Prot Pala DPS/PVE? It has it's niche :)
So, I understand that most newer players (and experienced players) really enjoy playing ret. In all honesty, all pala specs are not difficult to learn. On top of that it's really hard to do bad with a paladin. It's just as hard to do very well. I'm sure that most, if not all experienced pala players will not disagree with me on that.
Ok, so I've mained pala (all specs) during live wow when WotLK was current. Yes, I'm an OG. Let me assure you that this post is not to belittle any spec in any shape or form. It's just an informational for players that may not be aware. And,.. may want to try something outside of the box and different.
I always believe (because i've played both ret and prot while leveling my gear) that prot can and will out dps ret (=gs) (up until ret gets 2pc T10) if you gem, chant all offensively and use dps gear (no agi gear/just str plate)(Yes, offensive trinkets as well). The only exception to this rule is that all tanking weapons are fast, so you want to use an agi 1 hander that is slow. Remember now, it's prot dps. You do not need to be def capped. You are just dps ing in prot spec.
Now moving forward you want to get glyph of Hammer of the Righteousness so you get the 4'th target hit.
Glyph of Seal of Command. (Yes you will be using Seal of command / which means you'll have to spec for it)
Glyph of Consecration.
Glyph of sense undead. (minor) And you want to have sense undead on while dps ing as most dungeons/raids have undead or deamons.
If you have vote points, you want to get 2pc T7, IL 213 prot spec shoulders and hands. This it will increase you damage on HotR by 10%
When you get there, you want to get 2pc T10 IL 251/264/277 prot spec legs and head. This will increase your damage on HotR by 20%
But why should I gem my tanking gear (NOT STAM)?? Who says you cannot have more than 1 tank set???
Keep your stam set for tanking raids and use your str gemmed 2pc T7 and T10 for your offensive set.
I Challenge all paladin players to try it and I promise you, you will not be disappointed by the results.
Remember this is not your main tanking set. It's a fun set
Even if you are only 4 pcs (+shield), 5 pcs tanking gear, you will still be able to tank rdf hc.
Don't forget you do not need 50k hp to tank rdf as most healers are already skilled and geared and when you take hits, you'll be topped up quickly.
If you've ever run with Aydra (horde) or Sylanara (Ally) on Icecrown then you already know how well it performs first hand.
Yes, those toons are played by me.
Good luck and have fun!