Paladin Tanking

[Deleted]

Hello all Paladins, I am currently levelling a Paladin through just tanking dungeons with a few heirlooms and in a lvl 25 guild and its going by quite quickly as expected. Loads of big pulls, AOEs on the go and actually do decent damage as a tank while maintaining great AOE threat. I was wondering how is tanking like at level 85 as a PROTadin? Do you usually have to tank the adds or single target tank the boss? Im assuming if there were adds i.e. Maloriak then a DK would be favoured but what if there was no DK rather there was a Warrior?

Are they strong at the moment? How are they compared with other tanks, namely Warriors?

I have levelled my Paladin to 46 atm but having second thoughts because many people are saying that Paladin DPS (ret) is woeful and that Fury/Arms even do better DPS and Warrior tanks are currently stronger due to some constraits put on Paladins (can't remember what now, possibly blocking/hp pools)

[Inclusion]

If played correctly any tank class is good right now, however they branch between which could potentially be the best. I'd say single target - DK, just because of the survivability and AMS. However, stat for stat and towards the end of the tier Paladin will most likely be the best. With Divine Guardian, and so many DRs you can really make raid healers' jobs alot easier. Warriors are EXTREMELY good for mobile fights. (Fights with Adds - I.E, Maloriak) however this isn't that tier. As a paladin I have no problems with threat or staying alive due to great healers.

[badmagick]

ye they removed the 10% increased block amount from holy shield and made it into a short cd. which isnt bad rotation wise cause its an ability u actually have to use instead of a permanent buff. but i find paladin tanks very weak at 85. their aggro is very low compared to other tanks. esp feral druid/dk. and warriors have better mitigation from what i hear (havent played a warr tank at 85 yet) ret's got great burst but that's about it. holy's the only viable pala spec atm

[grymgroeth]

Paladins don't really suffer in any tanking role at 85. Excellent mitigation tools, easy (compared to DK or druid) to get unhittable, solid cooldowns. Warriors may take a little less damage overall with critical block but the difference is really negligible. As for any constraints paladins suffer with blocking and hp pools, warriors will face exactly the same issues so I'm kinda at a loss to understand what your friends might be talking about. The only real advantage Warriors have over paladins is mobility via Heroic Leap, Charge and Interrcept but they don't have raidwide damage reduction. IMO, DK and Druid damage is entirely too unpredictable and I seriously dislike tanking on my DK for that reason.

[wylatron]

ye they removed the 10% increased block amount from holy shield and made it into a short cd. which isnt bad rotation wise cause its an ability u actually have to use instead of a permanent buff. but i find paladin tanks very weak at 85. their aggro is very low compared to other tanks. esp feral druid/dk. and warriors have better mitigation from what i hear (havent played a warr tank at 85 yet) ret's got great burst but that's about it. holy's the only viable pala spec atm

DING DONG! Who's there? Oh! it's vengence! Hi vengence! What's that?! OH! vengence says wtf are you on about?
Besides....if threat is an issue, you COULD add a bit of expertise/hit. But wait...no one is, b/c vengence takes care of that right?

[Deleted]

Actually, answering the above poster, paladins have just ok threat generation if you use "Glyph of Seal of Truth" and reforge a bit for expertise. If you are around 15 expertise w/o seal on then you are just ok and can hold aggro of 372 geared people damaging your target as soon as they see it, without Missdirection or/and Tricks. Tested, true. Arcane mage w/o mirror images starts as soon as I hit the boss once and still can hold it.

Now.. On topic. Playing a paladin tank in top content is fun, is moderately easy/hard.
You have several "Oh Shit!!!" buttons, which you have to:
1. Learn, what they do, what is the exact result and what it's impact is. (ie. cd, debuff etc.)
2. Learn when it's better and which ability to use. (ie. Huge spell damage incoming - Glyphed Divine Protection)
3. Practice more, tank random heroics, tank battleground bosses, tank critters in woods, tank your real life pet.. Oops =)

P.S. Oh and yes, paladins are probably the best tanks at the very moment and will only improve as we progress through the tiers. If Carlsberg made WoW tanks.. You know =)

[Aurabolt]

First off, welcome to the glorious world of Pally Tanking ^_^

Me personally, being a Tankadin in 85 instances is fun. Consult the Prot Paladin Guide here for the rundown of what you need to know to be successful. The 4.2 Changes made being a Tankadin more attractive to boot. For example they cut World of Glory's GCD to 10 secs, making the talent a viable option in your rotation.

Tanking Normals at 85--especially Grim Batol, Throne of Tides, Halls of Origination and Deadmines--helps big. More so since the encounter mechanics are a little different from their normal versions. In terms of threat, my Tankadin is currently at 339 ilevel. I've pugged Heroics with 365+ ilevel DPS and heals and had no problem with threat. My health unbuffed is 122k and is around 154k buffed. It's a bit low but not too low to do prettymuch any Heroic without much difficulty. Most healers I've done Heroics with lately say they actually enjoy having me since they have to work (LOL!). For me it doesn't matter if it's a group or a single target. I can handle it.

I actually also have Glpyh of Holy Shield and Glpyh of Dazed Shield for interrupt + 30% extra damage. I haven't tried BH yet (though I am geared ennough to do it) but in the next day or so I should have the gear to start raiding ^_^

[4KhazModan]

Paladin tanks are viable in any position. Your job in a fight will vary depending on what you raids other tank is. For example, we have more physical mitigation than a dk, so when we use a dk tank on maloriak, I tank the adds. If there is a warrior tank, I tank maloriak. My advice, learn your cooldowns. Originally a support class, paladin's have a lot of tools to help ourselves, and others. For example, dps getting high on threat? BAM! Hand of Salvation. An add hitting on a healer? BOOM! Hand of Protection. Raid taking a lot of damage? Divine Guardian. Other tank is taking damage? Word of Glory. As well as our own tanking cd's and our ability to heal, we are quite useful in any situation. We may not have as much mobility as a warrior, armor or hp as a druid, cds of a dk, but we are just as good.

[Calgron]

Me personally, being a Tankadin in 85 instances is fun. Consult the Prot Paladin Guide here for the rundown of what you need to know to be successful. The 4.2 Changes made being a Tankadin more attractive to boot. For example they cut World of Glory's CD to 10 secs, making the talent a viable option in your rotation.

This is only for rets, and also its always been a good skill to use on cooldown(so long as you're taking damage)

OT: My main is a prot pally and I really enjoy tanking on it. Their AoE threat is definitely good enough to do the job, but warriors will most likely be picked for AoE tanking over a pally because of the warriors kiting ability. That being said, be prepared to do anything once you get to max level because paladins are good enough to do either. Only problem I've ever noticed is that we are a bit squishier than warriors and druids.

[Aurabolt]

This is only for rets, and also its always been a good skill to use on cooldown(so long as you're taking damage)

Paladins and Retadins have 10 secs. Holydins are 5 secs. I do know how to read.

I usually use WoG when the healer's busy trying to keep someone alive and while using another proc personally. Aside from that there are too many other ways to minimize damage a Paladin has available to them.