Paladin project: levels 26-30

Level 26
New skills:
Hand of Salvation - another tool that will come in handy if someone in the group grabs aggro. This will allow me to lower their threat until I can grab the mob's attention.

New skill ranks:
Flash of Light rank 2
Retribution Aura rank 2

Here's where I got a nice tanking amulet (and my very first amulet to boot) from a random dungeon reward bag:
Tumultous Necklace of the Champion
+5 Str
+5 Sta
+5 Def

From Razorfen Kraul I also got my first helm, the Tusken Helm. The Str and Agi on this helm is very good for a tank.

At this point I've also started doing Gnomeregan and while my first run dragged on for 1.5 hours, subsequent runs lasted much less, between 20 and 30 minutes, due to learning some neat shortcuts.

Level 28
New skills:
Judgement of Justice - my first reaction would be to dismiss this judgement as useless since it seems to be made mostly for PvP but on second thoughts it could come in handy in instances with a lot of humanoids who tend to run away.
Shadow Resistance Aura rank 1 - my first resistance aura. Yay.

New skill ranks:
Exorcism rank 2

At level 28 I won the roll for a nice new weapon, the Pronged Reaver, from Razorfen Kraul. It was a long-needed upgrade but unfortunately I have to wait until level 30 to equip it.Pronged Reaver (level 30)

At level 29 I completed a quest chain culminating in Rig Wars, that starts in Gnomeregan and got Dual Reinforced Leggings as reward, which is a very nice pair of tanking pants.

Level 30
Finally, the talent I've long been waiting for: Blessing of Sanctuary. I've played around a bit with this new blessing outside a dungeon and it's so much better than Blessing of Wisdom.
New skills:
Seal of Light - I could start using this seal instead of Righteousness if I needed more damage mitigation but so far I haven't felt the need.
Divine Intervention - here's a very interesting skill. It can be used when a wipe is imminent, usually on the healer. It will protect the healer for a few minutes and also wipe all aggro, but sacrifice the caster (yours truly). This will allow the healer to survive and rez the rest of the group. Because I'm lazy, I haven't bought the reagent for this spell yet.

New skill ranks:
Consecration rank 2
Holy Light rank 5
Devotion Aura rank 4
Lay on Hands rank 2

Total gold at level 30: about 230.

Because my mining has been lagging way behind skinning (skill 100 at level 30), I decided to go around Hillsbrad Foothils to mine Tin especially, with the occasional Silver node thrown in. I'm also smelting silver ore because at this point it gives me skill-ups. I've tried buying silver ore from the auction house but it is very expensive and I only managed a few pieces at about 3 gold.

One other remark is in order here. I've started weaving Exorcism into my rotation whenever I have an excess of mana and/or my other skills are on cooldown. Another thing that I've started doing is pulling with Hand of Reckoning and immediately afterwards casting Exorcism on the mob.

Armory link

Talents at level 30: 0/21/0

Paladin project: avoid this jerk, Limash of Misha

Public service announcement

If any of you, dear readers, happen to encounter this douchebag named Limash of the realm Misha, a blood elf priest (currently level 24), do yourselves a favor and put him on ignore.

Tonight, on a random dungeon run in Razorfen Kraul, not 5 minutes into the instance, he ran ahead of the group while I was engaged with a couple of mobs, shielded himself and deliberately pulled 2-3 groups of mobs onto the group, then promptly left the party. We wiped, of course. The reason for this douchebaggery? Unknown. I guess some people are just like that.

Limash-Misha on armory

Paladin project: levels 21-25

Level 22
New skills:
Concentration Aura - I've never used this as ret or prot. I believe holy paladins get the most benefit from it.
Seal of Justice - I suspect this seal is for PvP mostly. Not very useful for tanking.

New skill ranks:
Holy Light rank 4
Blessing of Might rank 3

I'm starting to get a bunch of "tougher" dungeons such as Deadmines and Stockades. For the most part groups are good, though going is slow at times.
My biggest beef at this point is that I'm kinda running out of mana and I don't have many ways to recover it, short of drinking after every couple of fights. I'm trying to be smart about it though, in order to keep downtime to a minimum.

The main culprit here is Consecration. Whenever I pop it, it gobbles 100 mana. When you have less than 900 mana, that becomes a problem. Judgement of Wisdom isn't enough to gain my mana back because it only gives about 10 whenever it procs. I use Arcane Torrent, the BE racial every time its cooldown is up but that one gives me around 50 mana and the cooldown is a very lengthy 2 minutes.

So I'm trying to manage my mana carefully, first of all by not using Consecration unless there are 3 or more mobs attacking me. I can manage 2 mobs without Consecration by taunting and Judging, for example.

At level 23 I managed to snag a cheap Glyph of Sense Undead (my first minor glyph) for under 10 gold, whereas the price for the past week had been at 40 gold. Good thing with these price wars.

Level 24
New skills:
Turn Evil - I don't see myself using this skill since fear-type effects can be dangerous in instances.

New skill levels:
Blessing of Wisdom rank 2
Redemption rank 2
Hammer of Justice rank 2 - higher ranks of the hammer are always welcome.
Hand of Protection rank 2

Throughout this level range I've run a bazillion Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, Blackfathom Deeps and Stockades. I now know these dungeons intimately and frankly I'm getting kinda sick of them.

One thing I'm starting to notice is that levels don't seem to fly by so quick, what with the lack of heirlooms and quests. Occasionally someone has a quest to share but most often they don't. Alliance dungeons such as Stockades and Deadmines have zero quests for the Horde.

Another shitty thing in these primitive dungeons is that drops are particularly crappy. For the past 3-4 levels I haven't found any good drop that will increase my stats by even a small amount. My last 2 good drops before these 3-4 levels were Phantom Armor and Baron's Scepter, both from SFK.

At 25 I did get a couple of new upgrades from Razorfen Kraul. Some minor green stuff that I won't bother listing.

I think I've had a duh! moment in RFK. I ran with a holy paladin healer and she put Blessing of Wisdom on me. My mana problems were gone. I never drank once. So from now until level 30 I'm gonna use wisdom on myself instead of kings. Lesson learned (I hope).

I also have about 140 gold at this point. Things are still selling slowly and my mining is lagging behind my skinning. I've encountered Iron nodes in RFK but the most I can mine is Tin. On the other hand I can skin everything that I encounter.

Talents at 25: 0/16/0

Now onwards to 30!

Armory profile


P.S. Notice the pansy-ass shoulders.

Paladin project: levels 16-20

At level 15 I joined my first random instance as a tank. Yay, my first tanking experience ever!

From 15 to 16 I ran Ragefire Chasm 3 times because that's how the Dungeon Finder rolled the dice. The first time I queued up I ended in a group instantly. The second time it took exactly a minute. Being a tank sure has its perks!

As reward for the daily I got a nice blue belt (of the Soldier). I also had a blue cloak drop from a boss, Subterranean Cape. In all, a very satisfying intro to my tanking career.

Now here's a question for y'all. What do you do when the healer rolls Need on everything? I kinda wanted to confront her but I decided it wasn't worth it. She was doing her job as a healer very well. I decided to watch the rolls closely and also Need when she's Needing. On the other hand I felt like a jerk towards the other players for doing so.

Level 16
New skills:
Hand of Reckoning - this skill is awesome. Another taunt that in addition does some damage provided the mob isn't hitting you.. It also comes in handy for pulling mobs. Man, did I say I love it? It's the new instant Exorcism. The awesome thing is that it scales with your Attack Power so the damage it does is 50% of your AP.
Righteous Fury - this is the signature skills that makes a paladin tank. Keep it up at all time.
Retribution Aura rank 1 - not very useful for me as prot but I was considering using it for AoE threat generation. On the other hand I think the armor aura is more effective at lower levels.

New rotation: Hand of Reckoning, Judge, auto-attack.

From 16 to 17 I kinda cheated by doing some quests around Ghostlands. In my defense, I had to kill some time but I didn't have enough time to get into another instance so I decided to quest a little.

At level 17 I landed another Ragefire Chasm and I got a really nice blue sword called Cursed Felblade. On this occasion I also met my first melee hunter who also liked to tank. Luckily he died fairly quick and then remained in Orgrimmar until we finished the dungeon.

From 17 to 18 I struggled for over an hour in that damn Wailing Caverns. We wiped twice and finally gave up. Oh how I hate this dungeon! At least I got myself a nice shield called Kresh's Back.

Level 18
New skills:
Hand of Freedom - This spell will come in handy when rooted or snared. It has a low cooldown.

At level 18 I landed a couple of Shadowfang Keep runs but only one of them was successful. I didn't get the achievement for that one though because the final boss, Archmage Arugal, managed to kill me but the rest of the group killed him while I was a ghost so I received credit for finishing the dungeon. The good part is that I won 2 new blues: a nice shield called Commander's Crest and a cloak called Wolfmaster Cape. Unfortunately I have to wait until 20 to equip these but I'm particularly excited about the shield.

At level 18 I now have 60+ gold, no wait, 14 gold but that's because I bought another 3 Netherweave Bags for 16 gold each.

Level 20
The first big milestone in any character's development. The first mount becomes available and a host of new skills.

New skills:
Consecration rank 1 - finally, the paladin's signature AoE spell. Now it becomes a lot easier to hold aggro on multiple mobs. Unfortunately this spell likes to suck your mana dry if used indiscriminately.
Exorcism rank 1 - as prot I won't be using this much.
Flash of Light rank 1 - meh, weak-ass healing spell but at least I have another healing spell in my inventory in case I need it.
Sense Undead
Blessing of Kings - I've started using this instead of Might. It drops my DPS by a little but I believe it helps me in other ways.

New skill ranks:
Devotion Aura rank 3

Talent distribution at level 20: 0/11/0

Armory link

Now I'm off to run some dungeons with my new skills!

Paladin project: levels 11-15

One thing I realized during this level bracket is that I don't think I can possible start healing with this paladin at level 15. I mean, the only healing spell I have is Holy Light and I'm not sure that alone can cut it.

Level 12
New skills:
Judgement of Wisdom - this, as opposed to Judge of Light, should be judged whenever you are low on mana as opposed to health.

New skill ranks:
Blessing of Might rank 2

At about level 13 a paladin chain quest awards you with a new spell: Redemption.

At level 13 I have 40+ gold. I spent about 16 gold on the Glyph of Righteous Defense that I'm gonna use at level 15. I chose this glyph as my first one because Righteous Defense will probably figure prominently in my tanking arsenal, at least at the beginning until I get better skills. I also spent 13 gold on a Netherweave Bag so I'm left with 12 gold.

Level 14
New skills:
Righteous Defense - This marks my first serious tanking tool. Basically a taunt, I feel it will serve me well.
Blessing of Wisdom rank 1

New skill ranks:
Holy Light rank 3

Armory link

Next: my first tanking experience!

Paladin project: talent distribution

Here's the proposed talent distribution for my young paladin. There are certain talents that I'm not so sure about so please, if anyone reading this has experience with paladin tanks, let me know what I'm doing wrong. Please bear in mind that I won't be using this guy for raids. It's just heroics at most, assuming I'll even level him to where heroics become available. So it's 5-mans exclusively and no PvP.

One thing that I'm on the fence about is Reckoning. I really love this talent but I'm not sure how useful it is for tanking.

Level 20
0/11/0

Level 30
0/21/0

Level 40
0/31/0

Level 50
0/41/0

Level 60
0/51/0

Level 70
0/54/7 <-- less sure about this

Level 80
0/54/17 <-- less sure about this

Paladin project: levels 1-10

A level 1 paladin starts with a craptastic set of skills. Here they are:
New skills:
Seal of Righteousness
Holy Light rank 1

The obvious thing here is to keep SoR on at all times until a better seal comes along. Luckily seals don't have to be re-cast every 30 like in the old days.

Blood Elves also start with Arcane Torrent, which is their racial. This racial is one of the better ones. 6% mana every 3 minutes seems a lot. Since I haven't played a BE past level 6 I don't know how this will work at later levels but for a healer / tank it can only be win.

Level 2
New skills:
Devotion Aura rank 1. Another obvious thing here: keep this aura on at all times until a better one becomes available.


Level 4
New skills:
Blessing of Might rank 1
Judgement of Light
Awesome spells, so make sure to use them constantly from now on.

From here on your rotation will be: Judgement, auto-attack.

Level 6
New skills:
Divine Protection. Divine Protection is your first "oh shit" spell and you should use it whenever in trouble, like when 3-4 mobs are beating on your ass.

New skills levels:
Holy Light rank 2

Level 8
New skills:
Parry
Purify
Hammer of Justice rank 1

The hammer especially will come in handy in a multitude of situations. Parry is also very useful and is one of your first utility skills for tanking.

Level 10
New skills:
Lay on Hands - another "oh shit" button. This one can also be used on a friendly target which can be very helpful when healing and the tank is about to die.
Hand of Protection - well, here's a skill that will come in handy when tanking. It should protect a squishy if they gain aggro and are in grave danger.

New skill ranks:
Devotion Aura rank 2

Talents:
My first talent went into Divine Strength 1/5. Since I only have 28 Str, I didn't even see the change. Oh well, maybe next level.

I learned mining and skinning as soon as I found the first trainers.

There's a shitload of copper around Eversong Woods. By level 10 I collected about 5 stacks.
I also skinned all the mobs I could. One extra thing that I did for gold is to kill all the Dragonhawks that crossed my path. They drop Small Eggs which are very valuable on the AH.

From the first bag vendor I picked up 4x 6-slot bags for 4 silver each. These should last me until I can afford bigger bags.

At level 10 I have a little under 3 gold but that's deceptive because I still have lots of unsold stuff.

To do: travel to Thunderbluff and Orgrimmar to learn 1H axes and 1H maces. Dammit how I hate this stupid weapon training. I will probably waste 2 hours getting to those places and die twenty times. It's a good thing they're removing weapon training in Cataclysm. So does anyone know how the hell one gets to Tb or Org from Eversong?

Edit: never mind, I think I've figured it out. Apparently in Silvermoon City there's an Orb of Translocation which ports me to Undercity. From there it's easy: zeppelin to Orgrimmar and then another zeppelin to Mulgore.

A special hey! to my reader Bloodshrike who made a level 1 character just to say hi. Very nice of you man!

Paladin project: the setup

For my brand new paladin I decided to start on a random server and even a different faction from my usual Alliance, hence Horde. I picked Korialstrasz and, of course, I created a Blood Elf paladin named Yesno. Yep, very original name, I admit.

So now you guys can watch my progress on armory. I would also appreciate tips and suggestions for leveling a protection paladin. I'm not such a big expert at this and some talents baffle me. I can't seem to make up my mind whether they're worth it or not. But more on this later...

The paladin project

As a follow-up to my Paladin dilemma post, this is where I will explain and detail my final decision on how to approach paladin tanking and healing.

First, I will re-iterate that the comments I received for my dilemma post were great. Thank you all for your insight.

I had reached the same conclusion myself, even before I posted that article. I knew that it would be kind of a waste of time to start another paladin when I already have a fully geared one. I was also aware that I would have to start tanking in a normal dungeon and stay away from heroics until I get some solid experience and also upgraded gear if I were to go with my existing pally.

Having said this, leveling a new character always holds an appeal to me. For most people who raid, the end game is just the beginning. For me, in most cases it means the end of that particular character's career, until the next expansion hits. Case in point: my warlock, paladin and death knight are all retired at the moment.

I like leveling. I like discovering new skills and talents and I like the experience of becoming more powerful. Today, leveling is a different experience compared to the old days. My paladin was the first character I leveled and even though back then I used a prot spec, I had no idea what tanking meant. I just picked something that "worked" for my shield. Needless to say, leveling was extremely slow and painful. Now, it is no longer the case. For one thing, skills and talents are much more streamlined and thus more powerful and efficient. For another, I have accumulated a lot of WoW experience and I know how to blaze through content. Thirdly, the Dungeon Finder makes it extremely easy to run dungeons and get amazing gear and experience, while leveling.

Here's what I suggest. Although common sense says that I should start my paladin tanking / healing career with my level 80 paladin, I have decided to start a new project. The Paladin Project. In a nutshell, I will attempt to level a new paladin to at least level 60 with a protection spec. What follows are the rules that I am imposing on myself.

Paladin project rules

1. I will start a new paladin on a random server and I will make him public so that everybody can watch his progress.
2. I will create him on the Horde side, just to mix things up a bit. In consequence, he will be a Blood Elf.
3. My new paladin will obviously not benefit from any gold or other items from my rich Alliance toons.
4. He will have to earn his own existence and pay for his own stuff. That means he will have to learn 2 gathering professions and will have to sell the stuff he gathers on the AH.
5. As soon as dungeons become available through the Dungeon Finder (I don't know exactly what level that is but I assume it's past level 10), I will start queuing him up for randoms.
6. I will attempt to level him exclusively through random dungeons. The fact that he is prot will help place him instant queues. The only quests that I will do from that point on are the ones that group members can share.
7. I will level him to at least level 60. Why 60? Because at 60 all the major talents in the protection tree become available.
8. I will document each level in my blog, detailing each skill that I learn and each talent that I assign. Also, I will document my dungeon forays and the experiences from them.

Disclaimer: I won't guarantee any of the above but I will strive to obey my own rules. It is very possible that at some point I will become tired, bored or frustrated with my paladin and abandon the whole project. It is also possible that I will put the project on hold for extended periods of time, until I get my mojo back.

Issues that I will encounter

It is already obvious to me that I will encounter some problems with this project. The biggest problem here is that I won't have any gold to deck him out with at least a set of bags. For this reason, he will have to earn his own bread. This means learning 2 gathering professions and selling the gathered stuff on the AH. This also implies creating a bank alt so I won't waste time on my main character.

A first priority is making enough gold to afford 4 Netherweave Bags. This could cost me up to 40 gold which means I will have to hustle some peacebloom and leather quickly.

Another thing is that I will need sufficient gold to train all my skills and professions and be able to afford a mount. Hopefully, once I start gathering my first few stacks of stuff I will easily afford all this.

Then there's equipment. I won't have the luxury of twink or heirloom gear from my high level alts so I will have to buy some stuff from the AH if I'm unlucky with dungeon drops.

A big problem here is that I realized that I will probably have to leave healing for much later. At any rate, healing with the paladin is not a main priority. I am fascinated mostly by the tanking aspect, especially since it is guaranteed to give me an instant spot in any random dungeon. Why I say that healing will have to wait is that I will probably be relatively poor at level 40 when dual specs become available. I doubt I'll be able to raise 1000 gold, considering that I will focus on leveling this guy and not playing the AH.

In conclusion, I've made up my mind to at least attempt this new project. I don't want it to put a lot of pressure on my gaming style so I will do it casually. Probably all my dungeon leveling will be done during the week, hopefully inside an hour. On the weekends I'm still concentrating on my priest. It's meant to be a fun little project and a break from the usual WoW routine.

So what do y'all think?