In one of our recent videos, Method Asa reviews the Protection Paladin talent tree in the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Dragonflight.
Holy Power Economy
Asa kicks off by talking about what might be the most impactful change in Dragonflight; the fact that Avengers Shield no longer rewards Holy Power which dramatically reduces your Holy Power economy, a change that significantly impacts Shield of the Righteous uptime. However, Asa continues to explain that you are not left completely defenseless and will be provided with ways to mitigate damage during Shield of the Righteous downtime.
The Paladin Class Talents
Moving on to talents, Asa believes that the Paladin class tree has been significantly improved in its latest iteration. The pathing was changed and there’s now a better flow than the previous version. The Paladin talent tree in Dragonflight allows for all three specializations, Holy, Retribution and Protection to access Spell Warding, which in itself is a nerf to Protection as it was previously unique to the tank specialization.
The Protection Tree
In the Protection Paladin talent tree, Asa underlines that you are given resources to compensate for the nerfed Shield of the Righteous uptime, such as Sanctuary which reduces damage taken by 5% while standing in Consecration, Bulwark of Order which shields you for 50/100% of the damage it dealt, as well as Faith in the Light causing Word of Glory to increase block chance by 5% for 5 seconds.
Additionally, Protection Paladins will see the return of many old talents like Light of the Titans, Shining Light and most significantly, Eye of Tyr, a great defensive cooldown that causes holy damage to all nearby enemies within 8 yards and reduces the damage they deal to you by 25% for 9 seconds.
Summary
All in all, Asa states that there are both positive and negative changes coming to Protection Paladins in Dragonflight, highlighting the defensive magic damage reduction becoming available to all three specs, but remains excited about the return of old talents and abilities.
Make sure to check out the full video over at Youtube for a more extensive breakdown of Protection Paladins in the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion!
