Protection Paladin Talent Build & Glyphs
The 0/56/15 Protection Paladin build for WotLK 3.3.5a, point by point. It is already loaded in the calculator below, so you can change a talent, try another build or copy a link to share it.
- 0/56/15 main build
- 2 builds
- Glyphs included
- Free · no login
Class Armory
3.3.5a · LEVEL 80
Save, share & build options
Click to add · Right-click or Shift-click to remove. On touch screens, select a talent and use + / −.
Major Glyphs
Minor Glyphs
Glyph recommendations aren't compiled yet for this build — the talent split above is still fully real and verified against actual WotLK 3.3.5a game data.
Build snapshot
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About the Protection Paladin build
Protection Paladin puts fifty-six points into the Protection tree and fifteen into Retribution. The Protection points give you Holy Shield, Ardent Defender, Redoubt, Combat Expertise, Avenger's Shield and Hammer of the Righteous, which is the whole toolkit of the spec, and the Retribution points add threat and some raid utility. The calculator has two builds: our recommended 0/56/15 and a Raid Tank 0/53/18 that swaps Divinity and Improved Devotion Aura for Reckoning, Benediction and Crusade.
- 0/56/15main build
- 2builds to compare
- 6glyphs
- 71points at level 80
Protection Paladin builds compared
The calculator above has 2 builds for this spec. Pick one from the Build menu to load it. Every build totals 71 points, and the last column shows what it changes compared with the main build.
| Build | Split | Use it when | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Built main build | 0/56/15 | Our recommended build and the one to load first. It is the balanced tank build for progression raids. | the reference |
| Raid Tank | 0/53/18 | A standard raid tank with Divine Guardian, built for threat and mitigation. Choose it if your raid already covers the Devotion Aura talent elsewhere. | Crusade 0 → 3 Divinity 3 → 0 Improved Devotion Aura 3 → 0 Reckoning 0 → 3 Benediction 0 → 1 Improved Judgements 2 → 1 |
Every talent in the main Protection Paladin build
This is the 0/56/15 build, talent by talent, with what each one does at the rank the build takes. Talents are listed from the top of each tree to the bottom. The Holy tree gets no points in this build.
Protection56 points
| Talent | Rank | What it does at this rank |
|---|---|---|
| Divinity | 3/5 | Increases all healing done by you and all healing effects on you by 3%. |
| Divine Strength | 5/5 | Increases your total Strength by 15%. |
| Anticipation | 5/5 | Increases your chance to dodge by 5%. |
| Divine Sacrifice | 1/1 | 30% of all damage taken by party members within 30 yards is redirected to the Paladin (up to a maximum of 40% of the Paladin's health times the number of party members). Damage which reduces the Paladin below 20% health will break the effect. Lasts 10 sec. |
| Improved Righteous Fury | 3/3 | While Righteous Fury is active, all damage taken is reduced by 6%. |
| Toughness | 5/5 | Increases your armor value from items by 10% and reduces the duration of all movement slowing effects by 30%. |
| Divine Guardian | 2/2 | When Divine Sacrifice is activated, your party and raid members within 30 yards take 20% reduced damage for 6 sec. In addition, increases the duration of your Sacred Shield by 100% and the amount absorbed by 20%. |
| Improved Devotion Aura | 3/3 | Increases the armor bonus of your Devotion Aura by 50% and increases the amount healed on any target affected by any of your Auras by 6%. |
| Blessing of Sanctuary | 1/1 | 7% of base mana · 30 yd range · Instant castPlaces a Blessing on the friendly target, reducing damage taken from all sources by 3% for 10 min and increasing strength and stamina by 10%. In addition, when the target blocks, parries, or dodges a melee attack the target will gain 2% of maximum displayed mana. Players may only have one Blessing on them per Paladin at any one time. |
| Sacred Duty | 2/2 | Increases your total Stamina by 4%, reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield and Divine Protection spells by 60 sec. |
| One-Handed Weapon Specialization | 3/3 | Increases all damage you deal when a one-handed melee weapon is equipped by 10%. |
| Spiritual Attunement | 1/2 | A passive ability that gives the Paladin mana when healed by other friendly targets' spells. The amount of mana gained is equal to 5% of the amount healed. |
| Holy Shield | 1/1 | 10% of base mana · Instant cast · 8 sec cooldown · Requires Shields · Increases chance to block by 30% for 10 sec and deals 79 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Each block expends a charge. 8 charges. |
| Ardent Defender | 3/3 | Damage that takes you below 35% health is reduced by 20%. In addition, attacks which would otherwise kill you cause you to be healed by up to 30% of your maximum health (amount healed based on defense). This healing effect cannot occur more often than once every 2 min. |
| Redoubt | 3/3 | Increases your block value by 30% and damaging melee and ranged attacks against you have a 10% chance to increase your chance to block by 30%. Lasts 10 sec or 5 blocks. |
| Combat Expertise | 3/3 | Increases your expertise by 6, total Stamina and chance to critically hit by 6%. |
| Touched by the Light | 3/3 | Increases your spell power by an amount equal to 60% of your Strength and increases the amount healed by your critical heals by 30%. |
| Avenger's Shield | 1/1 | 26% of base mana · 30 yd range · Instant Cast · 30 sec cooldown · Hurls a holy shield at the enemy, dealing 441 to 537 Holy damage, Dazing them and then jumping to additional nearby enemies. Affects 3 total targets. Lasts 10 sec. |
| Guarded by the Light | 2/2 | Reduces spell damage taken by 6% and gives a 100% chance to refresh the duration of your Divine Plea when you hit an enemy. In addition, your Divine Plea spell is 100% less likely to be dispelled. |
| Shield of the Templar | 3/3 | Reduces all damage taken by 3% and grants your Avenger's Shield a 100% chance to silence your targets for 3 sec. |
| Judgements of the Just | 2/2 | Reduces the cooldown of your Hammer of Justice by 10 sec, increases the duration of your Seal of Justice effect by 1 sec and your Judgement spells also reduce the melee attack speed of the target by 20%. |
| Hammer of the Righteous | 1/1 | 6% of base mana · Melee Range · Instant Cast · 6 sec cooldown · Requires One-Handed Melee WeaponHammer the current target and up to 2 additional nearby targets, causing 4 times your main hand damage per second as Holy damage. |
Retribution15 points
| Talent | Rank | What it does at this rank |
|---|---|---|
| Deflection | 5/5 | Increases your Parry chance by 5%. |
| Improved Judgements | 2/2 | Decreases the cooldown of your Judgement spells by 2 sec. |
| Heart of the Crusader | 3/3 | In addition to the normal effect, your Judgement spells will also increase the critical strike chance of all attacks made against that target by an additional 3%. |
| Vindication | 2/2 | Gives the Paladin's damaging attacks a chance to reduce the target's attack power by 46 for 10 sec. |
| Seal of Command | 1/1 | 14% of base mana · Instant cast · All melee attacks deal 2 to 3 additional Holy damage. When used with attacks or abilities that strike a single target, this additional Holy damage will strike up to 2 additional targets. Lasts 30 min. · Unleasing this Seal's energy will judge an enemy, instantly causing 2 to 2 Holy damage. |
| Pursuit of Justice | 2/2 | Reduces the duration of all Disarm effects by 50% and increases movement and mounted movement speed by 15%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing effects. |
Protection Paladin glyphs
Major glyphs
Glyph of Divine PleaWhile Divine Plea is active, you take 3% reduced damage from all sources.
Glyph of Seal of VengeanceYour Seal of Vengeance or Seal of Corruption also grants 10 expertise while active.
Glyph of Righteous DefenseIncreases the chance for your Righteous Defense and Hand of Reckoning abilities to work successfully by 8% on each target.
For fights with many targets: Glyph of Consecration, Glyph of Hammer of the Righteous.
Minor glyphs
Glyph of Lay on HandsReduces the cooldown of your Lay on Hands spell by 5 min.
Glyph of Sense UndeadDamage against Undead increased by 1% while your Sense Undead ability is active.
Glyph of Blessing of KingsReduces the mana cost of your Blessing of Kings and Greater Blessing of Kings spells by 50%.
Protection Paladin talents FAQ
QWhat is the best Protection Paladin talent build in WotLK 3.3.5a?
Our main build is 0/56/15: 0 points in Holy, 56 in Protection and 15 in Retribution. The deepest talents it takes are Hammer of the Righteous, Shield of the Templar, Judgements of the Just and Touched by the Light. The calculator on this page loads it, and you can change any point to see what it costs.
QWhich glyphs should a Protection Paladin use?
The main build uses Glyph of Divine Plea, Glyph of Seal of Vengeance and Glyph of Righteous Defense as major glyphs and Glyph of Lay on Hands, Glyph of Sense Undead and Glyph of Blessing of Kings as minor glyphs. For fights with many targets, Glyph of Consecration and Glyph of Hammer of the Righteous can replace a major glyph.
QHow should a Protection Paladin split talent points?
Level 80 gives 71 talent points. The main build spends them as 0/56/15 across Holy, Protection and Retribution. The other 1 build (Raid Tank 0/53/18) move some of the points, and the table above shows which ones.
QWhich Protection Paladin build should I pick?
Self-Built (0/56/15): Our recommended build and the one to load first. It is the balanced tank build for progression raids. Raid Tank (0/53/18): A standard raid tank with Divine Guardian, built for threat and mitigation. Choose it if your raid already covers the Devotion Aura talent elsewhere.