Protection
- The beta’s Judgement of Fury tooltip reads “taunts the target to attack you for 4 sec”, and the channel now reads it as a true taunt that takes threat, not a fixate. Confirmed
- Seal of Fury scales at about 10% of spell power per hit and the damage is flat per hit, so a fast one-hander is the Seal of Fury weapon. Confirmed
- Spell power is the tank stat. Every datamined crafted tank piece is defense, Stamina and spell power, and Strength still gives block value at 20 to 1. Confirmed
- Seal of Righteousness and Consecration crit in the beta, and seal crits do double damage as melee attacks. Confirmed
- Tank in Seal of Righteousness and judge it on cooldown; swap to Seal of Fury only to taunt, for mana, or when solo. Consensus
- Solid Prot at 8/34/9 is still the tank pick. The channel now expects two builds at 60: a damage build with Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. or Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., and a Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. build for fights that need the full damage reduction. Consensus
- No Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. rank tooltip lists charges, which may be a tooltip error. Hammer of the Righteous is in the client files but not on any trainer. Everything at 60 is still demo data.
Where Protection stands, in full
Seeded from the first seven days of #forever-prot (about 8,700 messages, September 12 to 18). The beta opened September 17 with a level 20 cap, rising to 30 after about two weeks, so Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. and the other capstones cannot be tested before launch. No Legacy points are earnable in the level 20 beta; Wowhead’s datamine of Legacy sources suggests an average player has about 5 by level 60.
- The kit is shield tanking with a new seal. Seal of Fury puts a small absorb on your melee hits, and judging it is your taunt. Holy Strike is a new instant melee button, Consecration is baseline (trained at 20 along with Blessing of Kings), and Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. is still the 31-point capstone.
- Beta night, September 17. Testers at level 5 to 10 read the Judgement of Fury tooltip, watched Seal of Righteousness and Consecration crit for double, measured Seal of Fury at about 10% of spell power with Judgement of the Crusader and a pair of spell power boots, and found nothing new on the trainer beyond Hammer of Wrath. The character sheet now tells you the crit cap and lists crushing blows. Spells miss instead of resisting. A swing timer and a damage meter are in the default UI.
- The Q&A gave tanks nothing. The channel’s summary was “no true questions”: no GDKP, the Reals currency returns, Oceanic servers in Australia, some Season of Discovery class quests return. The paladin questline from Season of Discovery is reportedly in “in some form”.
- The mood is “functional, better than it was, half-baked”, with less doom than a day ago. “Prot is the most solid of all the specs” (several), “with the current kit we will have the worst threat by far, but a lot of damage reduction” (one), and a running argument about the Judgement taunt that the tooltip did not end. A returning line got wide agreement: everyone was “full on nuclear” over a level 38 tech demo and should play the beta first.
- A demo tester’s report: the Drowned City dungeon mobs “kinda hit”, the first boss stuns everyone near it while it keeps swinging, and some packs need CC and kicks or you chain pull and wipe. The tester’s read is that Blizzard wants tanks weighing mitigation against threat, TBC-style. A pinned first-look video from the BlizzCon floor adds that Divine Shield does not stop you blocking. Read from demo
- The tank split most people guess at: warriors best on single targets, druids on 2 to 3, paladins on 4 or more. Several now doubt paladin threat holds up at all; others say consistent 4-target threat still beats a warrior’s. The one worry most share is burst threat on the pull.
Which build should I use?
- At 60, posted link: Solid Prot, 8/34/9. “Looks like a bis talent” was the reply; the suggested tweaks are below.
- At 60, the channel’s sketch: Deep Prot, 8/36/7. Reconstructed
- Leveling dungeons: VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. Prot, 0/28/23, or level Ret and dip Prot later. In the beta, a two-hander does more damage and a shield gives the mitigation; Pursuit of JusticePursuit of JusticeIncreases movement speed and mounted movement speed by 8%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is the leveling point nobody skips.
- Ranged pull and snap threat: a Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. build, 21/21/9 or 26/25/0, or the new 32/19/0 Light’s Vigil version for maximum burst. Untested, and all of them cost Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage..
- The two-build expectation: several now plan a damage build (Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. or Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage.) for most fights and a Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. build for fights that need every point of damage reduction. One person
All Prot builds with links, verdicts, trees and point-split debates
Splits are Holy/Prot/Ret as read from the link encoding. Builds marked “reconstructed” were built from point lists on September 15; the verdict names which points are filler. Every link below passed the 51-point, prerequisites-satisfied check.
| Build | Split | Link | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Prot Consensus | 8/34/9 | open | Posted September 15 as “a solid build”; the reply was “looks like a bis talent”. Improved Holy StrikeImproved Holy StrikeReduces the cooldown of your Holy Strike ability by 1 sec.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Divine StrengthDivine StrengthIncreases your Strength by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. 3, Improved SealsImproved SealsIncreases the damage done by your Seals and Judgements by 5%.Requires 5 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.; full Prot minus ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. and one AnticipationAnticipationIncreases your Defense Skill by 4.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.; DeflectionDeflectionIncreases your Parry chance by 5%.All ranks read from demo footage., Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. and Holy ConduitHoly ConduitReduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 20%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. in Ret. Suggested tweaks: Divine IntellectDivine IntellectIncreases your total Intellect by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. instead of Divine StrengthDivine StrengthIncreases your Strength by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. (two people), and one point each out of ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., AnticipationAnticipationIncreases your Defense Skill by 4.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. into One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (one theorycrafter). |
| Deep Prot Consensus Reconstructed | 8/36/7 | open (reconstructed) | The sketch several people agreed on September 14. Holy: Improved Holy StrikeImproved Holy StrikeReduces the cooldown of your Holy Strike ability by 1 sec.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2/2, Divine IntellectDivine IntellectIncreases your total Intellect by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. 3/5, Improved SealsImproved SealsIncreases the damage done by your Seals and Judgements by 5%.Requires 5 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3/3. Ret: DeflectionDeflectionIncreases your Parry chance by 5%.All ranks read from demo footage. 5/5, Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. 2/2. Everything else in Prot. Reconstructed Prot half: ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. 3, RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5, PrecisionPrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3, AnticipationAnticipationIncreases your Defense Skill by 4.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5, Improved Seal of FuryImproved Seal of FuryWhen Seal of Fury's shield is fully absorbed, restore 38 Mana, increased by 15% per level the attacker is above you, up to 45%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionAll ranks read from demo footage., Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3, Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3, Sacred DutySacred DutyIncreases your total Stamina by 2% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 30 sec.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2, Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage., Templar’s Bulwark, ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3, Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5, Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.. ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. 3 and ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3 are the cut the channel described; RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5 and AnticipationAnticipationIncreases your Defense Skill by 4.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5 are filler chosen to reach Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.. |
| Block Prot One person | 8/36/7 | open | “A fast weapon, good shield block and this spec feels not gimmicky.” Deep Prot with ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. and Sacred DutySacred DutyIncreases your total Stamina by 2% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 30 sec.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. traded for One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3/3 and ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5/5. Reply: drop two AnticipationAnticipationIncreases your Defense Skill by 4.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. for Sacred DutySacred DutyIncreases your total Stamina by 2% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 30 sec.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Converted from Wowhead. |
| Threat Prot One person | 2/32/17 | open | “Max threat, then adjust.” Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage., Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5 in Prot; ConvictionConvictionIncreases your chance to get a critical strike with melee attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5, Pursuit of JusticePursuit of JusticeIncreases movement speed and mounted movement speed by 8%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Sacred ArbiterSacred ArbiterIncreases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 10% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.Requires 15 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. and a CrusadeCrusadeIncreases all damage dealt by 1%. Increased by an additional 1% against Demon and Undead targets.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. point in Ret. Critique: move a ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. point to Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., and Sanctified JudgementSanctified JudgementGives your Judgement ability a 100% chance to return 60% of the Mana cost of the judged seal.Requires 10 points in RetributionThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. or CrusadeCrusadeIncreases all damage dealt by 1%. Increased by an additional 1% against Demon and Undead targets.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. into Holy ConduitHoly ConduitReduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 20%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. or Seal of CommandSeal of Command65 Mana | InstantGives the Paladin a chance to deal additional Holy damage equal to 70% of normal weapon damage. Only one Seal can be active on the Paladin at any one time. Lasts 30 sec. Unleashing this Seal's energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing 68 to 73 Holy damage, 137 to 146 if the target is stunned or incapacitated.Requires 10 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage.. |
| Pursuit Prot One person | 4/31/16 | open | Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. plus a 16-point Ret dip for Pursuit of JusticePursuit of JusticeIncreases movement speed and mounted movement speed by 8%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., VindicationVindicationGives your damaging melee attacks a chance to reduce the target's Attack Power by 42, and increase your Attack Power by 1% for 30 sec.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and Sacred ArbiterSacred ArbiterIncreases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 10% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.Requires 15 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage., “the movement and the attack power debuff counteract the reduced seal damage”. Replies: drop Divine StrengthDivine StrengthIncreases your Strength by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. for hit or One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.; Improved SealsImproved SealsIncreases the damage done by your Seals and Judgements by 5%.Requires 5 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is “way too good” to skip. |
| Shock Prot, linked One person | 21/21/9 | open | “This is the shockprot build.” Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., ReverenceReverenceAllows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. and both Divine stat talents; Prot to Templar’s Bulwark with PrecisionPrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.; BenedictionBenedictionReduces the Mana cost of all instant cast spells and abilities by 10%.This rank read from footage; other ranks estimated., Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. and Holy ConduitHoly ConduitReduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 20%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Judged an off-tank or off-healer build by several; its author says dungeons and leveling. |
| Shock Prot, Bulwark One person | 26/25/0 | open | Called “gigachad” by the person who asked for it. Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., Consecrated GroundConsecrated GroundGives your Holy spells 5% increased damage against the first 4 enemies that enter your Consecration.Requires 20 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Divine PrecisionDivine PrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with Holy spells by 6%.Requires 20 points in Holy · Requires 1 point in Holy ShockMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2/3, Purifying PowerPurifying PowerReduces the mana cost of your Cleanse and Purify spells by 20% and reduces the cooldown of your Exorcism and Holy Wrath spells by 33%.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. and one Holy PowerHoly PowerIncreases the critical strike chance of your Holy Shock spell by 3%, and all other spells by 1%.Requires 25 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.; Prot to Templar’s Bulwark with One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3. No Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage., no Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. |
| Shock Prot, Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. One person | 21/30/0 | open | “Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. off-tank build?” Keeps Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5/5 by stopping one point short of Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.. Reply: without Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage., is a 5-point Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. worth it. |
| Shock Prot, Healing LightHealing LightIncreases the amount healed by your Holy Light, Flash of Light, and Holy Shock spells by 12%.Requires 5 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. One person | 21/30/0 | open | “You give up Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage., DeflectionDeflectionIncreases your Parry chance by 5%.All ranks read from demo footage. and Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. plus 2 floating talents for a ranged pull, threat tool and instant heal.” Takes Healing LightHealing LightIncreases the amount healed by your Holy Light, Flash of Light, and Holy Shock spells by 12%.Requires 5 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. so Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. heals matter. Could drop Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. points for Divine PrecisionDivine PrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with Holy spells by 6%.Requires 20 points in Holy · Requires 1 point in Holy ShockMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Converted from Wowhead. |
| Champion Prot One person | 2/21/28 | open | “What talents do we REALLY have to take for tanking?” Prot to Templar’s Bulwark only, then deep Ret for Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and CrusadeCrusadeIncreases all damage dealt by 1%. Increased by an additional 1% against Demon and Undead targets.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Posted by someone who gave up on Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. “since people said it sucks”. Several think the best threat build will end up outside the Prot tree; several others call it a parse build. |
| Intellect Threat Tank One person | 0/23/28 | open | “Behold the AI threat build, 0/23/28 Intellect to spell power.” No Holy at all; ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. 2, One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2 and ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2 in Prot; Seal of CommandSeal of Command65 Mana | InstantGives the Paladin a chance to deal additional Holy damage equal to 70% of normal weapon damage. Only one Seal can be active on the Paladin at any one time. Lasts 30 sec. Unleashing this Seal's energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing 68 to 73 Holy damage, 137 to 146 if the target is stunned or incapacitated.Requires 10 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. and Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. in Ret. The poster also considered 0/31/20, 0/28/23 and 23/0/28. Converted from wowforevertalents. Critique: the tank plate shown so far has no Intellect, so the conversion may start from base Intellect alone. |
| VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. Tank One person | 2/26/23 | open | “Can we get enough crit for VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. while tanking?” ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5 and Templar’s Bulwark, then Ret to VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Unanswered; one person calls VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. unfeasible for a tank. |
| Vigil Snap Prot One person | 32/19/0 | open | “What if we want even MORE burst and snap threat?” Light’s Vigil, Holy PowerHoly PowerIncreases the critical strike chance of your Holy Shock spell by 3%, and all other spells by 1%.Requires 25 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 5, Consecrated GroundConsecrated GroundGives your Holy spells 5% increased damage against the first 4 enemies that enter your Consecration.Requires 20 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Divine PrecisionDivine PrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with Holy spells by 6%.Requires 20 points in Holy · Requires 1 point in Holy ShockMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3 and Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. on top of a 19-point Prot core with Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage.. The posted opener: Light’s Vigil, Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., two Holy Shocks, Judgement, Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage., Holy Strike, Consecration. The reply was a squint and “gonna snap my neck if I played a build like that”. Its author calls it a joke with a real idea inside. |
| Intellect Threat Tank, revised One person | 0/23/28 | open | The 0/23/28 idea again, this time with Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3 and Sacred DutySacred DutyIncreases your total Stamina by 2% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 30 sec.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2 instead of One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Templar’s Bulwark, ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2 and ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. 2. Posted on September 16 only as “proof” that a calculator lists Hammer of the Righteous, and the reply was that the site had imported every Season of Discovery ability. Nobody discussed the build itself. |
| Shock Prot One person Reconstructed | 23/28/0 | open (reconstructed) | The September 14 split that started the idea, before anyone posted a link. Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. and Consecrated GroundConsecrated GroundGives your Holy spells 5% increased damage against the first 4 enemies that enter your Consecration.Requires 20 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. are the stated picks; everything else is filler. Superseded by the linked Shock Prot rows above. |
| VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. Prot One person Reconstructed | 0/28/23 | open (reconstructed) | One person’s “way to run dungeons”: no seal games, and it can deal damage when not tanking. Several agree it is fine to 60. Reconstructed from “Ret to VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., rest Prot”. |
| Spell Power Tank One person | unknown | no point list was posted | Relies on Seal of Fury and Consecration scaling with spell power. Only a screenshot was shared. The linked Champion Prot and Intellect Threat Tank rows are the closest thing to it now. |
| Day-one placeholder One person | 8/36/7 | open | Posted as “optimal” on September 13; the poster then said they had no idea what they were doing. Treat it as a placeholder. |
Also posted: a 10/32/9 link whose author said “I never said it was good” (it skips PrecisionPrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and parry), a 40-point 8/23/9 leveling path (“this will be me before I finish off in Prot”), a 17-point “minimum Prot core” (RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., PrecisionPrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Improved Seal of FuryImproved Seal of FuryWhen Seal of Fury's shield is fully absorbed, restore 38 Mana, increased by 15% per level the attacker is above you, up to 45%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionAll ranks read from demo footage., Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage., Templar’s Bulwark), and a 21/0/0 Holy baseline “you can choose where to go from there”. Screenshot builds from September 17 with no links: a “giga threat build” that skips Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (two people called that a bigger loss of damage reduction than Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage., “16% is much more than Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.”; its author asked whether 16% is even required), a “Shockadin tank” from the same person, and a two-hander tank sketch for a VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. build that its own author would not call viable.
Point-split debates:
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Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. plus Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. versus Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.: the two talents together are “16% damage reduction” and several now rate them above the capstone. One person doubts Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. is needed at all unless bosses crush or hit very hard; the reply is that it is “also good damage and threat”.
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Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. for tanks lost ground on September 17. After the datamined crafted tank sets came back defense, Stamina and spell power with no Intellect, the mood went “we’re skipping the Intellect talent, boys”; the counter is “there has to be Intellect plate, the talent makes no sense otherwise” and raid gear may still carry it. One person’s math: a naked level 60 gets 73 to 75 spell power from the talent.
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ToughnessToughnessIncreases your armor value from items by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. versus ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is still the cut. One theorycrafter says One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. beats ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. point for point because most threat is melee and it scales Holy Strike; whether it also buffs seal damage is disputed (seal damage counted as weapon damage in earlier versions).
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Divine StrengthDivine StrengthIncreases your Strength by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. versus Divine IntellectDivine IntellectIncreases your total Intellect by 10%.All ranks read from demo footage. in the Holy dip: Intellect for mana and crit (two people) versus “Strength does almost nothing in vanilla-style scaling” (one). Nobody can settle it without coefficients.
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Holy ConduitHoly ConduitReduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 20%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (40% off Consecration) is worth 7 Ret points to several; others say the block-mana talents make it unnecessary.
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Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3/3 versus 2/3: one theorycrafter now expects 2/3 to be adequate; most still take 3/3.
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Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. 2/2 with ConvictionConvictionIncreases your chance to get a critical strike with melee attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 4/5 beats 1/2 with 5/5 (one).
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Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is “too good to pass on” (several), but half its value is tied to Holy Strike uptime, so builds without Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. question the 5 points.
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Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.: several say people are too pessimistic about it and Blizzard clearly designed around it; two proposals move it or Templar’s Bulwark up the tree so Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. builds can reach it.
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Two early ideas lost ground: camping Seal of Fury as main tank (superseded) and a deep-Ret two-hander “ret prot” as the early meta. The second idea returned on September 16 as “if you go that deep into Ret, just tank with a two-hander”.
Trees. Comparisons show the first build’s points and what they become in the second.
Solid Prot to Deep Prot, the linked build against the channel’s sketch.
Block Prot
Threat Prot
Pursuit Prot
Shock Prot, linked, to Shock Prot, Bulwark
Shock Prot, Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.
Shock Prot, Healing LightHealing LightIncreases the amount healed by your Holy Light, Flash of Light, and Holy Shock spells by 12%.Requires 5 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated.
Champion Prot to Intellect Threat Tank, the two deep-Ret tank builds.
VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. Tank
Vigil Snap Prot
Intellect Threat Tank to its revised version
Shock Prot Reconstructed
VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. Prot Reconstructed
Deep Prot to the Day-one placeholder, same split, different filler.
The Spell Power Tank has no point list, so it has no tree.
How tanking plays
- Judgement is off the global cooldown, so to taunt you swap to Seal of Fury, judge, and swap back. The beta tooltip says the judge “taunts the target to attack you for 4 sec”. Confirmed
- Core loop: Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage., Consecration, Holy Strike, Judgement, all on roughly 8 to 10 second cooldowns. Holy Strike is an instant attack and does not trigger seals. Confirmed
- Do not hold Judgement at the pull; if you need a taunt with Judgement down, use Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage.. Taunt diminishing returns are a TBC thing, so the “judging on cooldown makes bosses immune” worry is probably misplaced. Consensus
- Off-tanks stay in Seal of Righteousness so their judge does not taunt, and swap to a damage spec when they can.
- Level with a two-hander until about 40, then sword and board. At level 10 in the beta the loop is judge Seal of the Crusader, swap to Seal of Righteousness, Holy Strike. Confirmed
The tanking loop in detail
The current read, from September 14 to 16, supersedes the first-day assumption that the main tank sits in Seal of Fury.
- Main seal is Seal of Righteousness. Judge it on cooldown for threat. Seal of Righteousness is expected to out-damage Seal of Fury, and Judgement threat is considered essential. Judgement of Fury and Judgement of Righteousness look like similar damage, so a tank could sit in Righteousness and swap to Fury only when tanking or taunting.
- Swap to Seal of Fury only to taunt, for mana, or when solo. Judgement is off the global cooldown, so you can swap seal and judge in the same global, then swap back. A common macro is Seal of Fury, Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage., Judgement in one button. The double swap every 8 seconds is disliked as mana-expensive and awkward.
- Core loop: Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. (~10 s), Consecration (~8 to 10 s), Holy Strike (~10 s), Judgement (~8 to 10 s). “Like a worse Wrath rotation” (one), “same as TBC” (several), with auto-attack downtime. One suggestion is holding Holy Strike so its damage reduction lines up with boss swings.
- Opener: Judgement, Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage., Judgement again for snap threat, then the loop (one). A Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. build’s opener: Judgement, Consecration for the Consecrated GroundConsecrated GroundGives your Holy spells 5% increased damage against the first 4 enemies that enter your Consecration.Requires 20 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. bonus, Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. (one).
- Do not hold Judgement. Consensus: judge on cooldown; if a taunt is needed with Judgement down, use Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage.. The earlier worry that spamming Judgement of Fury applies taunt diminishing returns was answered on September 16: taunt diminishing returns were added in TBC, and Classic bosses had none. Beta will tell.
- The taunt is a taunt. The beta tooltip for Judgement of Fury reads: “Unleashing this Seal’s energy causes 22 to 24 Holy damage to an enemy and taunts the target to attack you for 4 sec. Increases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 10% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.” The channel’s reading is that this is a real taunt that takes the target’s threat, unlike Mocking Blow or Challenging Shout, which are fixates. Whether the “refresh all Judgement effects” line extends the 4-second taunt was asked and rejected by everyone else (“you can’t refresh a judge”). One person hopes Blizzard reverses the order to taunt first, then damage, so one press both matches and overtakes threat. Confirmed
- Bubble taunt. Divine Shield plus the 4-second taunt keeps a boss on you while you Cleanse your own stacks, so Bloodboil-style fights may not need a tank swap. It also means Templar’s Bulwark and Divine Shield compete for Forbearance more often.
- Tank swaps: the tank not actively tanking sits in Seal of Righteousness, and the swap is Seal of Fury plus Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage. plus Judgement in one macro. One worry: taunt-swap bosses mean a lot of time in Righteousness or Command with no Seal of Fury mana.
- Off-tank: stay in Seal of Righteousness so your judge does not taunt. Mana is the problem: blocks and Seal of Fury absorbs are the mana sources, and an off-tank gets neither. Answers offered: Judgement of Wisdom with a fast weapon, mana potions, Sanctified JudgementSanctified JudgementGives your Judgement ability a 100% chance to return 60% of the Mana cost of the judged seal.Requires 10 points in RetributionThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated., or the answer most give, dual spec into a damage set. “Off-tanking is the Holy paladin’s job” (one). Several say the kit is main-tank oriented and Blizzard did not design for off-tanking.
- No ranged pull. Judgement is 10 yards and Exorcism is Undead and Demon only, and a Seal of Fury judge used as a pull puts the taunt on cooldown. The tools people listed on September 17: grenades (some no longer need Engineering), a trinket-swap pull item, the Torch of Holy Flame off-hand from the Morbent Fel quest, body pulls, and “Consecrate, run around a corner”. “These are all non-existent problems” (several) versus “relying on other people pulling is wild” (several). The Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. builds exist partly to fix this: 10-second cooldown, ranged, and a big snap-threat hit.
- Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. is a raid-boss talent, not a pack tool. Four charges, roughly 10-second cooldown. One person’s read: a boss typically swings 4 times in 10 seconds, so it fits bosses. On multi-pack pulls the charges vanish, which is why several people now look at deep Ret instead.
- ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: procs on block for an extra swing. Whether the extra swing procs Seal of Fury was asked and not settled (the previous read said yes). One person read the talent as no longer stacking charges. Fast-attacking bosses may overcap procs. “The math on ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. if you block most attacks is pretty good” (one).
- Leveling: two-hander and Ret talents until about 40, then sword and board. Several plan Ret to 60 and Prot only for dungeons. A 40-point 8/23/9 path was posted as the pre-60 target.
- Demo feel: “you have to respect threat.” Mobs hit hard; the Drowned City crabs “chunk” a tank and some packs need CC and kicks. Streams showed control of about 4 targets and got sketchy past that, for warriors too.
Key talents and how the channel values them
- Seal of Fury (new): melee hits generate an absorb based on the seal’s holy damage. Read as about 11 damage absorbed at level 38, “peanuts”. Read from demo Procs from auto attacks only, not from the judge. Requires a shield. Can crit. Two testers confirmed on September 17 that the absorb does not stack: landing another hit while the shield is still up replaces it rather than adding to it. Confirmed The seal damage is flat per hit, which means fast weapons do more, and the beta confirmed both: one tester’s combat log showed rank 1 doing 6 base plus 4 from a rank 2 Judgement of the Crusader and 5 spell power boots, which is a 10% spell power coefficient, and another put it at “10%-ish, 6 damage to 8 or 9 from 23 spell power”. If 10% holds across ranks, that is about 10 more absorb per hit for every 100 spell power. The tester’s advice: a fast weapon means more hits and more absorb uptime. Confirmed Should scale with Improved SealsImproved SealsIncreases the damage done by your Seals and Judgements by 5%.Requires 5 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and, if seals count as weapon damage, One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Judgement of Fury is a 4-second taunt at 10 yards (bear and warrior taunts are 5) that deals 22 to 24 holy at the beta rank, buffs Holy Strike by 10% and refreshes your judgements. One proposal: move the absorb to the judge, so it also fixes off-tank mana, and give the taunt its own button.
- Improved Seal of FuryImproved Seal of FuryWhen Seal of Fury's shield is fully absorbed, restore 38 Mana, increased by 15% per level the attacker is above you, up to 45%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionAll ranks read from demo footage. (3/3): restores mana when the absorb is fully consumed. Any damage that breaks it counts, including DoTs.
- Holy Strike: an instant attack, learned at level 6, weapon damage plus flat holy, and it does not trigger seals. In the beta rank 1 is 25% weapon damage plus about 13 holy, the top rank at level 10 is 40%, and the spell power coefficient tests near 42.5% (the Ret channel’s Judgement of the Crusader test), which beats the 20% read from Esfand’s stream. Blizzard’s beta notes say its rank-ups “don’t feel great”, read as a buff coming. Confirmed Cooldown 12 seconds base, 9 to 10 talented. Grants 10% damage reduction for 6 seconds through Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., so about 60% uptime. “So weak it feels like they’re trolling us” at level 10; “it’s our equal-attention filler”. Whether the reduction is global or single-target is unanswered.
- Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. (31 points): +20% block chance, down from 30%, with roughly double the block damage and threat. Four charges, about a 10-second cooldown. Read from demo The September 17 wrinkle: no rank tooltip in the datamine lists charges, and “good odds it’s just a tooltip error” is the channel’s own caveat. “If Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. has no charges, Prot is in a good place.” Higher ranks add about 5 flat holy damage each, some ranks weapon damage. The 20% worries more people than the 4 charges. Several say the channel is too pessimistic about it; several others skip it entirely in the deep-Ret builds. “If Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. is not needed it is a LARP talent that needs a rework” (one demo tester).
- Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: 6% of max mana on block with a 3-second internal cooldown (several; one says 5). Consensus Now expected by one theorycrafter to be fine at 2/3. This plus ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. plus Improved Seal of FuryImproved Seal of FuryWhen Seal of Fury's shield is fully absorbed, restore 38 Mana, increased by 15% per level the attacker is above you, up to 45%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionAll ranks read from demo footage. is why main-tank mana is not expected to be the constraint, and why off-tank mana is.
- ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: procs on block for one extra swing, read as about 40%. Called the one meaningful Season of Discovery carry-over. One person read it as having no charges now. If it is a true extra attack, “it’ll be way better”; if it works like the old version, “it’s dog” on slow bosses.
- RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: 10% chance on being hit to grant 30% block for 5 blocks, versus Classic’s proc on being crit. Wowhead’s calculator shows it as 6% block for 5 points, which several call wrong. “They really screwed up RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.” (several); a gamble that rarely matters, “casino RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.” that will not stay up on a single target, versus “won’t matter on a boss past pre-raid” (one). Season of Discovery’s Aegis rune kept it up on single targets and several say nobody learned from that.
- Templar’s Bulwark (21 points): absorb for 100% of max health, 5-minute cooldown. “Could save a wipe easily.” Every linked build takes it, including the Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. ones.
- Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (35 points, 5 ranks): the 10% damage reduction tied to Holy Strike. “Too good to pass on” (several). Combined with Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. the effective reduction is about 11%, not the 16% one person quoted, because of the 60% uptime.
- Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (3/3): 2% damage reduction per point. Righteous Fury itself is +90% threat baseline.
- One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: the demo tooltip reads “10% damage dealt with the weapon” at 3/3, expected to cover melee, Holy Strike and, per one read, seals. Now taken at 3/3 by most posted links. Rated above ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. point for point by one theorycrafter. Whether it is the vanilla or TBC version was asked and not answered.
- PrecisionPrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: +3% hit, and since hit is unified it covers spells too. Divine PrecisionDivine PrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with Holy spells by 6%.Requires 20 points in Holy · Requires 1 point in Holy ShockMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (deep Holy): up to 18% holy spell hit, which one Shock Prot idea uses to make the taunt judge and Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. near-unmissable.
- Consecration (baseline): full damage to the first 4 targets, about 80% less beyond. Its ticks crit in the beta. The datamine reads 9.5% of spell power per tick, or 76% total, on the first four targets, close to the 96% one person read from Esfand’s stream; the base looks like about a quarter of vanilla’s (one person’s math: 96 plus 0.76 times spell power against Classic’s 384 plus 0.33, breaking even near 670 spell power). Others say the four-target base is missing from the tooltip and would not trust the coefficient until the spell is seen in use. One person “You’ll oom, Consecration uses crazy mana” is still the leveling verdict.
- Swift JudgementSwift JudgementInstant | 1 min cooldownFinishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.Requires 15 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Improved Seal of FuryAll ranks read from demo footage.: 1-minute cooldown, resets Judgement. The opener double-judge and the emergency taunt.
- Eye for an EyeEye for an EyeAll critical strikes against you cause 5% of the damage taken to the attacker as well. The damage caused by Eye for an Eye will not exceed 50% of the Paladin's total health.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (Ret): reworked to reflect all crits, not just spells. Floated as dungeon threat against caster packs (one).
- VindicationVindicationGives your damaging melee attacks a chance to reduce the target's Attack Power by 42, and increase your Attack Power by 1% for 30 sec.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: attack power debuff on bosses, the same debuff as Demoralizing Shout. Worth about 20 to 25% damage reduction while leveling (one). Reachable in a 16-point Ret dip; several say a Ret applies it anyway.
- Ret talents Prot cares about: DeflectionDeflectionIncreases your Parry chance by 5%.All ranks read from demo footage., Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage., BenedictionBenedictionReduces the Mana cost of all instant cast spells and abilities by 10%.This rank read from footage; other ranks estimated., Holy ConduitHoly ConduitReduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 20%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Pursuit of JusticePursuit of JusticeIncreases movement speed and mounted movement speed by 8%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Sacred ArbiterSacred ArbiterIncreases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 10% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.Requires 15 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage., VindicationVindicationGives your damaging melee attacks a chance to reduce the target's Attack Power by 42, and increase your Attack Power by 1% for 30 sec.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. converts Intellect to spell power at the bottom of Ret; a level 60 paladin has 105 base Intellect, so it gives about 105 spell power before gear.
Numbers from the demo
All read from level-38 stream screenshots and tooltips. No spell power or attack power coefficients are confirmed for any Prot ability; the coefficient rows are one person’s read of Esfand’s stream with little spell power to work from.
| Item | Read | Caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Seal of Fury absorb | ~11 at level 38 | One tester; scales with seal damage |
| Seal of Fury scaling | ~10% spell power per hit, flat per hit; ~50% on judge | Beta combat log at rank 1 Confirmed; the judge number is a stream read |
| Seal of Righteousness | Crits for double as a melee attack; ~20 to 25% spell power per hit on a one-hander | Beta, one Ret-channel tester Confirmed |
| Holy Strike scaling | ~42.5% spell power on the holy part; 25% weapon damage at rank 1, 40% at the level 10 trainer | Beta, Judgement of the Crusader test Confirmed |
| Consecration scaling | Datamine: 9.5% per tick, 76% total on the first 4 targets; base ~96 at rank 5 | Ticks crit in beta; base disputed One person |
| Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. coefficient | 42.9%, the instant-cast standard | Assumed, not read |
| Judgement cooldown | 10 s base, 8 s with Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. 2/2 | Off the global cooldown |
| Judgement of Fury | 22 to 24 holy at the beta rank, taunts for 4 s, 10-yard range, +10% Holy Strike, refreshes judgements | Beta tooltip Confirmed; taunt DR was TBC-only |
| Holy Strike | Instant attack, learned at 6, 12 s base, 9 to 10 s talented, ~15 mana at 38, 10% DR for 6 s | Does not trigger seals Confirmed |
| Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. | +20% block, 4 charges, ~10 s cooldown, ~2x block damage; no rank tooltip lists charges | 31-point capstone; charge read may be a tooltip error |
| Block value | 20 Strength per 1 block value, unchanged; base shield values 15 to 20 | Beta character sheet Confirmed |
| Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. | 6% max mana per block, 3 s ICD | ICD disputed at 5 s |
| ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. | ~40% proc on block, one extra swing | Charges disputed |
| RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. | 10% on being hit, +30% block for 5 blocks | Wowhead shows 6% flat; called wrong |
| Templar’s Bulwark | 100% max HP absorb, 5 min cooldown | 21-point talent |
| Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. | 2% DR per point, 6% max | RF is +90% baseline |
| Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. | 10% DR for 6 s per Holy Strike, ~60% uptime | ~11% effective with Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. |
| Consecration rank 2 | 80 to first 4 targets, 24 to the rest; vanilla 120 | |
| Crafted plate seen | Enriched Thorium: Stamina, defense, spell power; Justicar’s: Strength, Stamina, spell power; a level 57 defense and spell power piece | Blacksmithing datamine and demo screenshots |
| Tier 1 Protection bonuses | +7 defense (2), Turn Undead cast 1.5 s faster (3), 1.2% less chance to be dodged or parried (4), Forbearance 10 s shorter (5) | Wowhead datamine; read as placeholders |
| Base Intellect at 60 | 105 | Classic value, quoted for Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. |
| Crit immunity | 440 defense; 420 reachable in blues; the beta character sheet shows the crit cap and lists crushing blows | Whether Forever keeps the formula is unknown |
| Spell crit multiplier | 150% for spells; seal and judgement procs crit for 200% | Beta, relayed from the shaman channel for spells |
| Talent points at 60 | 51 | From calculators |
One theorycrafter’s avoidance math: at 440 defense with Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. and RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. up, about 11% more avoidance is needed from gear to push crushing blows off the table; without RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., far more. Several expect the crush cap to be out of reach and say vanilla warriors never reached crit immunity without wrecking their threat. The beta’s character sheet confirms crushing blows exist. One person’s spreadsheet says the crit cap is reachable with datamined items alone.
Gearing
- Spell power is the tank stat: every datamined crafted tank piece is Stamina, defense and spell power, and no Intellect plate has appeared. Confirmed
- Fast one-hander for Seal of Fury, slow one-hander for ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.; the beta’s flat-per-hit Seal of Fury read tilts it toward fast.
- Strength still gives block value at 20 to 1, and Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. only raises the shield’s own value, so block value stays small. Confirmed
- Undead is favored for Prot, though Touch of the Grave currently breaks crowd control; Engineering is considered mandatory.
- Addons will be restricted like retail; the base UI has a damage meter and a swing timer, and whether a threat API survives is unknown.
Gearing, stats, races and professions in full
- Spell power versus Strength. Settled on September 17: “all datamined crafts are defense, Stamina, spell power, no way we are attack power” (several agreed). The datamined blacksmithing plans include an Enriched Thorium helm, breastplate and leggings with Stamina, defense and spell power, and Justicar’s pauldrons, wristguards, waistguard and sabatons with Strength, Stamina and spell power, with the slots split “as if intended for both Ret and Prot”. Against a pure spell power view: Holy Strike is 25 to 40% weapon damage, “most of our damage is autos”, and Strength still gives block value. Working target: spell-power plate, a fast one-hander for Seal of Fury, then block and defense. One person expects gear with both spell power and Strength. Whether tank tier will carry Intellect is doubted, and the Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. tank builds lost ground for that reason.
- Weapon speed. Seal of Fury is flat damage per hit, confirmed in a beta combat log, so it wants a fast weapon and a fast weapon also refreshes the absorb more often; ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and Holy Strike want a slow one. One person plans to try Seal of CommandSeal of Command65 Mana | InstantGives the Paladin a chance to deal additional Holy damage equal to 70% of normal weapon damage. Only one Seal can be active on the Paladin at any one time. Lasts 30 sec. Unleashing this Seal's energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing 68 to 73 Holy damage, 137 to 146 if the target is stunned or incapacitated.Requires 10 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. with a slow weapon and ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.’s free attacks. Weapon choice at 60 now hinges on whether a caster main hand beats a physical one, which nobody can answer at level 10.
- Defense and avoidance: 420 defense is reachable in blues, 440 for crit immunity. The beta’s character sheet tells you the crit cap and lists crushing blows. Several expect threat to stay the focus. Blizzard said on stage they don’t want tanks getting crit. One person’s spreadsheet says the crit cap is reachable with only datamined items. “Watch block rating become the best threat stat if Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. is permanent and everything crits” (one).
- Block: Strength gives block value at 20 to 1 as in vanilla (“awful”), base shield block values are 15 to 20, and Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. raises only the shield’s own value. Shields are expected to carry on-hit and on-block effects; the demo had one with lifesteal. Skullflame Shield: sell it early, equip it later for farming (several).
- Weapon skill stays but with less per item. Fractional stats exist. One person says weapon-skill racials are gone and the human sword racial now reads as 2% crit; neither is confirmed.
- Thorns gear plus Eye for an EyeEye for an EyeAll critical strikes against you cause 5% of the damage taken to the attacker as well. The damage caused by Eye for an Eye will not exceed 50% of the Paladin's total health.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is still a floated large-pack angle; one person is against every thorns effect because it hurts off-tanking.
- Races: Undead favored for Prot (Touch of the Grave), though in the beta it procs off every attack and spell including crowd control, which everyone calls a bug, and it double-procs on consecutive swings. Dwarf for Stoneform (bleed and poison removal plus 10% physical reduction, “massive during a boss’s last 5% enrage”) and 5% against beasts; human for sword crit and the stun break, “better DPS is better threat”. Several pick human only because they dislike the dwarf melee animation. Undead is the only Horde paladin.
- Professions: Engineering for pulls and AoE, and its datamined “tinkerbox” adds Nitro Boosts and a teleport; the Ultrasafe Rechargeable Battery recharges the safe gadgets but not explosives. Blacksmithing for the spell-power plate. Alchemy got a look after datamined damage potions (Caustic Smog, Dragonfire, Venomous Blood, Disorienting Smog) that one person says out-damage Classic grenades, with the worry that they share the potion cooldown. The Azeroth Commerce Authority faction is in, with its own recipes, so early gold goes to its materials. Reddit’s list of profession camping features says mining and blacksmithing give an attack power or Strength buff. A crafted epic Steadfast Libram needs 310 Enchanting and a raid-only disenchant material. Links are in Sources.
- Sets: tier gear is reportedly split across the three launch raids. The datamined Tier 1 Protection set, Justice Battleplate, reads +7 defense, Turn Undead 1.5 seconds faster, 1.2% less chance to be dodged or parried, and Forbearance 10 seconds shorter. “Those better be a joke”; the warrior equivalent is 30 seconds off Shield Wall. Most treat every set bonus as a placeholder; a minority says a chill first tier is healthy for a game meant to last. A Scarlet mail set with a 480 absorb at low health and a Deathbone set with a spell damage proc were also datamined. PvP has no tank set.
- Addons will be restricted like retail. Confirmed by several as “they said so”, still without specifics. The base UI now has a damage meter, a swing timer, a quest tracker and a cooldown manager. WeakAuras is expected to die. The pinned beta test plan depends on a threat addon. Warcraft Logs tank detection is a new worry: if it keys on Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. as it did in TBC, a Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. tank “is never parsing as main tank”.
What Blizzard has said
Direct sources are in Sources. Items marked “relayed” were repeated in the channel without a link or timestamp.
- From the September 17 Q&A, relayed: a swing timer is coming to the base UI (it was in the beta client that evening), GDKP raids are not allowed, the Reals currency from Season of Discovery returns, Oceanic servers will be in Australia, real-money trading is a permanent ban, and some Season of Discovery class quests return, some expanded. The channel’s verdict: “we got no true questions.” No VOD link was posted. Blizzard said
- Beta notes, September 17: Holy Strike “doesn’t feel great to rank up” and VengeanceVengeanceIncreases your Physical and Holy damage dealt by 1% for 30 sec after landing a critical strike. Stacks up to 5 times.Requires 20 points in Retribution · Requires 3 points in Sanctified JudgementMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. triggers off periodic crits, fixed in the next build. (Screenshot of the post, no link.) Blizzard said
- Hammer of the Righteous is not in the game. Its tooltip sits in the client files and on datamine sites with Season of Discovery wording that references a Crusader Strike that does not exist; the beta trainer has nothing new beyond Hammer of Wrath. A late claim that it was “confirmed in game” was shot down as unconfirmed nonsense. Confirmed
- No Shaman or Warlock tank at launch. Aggrend in a GameSpot interview, relayed through Reddit (link in Sources). Blizzard said
- No test realm for raids, and item stats are not known until the item drops. An MMORPG.com article, relayed. Blizzard said
- Launch raids: a 10-man with 8 bosses, a 20-man with 13 bosses, and Onyxia as the only 40-man. Tier gear is split across the three. The first raid revamp is next summer, raid unspecified; Molten Core “will come back”; a legendary questline is on the spring roadmap. (Roadmap screenshot and relays.)
- Dungeons are meant to be tactical. “CC and threat matter.” The Drowned City demo tester’s report matches this. (Deep dive, relayed; demo, firsthand.)
- Seal of Fury and weapon speed: “it doesn’t matter how fast your weapon is, so the faster the weapon you use the more damage it will do.” (Deep dive, quoted by someone who rewatched it.)
- A paladin blocks a spell with its shield in the gameplay trailer at 1:34 to 1:38. Whether that is a mechanic or animation is unknown. (Trailer, link in Sources.)
- “Seal busywork is bad.” Judgement no longer consumes seals. (Deep dive, relayed.)
- Tanks should not get crit. Every piece of gear is being redone. (Stage, relayed.)
- Judgement of Fury’s 10-yard taunt was framed as an advantage over 5-yard taunts. (Relayed.)
- Spell power appears on items from level 10, on crafted plate with Strength. (Deep dive gear segment; crafted-plate screenshots.)
- Dungeon quest XP gets a big buff. (Relayed.)
- A shaman rework is expected Thursday with the beta. (Relayed, unsourced.)
- Legacy points start at level 5. Dual spec is in. No Legacy points are earnable in the level 20 beta.
- Casters’ base spell damage was cut so that the spell power on gear makes a new caster weapon as big an upgrade as a new melee weapon. (One person’s relay, no link.)
- Beta: level 20 cap at the start, 30 after about two weeks, opened September 17 with 10,000-deep queues, throttled character creation and a faction-locked PvP realm. Blizzard reportedly said it wanted to avoid a beta but needs class feedback; feedback goes through the in-game report keybind. (Relayed.)
Consensus versus disputed
Consensus
- Seal of Righteousness is the main tanking seal; Seal of Fury is for taunts, mana and solo. Off-tanks stay in Righteousness.
- Off-tank mana is a real gap. The practical answer is dual spec and a damage set, not a tank build that fixes it.
- Improved SealsImproved SealsIncreases the damage done by your Seals and Judgements by 5%.Requires 5 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., Improved Holy StrikeImproved Holy StrikeReduces the cooldown of your Holy Strike ability by 1 sec.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., DeflectionDeflectionIncreases your Parry chance by 5%.All ranks read from demo footage. and Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. are taken by every build. Templar’s Bulwark is taken even by Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. builds.
- The Prot tree has more good talents than points. Improved Hammer of JusticeImproved Hammer of JusticeDecreases the cooldown of your Hammer of Justice spell by 15 sec.Requires 15 points in ProtectionAll ranks read from demo footage. is the one skip.
- Consecration’s 4-target cap is deliberate and will not get a retail-style threat multiplier.
- Seal of Fury is flat damage at about 10% of spell power, so it favors fast weapons. Confirmed in the beta.
- Spell power is the tank stat. The crafted tank sets settled it.
- Judgement of Fury is a real taunt, and taunt diminishing returns are a TBC mechanic that Classic never had.
- RedoubtRedoubtDamaging melee attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 6%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is weak; Wowhead’s version of it is wrong.
- Engineering will be required. Set bonuses in the datamine are placeholders. Season of Discovery abilities in the database are leftovers.
- Deep Prot before 60 is unnecessary.
Disputed or one person’s theory
- The Judgement taunt. “People need to understand that judge taunt is bad” (several, including one who posted a fix on the forums) versus “I love not being Warrior 2”, “none issue, paladin is the only class who can make two taunts back to back” and “taunt on judge just means I’m never not the main tank” (several). The beta tooltip changed nothing about the argument; the remaining objection is that the 10-yard judge is also the only pull tool and puts the taunt on cooldown.
- Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.: designed around and worth taking (several) versus a raid-only talent that packs eat in seconds (several who now skip it) versus “probably not needed unless bosses crush or hit very hard” (one). The no-charges tooltip read cuts both ways until someone tests it at 30 with Legacy points.
- Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. plus Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. as a required 16% damage reduction (two people) versus “curious to see if 16% is required or not” (the giga-threat build’s author).
- Threat: “the worst threat by far” (one) versus “we’re dooming pretty hard on threat” and Blizzard will buff it if so (several).
- Deep Ret for Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. as a tank: the best threat build will be outside the Prot tree (several) versus “just say you want to parse” (one) and “there is no Intellect on tank gear” (one).
- Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. tanking: a real dungeon build for the ranged pull and snap threat (several) versus “12 empty talents to get Shock” and giving up Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. (several).
- One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. buffs seals (one) versus weapon damage only (one).
- ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. still stacks charges (most assume) versus no charges (one read). ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. swings proc Seal of Fury (earlier read) versus unknown (asked again).
- Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationIncreases the amount of damage absorbed by your shield by 10%, and gives your blocks a 33% chance to restore 6% of your maximum Mana. May only occur once every 3 sec.Requires 10 points in Protection · Requires 5 points in RedoubtMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. internal cooldown: 3 seconds (several) versus 5 (one). 2/3 enough (one) versus 3/3 (most).
- Passive damage reduction total: about 11% effective (one) versus 16% (one).
- Spell-power tank tier will exist (one) versus no chance (one).
- Tank shaman is coming later (several hope) versus never (several).
- Blessing of Sanctuary: in the tree, not in the game, or a trainer spell later.
- Paladin as the magic-damage tank (several, citing the trailer spell block and the reductions) versus “how many magic fights are there”.
Open questions
- Whether Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. really has no charges, and what the Consecration base damage is at 60.
- Whether ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. swings proc Seal of Fury, and whether ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. still stacks charges.
- Whether a threat API survives the addon restriction, and what Warcraft Logs will key tank detection on.
All open questions
- Holy Strike and Seal of Fury coefficients are now read at about 42.5% and 10% of spell power. Still open: attack power coefficients, Judgement of Fury’s scaling, Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage.’s, and whether Consecration’s datamined 9.5% per tick is the whole story.
- Does Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. have charges at all? The tooltips say no; the demo said four.
- Does One-Handed Weapon SpecializationOne-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with one-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 15 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. buff seal damage? Does it buff Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. (probably not)? Is it the vanilla or the TBC version?
- Do ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. extra attacks proc Seal of Fury? Do they reset the swing timer? Are there still charges?
- Is Seal of Fury normalized or flat per hit? Is Seal of Righteousness normalized?
- How much does the Seal of Fury absorb hold at 60? Two testers confirmed on September 17 that it does not stack, so a second proc overwrites the shield instead of adding to it. Confirmed
- Will Judgement of Fury stop applying taunt diminishing returns when the boss is already on you? Is there any AoE taunt or Hand of ReckoningReckoningGives you a 8% chance to gain an extra attack after Blocking a melee attack and a 20% chance to gain an extra attack after being the victim of a non-periodic critical strike.Requires 20 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. after 40?
- Is Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.’s reduction global or single-target? Is Holy Strike on the global cooldown?
- Does Righteous Fury apply to all threat? How does it interact with Salvation? Does Blessing of Kings still generate threat?
- Is Blessing of Sanctuary in the game? Is Blessing of Might Strength or attack power?
- What does the spell block in the gameplay trailer mean?
- Does Consecration tick on entry, and does it trigger Touch of the Grave?
- Resistance model, attack table, crushing blows, and whether 440 defense and the crush cap are reachable.
- Will a threat API exist? Does item swapping in combat still lock on-use effects for 30 seconds?
- How much Intellect will tank gear carry, for Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. builds? The crafted sets carry none.
- Will the beta cap rise above 30 so capstones and Seal of Wisdom can be tested? How many talent points does a level-30 beta character have with Legacy points?
- Are pet taunts full taunts now? Does the Judgement taunt force the boss to attack you while you are bubbled?
- Does the Seal of Fury absorb scale with Strength at all, or only spell power?
- Can Seal of Righteousness procs be dodged or parried now that they are melee attacks?
- What do the returning Season of Discovery class quests give, and is a new ability among the rewards?
What people are arguing about
- Whether the Judgement taunt is a flavor win or a design mistake. Still daily, still unresolved, tooltip or no tooltip.
- Whether Holy ShieldHoly Shield150 Mana | Instant | 10 sec cooldownIncreases chance to block by 20% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.Requires 30 points in Protection · Requires 1 point in Templar's Bulwark · Requires ShieldsAll ranks read from demo footage. or the Improved Righteous FuryImproved Righteous FuryWhile Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 2%.Requires 10 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. and Iron CreedIron CreedIncreases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 5%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 2% for 6 sec.Requires 25 points in ProtectionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. pair is the damage reduction that matters, and whether to skip the capstone for Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. or Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage.. One person
- Whether off-tank mana is a design gap or a non-problem solved by dual spec.
- Whether Hammer of the Righteous being in the client files means anything. Most say no.
More arguments and the pinned beta test plan
- Whether paladin threat is the worst of the tanks or fine, and whether “viable” means anything when every spec can clear vanilla-difficulty content.
- Whether spell power or Strength is the tank stat, and whether the Seal of Fury absorb ever matters.
- Whether speculating before beta is worthwhile at all; one returning member called the talent calculators “pictures from a demo”, most kept posting builds.
- Whether the first months of live will be an extended beta for level 31 to 60 specs, since the beta caps at 30 and there is no raid test realm.
- One person is working on “a new AoE threat method” that depends on damage types they cannot test yet.
- A pinned beta test plan (September 13) covers threat per ability versus training level, Righteous Fury versus Salvation, the resistance model, the Holy Strike attack table, spell versus melee hit, absorb versus full block, and coefficients, using a threat addon with isolated casts and advanced combat logs uploaded to warcraftlogs.com. One member says a raiding guild is already building a sim.