by Matt Walsh

Finally the pre-release patch has come and we’re in that exciting interregnum time between the tired, old content and the piping-hot new stuff. There were a lot of changes made to the protection spec and, on the whole, I really think Blizzard nailed it. Yet, there are still a lot of growing pains, as with any pre-release patch, and today I’m going to talk about ways to mitigate that so you can finish out Cataclysm at the top of your game and totally ready for everything Pandaria has in store.
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by Matt Walsh

The pre-release patch dropping on Tuesday marks a new hill for us to conquer. Everything is changing, from our talents to our glyphs to our rotations to (at the most basic level) how we keep ourselves alive. In order to hit the ground running and be able to tank just as well (or hell, better!) than you were under the 4.x rules set, it’s critical to make sure you know everything you need to know about the upcoming patch and do everything you can do in advance.
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by Dan Desmond

For anyone starting a new paladin in Mists after hearing how awesome it is on the beta, or for anyone looking to change your races or professions, this article is for you. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
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by Dan Desmond

We are close, my lovelies, closer than we have ever been. With Mists of Pandaria slated to launch on Sept. 25, 2012, now is the perfect time to become acquainted with all of the changes that a new expansion inevitably brings.

This guide will bring you up to speed with what being a retribution paladin in Mists is all about, from what our talents look like to what food we should be eating. It is my intention to update this guide continually with any major changes we may experience.

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by Matt Walsh

Last time ,we talked about the basics of what paladin tanks are going to be working with when Mists launch. What we didn’t talk about was the remainder — whether it be how certain mechanics feel or how we’re shaping up with regards to the other tanks classes and the content itself.

The TL;DR version is that we look to be in a pretty good place overall. Our rotation is miles ahead of our current Cataclysm rotation in terms of quality of life, and on the opposite side of the planet from that drinking bird practice regimen known as the 969 rotation in Wrath. There’s a little more to play with and balance in our toolbox these days, thanks to the pick-’n-mix of the new talents system, which is definitely a good thing if variety and engagement is your bread and butter.

In terms of actual gameplay balance with regard to the game and the other philistines competing for our jerbs, we’re in a decent place as well. That is, we’re no longer in the Wild West days of Wrath, where patch cycles saw one tank class after another get brokenly good (except warriors, womp womp). The general trend of Cataclysm continues — keeping the balance to a reasonable level among the classes — though when it comes to the highest levels of the hardest content, the disparities start to emerge with gusto.

Anyway, that’s the 50,000-mile view. Let’s get down in the mud and talk turkey.
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by Dan Desmond

We have a launch date. Of course, we’ll see if Blizzard sticks to it — I’m hoping they do, because otherwise I will have taken those days off work for nothing. For just the next few minutes, however, let’s pretend that Sept. 25 will be the day that the continent of Pandaria opens up to us and all of that shiny new loot becomes ours for the taking.

As we level, quests and dungeons will offer the majority of our gear. When we reach the level cap of 90, another option opens up to us: reputations. Sadly, raising these reputations won’t be as easy as running a handful of random dungeons with a tabard on like it was in Wrathand Cataclysm, but getting to know your allies in Mists is still very important.
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by Dan Desmond

Well, comrades in arms, as the old Azerothian saying goes, the squeaky player gets the beta invite. I’d like to think my sobbing in coffee shops and passionate diatribes secured me a spot in the Jade Forest, where I can run around in the beautiful scenery competing with dozens of other players trying to tag one of the three quest mobs that respawns every six days, but I must admit to myself that I’m no more special than the 99,999 other players who received invites at the same time.

In short, I got into the beta. We’ve already been over what we expect to see when the mists part, but experiencing it firsthand is something else entirely.
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by Chase Christian

With the 15% nerf to Dragon Soul, Cataclysm is winding down. Many guilds are on autopilot in Dragon Soul, simply clearing the place each week for another shot at an elusive trinket or item. You can buy the heroic Dragon Soul title or mount on most realms without too much trouble. With a few months of the same eight bosses ahead of us, it’s easy to understand why everyone is focused on what’s coming next.

I am always looking for ways to optimize my guild’s raids. If there’s a way that I can shave a few seconds off a boss encounter, I’ll take it. There are plenty of areas in Dragon Soul where a clever holy paladin can help move things along. I currently run with a secondary holy talent build that includes Denounce specifically for the purpose of speeding up our runs. If you’re still learning Dragon Soul or working on a new heroic encounter, these tips probably won’t apply to you.
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by Matt Walsh

I’ve been watching an unhealthy amount of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares lately — not the trashy Fox reality drama production, but the U.K. version, which is more focused on the food and, y’know, kitchens. Anyway, while watching the interactions between the various members of the kitchens depicted, it’s interesting the parallels you see between the various degrees of chefs and how that correlates with the various degrees of tanks within a raid operation.

Without getting too, er, French, the two biggest fish in a kitchen are the chef de cuisine (or, as the rosbifs may call the job, the head chef) and the sous-chef de cuisine. This correlates directly with most tanking hierarchies you’ll find, where there is a main tank and an off tank. (In some guilds, there may be a number of off tanks.) Much like how the head chef is the boss when it comes to what’s being served, the main tank is in charge of handling the burden of developing the tanking strategy and executing it. And likewise, while the sous-chef is second-in-command and chief substitute, the off tank handles a similar role within their own structure.

Similar to how the head chef might not be the one always sitting there and actually preparing every single dish, the main tank isn’t always the one on the boss. For both, their personal strengths might lend them better to a different, lesser role while the lieutenant gets a chance to step up and carry some of the burden. You see this in fights where one tanking class is stronger against a particular mechanic than another, like perhaps putting a highly mobile warrior on Shannox’s dog Riplimb. Essentially, there is more to being a main tank than the jobs you perform. It’s also the experience, the leadership, the dependability, and the prestige.
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