Paladins Class

if you tank only 1 mob, god kills a kitten. Don't you like kittens?!


I thought I'd write this up because most people, let's face it, are used to bears and warriors standing there getting beat on. But paladins make valuable and excellent tanks as well. This is going to explain the general strengths and weaknesses a tankadin can offer a group or raid, and what we excel at. As well as some suggestions for how to group with your tankadin.

Let's start out with.. Weaknesses.

Tankadins do not have "oh shit!" buttons. We do not have last stand, nor do we have shield wall. HOWEVER. We do have a talent that is like a mini shield wall. When we are at or below 35% health, we take 30% less damage. Useful, but can be leapfrogged by hard hitters. So tankadins do not have good "oh shit!" buttons.

We take more spell damage than warriors. Our talents only give us 6% reduction in damage, plus an additional 2% or a 3% spell resist.

We cannot spell reflect. Also, we have 1 interrupt (stun) on a 1 min cooldown.

Our taunt is both a weakness and a strength. The weakness of our taunt is.. it targets 3 mobs. We do not have a way to taunt a single mob off a target if there is more than 1. Also, if the mob is target switching rapidly.. we can hit it and.. well alot of times nothing will happen. We do not "taunt" the mob directly. We taunt off the player who is being targeted.

Going OOM = Being rage starved. Tankadins have to take damage to get mana returned through healing. And sometimes mana pots are not available. So yes, if you see your tankadin without pants, or pulling entire hallways, it's their way of saying heal me, I need more GRR power.

Strengths.

Tankadins are AoE tanking gods. No, trust me on this. As long as you can keep a tankadin alive through the damage, they can hold unlimited mobs. And do so very, very well. Consecrate, reflective threat with Holy Shield and other nifty tools allow tankadins to put on the hurt when they got multitudes of baddies whacking them. This is a HUGE strength. It speeds up 5man runs, it allows DPS to AoE and focus fire becomes a bit more lax. (THOUGH YOU SHOULD ALWAYS FOLLOW KILL ORDER, THX )

Paladins give useful group buffs! Tankadins are just like their holy and retribution brethren in that they bring an aura and a blessing. They also can cleanse themselves and others if cooldowns allow. They also can tank, then rez the dead should that PoM Pyro mage have gotten a little crazy.

Paladins frontload a TON of threat. That means DPS can open up earlier, and things die faster. Their "blue rage" bar starts full and empties out. So the faster they load their threat, the more they can ride it out and keep it up.

Holy shield vs. Shield block. On fast hitting bosses (Prince anyone?) holy shield provides 8 charges of goodness over 10 seconds vs the warriors 2 over 5. Fast hitting bosses crush warriors. Fast hitting bosses crush tankadins much, much less. Less crushes = much more happy living tank and more happy living healers.

Our taunt is ranged! No matter how far away those baddies are coming to eat the healer, as long as the healer is in range the baddies can be taunted. And not just 1, but up to 3!

Summary:

Each tank in the game has their strengths and weaknesses. Each class can main tank, but each fight is different. A fast hitting, demon melee boss is paladin tastic. A slow hitting spell casting mob is warrior preferred. And a giant crushing, drooling beast that hits like a truck is awesome for bears. All three can tank them, but each one is suited to something unique. But remember, your local tankadin likes kittens. CC = Continuous Consecration. Please, think of the kittens.

Alrighty folks! I think Sodza has hit the nail on the head. Only this time I'm going to be putting down in detail what it takes to tank those tenacious terrors. Hehe alliteration. ... O_o er... Hi!


Anyway, I'm (meaning Regooba/Goob/Gooba/Goober as titled by the guild) am dedicating my time to any new Paladin that has thier sights set on possible tanking stuff! Of course... I'm not doing it here! This little guide will be for Paladins one and all. Why? I'm tired of running with scrub pug groups! Not only am I doing this to help folks tank better, I'm doing this to help folks understand what a Paladin/Tankadin must do in order to perform their duties whether it be 5 mans or raids.

Goobs website is going to be available to all those willing to take the time to read it. I'll cover strengths and weaknesses of Tankadins. If you don't understand how to run with a Tankadin, please take the time to read it. Knowing how to run with a Pally tank will help you in the long run! So everyone that knows jack about pally tanks, take the time to read it!

-Goob

You're totally forgetting Lay On Hands, B. Protadins get that, right? That's a pretty big Oh Shit button when the healer is dead.

All pallies get LOH... but you can get an improved via Holy.
I hate it because you lose all mana and then you don't have anything to hit with. All of our spells are mana based, even our stun. I only use it as a healer as a last resort.. tank is going down, I'm almost out of mana anyway.

I use my hammer of justice all the time.. it buys some time to heal yourself. Also, I've discovered that I can solo about 4 - 5 of the L70 melee mobs at Shattered Sun with my Concentration Aura on.. I can always heal myself... but casters are the debel.

Well yeah, I know that, but it is a perfectly valid Oh Shit button that doesn't make you lose aggro, unlike the bubble.