3.1 Prot Spec - Help Please

[ck5uperman]

Hey! New member and first post. I am trying to sift through the various talent postings for Tankadins since the new patch. I am also trying to take into account Theck's massive TPS theorycraft post.

I created the basic Prot Tree portion of the Spec. I don't know if this is cookie cutter or not, but from all the posts I gathered these are the most common/favorable. Are they the best? I don't know. I also left 8 points available for the RET and Holy trees. I am pretty convinced that the talents spent in the prot tree are the ones I will be using. It is where I go from here that concerns me.

Note: I put nothing in Improved Devo Aura. (Think this is big mistake?) Is it worth putting 1/3 in Devo? Do enough Holy Pallies have this?

I would request input on both the "cookie cutter" layout I have linked, and where to spend the rest of my points........

Here is the Link: http://www.wowarmory.com/talent-calc.xml?cid=2&tal=000000000000000000000000005500513522010232133331232150000000000000000000000000

Some quick ideas I was considering.
Idea #1
- spend 5/5 in SoTP
- spend 3/3 in HoTC

Idea #2
- spend 3/3 in Imp. Devo.
- spend 5/5 in SoTP

Idea #3 Is this one too much ret?
- spend 2/2 in Imp. Judgw.
- spend 3/3 in HoTC
- spend 3/5 in conviction

Please post what you think is wrong or right and the REASON why!!!!!!

[Dorvan]

Not getting Imp Dev is a mistake. It's better than Imp HoJ, DS/DG, and Divinity for all around tanking. Imp HoJ is extremely situational, and even if you have a Resto Druid the mitigation from the armor boost to all your tanks is more useful than the healing bonus to yourself.

1/2 Imp Judgment is also mandatory to maintain a 969 rotation.

Here's the base cookie-cutter for Prot (The three point in Divinity can be spent anywhere in early prot depending on preference):

http://www.wowarmory.com/talent-calc.xm ... 0000000000

Beyond the base there are several possible options, but 12/53/6 (Imp Lay on Hands) and 0/53/18 (Crusade, with or without PoJ) seem to be the most popular options.

[ck5uperman]

That link was to my original spec. Can you please re-link?

[Dorvan]

fixed.

[Torquemada]

As per usual Dorvan is dead on. Long story short you have 3 points to play with in the low level prot tree. Some people go DS/DG, some go with Divinity, and others go Imp HoJ + Something(I chose this route). I personally took 1 point in Reckoning(And it makes me chuckle every time it procs) since I view Divinity as not all that helpful and I've never been in a position to use DG/DS really from my own guild's experiences. If you aren't the main tank or tanking something it may have uses for you.

From that point, you generally have to decide whether you want to spec for threat or for utility/survivability.

If you want survivability, knocking another 4 mins off LoH is ok(Get the minor glyph too if you haven't already, it's shibby as of 3.1), but the main benefit to it is the 50% armor bonus. It's not going to save you from Sarth+3 breaths, but it will mitigate some SERIOUS physical damage, plus you can use LoH more if your healers tend to slack. You can also go for Aura Mastery if you're dipping into Holy, and gain double bonuses from any aura you want for 10 seconds every 2 minutes. This may save your raid if they're dying in a fire, or not getting healed on Sapphiron. Or it can even prevent a silence at a crucial moment. In order to take Aura Mastery you have to give up something in deep prot. Most folks are looking at pulling a point out of Redoubt from what I've read, so your talent tree would look something like this.

If you're going for maximum threat/DPS, Theck's thread goes into pretty detailed analysis about the benefits of the Crusade/Conviction spec. A few questions still arise. Do you have a ret pally? If not, you'll want to pick up Heart of the Crusader. If so, you may be able to throw a few points into Benediction, or Improved Might(Although your Holy and Ret should have this covered). Long story short you need to spend an additional 4 points to get to Tier 3 Ret talents, which most folks are doing by putting 2/2 Imp Judgement and 3/3 HotC. From that point, you can either go 5/5 Conviction and 3/3 Crusade, or 3/5 Conv with 2/2 Pursuit of Justice. A good number of us are content with the movement speed bonus from PoJ, but it's up to you to decide which you prefer. Personally, I use this.

[Smyrf]

First off, I love this site, it's my holy-grail of info for tanking, and I attribute all my Tankadin success to this site (guild wasn't big on pally tanks, but I showed them, now I'm MT ).

I like the above spec, only one change, as I would recommend 1/2 Imp. Judgments, and 1/5 Benediction (I have gone oom on some Nax25 trash, and a couple of times on Lotheb 25). Mostly because from what I can tell, given the optimum rotation, 2/2 Imp. Judgments isn't necessarily your best option, and may end up being a waste of a point (unless something changed about 969 and 3.1, but I don't think so).

On a side note regarding 2/2 Imp Judgments, according to WoW Chic, the most popular spec has 2/2. I don't get it.



-Smyrf of Occidio on Skywall

[Cylan]

If you're going OOM, consider getting the Divine Plea glyph (if you haven't already) and switch kings with sanctuary... that should solve all of your mana problems. Also use consecrate less.

As for the second tier in retribution, taking 2/2 imp judgement gives you flexibility in terms of grabbing adds and tanking trash in general. Taking 2/2 doesn't mean you have to use it at 8 seconds, it just gives you the option.

[Smyrf]

TBH it's been a while since I've gone oom, thanks to the Divine Plea change, and I always have Sanc up (It's like a rule or something). So the 2/2 is just for flexibility/utility eh? Ok, works for me.

[neokai]

If you're going OOM, consider getting the Divine Plea glyph (if you haven't already) and switch kings with sanctuary... that should solve all of your mana problems. Also use consecrate less.

As for the second tier in retribution, taking 2/2 imp judgement gives you flexibility in terms of grabbing adds and tanking trash in general. Taking 2/2 doesn't mean you have to use it at 8 seconds, it just gives you the option.

Just a correction: Divine Plea Glyph does nothing for your mana regen. What it does, is reduce 3% of all incoming damage while Divine Plea is active. You might have mixed up Spiritual Attunement Glyph for Divine Plea i think?

The point on 2/2 imp judgments is valid. You just have a judgment cd that is shorter than 9 sec, doesn't mean you can't use it every 9 sec. Pallies often take it because it offers the most utility among the tier 1-2 talents left to reach Tier 3. =)