help me pls - paladin tank

Ok well im a bit unsure where to start, i've read so much information over the past few days im confused beyond belief. Anyways i originally started as a warrior got it to 55 and was marvelled by the pretty DK starting gear in comparison to hte ugly stuff i was wearing so i rolled it to 80, originally I was dps but wanted a challenge but at the time (about a year ago) no-one would really accept my DK as a tank so i ended up leaving the game, returned a rolled a tank to earn some gold and now im working on my Paladin who I am to have up to 80 ready for cataclysm and hopefully with some decent gear to smooth the levelling process from 80-85.

So i guess what im looking for is rotation help, Im spec'd into protection and find myself using the dungeon finder an awful lot. But i try to break up the repetatitve runs through Sunken Temple with a few quests.

I really struggle with tanking besides thowing my shield for initial aggro but im constantly waiting on cooldowns so when the warlock comes over (or hunter) im losing aggro left right n center.

So is there a specific rotation, aura, buff etc I should be using for single target tanking, multitarget tanking & questing solo. The reason i have such a big request is quite frankly this is my first mmorpg and I find myself struggling an awful lot and in the rush to prep for cata i want to learn as much as possible as quick as possible but i cant find much out yet for 4.0.1 its all 3.6 and towards the end theres alot of "this is not much use anymore".

I am intending to have 3 macro's 1 for each rotation, mostly just to keep the constant key smashing down and let my wife enjoy watching the tv lol.

Not great with the names, but i have been using avengers shield for initial pulls on groups and single targets but i think i need to switch to hand of reckoning for single targets, but its again I just want to improve and could use any/all assistance.

Sorry for the long post :) look forward to reading responses and remember, its not for me...but for those in my group lol

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Originally Posted by IceMike

I really struggle with tanking besides thowing my shield for initial aggro but im constantly waiting on cooldowns so when the warlock comes over (or hunter) im losing aggro left right n center.

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Are you absolutely sure you've got Righteous Fury active when you're tanking? You lose threat easily without it, but with it all you have to do is spam your AoE and alt-tab between targets autoattacking each one a few times.

Also it sounds like a threat meter like Omen or Skada would help you alot, and Tidy Plates:Threat Plates addon even moreso. They all give you much clearer visual representions of your threat level on the mobs you're tanking.

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Originally Posted by IceMike

So is there a specific rotation, aura, buff etc I should be using for single target tanking, multitarget tanking & questing solo.

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Not really a rotation anymore, just a priority system - use your hardest hitting abilities the instant the come off cooldown.

Group pull: start with the highest dmg AoE first - Avenger's Shield, Hammer of Righteous, Holy Wrath, Consecration, then Judgement. Then repeat HotR till you get 3 Holy Power, then Shield of the Righteous.

Single target: start with highest dmg single target abilities first - AS, Crusader Strike (or Judgement first if the boss isn't in CS range yet), Judgement, Holy Wrath, Consecration. Repeat CS till 3 Holy Power, then Shield of the Righteous.

Devotion Aura, Blessing of Kings.

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Originally Posted by IceMike

I am intending to have 3 macro's 1 for each rotation, mostly just to keep the constant key smashing down and let my wife enjoy watching the tv lol.

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I don't think you can macro paladin abilities into any kind of castsequence anymore, since they all have cooldowns of extremely different lengths, from 3s to 20s+. Just put them all on your action bars or other easily-accessible spots and use the instant the come off cooldown.

One thing you can macro is abilities like Crusader Strike/Hammer of the Righteous, or Shield of the Righteous/Word of Glory. CS and HotR share a 3s cd, so you can only use one or the other, while SotR and WoG both require Holy Power so you can only use one or the other. Example:

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#showtooltip
/use [mod:ctrl z;[mod:alt] y;[mod:shift] Crusader Strike;Hammer of the Righteous

#showtooltip
/use [mod:ctrl z;[mod:alt] y;[mod:shift] Word of Glory;Shield of the Righteous

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by IceMike

Not great with the names, but i have been using avengers shield for initial pulls on groups and single targets but i think i need to switch to hand of reckoning for single targets, but its again I just want to improve and could use any/all assistance.

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Never use HoR on a mob to start a pull, save that for emergencies when you lose aggro. Switch between Hammer of the Rigtheous and Crusader Strike for multi-mob pulls and single pulls, respectively.

You can pretty much start every pull with Avenger's Shield, be it group or single, as you're running up to the mob/s. Then use *all* your other abilities, preferably the hardest hitting ones first. The only choice you really have is whether to use Crusader Strike or Hammer of the Righteous, since you can't use both.

woah you made all of it sound so simple, i basically rigged up my action bar as this
AS - HotR - HW - Con - J - HotR - SotR - CS - Con - HW - J - CS

So all attacks start with AS, if its a group it goes from HotR to Sotr, otherwise from CS to Sotre (both times hit the one before til full holy power.

In general I always have Righteous fury, Bok & dev aura on, but to use Judgement i need a pick a seal, originally i was using SoR but started swithcing to SoI cos of mana problems - is there a preferred choice here, i was thinking of switching back to SoR for the increase in damage done

Thanks again btw overwhelmed by the information and so simple to understand - you just clarified a few hundred websites worth of information into bitesize chunks for me :D

SoR is the only choice. Make sure that you do not use consecrate or HotR on single targets and you should not have mana issues. Also, you need to make sure that you do not use shield of the righteous unless you have three holy power, which means only use it after the third crusaders strike or hammer ofthe righteous.

I also recommend that you use HotR/CS whenever it's off of CD. It helps you build HP faster.

Can we consolidate these pally questions into one post. I think there are 3 new ones in this section now.

Whichever rotation you are using (single target or multi-target). Make sure your HotR/Crusader Strike is used every other GCD (there are some exceptions if you are going for more threat, but generally every other GCD). For Aoe tanking your rotation will sorta going to look like HotR -> (filler ability) -> HotR -> (filler ability). Fillers being Holy Wrath, Avenger Shield Procs if you have those, Judgements or Consecration. Try to keep Judgement up if you are having mana issues.