Paladin Farming Build: Protection AoE Talents, Consecration Pulls and Gear for Vanilla WoW

Most paladins farm one mob at a time, and that is slow. A Protection paladin can do something else: gather a small pack, stand against a wall and let the mobs hurt themselves on Holy Shield, Blessing of Sanctuary, Retribution Aura and Consecration. In patch 1.12 the paladin is Alliance only, so this is a Human or Dwarf plan. This paladin farming build takes Protection to Holy Shield, adds Consecration and Divine Intellect from Holy, and spends the last points on Benediction for cheaper seals. It shines at 60 against packs of melee humanoids, making a durable plate character a steady cloth and coin farmer on a vanilla-era realm such as WoW Forever.

Who this build is for

This build suits a patient player who wants to farm without dying. You take very little damage, you heal yourself between pulls, and three to five mobs at once is a normal pull rather than an emergency. Every block deals holy damage back.

What it gives up is single-target damage and mana. Leveling with it is slow, casters and ranged mobs ignore your block damage, and a long pull can leave you with an empty mana bar. You also have no taunt and few ways to stop a mob that runs. If you are still leveling, the Retribution build is the better choice until 60.

Talents

Fill Holy for Consecration first, then go deep into Protection for Blessing of Sanctuary and Holy Shield, and finish in Retribution.

• Holy Shield. Raises your block chance for a short time and deals holy damage each time you block. It is the core of every pull, and you refresh it whenever it drops.
• Blessing of Sanctuary. Reduces the damage you take from each hit and deals holy damage when you block. With Holy Shield up, every swing at you costs the attacker health.
• Consecration. Holy damage on the ground around you over a short time. It starts threat on the whole pack and adds damage while blocks do the rest.
• Improved Righteous Fury. More threat from holy damage, so loose mobs stay on you instead of wandering off.

Stats and gear

Stamina comes first. A big health bar lets you take larger pulls and gives you time to react if a pull goes wrong. Intellect is next, because mana decides how many Consecrations and Holy Shields you can cast before you have to stop. Spell damage follows: Consecration, Holy Shield, Blessing of Sanctuary and Retribution Aura are all holy damage, and spell damage raises them all.

Armour reduces the damage of each hit and keeps you from needing heals mid-pull. Strength and Agility do little here. Plate with Stamina and Intellect is ideal, and pieces with spell damage are worth a slot or two once your health is comfortable.

Use a one-handed sword or mace and a shield. Holy Shield needs a shield, and a shield with a high block value makes each block absorb more. A one-hander with spell damage or Intellect is better than a slow, heavy weapon, because your melee swings matter little to this build.

How to play it

The pull is built around blocks, and your mana is the timer.

1. Buff Blessing of Sanctuary, Righteous Fury and Retribution Aura, and put on Seal of Wisdom for mana from your hits.
2. Run through the edge of the camp and gather three to five melee mobs into a tight group behind you.
3. Stop with your back to a wall or a tree so the pack cannot surround you from every side.
4. Cast Holy Shield as the first mob arrives, then Consecration under the pack.
5. Keep Holy Shield up at all times. Recast Consecration only while your mana stays above roughly a third.
6. Judge Seal of Wisdom on the mob with the most health, then seal again; heal with Holy Light only if health falls below half.
7. Loot, drink to full mana and look at the next pack before you pull it.

Where to farm

The best targets are melee humanoids that hit often and do not flee. The Tyr's Hand Scarlet Crusade gold farm is the classic paladin farm at 60: dense yards of Scarlet humanoids with Runecloth and coin, and casters you can save for the end. The Burning Steppes Dark Iron farm works the same way with dwarves in tight camps.

For cloth, the Runecloth farming spots list camps that suit AoE pulls, and the Desolace farming route is a gentler place to practise Consecration pulls in your late thirties, before Holy Shield. Expect roughly 20–40 gold per hour at 60, depending on cloth prices on your realm and how much you drink.

Running it with ForeverBot

In the Farming section, record a loop around the camp with Record loop and add each mob type with + Current target, so the Targets list holds only melee mobs. The bot follows the loop and the Target key picks the next mob; the gathering and the timing of Holy Shield are yours. Tick Auto loot, Sell gray items and Go to a vendor when bags are full, and keep Repair at vendors on, since plate repairs are costly.

Set Drink below mana high, around 50–60%, and Eat below HP around 40%. In Settings, choose safest in Route mode to keep away from patrols. Watch Kills and Gold/hour in the Current status panel to compare camps. Botting breaks the rules of many realms and can cost you the account, so check your realm's rules before you start.

FAQ

Can a paladin really AoE farm in vanilla?

Yes, with this kind of build and the right mobs. Holy Shield, Blessing of Sanctuary and Retribution Aura turn every hit on you into damage back, and Consecration covers the rest. It is slower than a frost mage, but much safer, and it works well on melee humanoids at 60. Casters and ranged mobs are the weak point.

Why take Benediction instead of more Holy?

Benediction makes seals and Judgements cheaper, and you cast Seal of Wisdom and its Judgement on every pull. That mana saving keeps you farming longer. More Holy points mostly improve healing, which this build uses only between pulls. Improved Hammer of Justice is a reasonable swap for the last few points.

Is this build any good for dungeons?

It tanks five-man dungeons well for its time, especially packs of weaker mobs, because Consecration holds threat on several targets. The lack of a taunt makes loose mobs harder to recover, so a careful group helps. Most raids want a paladin to heal, so many players keep this build for farming only.