The Pally tank is often accused of being incapable of tanking real bosses and inferior to warrior and druid tanks. Although they have some limitations and clear differences with the other two tanking classes, they are very able in the hands of a good player. I recently rolled a Pally, levelled him to 70, and started tanking. I’ve been through plenty of five mans, some heroics, and Karazhan with him.

In order to clear up any misunderstandings about what a Pally tank can and can’t do, here is an overview of the classes capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Strengths of the Tankadin

Tanking Multiple Mobs

A large portion of the Paladin’s aggro is built passively. Retribution aura, holy shield, blessing of sanctuary, and consecration all establish aggro on targets without directly attacking them. The Aura, Shield, and Blessing each reflect damage back at an attacker, while consecration covers an area with a small Holy DoT. With a few seconds to secure aggro, a Paladin can easily hold five to six mobs at a time.

Self Cleansing and Healing

Although the Paladin may not heal himself often while tanking, there will be many occassions in which a Paladin needs to cleanse himself. Cleanse is a powerful curing spell that removes one disease, poison, and magic effect per cast. Since each healing class is missing one type of cure effect (Druids can’t cure magic, Priests can’t cure poisons, etc), it helps to be able to cure these things off of yourself. This also helps when the healer is subject to a magical effect, such as polymorph.

Weaknesses

Less Avoidance

Tanks have two major goals for raiding – become uncrittable and become uncrushable. Becoming uncrittable is as simple as getting 490 defense. To become uncrushable, your total avoidance (Block, Dodge, Parry, Miss) needs to add up to about 102%. For Warriors, this is fairly easy because Shield Block gives them a 75% boost to Block. The Paladin’s ability, Holy Shield, only provides a 30% boost. Paladins have to spend a lot more of their item budget on avoidance stats (Defense, Dodge Rating, Block Rating) than Warriors, and thus have less to spend on pure stamina. It is still possible for a Paladin to become uncrushable, but it requires much better gear.

Less “Last Ditch Effort” Abilities

The other advantage that warriors have is their “last ditch effort” abilities. Last Stand gives them a giant boost in health for a short time. Shield Wall negates almost all damage against them for a short time, allowing healers a chance to breath and catch up. The only thing that a Paladin has is Lay On Hands, which will heal him to full once and nothing else. This gives Warriors a few advantages when facing big Boss mobs over Paladins.

Despite the fact that most people see warriors as the only “Main Tank” class, many players still use Paladins as tanks. They have some limitations, but they are also very capable. They also do some things far better than Warriors and Druids.

Check back for more articles with detailed guides to Paladin abilities, talents, and itemization goals.