The Queue: In which protection paladins really aren't that great
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 13th 2010 at 1:00PM
We'll dive right into The Queue today. No fliffity fluff gobbley gloucke. Straight up answers.
Erika asked...
"Will we be able to go back to classic zones at 80-85 or will it be changed permanently for us?"
When the zones change in Cataclysm, the change will be permanent. Once the Barrens is split in half by Deathwing, there will be no way to see or access the original Barrens content. At least that's the way things were described at BlizzCon, but it's always possible this could change.
Ari asked...
"AoE protection paladin, by far the easiest toon to level. Why kill 1 mob fast when I can kill 20 in the time it takes you to kill 3 one-on-one?"
If you know the class and have the gear, leveling a prot paladin isn't a hard thing. But chances are most people don't know the class and don't have the gear -- in which case retribution spec is your friend. Also, how many times do you really have to kill 20 mobs? In the old world sure, it happens enough, but you can't really get into the meaty prot paladin points at that point anyways. Most newer quests these days require you to kill one or two mobs in close proximity to each other, and then go over and find another few mobs to kill. You rarely can pull entire areas and be effective with your AoE to the point of having an advantage over being retribution.
What I recommend is every paladin carries both a prot and retribution spec during leveling. It will only increase your usefulness.
Croe asked...
"Do you think that Blizzard will ever produce a looking for raid function that automatically organizes raids for pugs? Is it even possible?"
Blizzard has implemented this somewhat in game now via the "/lfr" command. It only works on your server, however, and doesn't automatically group you up -- someone still has to do the invites.
As far as cross-realm raids go and having the PUG form automatically, it's technically possible, since the difference between finding five people and finding 10 or 25 people is only a few bits in the computer. Is it advisable right now? Probably not. Random dungeon groups work because most bosses are tank and spank -- you don't have to do anything beyond stand there and execute the primary roles of your class (well, you have to move a bit here and there, but that's it).
Raids require a lot more work and can be substantially more complicated. Just because it's possible to farm Naxx or ToC in pugs right now doesn't mean the entire community can do it -- but the entire community can do random heroics (for the most part). There is also the problem of reforming the raids and finishing them at a later time. The in-game communication system doesn't allow for this level of cross-realm communication right now, which provides an inherent barrier to any real cross-realm raid solution. But all of these are just technical challenges that could, at least theoretically, be easily overcome.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW.com crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column! Leave your questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Bryterside Jan 13th 2010 1:11PM
Tankadin FTW!
Screwblade Jan 13th 2010 2:28PM
Amen
Nothing quite like killing level 80 elites at level 73 without dying.
Krick Jan 13th 2010 3:20PM
My first toon was a rogue and I didn't really enjoy it. The class has their high points (stealth), but I really don't like the combo point mechanic and position dependent ability aspect (behind the target). My next toon was a protection paladin because of videos I saw on youtube of prot pallies pulling ALL of Gnomeregan solo. I thought, this looks fun and I can probably make a little money too.
I was protection from my first talent point and I've never even considered playing retribution. I had no trouble leveling as prot all the way to 80. In fact, being able to solo every group quest along the way is definitely a plus.
Prot leveling isn't as gear dependent as people think. Sure, there's a few specifics that make it a lot easier (very fast 1H weapon, shield with "on hit" proc) but other than that, you're actually LESS gear restricted than most classes. You can wear cloth, leather, mail, and (after 40) plate. Most stats, with the exception of spirit are useful in some degree. Even after the radical change to spell power with the current expansion, it still remains a viable stat for protection paladins while leveling since most abilities scale equally with spell power or attack power. A few even scale BETTER with spell power.
I leveled my paladin wearing cloth and mail belts and shoulders most of the way because they had gobs of spell power. I'm sure mail hunter gear with attack power would work too. If you plan on tanking your way to 80, the gear requirements are a little stricter, but there's plenty of plate gear with defense that drops in the dungeons you'll be running.
Personally, I think that if you intend to tank at level 80 as your main spec, you should level as that spec so that you can learn your abilities and spells inside and out so that they're second nature.
...
Krick
http://www.tankadin.com
Speedmonkay Jan 13th 2010 3:29PM
I leveled my pally prot since I put the first point in. I decided he was going to be prot before I made him. I figured if I was going to be doing it at max level, why not start that way and I wont have to learn new stuff.
Plus its fun saying hes level 75, been prot the whole time and never tanked for a group.
Zhiva Jan 13th 2010 1:12PM
On my server no one uses LFR. Reason: you cannot LFR and LFD at the same time.
Speaking of which, the limitation of queueing to one type of queueing at the same time ("you cannot queue for battlegrounds while queued in LFD") led to abandonment of battlegrounds. Good luck with getting to a BG in less than 50 minutes. On Sunday.
jtrain Jan 13th 2010 1:18PM
No one uses LFR on my server either. In addition to what you said about LFD and LFR being mutually exclusive, they also hid the LFR tool within the raid tab instead of putting it on the main bar like they did with LFD. I didn't even realize it was there until I stumbled on it one day. I queued for the weekly raid (as a tank mind you) and didn't see another name on the list in over a half hour at peak raid time. That's how little it is used.
Steve Tanner Jan 13th 2010 1:21PM
There is a simple solution for the problem that that Blizzard cited about the DF and battlegrounds. Just remove the player from any other active queues when the accept a DF group, or enter a battleground. No more worries about players leaving a dungeon for a BG, or vice versa. But instead we end up with the problem you mentioned.
Joshua Ochs Jan 13th 2010 1:41PM
LFR is completely useless. It's exactly the same as the old (also useless) LFG tool. Why they didn't use the wonderful new Dungeon Finder design and just limit it to your local realm is beyond me. Pisses me off, as doing the weekly raid without a large guild is all but impossible.
Thundrcrackr Jan 13th 2010 1:48PM
Agreed. Since you can't queue up for more than one thing now, Raid and BG queue times have gone waaaay up since everyone is using the much faster dungeon finder instead, at least on my server.
LFR is especially useless now. You'll find raids (or people to fill them) a lot quicker in Trade chat now than you ever will in the LFR.
I hope Blizz does something about this soon.
meestertuba Jan 13th 2010 2:16PM
Not sure if this is the case on other servers, but I see most people queueing up for the weekly raid using the /2 command.
Bob Jan 13th 2010 2:30PM
That's certainly the case on my server as well. No one (and I mean no one, I've checked frequently to see if anyone was queued for anything) uses the LFR tool on my server. LFR could have really helped, but the hiding it away and the exclusivity make it pointless to even bother using it because it takes a certain critical mass of people using it before it becomes useful. Without 10/25/40 people using the tool, then all that you're doing is sitting there *not* getting the rewards that you could get by being queued elsewhere. /2 between dungeons is still how things get done as far as I can tell.
Ringo Flinthammer Jan 13th 2010 3:26PM
It's also the end of a PvP season and pretty much everyone who really cares about PvP has been honor-capped for weeks. When the new season starts, and there's new stuff to get, the BGs will be popular again.
Lemons Jan 13th 2010 6:20PM
Yea...this is something I hate. You can't browse for raid and group at the same time. Also...you can't que for BGs and be in LFR at the same time. At least in the old system you had a little more freedom.
Considering LFR is pretty much hasn't changed from the old system AT ALL I don't see how it counts as a "que". You list your name on there, and that's it...it's not really actively trying to hook you up with a raid or anything.
omedon666 Jan 13th 2010 1:14PM
X-realm raids will never happen unless they abolish the week long lockout. X-realm 5-man works because the answer to every gripe is "try again tomorrow".
If you think NBG loot drama is bad now, imagine it with a week long lockout. Not happening. Master looter just isn't an option with the X-realm void of accountability.
Al in SoCal Jan 13th 2010 1:58PM
Good points! This is sad but true. Though they could improve the LFR usefuleness (which I would prefer) - or completely micromanage looting like if not a usable upgrade you can only greed / DE.
Hivetyrant Jan 13th 2010 5:33PM
You also face another issue.
5-Man auto groups are simple:
1 Tank
1 Healer
3 DPS
Imagine the config that would be needed to get a raid properly organised?
Sure, most 10 mans have 2 tanks, 2/3 healers and the rest dps, but what if you get 3 geared healers? its a waste, or just 2 undergeared healers?
Even with the gear score system you can't judge skill and no LFR tool could put together a raid like a real person.
Could it help? well probably, im sure they could work it to find people automatically and maybe present offers to the raid leader, but something tells me a good system won't be easy to build.
Cameron Jan 13th 2010 1:15PM
Protection leveling hasn't been worth a damn for a long, long time. In BC, it was only good until you hit Outland. In WoTLK, it's far outmatched by Retribution leveling. Whenever I'm running around with an alt, I shed a single tear of sympathy for every Paladin I see trying to AoE grind.
el ranchero Jan 13th 2010 1:48PM
That's a bit hyperbolic, to say the least. My paladin hit 80 in April, and I leveled from 40 on (Holy Shield on the prot tree). I switched from retribution and found protection to be easier. I slept through Outland as a tankadin.
As a leveling tankadin you learn to always stay in combat. You grab all the mobs in one spot and walk backwards or strafe to the next group. When a mob dies, you stop to loot (still in combat) and then keep moving to the next one. If you're using Seal and Judgment of Wisdom along with Divine Plea, mana will never be an issue, and you can heal yourself when (and if!) you get low.
Plus, now with the new LFG tool, you can pop into dungeons instantly since tanks are the most sought-after role now. In fact, you could level entirely in instances at a solid clip if you wanted to, and you'd have sweet gear.
Felix_NZ Jan 13th 2010 3:27PM
I was thinking it was a bit Parabolic
matthew Jan 13th 2010 4:55PM
i am leveling a tankadin through lfg only and i am having a blast. i feel i know how to use this toon a lot better than i would if i had waited till 80 to respec. i am 31 now and i have not turne in a single nondungeon related quest since i turned 15.