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Tankadin Talent Build Part I - Threat

The nice thing about the paladin protection tree is that there are a lot of can't miss talents. The bad thing about the paladin protection tree is that there are a lot of can't miss talents, which means we don't get a lot of beneift from the other talent trees. The talent build I use when tanking, and the one I'm going to talk about for the next couple of days, is a 0/46/15 build. While I think there are quite a few variations that one can make to it, I believe it includes the best tanking talents, while minimizing some of the less useful ones.

Before I go into the build itself, I want to say a little something about paladin tanking mechanics. The role of any tank is to keep mobs from attacking other players. The tank does this by causing enough aggro or threat so that the mobs attack him. Paladins predominately cause threat by spending mana to deal holy damage to the mob. This is primarily done with direct damage spells such as avenger's shield, judgments, weapon procs from seals, and AOE damage from consecrate. There is a secondary component to a paladin's threat generation that is equally as important: being hit by mobs and taking damage. Ignoring talents for the moment, a tanking paladin using retribution aura will deal holy damage and generate threat every time he is struck in battle. Coupled with that is the passive ability, spiritual attunement, which replenishes the paladin's mana every time he is healed. So in many ways, it's just as important, if not more so, for a paladin to be hit than to hit.

The talents in the build I have linked below were chosen to maximize holy damage, both active and passive, and to increase the ammount of damage a paladin can avoid and absorb. As I said, there are many variations possible. However, I think this is probably the best build for tanks pre-tier 6 content.

This is myTankadin Build.

Tomorrow I will discuss avoidance, and why I picked some talents, and why I left others out.

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2.4 Magister's Terrace Review

Tuesday Blizzard released patch 2.4 to the live realms. There were only a handful of class changes, with avenger's shield not affecting CCed targets probably being the biggest one for paladins. But the real meat of the patch was the addition of the new 5-man instance The Magister's Terrace, the 25-man raid instance The Sunwell, and the new badge loot. Today, I'll be talking about The Magister's Terrace and what paladins can expect from it.

The Magister's Terrace is a 5-man instance located on the Blood Elf isle of Quel'danas. The small island is a new level 70 zone located just north of Eversong Woods. One can get there easily by visiting the flight master just outside of Silvermoon City. Once you reach the isle, there is a little quest hub nearby. There you can pick up a quest chain that leads you through Magister's Terrace, and ultimately rewards you with nice epic gem and the ability to attempt MgT in heroic mode. The instance itself is located on the northeastern section of the island. It's pretty easy to find, just follow the road to the east from where you got your quest.

Before 2.4 was released Blizzard devs had said that they wanted the new 5-man to be on par with Shattered Halls and Shadow Labyrinth in dificulty, with gear being at the level of lower Kara. And for the most part, that's how the instance shaped out. Like those two instances, MgT requires decent to good gear and plenty of CC. Throughout the instance there are four, five, and six pulls, with the third boss fight being a six pull itself. AOE tanking is possible if you don't have the CC, but be warned that casters make up the majority of the groups pulled. They have an incinerate that hits pretty good, and an immolation that can really cause some pain if not dispelled.

I attempted MgT on normal mode both as holy and protection. The first attempt was with a warrior tank, an enhance shaman and two locks and myself healing. We didn't make it to the first boss. The tank was unable to keep more than one target on him and the lock's CC was predictably worthless. So if I wasn't getting destroyed by the casters, the rest of the party was. I don't think we even made it to the first boss. The second attempt as holy went much smoother with a druid tank, a mage, a rogue, and a hunter. I don't know that the change in tanks made a difference, but having reliable CC sure did. We cleared the first three bosses, but the party broke apart after arguing over threat, heals, and epeen stroking. For the final attempt I respecced protection and tanked the instance. We had a hunter, mage, rogue and priest. I got to try out the new and improved avenger's shield myself, and I have to say, it rocks! Despite my threat meter not working, there really wasn't a lot of trouble managing threat. We cleared through the instance fairly quickly, usually only stopping so I could drink. Right before the third boss we had to switch a lock for the rogue, which was perfect timing. We finished the instance easily without any wipes.

MgT aesthetically is a very beautiful instance. It has the same styling and color schemes as Silvermoon City. Due to it being a terrace with some open air areas, it has a Dire Maul feel to it. Probably the most notable physical aspect of MgT is that about half way through you are presented with a scrying device. Clicking on the device begins an amazing cutscene that gives a hint of what awaits you at the Sunwell. In addition, you are able to see the 25-man instance from a balcony, as well as the surrounding zone. To add to the experience, the instance is populated with not just blood elves, but demons and ethereals encountered in Netherstorm, with the final boss being Kael'thas himself. All of these elements combine to give the instance so much atmosphere and story, it makes you wish that every instance was so entrenched in the lore.

As I said, Kael'Thas is the final boss of the instance, and he is preceded by three other bosses reminiscent of other bosses found in Outland. These four bosses have familiar tactics, but are different enough to pose a challenge. The first boss, Selin Fireheart, is a blood elf who acts much like Warlord Kalithresh. Throughout the fight he will attempt to drain energy from crystals. The dps should stop fighting the boss, destroy the crystals quickly, then return to the boss. After each attempt to use a crystal, Selin will begin exploding, causing aoe damage to everyone until he runs out of mana.

Vexallus is the second boss and is like the Curator from Kara. As the party fights the boss, he will summon adds which can hit hard and need to be dpsed down quickly. When the add is killed, it will grant a debuff to the player with a dot that ticks every second, but also grants 50% increased damage. The boss will also cast chain lightning. If the party isn't properly spaced, the dps can be wiped out quickly from it and the debuff. If all is done correctly though, the fight can be over fairly quickly.

Priestess Delrissa is the third boss, and maybe the most challenging. Groups should take care to clear all 4 groups of mobs preceding her, however the groups flanking her can be safely left alone. The boss is accompanied by a random group of mobs, and in my last fight it included a satyr hunter with ravager, a naga warrior, a healer, an imp, and I believe another warrior type. They are all capable of being CCed, but they are all immune to taunt. We used everything we had: frost nova, fears, freezing trap, sheep, etc. The key is to keep everything CCed long enough to get one or two down, and they go down quickly, then pick the rest off as you like. I tossed around avenge's shield to keep them slowed down, and used hammer of justice when available. It's a fun fight, but not the best of the instance.

The best fight has to go to Kael'thas. In fact, it might be one of the more fun fights it the game. He can be tanked, bust most of his attacks come in the form of fireballs. This means no mitigating damage, and no increased threat from being hit. I recommend consecrate and avenger's shield to front load as much threat as you can. Consecrates are good, too because part way through the fight, he summons a phoenix. Everyone, including the tank should switch to the phoenix, and kill it quickly. After the phoenix is dead, it will leave an egg. Kill the egg. I have no idea what happens if you don't, but I'm assuming the phoenix comes back. Now here's where the fight gets cool. Kael'thas will levitate the entire party and summon three to four orbs. While levitating you can move around, fight and do whatever as normal, you're just flying. If you attempt to touch the ground you'll be shot back up in the air. Let me tell you, this is a lot of fun. You have to move around to avoid the globes, but you can tank and dps the boss like normal. It's a lot of fun casting consecrate on Kael'thas's head. If you're lucky, the phoenix pet will drop, as it did for us, as well as an epic.

With 2.4 Blizzard introduced quite a few things to close out The Burning Crusade, as well as set the stage for Wrath of the Lich King. The new 5-man instance The Magister's Terrace bridges the story from Tempest Keep to The Sunwell with beautiful level design, challenging boss fights, and story progression. While I think that the holy paladin might find the instance a little rough to heal, depending on the group, the protection paladin should excel in the instance. Retribution paladins shouldn't feel left out. The ability to cleanse and use limited CC offer a lot of utility to any group. And for anyone trying to gear for retribution, there are some nice plate dps items to be had. I know I enjoyed the instance, and I look forward to trying it on heroic.

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