First Impressions of the Protection Paladin Changes in Patch 11.0.5 - Guide Writer Feedback

After a rougher start in The War Within, Protection Paladins are receiving some significant changes in the upcoming 11.0.5 Patch. Our Class Writer, Lincoln, breaks down all the changes to Protection including the talent changes, cooldown availability, and more.

Protection Paladin Guide

Our Class Writers share their expert opinions based on rigorous testing and theorycrafting in hopes of contextualizing the changes coming in future patches of the War Within. Check out all of our released editorials in our new Editorial Section.

Wowhead Editorials

The 20th Anniversary patch otherwise known as 11.0.5 brings some changes to the Paladin class, including major class tree changes, and some minor changes to the Protection spec tree itself. 11.0.5 is not a rework for Protection where things will be fundamentally different. The focus seems to be the class tree for Paladins. But that will trickle down to each spec in different ways. There is a perception in the community that if your class gets a whole bunch of patch notes, then it's nothing but great and that something will be overpowered. But in this case, the power level of Protection Paladin won't change that much and the spec will retain some of the same issues it has in 11.0.2.

In this article, I'll discuss some of the changes in 11.0.5, how they affect Protection, as well as some concerns and issues.

What is Gained in Patch 11.0.5

We'll start with what was gained in 11.0.5. It's always more fun to talk about the positives and how things are better.

Class Tree Flexibility
With the removal of power-based talents like Justification, we'll have more flexibility in the class tree to pick up utility. In 11.0.2, Paladins have to dedicate points to power choices and that can severely limit what utility can be taken. It boils down to picking strictly mandatories and dropping the nice to-haves. 11.0.5 will change this by allowing Paladins to have more nice haves.

Crowd Control

Paladins will have more mob control Read more on wowhead.com