Paladin Hero Talents — The War Within (11.1.0)

This page is specifically about Hero Talents in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents for Protection Paladin, check out our Talents page:

Templar will provide more DPS in Raids, however it does not provide any raid utility in comparison to Lightsmith.

Both Hero Talent choices are as good as each other in raiding. Lightsmith provides a wider raid benefit by giving shields to players with Holy Bulwark and buffing players with Sacred Weapons (this damage all gets attributed to you).

Lightsmith also makes learning encounters easier as the hero talent doesn't change your basic rotation.

Templar will be the preferred choice in Mythic+ as it has higher damage output than Lightsmith but offers less utility as you need to maintain Shake the Heavens which means Avenger's Shield has a lower rotational priority.

Lightsmith offers more utility for Mythic+ than Templar but less DPS. It offers a simpler rotation and utility for your group via Holy Bulwark / Sacred Weapon.

Lightsmith is a great choice for learning dungeons and for lower level keys.

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Best Hero Talent Builds for Protection Paladin

Templar Raiding Build Templar Mythic+ Build Lightsmith Raiding Build Lightsmith Mythic+ Build

Playing as a Templar paladin will change your rotational priorities. Eye of Tyr and Hammer of Light must be used on cooldown; therefore, this build works on a 45-second cycle. After casting Hammer of Light Shake the Heavens becomes active, and your focus shifts to keeping this active for as long as possible by generating Holy Power ( Higher Calling).

There are two main changes to your rotation as a Lightsmith paladin. The first is using Holy Bulwark / Sacred Weapon as they become available. The second is while you are in your Avenging Wrath / Sentinel window, you need to focus on generating as much Holy Power as possible to get the most value from Blessing of the Forge. Outside of these periods, you will go back to your normal rotation.