Classic Protection Paladin Tank Spec, Builds, and Talents
On this page, you will find out the best PvE talent choices and builds for your Protection Paladin Tank in WoW Classic.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Protection Paladin talents.
Protection Paladin Leveling Builds
If you were looking for leveling builds, please refer to our leveling guide for Paladins.
Protection Talent Build

This is the default build that you will take as a Protection Paladin. Unlike other builds in WoW Classic, Protection has no room for personal preference or change at all. This build maximizes survivability and threat generation with every point, and there are no other possible options that would be a gain to take.
This build is 11/31/9. The 11 points in Holy are required since you must take
Consecration for the AoE damage and threat generation, which is a critical
part of your rotation.
Divine Strength and
Improved Seal of Righteousness
are also substantial threat generation increases, and are required talents. The 31
points in Protection are necessary to take
Holy Shield at the bottom, which
is your most important ability as a Protection Paladin. With the 9 points
that you have left, the best option is to go for
Benediction and
Deflection
in the Retribution tree. Protection suffers heavily from Mana issues, and better
Mana efficiency on your skills is worth taking. The parry chance from Deflection
is better than any other talent not taken in the Protection tree, making it a good
place for your final points.
While you are leaving behind several good talents in Protection such as Guardian's Favor,
you simply do not have the points to spare. Playing Protection is an uphill battle,
and you need to be using the best possible build with good consumables to have
a chance at competing with other tanks. This specialization is not for the faint
of heart, and you should be prepared to maximize your gameplay at every opportunity.
Changelog
- 17 Aug. 2019: Page added.
More Classic Paladin Guides
More Classic Guides from Other Classes
Classic Dungeon Guides
Classic Profession Guides
This guide has been written by Impakt, an Officer in BDGG, the #2 North American guild on retail. In addition to live WoW, he has also been a classic theorycrafter and enthusiast for many years. You can watch him stream on Twitch, or follow him on Twitter.
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