Strategy Guide for World of Warcraft: Best Weapons for Protection Paladins in Season 2 - The War Within

Introduction

In the ever-evolving world of Azeroth, staying ahead requires not only understanding the broader dynamics of battles but also equipping your character with the most optimal gear.

For Protection Paladins, mastering defense and threat generation relies heavily on selecting the right weapons.

Season 2, "The War Within," introduces new challenges and gears.

This guide focuses on optimizing your weapon choice to enhance your performance in both PvE and PvP scenarios.

Understanding Protection Paladins

The Role of Protection Paladins

Protection Paladins are the vanguards, specializing in damage mitigation and threat control.

They thrive on holding the line and supporting their allies through robust protection and utility spells.

The choice of weapon is crucial because it can affect survivability, threat generation, and even your contributions to group utility.

Key Attributes to Consider

• Stamina: Increases your HP pool, enhancing survivability.
• Strength: Boosts your attack power and parry chance, increasing threat and secondary defense.
• Critical Strike & Mastery: Amplify your defensive capabilities and threat output.
• Haste: Reduces cooldowns, including the all-important global cooldown of your spells.

Top Weapons for Protection Paladins in Season 2

1. Champion's Edge

• Source: Dropped by a new raid boss in "The War Within."
• Attributes: High in Stamina, Strength, and Mastery.
• Special Ability: Grants a temporary shield absorb buff and a chance to retaliate on Block.
• Reason for Selection: Ideal for both PvE and PvP, providing consistent survivability and threat generation through its balanced stats and unique shield ability.

Retaliating on blocks adds to both damage and aggro maintenance, crucial in multi-target scenarios.

2. Bulwark of Reckoning

• Source: Mythic+ dungeon reward.
• Attributes: Focuses on Strength and Haste with a touch of Critical Strike.
• Special Ability: Improves the cooldown of key defensive abilities by a significant percentage.
• Reason for Selection: The emphasis on Haste allows for quicker spell rotations, vital in high-pressure situations where timely cooldowns can mean the difference between life and death.

3. Guardian's Maul

• Source: PvP vendor in Season 2 (requires high PvP ranking).
• Attributes: High Stamina and Versatility, with a dash of Critical Strike.
• Special Ability: Reduces damage taken from critical strikes and grants a small heal over time when receiving direct damage.
• Reason for Selection: The versatility ensures damage and healing received adjustments, making it an excellent choice for PvP encounters where spike damage is prevalent.

Advanced Strategies for Weapon Utilization

Maximizing Threat

• Understanding Your Rotation: Ensure you maintain a solid ability rotation that maximizes your main threat abilities, such as Hammer of the Righteous and Shield of the Righteous, leveraging the weapon's stats to boost attacks.

• Proactive Buff Management: Leverage weapon procs to launch offensive capabilities immediately, allowing for deterministic control of mob threat.

Defensive Optimization

• Prioritize Cooldowns Using Haste: Make the most out of "Bulwark of Reckoning" to cycle through defensive cooldowns faster, providing flexible defense during burst phases.

• Positioning and Blocks: Use the unique retaliations from "Champion's Edge" as an additional threat generator.

Position strategically to maximize block chances and consequentially the retaliation effects.

Conclusion

Choosing the right weapon is indispensable for excelling as a Protection Paladin in Season 2: "The War Within." Understanding weapon attributes and leveraging advanced strategies for their utilization will empower you to lead your allies with unwavering strength and resilience.

Remember, while the perfect weapon can significantly boost performance, mastering paladin mechanics and continuous adaptability will truly set you apart as a celebrated protector in Azeroth.

Equip wisely, strategize ruthlessly, and lead your team to victory!