We see a big change right away on the first tier with Blessing of Kings made accessible to all. It's not quite the baseline spell we've been asking for, but it's close. Some players can choose to pick up a scaled down version for less than five points, but since this is standard raid fare, we're throwing in 5 points here including Improved Blessing of Kings.
We're also going to pick up Divine Strength on this tier, which was moved from the Holy tree. It's important to note that pretty much everything we use scales off attack power now, too, so more Strength means more pain. And more pain means more threat. Strength also contributes to block value, so we'll be looking to get Strength in our gear, too. We're skipping Stoicism and Guardian's Favor, both more useful in PvP than actually tanking anything. Instead, we'll grab five points of Anticipation, which was moved up to tier two and reworked to confer Dodge. We're picking everything up on the third tier, like the nerfed Improved Righteous Fury.
I say nerfed because the threat component was removed, so it doesn't feel like it's as valuable as the old version. Trust me, though -- you won't miss it. We'll also get Toughness, which was moved here in a swap with Anticipation. Toughness was buffed to reduce the duration of movement impairing effects, which is pretty cool. Improved Devotion Aura was moved down here from the first tier and buffed with an awesome healing bonus. This is a fantastic raid buff that pretty much seals the deal for Devotion Aura as the aura of choice for Protection.
No more of that Retribution Aura nonsense. Leave that for those Retadins. Well, maybe sometimes. Improved Hammer of Justice and Divine Guardian? Skip them both. Most bosses are immune to stuns and you really don't need to take any more damage than you have to. Both are great for PvP, though, but we'll need all the points we can get deeper into the tree. I know, we wish Reckoning would actually work, but we'll skip it here just like we used to before the patch. It's unchanged, so it scales badly with gear -- the better your avoidance, the less it will proc -- and you don't want more chances for bosses to parry you.
Blessing of Sanctuary, also on the fifth tier, is the single most beautiful talent in the entire tree. No, really. It's so pretty that all your raid's tanks will beg you to put it on them. Now this, my friends, is a talent that scales with gear. Yes, it lost its damage component, but again... you won't miss it. You will cast it, you will take on many enemies, and you will go mad from the sheer joy it brings whenever it procs.
One-Handed Weapon Specialization was buffed to give 10% more damage from 5%. Remember when I said you'll be mostly generating threat from your DPS? Well here's your 10% added threat right here. You'll also want to pick up Sacred Duty because -- just in case you haven't heard -- it now includes Divine Protection, which is the Paladin version of Shield Wall. Does that rock? Yes, it does. The added Stamina will come in handy later on. On to tier seven. Obviously we have to pick up Holy Shield, right? It's been buffed with more charges, more damage, and a lower cooldown. It was essential then, it's essential now. Notice how the added threat has been removed from the spell -- it's all rolled in, so don't worry about it. We'll get Ardent Defender, too. When a boss gets an unlucky crit, our healers are going to need all the help they can get.
