World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide
Protection Paladin
Tank
A spell-power threat tank with a real taunt: 
Seal of Fury and 
Judgement, plus an absorb as big as your health. The consensus top tank of the beta.
Protection makes threat with Holy damage: Seal of Fury on every swing, Holy Strike, Judgement and Consecration, all raised 90% by Righteous Fury. Seal of Fury also gives you an absorb shield while you carry a shield, and judging it taunts the target for 4 seconds. Swift Judgement resets Judgement once a minute for a second taunt, and Templar's Bulwark absorbs damage equal to your maximum health. Mana comes back when you block (Shield Specialization) and when a Seal of Fury shield is used up. You have no interrupt, so lean on your partner for casters.
Strengths and weaknesses
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Holy-damage threat from Seal of Fury, Holy Strike, Judgement and Consecration, boosted by Righteous Fury | No interrupt, so casters need a partner's help |
| Judging Seal of Fury taunts, and Swift Judgement gives a second taunt each minute | Redoubt gives only 4-20% block and Holy Shield is out of reach before 40 |
| Seal of Fury absorb with a shield and Templar's Bulwark add big damage soak | Magic damage gets past block and block-based mana returns |
| Mana returns from blocks and spent Seal of Fury shields | Needs a shield and a fast one-hander, and spell power for threat |
| At low spell power, early threat is thin and fast DPS can pull |
Stat priority
- Spell power
- Hit
- Stamina
- Defense
- Armour
- Block
Put spell power first, because Consecration, Seal of Fury and Holy Strike are your threat and the absorb is half the Seal's damage. Older raid advice put Defense first. Hit and crit are one stat in Forever, so Precision counts for spells too. A fast one-hander gets the most from Seal of Fury, and you need a shield for its absorb.
Do this
- Play conservatively: fewer Consecrations, and keep Judgement ready for threat you lose.
- Spend Swift Judgement on a missed or needed second taunt, not to squeeze in damage.
- Carry a shield and a fast one-hander: Seal of Fury's damage is flat per swing.
- Retribution Aura adds threat, but it uses your spell power at only a 6% ratio and Vanilla base damage (5/8/12/16/20 by rank), so the threat is small. Devotion Aura is the safe default.
Watch out for
- Righteous Fury is at 90%: early threat should hold better, but at low spell power DPS who don't wait a few seconds can still pull.
- Redoubt gives only 4–20% block, and Holy Shield isn't reachable until 40. Expect fewer blocks at 30 than in Classic.
- Magic damage gets past block and block-based mana returns.
- Stand a step back from the target until the known issue is fixed: enemies can parry and block from behind at close range.
- Hammer of the Righteous is in the client's spell list at level 40, but it is the Season of Discovery record (its tooltip still mentions Crusader Strike) and isn't confirmed to be trainable; don't build around it.