I'm a TankyTank

I'm enjoying protection paladin tanking. i don't know much, but i do know this:

- i should be aware of my cooldowns - i like take turns between the longer cooldown abilities (Consecrate, Holy Shield) and my shorter ones (Shield of Righteousness, Hammer of the Righteous). i don't usually follow a strict rotation but i do try to mix up cooldowns so i always have something available.

- i should keep up Holy Shield.

- i should keep up Divine Plea. i try to remember. i forget all the time. hits refresh it now. and if i can remember to keep up Divine Plea, i can always keep up Holy Shield (before, i'd purposely lose health to trigger Spiritual Attunement. now? notsomuch).

- i like to open with Hammer (Hubcap) of the Righteous on multi-mob pulls so the ret paladin in my group has a chance to live. also, HoR applies my SoV on every target it hits so i can hold sweet multi-mob aggro with a fancy DoT.

- i use Grid as a "who's got aggro" tool. when the red box is around Maebee, then i'm good. when the red aggro frame is around, say, a ret paladin, for example, it's time to Righteous Defense his (or her) ass cos those mobs are MINE. i have always loved Grid for how minimalist it is. i think i'm a more visual player, so having clear and clutter-free raid/party frames are most helpful to me.

- i should watch my Omen. sometimes party members get targeted for no reason - it doesn't mean they're pulling aggro and i get to blame them.

- i should always hit Shield of Righteousness after i judge cos of my Libram of Obstruction. it would be a waste of juicy damage if i didn't.

- i shouldn't be too afraid to hit Divine Protection. nor should i be too afraid to Lay On Hands. cooldowns are shorter, nowadays, so we can actually use these abilities and not save them for that special occasion. usually, when things get "special" we end up wiping anyway.

i gear for defense. after defense....whatever i can get my grubby hands on. dk's and druids don't care at all for the block value/rating so i like to grab that stuff - makes me feel unique-like (oh and it helps with threat building and dmg).

and last, but not least, i like making tanking fun.....inside my head: "how does the front of my shield feel on your face?!?!? it HURTS, right? does it make you ANGRY??? oh, did you try to stab me? didn't feel it cos i BLOCKED THAT SHIT."