Protection Paladin Tank Gear and Best in Slot — Dragonflight 10.0.7
On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Protection Paladin in World of Warcraft Dragonflight 10.0.7.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Protection Paladin gear and best in slot.
Best in Slot List for Protection Paladins
We do not currently provide a Best in Slot list. You should aim to prioritize item level above everything else, as anything 10 item levels or more is virtually guaranteed to be an upgrade.
If you have a choice on the same item level, the alternative will likely, in generic circumstances, not make a difference defensively. We recommend just simming the choice and doing whatever helps you do more damage.
There are exceptions to this rule and encounter-specific situations where a stat is massively devalued. You should keep an eye on the raid encounter guides to be aware of this. Similarly, certain Mythic+ key levels and dungeons require a slightly different gearing path. We linked the related guides below, but generally, we will add a note here as well:
Comparing potential upgrades
With Best in Slot lists being a static sheet of what is potentially best, what is best for you will vary with every piece of gear you obtain due to the value of the stats constantly shifting as you obtain item level. To get the most accurate information for your character, we advise that you sim your character every time a potential item drops by using the Compare Gear feature with both options, item by item. The reason for this is twofold:
- An item that is not strictly ideal in an ideal fully-kitted-out gear set may be a massive upgrade for you right now (high ilvl gains on pieces, weapon upgrades, etc.)
- Likewise, an item that is in an ideal gearset may very well be a loss for you right now, either because of an ilvl difference.
We strongly advise relying on sims to gauge upgrades on an item by item basis, particularly as a minor upgrade for you, may very well be a large upgrade for other players in your raid.
For guidance on how to sim your character, we have a guide for this which you can find on the link below.
Embellishment Recommendations for Protection Paladin
Embellishments are additional item effects present on profession gear,
either as a baseline (such as Elemental Lariat) or added
as an optional reagent when crafting (such as
Fang Adornments). These
grant a free, additional effect to the piece.
You may only have two embellishments active at a time.
For Protection Paladins, we recommend the following:
Elemental Lariat is a very straightforward first recommendation as it provides a lot of stats from the proc and is easily the most powerful embellishment in Dragonflight.
- The second embellishment is entirely down to your gearing choices at
the time. We would recommend
Unstable Frostfire Belt. As it is the only way to trigger the fire damage effect on the two Vault rings (
Seal of Diurna's Chosen and
Seal of Filial Duty) for Protection Paladins.
- Alternatively,
Frostfire Legguards of Preparation could be valuable for Mythic+ scenarios, as you will maintain a high uptime on the Haste buff.
Dungeon Gear Recommendations for Protection Paladin
This table exclusively contains loot from the dungeons featured in Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1.
Slot | Item | Dungeon |
---|---|---|
Helm | ![]() |
Court of Stars |
Neck | ![]() |
The Nokhud Offensive |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Halls of Valor |
Cloak | ![]() |
Ruby Life Pools |
Chest | ![]() |
The Azure Vault |
Bracers | ![]() |
Shadowmoon Burial Grounds |
Gloves | ![]() |
Shadowmoon Burial Grounds |
Belt | ![]() |
Halls of Valor |
Legs | ![]() |
The Nokhud Offensive |
Boots | ![]() |
Halls of Valor |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Court of Stars |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
The Nokhud Offensive |
Weapon | ![]() |
The Nokhud Offensive |
Shield | ![]() |
The Azure Vault |
Recommended Dragonflight Raid Gear
As the raid is unavailable on Dragonflight's launch, we will not yet provide gear recommendations. Check back in the coming days!
This table exclusively contains loot from Vault of the Incarnates.
Slot | Item | Dungeon |
---|---|---|
Helm | ![]() |
Raszageth |
Neck | ![]() |
Dathea, Ascended |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Eranog |
Cloak | ![]() |
Eranog |
Chest | ![]() |
Kurog Grimtotem |
Bracers | ![]() |
Raszageth |
Gloves | ![]() |
Dathea, Ascended |
Belt | ![]() ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna |
Legs | ![]() |
Sennarth |
Boots | ![]() |
Kurog Grimtotem |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Eranog |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna |
Weapon | ![]() |
The Primal Council |
Shield | ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna |
Raid Rings
These rings deserve a special section. They require fire damage to be dealt by you to activate their effects. As Paladins do not naturally have any sources of fire damage, these rings should ideally go to other members of your raid before yourself.
If you do happen to obtain these items, we would recommend using
Unstable Frostfire Belt to trigger these effects to get the full value
of the rings.
Onyx Annulet and Primordial Gems
Patch 10.0.7 Added the new Primordial Gems system. You can obtain the new ring
Onyx Annulet, which fits 3 of the new Primordial Gems.
For more information regarding the Onyx Annulet, the Primordial Gemstones, and how to obtain them, check out our dedicated guide for it below.
For a list of what Primordial Gems are the best for Protection Paladin, see our Enchants and Gems page.
Protection Paladin Tier Set - Virtuous Silver Cataphract
The Vault of the Incarnates raid features a new round of Primalist Tier Sets themed around the four elements. In addition, you can eventually earn pieces of this set from any of the nine slots in the weekly Dragonflight Great Vault and can also eventually be made at the Inspiration Catalyst as a catchup system. This armor, when enough pieces of it are worn, unlocks two special bonuses for Protection Paladins:
Protection Paladin 2pc —
Avenger's Shield grants you and your closest ally
Ally of the Light, increasing Versatility by 6% for 8 sec.
Protection Paladin 4pc —
Hammer of the Righteous/
Blessed Hammer increases your Parry by 5% for 10 sec and extends the duration of
Ally of the Light by 1 sec.
Once available, you should aim to acquire the set bonuses as soon as possible.
- The 2-piece bonus gives you another hook to
Avenger's Shield (in talents such as
Barricade of Faith,
Bulwark of Order, and
Gift of the Golden Val'kyr) further incentivizing you to cast this spell on cooldown.
- The 4-piece bonus will be more impactful in Mythic+ than raiding, as the value
of Parry is felt more there. This bonus complements
Strength in Adversity and the 2-piece to give more defensive utility against multiple targets.
PvP Gear Recommendations for Protection Paladin
Obtaining gear from rated PvP can boost your item level early in the season.
It is essential to note that all of these items have Versatility on them.
If you want to obtain PvP gear, we advise doing Rated Battlegrounds as either Protection or Retribution.
Trinket Recommendations for Protection Paladin
All-Totem of the Master synergizes well with our 4-piece bonus
and increases the likelihood of this trinket triggering on cooldown. Every time
you parry or dodge an attack, you damage everything
in front of you. The trinket goes on a 30-second internal cooldown. The stances
are the following:
- Elemental Stance: Earth increases your armor by a flat amount.
- Elemental Stance: Fire has a chance to apply a DoT to your target, burning them for a small amount of fire damage for 6 seconds.
- Elemental Stance: Air increases your Haste while it is active.
- Elemental Stance: Ice heals you for a large amount while it is active.
The order in which the stances rotate is always the same and is not reset by dropping combat:
- Earth
- Fire
- Air
- Ice
Manic Grieftorch deals a large amount of damage to your target. This
may seem rather simplistic at first, but if a party or raid member dies, the cooldown
is reduced by 90 seconds!
Granyth's Enduring Scale is a fairly strong trinket to obtain
early in the season. This will have a chance to trigger a shield that absorbs
damage and gives you additional armor while the shield holds. As the proc is
random, it is too unreliable to change your rotational choices. Still, you will want to obtain this trinket anyway due to
the limited pool of defensive trinkets this season.
Irideus Fragment is an on-use trinket with a lot of Mastery and
provides a large boost to Strength for 20 seconds when used. However, the amount
of Strength reduces per ability you cast. The Strength bonus will decay rather
quickly as a Protection Paladin as you will typically be casting an ability every GCD.
The only downside to this trinket is the 3-minute cooldown, as it will not line up
with every cast of
Avenging Wrath.
Dragon Games Equipment is a strong DPS trinket. When you use it, kickballs
will spawn nearby, and when you run into one of them, they will deal a large amount of Physical
damage to your current target (if it is 15 yards or closer to you). The kickballs
spawn nearby to you, so finding them is not difficult.
Darkmoon Deck: Watcher (from Inscription) is an
on-use defensive trinket that provides a large absorption shield. If this absorb
is fully consumed, you will gain a Versatility buff to let you be more
defensive for a little bit longer. The duration of the trinket's effects is based
on the card you draw, with the Ace being the longest.
Crimson Aspirant's Insignia of Alacrity is a returning favorite with a
new seasonal name, offering Haste with a passive Strength proc. The only downside to this
trinket is you need to do Rated PvP at a high level to obtain it.
Valor and Item Upgrades
Beginning in Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1, the Valor currency
can be obtained from completing Mythic or Mythic+ dungeons. After earning enough of it,
Valor can upgrade any item obtained from a Mythic+ dungeon of any
difficulty (including regular Mythic)! These upgrades carry through
to item level 415, though you must also have achieved
Dragonflight Keystone Hero: Season One to bring an item that high.
We recommend upgrading your Weapon and Shield first, as these will provide you with the largest offensive and defensive gain.
Enchants and Sockets
Once you have obtained a piece of gear containing a prismatic socket or needing to be enchanted, you will need to know how to modify it. Details about these tweaks can be found on our dedicated gems, enchants, and consumables page.
Changelog
- 20 Mar. 2023: Added Onyx Annulet section.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Paladin Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Panthea, who raids in Catalyst and is the author of TankNotes. He plays all tanks and is a Moderator for the Hammer of Wrath Paladin Discord. You can follow him on Twitter.
- New Potential Evoker Spells Added in Patch 10.1 Build 48661
- Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7 Hotfixes: March 23rd
- Primordial Stone Hotfix Changes: March 23rd
- Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7 DPS Log Rankings for Vault of the Incarnates: Day 1
- Mythic+ Tier List in Dragonflight Season 1 (Week 15)
- Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7 Hotfixes: March 22nd
- Class Set Updates and Clarifications in Patch 10.1: March 22nd
- Dragonflight Patch 10.1 PTR Dev Notes: March 22nd