Hey guys, Alex here, the author of the Hybrid Theory column. I have a follow up in the works to address some of your concerns, and it'll carry a little more detail than what I'll have here.
Goodheart, you're sort of right. Sort of. I added a little bit of cynical flair to some of my points, just for kicks. Not to get anybody riled up, but because it's more interesting that way. For example, my point on Balance Druids as tanks. It's a fun thing to do, but not really raid viable. I said it in a cynical, downer way. The Moonkin tanks may not have liked it, but I think some people got a kick out of it.
I think the largest issue with how I described Protection Paladins was in how I put my words together, how I phrased things. My sardonic lead-in pushed things off of the mark, and Protection Paladins probably did not appreciate that. I'll toss a little something extra up on WoW Insider to explain my stance.
You guys are completely right in the fact that I missed some of the Protection Paladin details, but I stand by that Protection Warriors and Feral Druids are most likely to be the main tanks. I'll rephrase how I stated it in my follow up, because I believe it comes across more hateful than I intended it. I think I missed some of the details because I play a Protection Paladin. This is possibly a fault of mine, that I'm
so used to doing things that they slip my mind when someone says, "Hey, how do you paladin?"
My writing style for this particular column posting was probably more problematic than anything, it seems. However, I
did miss some things, so why don't we handle that in a civil manner. What, precisely, did I miss that is exclusive to Protection Paladins? I'll even go back to my column from Saturday and edit it in, and give you guys a nod for the fact checking if you want. I can't promise I'm going to include absolutely everything, because the list could get pretty long if you include all of the little, minor things- I'm not the Paladin columnist, which I'm sure you all appreciate.
Additionally, if you want to take a look at my Prot Paladin alt's Armory(pre/early-T5 equivalent), it's right here:
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Cenarion+Circle&n=Leothir
I would give you the Armory of the Protection Paladin that raids with my raid alliance, but I don't think he would appreciate that very much.
Feel free to tear me apart, but a few notes: If I have my expertise neck on, it drops me below being uncrittable, but I currently only wear it on trash mobs and the like that I'm sure won't kill me. Otherwise, I wear the Barbed Choker of Discipline, which brings me to 490 on the dot. Once I boost my defense somewhere else, I'm going to try working the Hit/Expertise into my primary tanking set.
I don't have Blessing of Kings because I'm generally in a situation where there's only one paladin, so Might/Salv/Wisdom on the party/raid and Sanc on myself is what's most often needed. I respec for Kings when I'm needed in a 25-man setting.
My other glaring weak point is my shoulders, which are still D3. I've been grinding Sethekk, Karazhan and the first chest in ZA as often as possible to get either Dimentia, Abrahmis or Stone Resolve, but random loot is not being kind to me.
Trust me, guys, playing a Protection Paladin is one of the funnest things in WoW for me, and I apologize for coming across as a hater. I won't step back from my position entirely, but I probably phrased things in a more extreme manner than I intended, and I apologize for that.