New Tanker

Hello!

I have started a Prot Pally and saw all the information for higher level progression. My question is how do I hold mobs as level 15 with just the core abilities?

Also should I go for stamina until I am able to get the other priorities? Hit/haste/crit?

Thanks.

It's not overally complicate kind sir.

Aim for Stam/Str pieces all the way until 80. Usually you just priorize highest Stam items even up to 90 disregarding green stats (STR and STAM are a function of the item ilvl, same slot items of equal ilvl will always have same STR/STA).

At low levels, well, just hit all the things. Avenger Shield hits for a metric crapton of damage at pre 85, just a single AS hit will be enough to hold a mob till it dies.
If there's a larger than 3 mobs pack and you don't have Hammer of the Righteous yet (I can't really remind at which level you get it), throw judge and crusader strike on mobs not hit by your AS.

After that well, as long as you are hitting CS/HotR, AS and Judgement on CD, you are doing it right.

Once you get to 85+ and have your full tool at disposal, you can start worrying about actual rotations

You'll get Hammer of the Righteous at level 20, which will make it a lot easier to aggro a group of mobs. You also get Holy Wrath at 20, but since it's a meteor effect, it doesn't do much good against large groups. You'll get Consecration at level 34.

Up to and including level 19 you'll have to tab-target spam CS/Judgement. Press Tab (or whatever you set up as your Target Next Enemy hotkey), press CS, press Tab, press J, etc...

You should already be able to follow CS-J-X-CS-X-J-CS-X-X-repeat, but that applies more against long boss fights, so don't stare yourself dead on that one yet. Make sure you have initial aggro on all targets.

What really helps is a good nameplates addon that colors nameplates based on your aggro. TidyPlates-ThreatPlates is the most common one, but it seems to be laggy and unstable as of late. I switched to KUI Nameplates myself. Basically, it shows nameplates where you have solid aggro in green, nameplates where others are close to overaggroing in yellow, and nameplates where you do not have aggro in red, so you can quickly see where you need to apply more threat.

A nameplate add-on is great for tanking trash (I still use threatplates).

With dungeons, a lot of it is just being aggressive - just running in and face pulling will get you half way there. As a healer or dps, I seem to spend most of my time running after the tank - as a tank, I seem to focus on out running the most "gogogo" dps. Setting the pace can be hard when you are unfamiliar with the dungeon - some of the low level ones are real rabbit warrens but usually there is an experienced party member who can lead the way if you are unsure. Tab target and use the name plate add-on to keep the attention of the mobs you grab.

Often tanks have more AOE abilities early on than most dps and with the 5x threat modifier, it should not be a problem. Typically most things in a low level dungeon can't insta-gib dps, so it doesn't really matter if they get aggro for a bit. I use a quick marking add on to be able to skull a target if it's important, but sadly it seldom is in leveling dungeons. ("Tank, why do you bother to mark?" is an irritated question I get from party members.)