Protection Paladin Tank Spec, Builds, and Talents — Dragonflight 10.2

This page covers all the talents you can access, explaining how each will be used. Some of these active or passive talents can make a huge difference in how Protection Paladins are played, all of which is explained on our rotation page.

Some talents have a more versatile use in Mythic+ than in raids; as such, if this is more your thing, we strongly recommend you check the Mythic+ page.

Two default builds are detailed below. These provide a balance of throughput and unique utility. You can also get the import code by pressing the "Copy Export String" button on the calculator.

3.

Best Talents for Protection Paladin

Single-Target Talents AoE/Mythic+ Talents Talents Explained

4.

Best Single-Target Talents for Protection Paladin

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import these talents directly into your game!

4.

Mythic+ Talents for Protection Paladin

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import these talents directly into your game!

4.

Talent Explanations for Protection Paladins

Due to the nature of Dragonflight's talent trees, almost every talent is meant to be viable or have a desirable niche where you may want to select it. As such, we will cover some of the more favored talents that you will want to prioritize most of the time from the top of each tree on down, followed by mentioning some of the bigger niche talents that are likely only rarely useful. If you would like to see a list of every single talent's effect as well as the abbreviations they are often known by in the community, please consult our Spell List and Glossary section instead.

Protection Paladin Spell List and Glossary

4.1.

Rows 1-4 Class Talents for Protection Paladins

4.1.1.

Noteworthy Talents

Talent	Description/Effect
Hammer of Wrath	Hammer of Wrath is a fairly key rotational ability, both dealing high damage and generating Holy Power. However, it is only usable if the enemy is below 20% Health or if you have Avenging Wrath active.
Divine Steed	Divine Steed is a mandatory pick, as you will need mobility. Cavalier will give a 2nd charge to Divine Steed which is always nice to have. Taking Divine Steed also allows access to Avenging Wrath, which is a must-have talent.
Fist of Justice	Fist of Justice is taken to the path down the right-hand side of the tree and obtain Greater Judgment and Rebuke.
Greater Judgment	Greater Judgment allows for target hit by Judgment to take 20% more damage from your Shield of the Righteous.
Blessing of Freedom	Blessing of Freedom is picked regardless of if you need it or not as you need to spend 8 points in order to progress further in the tree.
Rebuke	Rebuke is your interrupt and should always be picked, even if you do not need the interrupt (commonly in Raid scenarios) as it allows you to path towards Seal of Reprisal.

4.1.2.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Auras of Swift Vengeance	Scenarios where you have multiple Paladins in a group, and you are not required to use Devotion Aura as playing with Retribution Aura will increase your throughput significantly, but having Devotion Aura active is more important for the group.
Seasoned Warhorse	Seasoned Warhorse is likely picked regardless, as you need to spend 8 talent points in order to progress further in the tree.
Blinding Light	Blinding Light is taken to path down the left side of the tree and obtain Cleanse Toxins. Blinding Light is very strong in Mythic+ as it can act as an AoE interrupt, even for abilities that cannot be silenced.
Cleanse Toxins	Cleanse Toxins is useful to have if the dungeon/raid boss has any Poison or Disease mechanics. If there is no need for it, simply skip this talent and pick another talent as this does not path to anything unique.
Turn Evil	This can be used to kill Undead enemies that are below 30% Health.

4.2.

Rows 5-7 Class Talents for Protection Paladin

4.2.1.

Noteworthy Talents

The second part of the class tree has a strong focus on cooldowns and healing. We strongly recommend picking the following core talents at all times:

Talent	Description/Effect
Holy Aegis	Holy Aegis primarily for the armor bonus, and it comes with critical strike, too, which is always useful.
Avenging Wrath	Avenging Wrath is centerpiece of Paladin cooldowns; it both increases your damage and enables you to generate more Holy Power by allowing Hammer of Wrath to be used regardless of the target's health.
Justification	A simple damage increase to Judgment.
Punishment	When you interrupt a spell with Rebuke you will cast Blessed Hammer or Hammer of the Righteous. This also generates 1 Holy Power.
Blessing of Sacrifice	Blessing of Sacrifice and Blessing of Protection are important cooldowns to obtain, and they enable you to obtain Unbreakable Spirit.
Sanctified Plates	This will increase your armor, stamina and reduce damage taken from AoE effects (this is in addition to any Avoidance rating you have).
Lightforged Blessing	This talent triggers a heal for you and nearby players equal to 2% of your maximum health.
Unbreakable Spirit	Unbreakable Spirit should always be picked for the cooldown reduction to Ardent Defender primarily, but also Divine Shield and Lay on Hands have their cooldowns reduced too.
Seal of Reprisal	Seal of Reprisal is a simple damage boost. Always pick this.
Incandescence	Incandescence is another simple damage boost.

4.2.2.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Afterimage	A fairly passive heal for your group, you will cast a weaker version of Word of Glory on a nearby ally when you cast it after spending 20 Holy Power.
Recompense	If you want to get additional damage in raid whilst your co-tank has the boss.
Improved Blessing of Protection	If you need higher cooldown frequency of Blessing of Protection or Blessing of Spellwarding.

4.3.

Rows 8-10 Class Talents for Protection Paladin

4.3.1.

Noteworthy Talents

Our final points are in this area of the talent tree. For every build, we would recommend you obtain the following talents:

Talent	Description/Effect
Seal of Might	Seal of Might gives you more Mastery during Avenging Wrath.
Seal of Alacrity	Seal of Alacrity simply gives you 4% more Haste.
Of Dusk and Dawn	Of Dusk and Dawn adds additional effects from using Holy Power. Dusk gives you 20% more damage/healing to your next Holy Power spending ability and Dawn gives you 5% reduced damage taken.
Seal of Order	This talent makes Of Dusk and Dawn even stronger by making Dawn give you 10% more damage/healing on your next Holy Power spending ability and Dusk increases your armor by 10% and makes your Holy Power generating abilities cool down faster.
Divine Toll	Divine Toll fires up to 5 Avenger's Shield's and gives you 1 Holy Power for each target hit.
Divine Resonance	Divine Resonance fires an additional Avenger's Shield every 5 seconds for 15 seconds after Divine Toll.
Seal of the Crusader	Seal of the Crusader has a chance to apply a debuff to your target increasing their Holy damage taken.
Zealot's Paragon	Zealot's Paragon allows you to extend the duration of Avenging Wrath with Judgment and Hammer of Wrath.

4.3.2.

Niche Talents

You could consider using Divine Purpose on this part of the talent tree to add some additional casts of Shield of the Righteous; however, because of the position this has on the talent tree, obtaining this talent would mean missing one of the three capstones at the end of the tree.

4.4.

Rows 1-4 Spec Talents for Protection Paladin

4.4.1.

Noteworthy Talents

This part of the tree focuses on getting your core identifying abilities as a Protection Paladin:

Talent	Description/Effect
Avenger's Shield	Avenger's Shield is here to stay; there is no avoiding this talent. In Dragonflight this no longer generates Holy Power however it does have interactions with other talents to improve your defensiveness.
Blessed Hammer	Blessed Hammer should be picked over Hammer of the Righteous. Blessed Hammer will toss a hammer that spins away from your character, hitting every target (up to 3 times) for a small amount of Holy damage. Each time an enemy is hit, their next hit on you is reduced by a small amount.
Redoubt	Redoubt will apply a buff which increases your Strength & Stamina by 2% for 10 seconds each time you use Shield of the Righteous. Redoubt can stack up to 3 times.
Holy Shield	Holy Shield had some changes where it is no longer able to block spell DoTs, but do not worry; this interaction has been moved into Mastery: Divine Bulwark. As long as you stand in Consecration you can block spell DoTs.
Grand Crusader	Grand Crusader is the same as it was in Shadowlands. 15% chance when you avoid an attack (Dodge/Parry/Miss) or use Blessed Hammer to reset the cooldown of Avenger's Shield.
Shining Light	Shining Light will allow you to cast Word of Glory for free after 3 casts of Shield of the Righteous.
Sanctuary	Additional damage reduction from Consecration is always valuable.
Ardent Defender	Ardent Defender reduces all damage you take by 20% for 8 seconds. If you take lethal damage whilst Ardent Defender is active, it will heal you to 20% Health instead. 2-minute cooldown.
Consecration in Flame	Consecration in Flame increases the duration of Consecration by 2 seconds and the size by 15%.
Barricade of Faith	Barricade of Faith increases your block chance by 10% for 10 seconds when you cast Avenger's Shield.

4.4.2.

Niche Talents

You do not need to take any additional talents to progress further in the tree, however, the below talents should be picked as they are powerful in certain scenarios:

Talent	When to Consider
Inspiring Vanguard	This should be taken in raid scenarios. Inspiring Vanguard increases the chance for Grand Crusader to trigger to 20% and provides 2% Strength for 8 seconds when it triggers.

4.5.

Rows 5-7 Spec Talents for Protection Paladin

4.5.1.

Noteworthy Talents

The following talents will be picked regardless of your playstyle due to the power they provide:

Talent	Description/Effect
Bulwark of Order	Bulwark of Order adds an additional effect to Avenger's Shield. Avenger's Shield provides you with a damage absorption shield for 8 seconds for 25% of the damage dealt per stack. This absorb cannot be more than 30% of your maximum health.
Relentless Inquisitor	This is a free haste buff, which you will maintain rotationally.
Avenging Wrath: Might	Avenging Wrath: Might increases your Critical strike chance by 20% when you use Avenging Wrath.
Bastion of Light	Bastion of Light makes your next 3 casts of Shield of the Righteous or Word of Glory free. 2 minute cooldown.
Guardian of Ancient Kings	Guardian of Ancient Kings reduces all damage taken by 50% for 8 seconds. 5 minute cooldown.
Crusader's Judgment	Crusader's Judgment adds an additional charge to Judgment and allows the cooldown of Judgment to be reset when you trigger Grand Crusader.

4.5.2.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Blessing of Spellwarding	This talent should only be obtained if there is a need to immune magic effects that you are unable to completely cover with just Divine Shield.
Crusader's Resolve	Reduces the damage that enemies hit by your Avenger's Shield deal to you, this will be used primarily for Raiding scenarios.
Strength in Adversity	This is a powerful defensive tool in Mythic+ scenarios as you are casting Avenger's Shield on multiple targets frequently.
Tyr's Enforcer	In Mythic+, you will be dealing AoE damage frequently, and this adds even more.

4.6.

Avenging Wrath: Might versus Sentinel

The choice between these two talents entirely depends on what you need. You may not always need the defensive boost from Sentinel, so the default talent should be Avenging Wrath: Might.

4.7.

Rows 8-10 Spec Talents for Protection Paladin

Your final points are spent in this area of the talent tree.

4.7.1.

Noteworthy Talents

Both Raiding and Mythic+ focused builds will spend points in the following talents:

Talent	Description/Effect
Righteous Protector	Righteous Protector is a powerful cooldown reduction talent.
Eye of Tyr	Eye of Tyr deals damage to all enemies in 8 yards and reduces the damage they deal to you by 25% for 9 seconds. 1-minute cooldown.
Inmost Light	This increases the power of Eye of Tyr and reduces the cooldown. This should always be taken to make Eye of Tyr a more effective button press.
Resolute Defender	This talent will lower the cooldown of Ardent Defenderand Divine Shield when you spend Holy Power.
Gift of the Golden Val'kyr	Gift of the Golden Val'kyr should be where your final point is spent. The passive effects are powerful but not powerful enough to justify multiple points.

4.7.2.

Niche Talents

Talent	When to Consider
Focused Enmity	In Raiding scenarios, you will typically be fighting 1 target, this talent supports that and allows you to deal even more damage.
Soaring Shield	In Mythic+ Scenarios, you will be fighting enough enemies at once to reach the Avenger's Shield bounce cap. Adding more targets to this bolsters both your damage and defensiveness via interactions with other talents.
Bulwark of Righteous Fury	Another AoE damage talent pick. Great for Mythic+, and it adds a lot of additional damage.
Final Stand	This talent will be picked for Mythic+ scenarios and allows you to use Divine Shield both as an AoE taunt and as a powerful defensive tool with no risk to your group.

Certain talents require you to change how you play and change your rotation in varied amounts. We will go over the strengths of those talents here, but if you want to know how to use those talents in the rotation, follow the link to the Rotation page where we go through the rotation or priority system we follow.

Opting into War Mode makes you eligible for open-world PvP but also grants you the following benefits:

• World Quests at maximum level have 10% increased rewards (30% if you are Alliance).
• You gain 10% increased Experience while leveling (30% if you are Alliance).
• Allows you to earn Conquest Points towards weekly gear rewards.
• Grants you the use of PvP talents in the open-world.

With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended that you enable the feature to maximize your leveling and rewards at maximum level. However, you will make yourself eligible for open-world PvP, and the possibility of being "ganked" while leveling or doing World Quests exists.

This list is going to be assuming you care little about actual PvP combat, and focuses rather on optimal talents for outdoor PvE, such as World Questing and Leveling.

• Warrior of Light makes Shield of the Righteous deal 30% more damage at the cost of less Armor granted. This is generally fine for outdoor content since tanks usually do not struggle to survive in it.
• Steed of Glory increases the duration of Divine Steed by 2 seconds, which means you can travel a lot further per Steed charge, allowing you to quickly get between two places. Note, however, that it does cause you to knock back enemies that get close to you, which can be a negative aspect if you are trying to gather them up to AoE.
• Unbound Freedom turns your Blessing of Freedom into a 30% speed increase, helping you get around slightly faster when questing and leveling.

Talents, such as Hallowed Ground and Shield of Virtue, do what Protection Paladins already do very well with either Blessing of Freedom or Avenger's Shield. Shield of Virtue most importantly makes Avenger's Shield silence players, as it does not do it normally, but it will silence targets around it as well, and has very limited use.

Most other talents are either very weak or benefit players around you instead and are very limited in use.