Cataclysm 85 Protection Paladin Leveling Build Guide

A Protection spec Paladin will allow you to tank and barely die on your quest to 85 in wow Cataclysm.  This leveling build guide will take you from 1-85 and is updated for the release of Cataclysm and Patch 4.0.6.

These are the best Protection leveling specs to go along with the best leveling route guide: Zygor’s Leveling Guide.

Single Target Rotation Priority:

Shield of the Righteous

Crusader Strike

Judgement

Avenger’s Shield

Consecration

Holy Wrath

AOE Tanking Priority:

Hammer of the Righteous

Avenger’s Shield

Judgement

Consecration

Holy Wrath

Cataclysm 85 Protection Paladin Leveling Build Guide + Glyphs

Level 85 Paladin (0/36/5) (Link)

Holy (0 Points)

None

Protection (36 Points)

Divinity – Rank 3/3
Increases all healing done by you and all healing effects on you by 6%.

Seals of the Pure – Rank 2/2
Increases the damage done by your Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Truth, and Seal of Justice by 12%.

Eternal Glory – Rank 2/2
Your Word of Glory has a 30% chance not to consume Holy Power.

Judgements of the Just – Rank 2/2
Your Judgement reduces the melee and ranged attack speed of the target by 20% for 20 sec. In addition, increases the duration of your Seal of Justice effect by 1 sec.

Toughness – Rank 3/3
Increases your armor value from items by 10%.

Hallowed Ground – Rank 2/2
Increases the damage of your Consecration by 40% and decreases its mana cost by 80%.

Sanctuary – Rank 3/3
Reduces the chance you’ll be critically hit by melee attacks by 6% and reduces all damage taken by 10%. In addition when you block or dodge a melee attack you gain 3% of maximum mana.

Hammer of the Righteous – Rank 1/1
Hammer the current target for 30% weapon damage, causing a wave of light that hits all targets within 8 yards for 583 to 873 Holy damage. Grants a charge of Holy Power.

Wrath of the Lightbringer – Rank 2/2
Increases the damage by 100% of your Crusader Strike and Judgement and increases the critical strike chance by 30% of your Holy Wrath and Hammer of Wrath.

Reckoning – Rank 2/2
You have a 20% chance after blocking an attack for your next 4 weapon swings within 8 sec to generate an additional attack.

Shield of the Righteous – Rank 1/1
Slam the target with your shield, causing Holy damage. Consumes all charges of Holy Power to determine damage dealt:

1 Holy Power: (610 – 1) damage
2 Holy Power: (610 * 3 – 3) damage
3 Holy Power: (610 * 6 – 6) damage

Grand Crusader – Rank 2/2
When your Crusader Strike or Hammer of the Righteous deal damage to your primary target, they have a 20% chance of refreshing the cooldown on your next Avenger’s Shield.

Vindication – Rank 1/1
Your Crusader Strike and Hammer of the Righteous reduce physical damage done by their primary targets by 10% for 30 sec. In addition, your Hammer of Justice will interrupt creatures that are immune to stuns.

Holy Shield – Rank 1/1
Using Shield of the Righteous or Inquisition increases the amount your shield blocks by an additional 10% for 20 sec.

Guarded by the Light – Rank 2/2
Increases your Word of Glory by 10% when used to heal yourself, and allows your Word of Glory to grant Holy Shield. In addition, any overhealing will create a protective shield equal to the amount of overhealing that lasts for 6 sec.

Divine Guardian – Rank 1/1
All party or raid members, excluding the Paladin, take 20% reduced damage for 6 sec.

Sacred Duty – Rank 2/2
Your Judgements have a 50% chance of making your next Shield of the Righteous a critical strike. Lasts 15 sec.

Shield of the Templar – Rank 3/3
Reduces the cooldown of Avenging Wrath by 60 sec and Guardian of Ancient Kings by 120 sec. In addition, your Divine Plea will generate 3 Holy Power.

Ardent Defender – Rank 1/1
Reduce damage taken by 20% for 10 sec. While Ardent Defender is active, the next attack that would otherwise kill you will instead cause you to be healed for 15% of your maximum health.

Retribution (5 Points)

Crusade – Rank 3/3
Increases the damage of your Crusader Strike, Hammer of the Righteous, and Templar’s Verdict by 30%, and the damage and healing of your Holy Shock by 30%. In addition, for 15 sec after you kill an enemy that yields experience or honor, your next Holy Light heals for an additional 300%.

Improved Judgement – Rank 2/2
Increases the range of your Judgement by 20 yards.

Glyphs

Glyph of Hammer of the Righteous (Prime Glyph)
Increases the damage of both the physical and Holy components of Hammer of the Righteous by 10%.

Glyph of Seal of Truth (Prime Glyph)
Your Seal of Truth also grants 10 expertise while active.

Glyph of Shield of the Righteous (Prime Glyph)
Increases the damage of Shield of the Righteous by 10%.

Glyph of Lay on Hands (Major Glyph)
Reduces the cooldown of your Lay on Hands spell by 3 min.

Glyph of Divine Plea (Major Glyph)
Your Divine Plea provides an additional 5% of your total mana.

Glyph of Consecration (Major Glyph)
Increases the duration and cooldown of Consecration by 20%.

Glyph of Truth (Minor Glyph)
Reduces the mana cost of Seal of Truth by 50%.

Glyph of Blessing of Kings (Minor Glyph)
Reduces the mana cost of Blessing of Kings by 50%.

Glyph of Blessing of Might (Minor Glyph)
Reduces the mana cost of your Blessing of Might by 50%.

Do You Want To Level Faster Like The Pros?

If you are having trouble leveling or need to level faster in WoW Cataclysm I highly suggest you check out Zygor’s Leveling Guide. It has the perfect leveling path that gets you to 85 faster and easier than any other way. No matter what level you are, you load the guide and it points with an arrow to the direction of each monster, quest giver, trainer etc. Its pretty crazy. It also has an in game box that tells you exactly what to do, like kill 5 boars, run west 10 miles, etc. If you dont have this in game add on guide, honestly, you are missing out. You can find out more here or check out the Zygor Cataclysm Leveling Guide Review.