So you wanna be a pally tank...

SO YOU WANT TO BE A PALADIN TANK

1.0 Is Paladin tanking viable
1.1 Gear and where to get it
1.2 How to tank
1.3 Taunts and Macros


1.0 IS PALADIN TANKING VIABLE The short answer is YES. The long is...well long, so here goes. Blizzard has made three types of tanks: Druid, Warrior, Paladin. All three types of tanks are viable and have their specialty. The Bear tank has high health and high armor. The warrior tank has high aggro threat generation and many "oh crap" buttons to save the day. The paladin tank has high quick threat generation and can aoe tank. They all have disadvantages too. The bear tank is crushable. The warrior tank has trouble holding aggro on multiple targets. The paladin tank currently suffers from having the lowest health of the three tanks.

Before BC, the paladin tank was not viable at all. He lacked a reliable taunt, had no way to generate sufficient threat on targets, and would quickly run out of mana. Blizzard has changed all of this. We know have Righteous Defense as a taunt. We have Righteous Fury to help generate a large amount of threat. And Spiritual Attunment now keeps our mana bar full. Blizzard has also seen fit to gives us a new talent which will increase our total stamina by 10%. This talent is huge and will actually place us on par with the warrior tank's health.

Many people still believe that paladin tanking is not first rate, but I'm here to tell you that it is. Too many people still don't know that we have a taunt, or that we can actually hold aggro. They usually only see us as an off-tank. If I had a gold piece for every time I have heard, "let the warrior or druid tank, since they are better at it" - I would be ----well rich. People usually only look at health bars and armor to determine which is the better tank, but that is too simplistic of an approach. Let me explain with an example. Lets say we have a bear tank with 20k health and armor that mitigates at 75% of incoming damage. And we have an uncrushable paladin tank with only 14k health and armor that mitigates at 60% of incoming damage. The mob is a level 73 mob that normally hits for 3k on a normal hit. (In this example, the mob will only hit for 3k as a consistent hit) Question: Who will die first?

Bear tank damage taken after mitigation
Hit one: 3k 750 damage
Hit two: 3k 750 damage
Hit three: 3k 750 damage
________________________
So totals now 2250 damage

Now hit four is a crushing blow which does 150% of normal damage. Since a normal hit does 3k, a crushing blow does 7500 damage. A bear tank is always crushable.

Bear tank damge taken after mitigation
Hit four: 7500 5625 damage
________________________
So totals now 7875 damage
If we repeat this sequence three times, at the end the bear would have taken a total of 23,625 and be dead. The bear tank took 3,625 more damage than he had health.

Now lets look at the paladin
Paladin tank damage taken after mitigation
Hit one: 3K 1200
Hit two: 3K 1200
Hit three: 3k 1200
_____________________
So totals now 3600
Hit four: 7500 1200(because paladin cannot be crushed)
______________________
So totals now 4800

If we repeat this sequence three times, at the end the paladin would have taken a total of 14,400 and be dead. The paladin tank took 400 more damage than he had health.

We can see that the bear tank took 3,625 more damage than he had health versus the paladin only took 400 more damage than he had health. And, in case, you didn't know, mobs level 73 often will crush a tank two or even three times in a row. Prince in Kara is a good example of this. So lets see what the damage looks like if we increase the rate of crushing blows.

Bear tank damage taken after mitigation
Hit one: 3k 750 damage
Hit two: 3k 750 damage
Hit three: 3k 750 damage
Hit four: crushing 5625 damage
Hit five: crushing 5625 damage
Hit six: crushing 5625 damage
______________________________
Totals so far 19,125 damage

Assuming the next two hits are only normal hits, they will kill the bear tank who will have taken a total of 20,625.

Paladin tank damage taken after mitigation
Hit one: 3k 1200 damage
Hit two: 3k 1200 damage
Hit three: 3k 1200 damage
Hit four: crushing 1200 damage
Hit five: crushing 1200 damage
Hit six: crushing 1200 damage
______________________________
Totals so far 7200 damage

Assuming the next two hits are only normal hits, they will do an additional 2400.
The paladin tank will have taken a total of 9,600 and still have a total of 4,400 health.

This does not mean that the paladin tank is superior to the bear tank in all circumstances. The purpose of the example is to illustrate the fact that when choosing the right tank, it is best to consider all the factors instead of just who has the highest health and highest armor.

Unlike a bear tank that can be crushed, a warrior cannot be crushed if he knows how to play his character well. A warrior can be uncrushable like a paladin tank by using his spell known as Shield Block. It is not necessary to make a comparison between the warrior and a paladin since they both (after 2.3 patch) have similar health and similar mitigation percentages. The one significant difference is their uncrushability; a warrior's spell which makes him uncrushable can leave him exposed to crushes when dealing with a fast hitting mob. Unlike a warriors spell, the paladin's Holy Shield will make the paladin tank immune to crushing blows for 8 seconds or 8 hits and his cooldown is only 8 seconds. This means that a paladin can effectively make himself completely immune to crushing blows for the entire time of the fight. If the mob is a slow hitting mob, both the warrior and paladin tank will be immune to crushing blows, however, when dealing with a fast hitting mob, the warrior will have a brief time in which he is exposed to crushing blows while the paladin will not. Again I am not saying that the paladin tank is superior to the other two tanks, but what I am saying is that the paladin tank is just as viable as a tank as the other two tanks are.

1.2 GEAR AND WHERE TO GET IT It is important to become uncrittable and uncrushable. I have put together a list of items which can be obtained from running normal 5 man instances, quest rewards, and rep rewards which will give you a defense of over 490 and a total avoidance of over 102.4%.

Head: Felsteel Helm 63 +Stam / 2.20%
Crafted
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=23519
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23519
http://www.thottbot.com/i23519
1284 Armor
+27 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +4 Hit Rating
Increases defense rating by 33
Crafted: Felsteel Bars (
Requires Blacksmithing (365) to create
Plans Drop From: Cabal Fanatic in Shadow Labyrinth

Enchant: Glyph of the Defender 1.96%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29186
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29186
http://www.thottbot.com/i29186
Requires Level 70
Use: Permanently adds 16 defense rating and 17 dodge rating to a head slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Reputation Reward: Keepers of Time – Revered

Neck: Strength of the Untamed 27 +Stam / 2.21%
Reputation Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29173
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29173
http://www.thottbot.com/i29173
+27 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 19.
Increases your dodge rating by 18.
Cenarion Expedition - Revered

Shoulder: Spaulders of the Righteous 46 +Stam / 1.33%
Instance
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=27739
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27739
http://www.thottbot.com/i27739
873 Armor
+22 Stamina
+22 Intellect
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +3 Defense Rating
Increases defense rating by 20.
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 15
Drops From: Laj in Botanica

Enchant: Greater Inscription of the Knight 1.52%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28911
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28911
http://www.thottbot.com/i28911
Requires Level 70
Use: Permanently adds 15 defense rating and 10 dodge rating to a shoulder slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot
Reputation Reward: The Scryers - Exalted

Enchant: Greater Inscription of Warding 1.45%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28889
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28889
http://www.thottbot.com/i28889
Requires Level 70
Use: Permanently adds 15 dodge rating and 10 defense rating to a shoulder slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Reputation Reward: The Aldor - Exalted

Enchant: Inscription of the Knight 0.86%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28908
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28908
http://www.thotbott.com/i28908
Requires Level 64
Use: Permanently adds 13 defense rating to a shoulder slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Reputation Reward: The Scryers - Honored

Enchant: Inscription of Warding 0.68%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28882
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28882
http://www.thotbott.com/i28882
Requires Level 64
Use: Permanently adds 13 dodge rating to a shoulder slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Reputation Reward: The Aldor - Honored

Back: Devilshark Cape 22 +Stam / 2.28%
Instance
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=27804
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27804
http://www.thottbot.com/i27804
78 Armor
+22 Stamina
Requires Level 70
Increases defense rating by 20.
Increases your dodge rating by 18.
Equip: Increases the block value of your shield by 29.
Drops From: Warlord Kalithresh in Steam Vault

Enchant: Dodge 0.63%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=20736
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=25086
http://www.thottbot.com/s25086
Permanently enchant a cloak to give 12 dodge rating.
Reagents: Small Prismatic Shard (3), Greater Planar Essence (3), Primal Earth (
Requires Enchanting (300) to create
Recipe Drops From: Bosses in Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj and Ahn'Qiraj

Chest: Jade-Skull Breastplate 50 +Stam / 4.57%
Instance
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28262
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28262
http://www.thottbot.com/i28262
1164 Armor
+30 Strength
+50 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 25.
Increases your shield block rating by 23
Drops From: Nethermancer Sepethrea in Mechanar

Enchant: Exceptional Health 150 HP
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=27957
http://www.thottbot.com/s27957
Permanently enchant a piece of chest armor to grant +150 health
Reagents: Arcane Dust (, Major Healing Potion (4), Large Brilliant Shard (2)
Requires Enchanting (315) to create
Recipe From: Vendor – Grand Master Enchanters in Shattrath City, Honor Hold, Netherstorm

Wrist: Bracers of the Green Fortress 39 +Stam / 1.65%
Crafted
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=23538
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23538
http://www.thottbot.com/i23538
581 Armor
+39 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 17.
Increases your dodge rating by 10.
Crafted: Hardened Adamantite Bar (6), Primal Life (20), Primal Nether
Requires Blacksmithing (365) to create
Plans Drop From: World drop in Outland

Enchant: Major Defense 0.63%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=22530
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=27906
http://www.thottbot.com/s27906
Permanently enchant a bracer to give 12 defense rating.
Reagents: Small Prismatic Shard (2), Arcane Dust (10)
Requires Enchanting (320) to create
Recipe Drops From: Ethereum Jailors & Ethereum Nullifiers in Netherstorm

Enchant Bracer – Fortitude 12 +Stam
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=22533
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=22533
http://www.thotbott.com/i22533
Permanently enchants bracers to give 12 Stamina
Reagents: Large Prismatic Shard, Greater Planar Essence (10), Arcane Dust (20)
Requires Enchanting (350) to create
Recipe Drops From: Mobs in The Steam Vault

Hands: Felsteel Gloves 51 +Stam / 1.66%
Crafted
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=23517
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23517
http://www.thottbot.com/i23517
943 Armor
+27 Stamina
Blue Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +3 Parry Rating
Requires Level 70
Increases defense rating by 25.
Crafted: Felsteel Bar (6)
Requires Blacksmithing (360) to create
Plans Drop From: Auchenai Monk in Auchenai Crypts

Knothide Armor Kit 8 +Stam
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=25650
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25650
http://thottbot.com/i25650
Requires Level 50
Use: Permanently increase the stamina of an item worn on the chest, legs, hands or feet by 8. Only usable on items level 55 and above.
Crafted: Knothide Leather (4)
Requires Leatherworking (300) to create
Recipe Available from Trainer

Enchant: Superior Agility 0.60%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=20731
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=25080
http://www.thottbot.com/s25080
Permanently enchant gloves to increase Agility by 15.
Reagents: Nexus Crystal (3), Large Brilliant Shard (, Essence of Air (4)
Requires Enchanting (300) to create
Recipe Available From: Alurmi the Keepers of Time Quartermaster - Requires Exalted Reputation with Keepers of Time

Enchant: Major Spellpower
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28272
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28272
http://www.thottbot.com/i28272
Permanently enchant gloves to increase spell damage and healing by up to 20.
Reagents: Greater Planar Essence (6), Large Prismatic Shard (6), Primal Mana (6)
Requires Enchanting (360) to create
Recipe From: Vendor - Keepers of Time – Honored

Vindicator's Armor Kit 0.53%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=25651
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25651
http://www.thotbott.com/i524
Permanently increase the defense rating of an item worn on the chest, legs, hands or feet by 8. Only usable on items level 60 and above.
Crafted: Heavy Knothide Leather (3), Primal Earth (1)
Requires Leatherworking (325) to create
Reputation Reward: The Aldor - Revered

Waist: Sha'tari Vindicator's Waistguard 33 +Stam / 4.36%
Quest Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=31460
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31460
http://www.thottbot.com/i31460
655 Armor
+33 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 20.
Increases your shield block rating by 24.
Equip: Increases the block value of your shield by 29.

Legs: Timewarden's Leggings 93 +Stam / 1.78%
Reputation Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29184
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29184
http://www.thottbot.com/i29184
1019 Armor
+57 Stamina
Red Socket
Yellow Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Block Value
Increases defense rating by 18.
Increases your dodge rating by 11.
Keepers of Time - Revered

Enchant: Clefthide Leg Armor 30 +Stam / 0.40%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29534
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29534
http://www.thottbot.com/i29534
Permanently attach clefthide armor onto pants to increase Stamina by 30 and Agility by 10.
Crafted: Heavy Knothide Leather (4), Thick Clefthoof Leather (, Primal Earth (4)
Requires Leatherworking (335) to create
Requires Cenarion Expedition – Honored to create
Requires Level 60

Nethercleft Leg Armor 40 +Stam / 0.48%
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29536
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29536
http://www.thottbot.com/i29536
Permanently attach clefthide armor onto pants to increase Stamina by 40 and Agility by 12
Crafted: Heavy Knothide Leather (4), Thick Clefthoof Leather (16), Primal Earth (, Primal Nether (1)
Requires Leatherworking (365)
Requires Cenarion Expedition – Exalted to create
Requires Level 60

Feet: Flesh Beast's Metal Greaves 25 +Stam / 2.68%
Quest Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29325
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29325
http://www.thottbot.com/i29325
680 Armor
+25 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 18.
Increases your dodge rating by 28.

Someone Else's Hard Work Pays Off (Mana-Tombs) NPC: Cryo-Engineer Sha'heen

Enchant: Fortitude 12 +Stam
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=22543
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=27950
http://www.thottbot.com/s27950
Permanently enchant boots to grant 12 Stamina.
Reagents: Arcane Dust (12)
Requires Enchanting (320) to create
Recipe Drops From: Ethereal Priest in Mana-Tombs

Finger: Protector's Mark of the Redemption 22 +Stam / 1.66%
Quest Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=31078
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31078
http://www.thottbot.com/i31078
+22 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 25.
Equip: Increases the block value of your shield by 15.

Finger: Elementium Band of the Sentry 24 +Stam / 2.33%
Instance
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28407
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28407
http://www.thottbot.com/i28407
+24 Stamina
Increases defense rating by 20.
Increases your dodge rating by 19.
Drops From: Harbinger Skyriss in The Arcatraz

Trinket: Figurine of the Colossus 4.05%
Instance
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=27529
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27529
http://www.thottbot.com/i27529
Equip: Increases your shield block rating by 32.
Use: Each successful block heals you for 120. Effect lasts 20 sec
Drops From: Warchief Kargath Bladefist in The Shattered Halls

Trinket: Adamantine Figurine 2.13%
Instance
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=27891
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27891
http://www.thottbot.com/i27891
Requires Level 68
Equip: Increases defense rating by 32.
Use: Increases armor by 1280 for 20 sec
Drops From: Blackheart the Inciter in Shadow Labyrinth

Trinket: Dabiri's Enigma 2.00%
Quest Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=30300
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=30300
http://www.thottbot.com/i30300
Equip: Increases defense rating by +30
Use: Increases block rating by 125 (15.9%) for 15 sec.

Quest chain starts with:
Recipe for Destruction (Netherstorm) NPC: Professor Dabiri

Trinket: Darkmoon Card: Vengeance 51 +Stam
Quest Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=31858
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31858
http://www.thottbot.com/i31858
Quest reward: Darkmoon Furies Deck (Darkmoon Faire).
+51 Stamina
Equip: You have a 10% chance when hit by an attack or harmful spell to deal 95 to 115 holy damage to your attacker.

Darkmoon Faire – collect Furies Cards (Ace,2,3,4,5,6,7, to create a Furies Deck. Cards can drop from various mobs/bosses in Outland.
Turn Furies Deck in to: NPC: Professor Thaddeus Paleo

Weapon: Continuum Blade 30 +Stam / 121 Spell Damage
Reputation Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29185
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29185
http://www.thottbot.com/i29185
35-114 Damage
Speed 1.80
(41.4 damage per second)
+30 Stamina
+11 Intellect
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves spell hit rating by 8.
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 121.
Keepers of Time - Revered

Enchant: Major Spellpower +40 Spell Damage
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=22555
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=27975
http://www.thottbot.com/s27975
Permanently enchant a melee weapon to increase spell damage and healing by up to 40.
Reagents: Large Prismatic Shard (, Greater Planar Essence (
Requires Enchanting (350) to create
Recipe Drops From: enchant has been stolen from the Razaani spell thieves by the Bash'ir spell thieves. The Bash'ir are more likely to have the recipe than the Razaani previously did, however. Blade's Edge Mountains

Shield: Crest of the Sha'tar 43 +Stam / 1.01%
Reputation Reward
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29176
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29176
http://www.thottbot.com/i29176
4465 Armor
108 Block
+19 Stamina
Blue Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +3 Dodge Rating
Increases defense rating by 13.
Equip: Increases the block value of your shield by 24.
The Sha'tar - Exalted

Enchant Shield - Major Stamina 18 +Stam
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=28282
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28282
http://www.thottbot.com/i28282
Permanently enchant a shield to give 18 Stamina.
Reagents: Arcane Dust (15)
Requires Enchanting (325) to create
Recipe Available From: Vendor - Madame Ruby (Enchanting Supplies) Shattrath City
Libram: Libram of Repentance 5.31%
Heroic Badges
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=29388
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29388
http://www.thottbot.com/i29388
Equip: Increases your block rating by 42 while Holy Shield is active.
Available From: Vendor – Badge of Justice (15) (from running Heroic instances)

Gems: Solid Star of Elune 12 +Stam
http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=24033
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24033
http://www.thottbot.com/i24033
+12 Stamina
"Matches a Blue Socket."
Crafted: Star of Elune (1)
Requires Jewelcrafting (350) to create
Design From: World Drop
This type of gem is the only real choice for a paladin tank since he wants to obtain the highest health he can.

The combination of the above gear will allow you to have ~11.5K health with ~4-5k mana and be uncrittable (490 defense) and uncrushable (102.4 total avoidance).
To determine your total avoidance add up the following numbers from the defense on your character:

1. 5% miss (everyone has this 5% to be missed by any mob)
2. Parry number
3. Dodge number
4. Block number (with Holy Shield active)
5. Put your cursor over your defense (hopefully 490) and a new window opens up to show you how much more avoidance you get from your defense
Total avoidance = 5% + parry + dodge + block (with HS active) + added avoidance from defense
If this total number is 102.4 - then you are uncrushable when HS is active.

The following macro can be used to determine if you are uncrushable. Make sure your Holy Shield is active when you use the macro:

/script DEFAULT_CHAT_FRAME:AddMessage("Need 102.4 combined avoidance. Currently at:",0.8,0.8,1)
/script DEFAULT_CHAT_FRAME:AddMessage(GetDodgeChance()+GetBlockChance()+GetParryChance()+5+(GetCombatRating(CR_DEFENSE_SKILL)*150/355 + 20)*0.04,1,0.5,0)

That second line is all one line no returns.

1.3 HOW TO TANK
Paladin tanking is different than warrior tanking. We build high threat quickly and then must work to stay ahead of the dps in the group. We build aggro mainly through the use of our spells which generates aggro through holy damage. Because of this, a weapon with spell damage like the continuum blade is preferable to a weapon with no spell damage like King's defender. Make sure Righteous Fury is on all the time.

Blessings:
If you are the only paladin in the group, give everyone salvation and give yourself Kings. Kings is the best blessing for trash pulls. I have run with a lot of PUGs where I will bless a hunter or some other type of dps class with salvation The player will then tell me that he wants Might, or some other blessing. First off, tell them that they get the blessings that you give them. I am not trying to be mean, but I have found that sometimes dps-ers don't understand threat/aggro at all. They believe that they can go all out all the time with their damage output. This is simply not the case. Tell them that salvation will actually allow them to go all out and then some without pulling aggro from you. It helps the group kill mobs more efficiently because the healer only has to worry about healing the tank instead of the entire party. If you find yourself grouped with another paladin think about having Kings and Sanctuary on yourself. If you are going to do any aoe tanking, then the preferred blessing is Sanctuary

Aura:
Retribution aura is far superior to Devotion aura. It causes damage to anyone who hits you and that damage is holy damage. Remember holy damage cannot be mitigated by armor like regular white melee damage. Additionally, holy damage has a multiplier that causes this type of damage to cause a higher threat to the mob than normal white melee damage. I remember dueling another protection spec tank, he was a warrior, and no it was not Funiculi. I was waiting outside of Kara when he asked to duel me. I saw that he was protection spec based upon his gear. I thought to myself this is going to be an interesting fight since we were both likely to have a high mitigation factor in regards to incoming damage. I accepted the duel. I won, but not because I could heal myself; I won because even though he was able to mitigate most of my melee white damage he was taking all of my holy damage that I was generating from Seal of Righteousness. I will usually have Retribution aura on for the entire run, except for boss encounters. For bosses, I switch to devotion aura because now I am going for as much mitigation as I can get.


Single trash pull
Bring up a seal. Which seal to bring up depends on the mob, your gear, and the groups overall dps. If you need that added boost to threat, bring up seal of crusader. If it is going to be a long fight, maybe seal of wisdom. After bringing up your seal, toss avenger shield (rank1) to hit the mob and run towards the mob. When you get nearer to the mob, judge the seal that you have, and bring up a new seal. Some people say that the Seal of Vengeance is better than the Seal of Righteousness I disagree. Seal of Vengeance takes some time to stack and the stacks can sometimes fall off the mob. Additionally the mob will probably die before Seal of Vengeance is fully stacked and useful. Seal of Righteousness is a steady aggro builder and very reliable. Judge the seal as soon as you can and then bring up a new seal. If you find that the dps-ers are pulling off the mob, then lay down a consecration at the beginning of the fight right after you judge the mob with the first seal that you had brought up. There is a interesting difference in option as to whether any mob can crush or not. Some people say that only a level 73 mob (assuming you are a level 70 toon) can crush. However, I am not sure of this. I tend to believe that mobs of lower levels than 73 can also crush. Therefore, I use Holy Shield and tend to keep it up all the time. In addition to preventing a crushing blow, it also hits back with every block causing holy damage to the mob and thereby causing more aggro.

Multiple trash pull
Same as above, however, you will lay down a consecration just before they all reach you. This will allow you to have aggro on multiple targets. It is important that you educate the members of your group if you are going to be doing any aoe tanking to stay on your target. When consecration is ready, lay it down again. Assuming that you have Seal of Righteousness up swing away until your judgment is ready and then judge it and bring up the seal again. And remember to have Holy Shield up as well to do additional holy damage each time you block a hit from a mob.

Boss pulls
Make sure that Devotion aura is up. Put Kings and hopefully Sanctuary on yourself. Use Avenger Shield to pull, lay down consecration, put up Holy Shield and judge Seal of Crusader. Bring up Seal of Righteousness and judge whenever you can. Continue to keep Holy Shield up and lay down consecrations as soon as you can. Whenever you have built up a significant lead in threat, you can bring up, for example, seal of wisdom if you are needing that extra boost in mana and then judge it. If you don't need the extra mana, and you have a sizable lead, you can then switch to Seal of Vengeance The longer the fight, the more you will have to work to stay ahead of the dps-ers. I have found that mana is not really a concern because Spiritual Attunment gives us back the mana that we need every time we get healed. Also consider down ranking some of your spells. For example, I usually use rank 1 Avenger Shield on all trash pulls and only upgrade for boss fights. The same goes for consecration. I usually use rank 2 for trash pulls. For boss fights, I start with the top rank spell and then after I have a comfortable lead in threat, I use rank 2 of consecration on the boss fight as well.


1.4 TAUNTS AND MACROS
I know what you are thinking, we only have one taunt - Righteous Defense, so why write about it. Well in my opinion, we actually have three forms of aggro getters. The first is of course Righteous Defense which pulls up to three mobs on the targeted player. Make sure you read the section which covers necessary tanking macros to make Righteous Defense more effective. The second taunt type spell we have is Blessing of Protection. If a player pulls aggro off a paladin tank, casting Blessing of Protection will lower his threat thereby causing the mob to go to the next highest threat which will hopefully be you. Make sure you make a macro for this spell as well. The third and last taunt type spell is a combination as follows: Lets say that a mage pulls aggro off of you. As the mob runs to hit the mage, you hit your Hammer of Judgment to freeze the mob, then quickly hit your highest rank of Avenger Shield while the mob is still frozen in place. This will, in most circumstances, put you on top of the aggro charts and make the mob come back to you. You should always use Righteous Defense first, if available since it has the quickest cooldown, but remember that you have two other forms of taunts to use just in case.

I use the following macros to help me tank:

1. Righteous Defense - macro will target your target's target - so if you are hitting the mob and the mob turns to hit another player, you will gain his aggro back without having to switch your target

/cast [target=targettarget, help] Righteous Defense

2. Blessing of Protection - same as above macro. It allows you to put the blessing on the mobs target without having to switch targets

/cast [target=targettarget, help] Blessing of Protection(Rank 3)

3. Specify a particular player in advance to put the Blessing of Protection on - This macro was helpful in fighting Nightbane. I was laying down consecration and having Malleas (mage with insane dps) aoe the undead. I knew that he was going to pull aggro off of me -so I created this macro that I would use when he would tell me that he was starting his aoe. I would use this macro, he would burn down all the mobs and they would stay on me since he was protected by the blessing.

/target Malleas
/cast Blessing of Protection(Rank 3)


Hopefully this thread will help you in tanking. I am not attempting to say that I know everything there is to know about paladin tanking. My purpose in creating this thread was to give other people who are contemplating tanking as a paladin, the benefit of what I have learned so far. I hope to learn more from you and others who take the time to post here as well. And together, we can build a stronger guild and take on new and exciting content. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me in game.