs the way I do my other toons for some reason. I've had the hardest time trying to figure out the specs on my own out of all of them.

[KennyBoi3]

Yeah, I don't like telling people what to do because it takes the fun out of exploring the game having to follow a direct line. But as for Rated BGs for the healing aspect, by going that 33/5/3 spec youll most likely want to emphasize mobility and observe your surroundings alot to know the right time to use your Light of Dawn and Holy Radiance spells. *Keep in mind* that Light of Dawn works like a Cone of Cold heal for targeting and Holy Radiance has a 20 yard radius.

[Lumidar]

since you originally wanted to heal i'd say Prot and Holy.

you seem to like Prot right now so put 2 and 2 together :P

[Gallahadd]

I'd say go Prot/Holy.
if you go Prot/holy you will ALWAYS get groups :P plus Prot and Holy are both a) doing pretty well b) pretty fun :P

[izziebot]

hmm.
Yeah, I think Holy/Prot might be a good way to go.
The fail part is I just got rid of all my holy gear cause having four sets was driving me nuts @_@
But, for Cata having the option is nice.

I'll be honest, I kinda blew at AoE tanking but I was great at boss tanking :/ might be a good time to re-learn either way.
Well, thank you guys for all the input. I really appreciate it ^_^!