PVE Protection Paladin Guide – By Zsini
Welcome everyone! This guide is mainly for new players, for those who want to get better in tanking as a protection paladin. In this guide I will write down everything you should know about protection paladin, starting from rotation all the way to min-maxing tanking positions.
Stats
First let’s see the necessary stats:
Spoiler:Show
Rotation
Opening rotation before every fight:
- Before the pull you should apply https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=53601 at 7 seconds left from pull
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=54428 for 3% damage reduction
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48952 + https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40093
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=31884
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48827 and before it lands
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=62124
This way you will have every defensive spells on you, and you can do the maximum amount of damage at the very start of the encounter. You have to practice this opening, to make sure your taunt is used at 0 on pull (it’s important that https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=62124 hits first, because it only deals damage if the target isn’t already targeting you), and then your https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48827 lands.
After this you use your single target rotation:
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=61411
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=53595 ,
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48952
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=20271
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48818
and continuing these off cooldown, making sure you keep up your https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=53601 on yourself.
AOE rotation is the following:
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=53595
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48818
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48952
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=48827
Defensive Cooldowns
Your defensive cooldowns are the following:
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=498 (most important one, 50% damage reduction)
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=1038 (with glyph https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=45747 )
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=64305 for 3% damage reduction (with 4 T10 also 12% dodge for 10 seconds https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=70761 )
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=31852
- any usable trinket
- https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=64205
Talents
Basic talent:
Spoiler:Show
In the following I show you my talent tree which is:
Spoiler:Show
Consumables:
Food
What food you should use: https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=42999 , the reason to this is because it gives 40 agility, which gives you armor, but if you don’t want to spend gold on food, the https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=43015 is just fine, beside this what most of the people don’t know is https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=25659 , which gives you +25 Stamina, and it doesn't remove other food buffs, means free +25 stamina. Obviously it’s not a big upgrade, but in case you do hard encounter, meaning solotank LOD, or 2healing RS 25HC, you should use this as well. Its obtainable from a quest chain, also the recipe is BOE, so you can sell it in auction house. You can do the quest in a few hours. In case you miss some stats for some reason:hit rating or expertise rating, it can be a good idea to use the food that gives them https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=42996 , https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=42994 .
Flask
https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=46379 (1300 bonus hp), you use this basically everywhere, the only time you could switch to https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=44939 (50 resist to magic), if you are out of CD for a breath on Sindra, Sapphiron, Halion, then switching it back to Stoneblood, you can use it on Anubarak (TOGC) in last phase, but as a tank it’s not really important, only time it could make a difference, is doing 0% buff lod, and switching in the room, but then again you would have to switch back. So overall https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=46379 is the ideal and best flask for every encounter. If you are in low gear you can consider using https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=44329 (45 expertise) / https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=44325 (45 hit rating), in case you are missing expertise or hit rating, and you can combine it with https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=44328 (45 defense rating) / https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40097 (800 armor).
Potion
https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40093 (+3500 Armor for 2 mins), you will use these potions only, 1 before the pull, and 1 during the fight where you need it. Beside this you could use https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40213 / https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40215 / https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40214 / https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40216 / https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40217 , on some fights like Sindragosa on a last breath what you need to survive, but it’s extremely rare to use these. The basic stays https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40093 for every fight.
Professions
As you can see (a bit down) I’m using Jewelcrafting for bonus 63 Stamina ( https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=36767 gems, you can have 3 on you at the time), you can switch this profession to Enchanting which gives, + https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=59636 on 2 rings, overall +60 stamina / Blacksmithing with 2 more sockets in https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=55628 and https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=55641 , means +60 Stamina / Leatherworking + https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=57690 for your Wrist, so +62 because you would put + https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=44947 to your wrist without it/ Mining with https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=53040 (+60 Stamina). So overall not much difference but Jewelcrafting gives the most stamina with bonus 63 stamina. The other Profession is always Engineering, not only because of the https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=54861 which is extremely helpful in most of the encounters, but it also gives https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=63770 to your hands, and + https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/spell=67839 to your head. With engineering you can also use https://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=41119 for extra damage when there are multiple targets, such as on trash, Marrowgar’s spike, Lady’s adds, Lich King’s valkyr, and so on.
BIS lists
BIS for ICC:
Spoiler:Show
Let’s move to RS HC build, as known as Expertise build, Your talents are the same, itemization changes the following:
Spoiler:Show
If you end up as an add tank in RS 25HC, you don’t need expertise build, you can go with your basic build or you can also use the Armor build which is the following, it's also decent in ICC, but I would recommend the build I mentioned at the beginning:
Spoiler:Show
So far we talked about ICC and RSHC BIS Lists, let me show another build which is called Block Build, it’s the following:
Spoiler:Show
Boss fights
Now we talked about every Itemization, Talents, Foods potion etc, let’s move on to the fights, where I show you what you should do on each boss as a paladin tank. First I want to say the opening is always the same, so I won’t write that down, since I started with that at the beginning.
ICC HC
There a playlist from SayNoToTryhard about ICC tactics: General ICC tactics. Below are the prot paladin specific tactics:
Marrowgar:
Spoiler:Show
Lady:
Spoiler:Show
Gunship:
Spoiler:Show
DBS:
Spoiler:Show
Rotface:
Spoiler:Show
Festergut:
Spoiler:Show
PP:
Spoiler:Show
BPC:
Spoiler:Show
BQL:
Spoiler:Show
VDW:
Spoiler:Show
Sindy:
Spoiler:Show
LK:
Spoiler:Show
RS HC
Halion:
Spoiler:Show
TOGC
Anub:
Spoiler:Show
Thank you for reading my guide, hope you could find something useful in it.
Special thanks for Bloodelement, and Sunian with helping, to make this guide.
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Member
PVE Protection Paladin Guide
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Member
Additional Item Sets
Emblem of Triumph + Dungeon set (after hitting lvl 80)
Spoiler:Show
ICC 10N + Onyxia 25 + TOC 25N + Frost Emblems set
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ICC 10HC + ICC 25N + RS 25N set
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ICC 25 8/12HC + RS 25N Prebis set
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I didn’t include BOE items, such as Pillars of Might, Boots of Kingly Upheavel, Breastplate of the White Knight, Saronite Swordbreakers, Indestructible Plate Girdle, Signet of the earthshaker, Northern Barrier, Band of the Treator King, Harbinger’s Bone Band and more with crafting.
If you consider spening money on boe’s (and if you have money for it) then here is the best itemization for that:
Expensice BOE set
Spoiler:Show
Cheapest boe set
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Trinket List
Spoiler:Show
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Member
Firstly, thanks for posting a new guide on the warmane forums. We already have plenty of Prot pala guides, but it's always nice to get newer ones, as the old guides often don't get maintained as the years age on.
Haven't had time to go over the best in slot lists yet, but I already noticed a few poignant issues in the rotations section
Spoiler:Show
1) Firstly, the opener is a bit too rigid and fixed.
Depending on whther or not you're able to pre-cast a consecrate in position,(ie stand underneath where boss spawns prior to aggro) you should factor in a precasted consecrate.
Then in some cases you might also need to save Avenger's shield for something else.
For example here's how an opener might look on DBS or Lich King, with a set timer and you're able to pre-pull consecrate, or in other scenarios where you're able to pull the boss into a consecrate from afar (or might need to save Avenger's shield for another reason)
Precasted Sacred Shield -> Precasted Divine Plea > Precasted Holy Shield > Precasted Consecration @ future boss location > start mashing Hand of Reckoning at 0.01 sec left on pull timer > Instantly Wings + HotR on pull the instant AFTER hand of reckoning lands > Judgement if assigned to the debuff, Avenger's shield otherwise > Shield of Righteousness > Judgement or Avenger's shield (whichever wasn't cast earlier, skip avengers if needed for adds in next 20 sec) > Hammer of the Righteous > onto the normal 6-9-6 rotation.
As always it pays to be flexible in the opener, for example your Avenger's Shield may be necessary or more optimally saved for other reasons, eg, Marrowgar spikes, aggro'ing adds (solo tank LK), silencing/interupting spellcasters. As always, tank rotations need to be dynamic and not quite this rigid, although I understand new players like a set-order to learn from, the best guides will communicate a sense of fluidity in an easy to comprehend manner.
2) Secondly, your guide is completely lacking an explanation of the 6-9-6 rotation principal for prolonged DTPS after the opener is accomplished. If anything, your "Priority order" is actively promoting the OPPOSITE by encouraging new players to cast ShR + HoTR in back to back GCD's by listing them in 1) and 2), which correct when ranked by threat per skill, is the mortal sin of high DTPS rotations in the long term, due to causing conflicting cooldown resets in the future.
Also it's worth noting that you have ShR listed at #1, and HotR as #2 on single target threat. Typically HotR does more threat per cast even on single target than ShR assuming no funky block value mechanics at play, such as the item level 200 block value relic, but even then I'm fairly sure HotR still wins out at least in my foggy memory of many years-old sims into the matter. You can probably recheck using Rawr and changing variables like relics/weapons, checking between fast 1.6 swing weapons and weapons like BvB to see how the threat per casts change. For the interim, I'm fairly sure it's more accurate to list HotR as 1st, and ShR as 2nd, but do be sure to double check a trustworthy sim.
The 6-9 rotation concept (apart from having an immature giggity "nice" name) is a concept that all prot paladins should at least be aware of, and no rotation section on a Prot Pala guide is complete without at least acknowledging it. It's an old principal which over the years has been built upon, it shouldn't be religiously followed, but all the most optimal rotations eventually settle upon it, as there is no other soution which perfectly achieves 100% GCD uptime without relying on Avenger's Shields/Sacred shields as filler. Even if the advice merely comes in the form of saying"eventually don't cast ShR and HoTR back to back just once in the rotation, aftwards your cooldowns will line up better", it's better than nothing.
But essentially the way I explain this to new players is something like as follows:
6 = You have 2 main-rotation-skills useable every 6 sec, Hammer of the Righteous and Shield of Righteousness, these should be used every 2nd global.
9= You have 3 main-rotation-skills that are useable every 9 seconds, which are Holy Shield, Consecrate, and Judgement. These should be woven "between" every ShR and HoTR to prevent those skills being cast in back to back GCD's.
Extras = You also have to refresh Sacre shield once per minute, and Avenger's Shield can be used as a freeby for more threat or to fix mistakes.
Then I'll give a visual example such as:
Single target sample 6-9 rotation
6 HoTR -> 9 HS -> 6 ShR -> 9 Cons -> 6 HotR -> 9 Judge -> 6 ShR etc etc
If possible I'd link a gif of an action bar with the 5 skills perfectly coming off cooldown the moment they're next used.
By using your skills in the order of a 6 second CD > 9 second CD > 6 second CD > 9 second CD pattern, you will achieve perfect GCD uptime and minimise cooldown overhead (where an ability sits ready on your actionbars unused for more than 1.5 seconds). The "6-9" rotation is the defacto rotation all prot paladins should strive to "fall in to the groove on" once in a prolonged fight.
For example, when a scenario occurs that required you to withhold consecrate for AoE, or HotR for adds (or any other temporary deviation from the 6-9 rotation), what will inevitably happen is at some point in the next 9 seconds, 2 of your main skills WILL come off cooldown at the same time, causing a GCD gap where you have nothing to cast for over 1 second. By being aware of the 6-9 principal, ie, not casting HoTR and ShR in 2 GCD's back to back, you will eventually cause all future cooldowns resets from having a conflict or being forced to sit for 1.5 seconds without a skill available to cast (apart from Sacred shield or Avengers shield).
In an oversimplified manner, we can generally explain once a cooldown conflict happens, you can return to a 6-9 principal'd rotation by casting either Sacred Shield or Avenger's Shield (to create a GCD's worth of "leeway") and then making sure NOT to cast HoTR + ShR back to back in the next 2 GCD's that follow. However, wasting a GCD to "reset" like this in the middle of a rotation, whilst common advice given to new prot paladins, has always been suboptimal.
In the hands of an experienced Ppala, if they properly understand the 6-9 principal (and can plan ahead 4-5 GCD's) you can often pick a more optimal GCD order without needing to waste an unneccessary GCD and waste a cooldown like Avenger's shield, or be forced into refreshing Sacred shield early (eg with >30 sec remaining)
Then additionally, in a very optimised 6-9 principal'd rotation with no deviations or mistakes, every 2nd consecutive Judgement is an opportunity to cast either Avenger's Shield or refresh Sacred Shield without dropping the 20 second duration judgement debuff from the boss. Simply skip the judgement, and cast the other GCD instead.
Even in high-AoE situations the 6-9 principal doesn't change, just situations will arise where you are required to withhold a skill CD and then return to the 6-9 rotation later, or instantly cast Consecrate as your FIRST skill, but even then you can typically do a 6-9 principal'd rotations in the likes of:
if exactly 3 mobs (AoE)
6 HoTR > 9 Consecrate > 6 ShR > 9 HS > 6 HoTR > 9 Judgement > etc
If 5+ mobs (AoE)
9 Consecrate > 6 HoTR > 9 Holy Shield > 6 ShR > 9 Judgement > etc
In either variant Avenger's shield can be used a ANY TIME without throwing off the 6-9 principal.
It'll be quite the challenge to condense all of this information down in a manner where new players can easily understand it without sounding like a novel. In my guild discord chats I'm a fan of simplifying it down to "after the first 20 seconds of a boss once you're sure you aren't losing boss aggro, just stop casting HotR + ShR in back to back GCD's ever for the rest of the fight" and they end up "accidentally" falling into a 6-9 principal'd rotation without needing to know the full theory behind why it works.
I haven't had time to go over the BiS lists but in general, as long as you encourage players to collect multiple armor sets and think clearly about when 264 armor pieces vs the 277 avoidance/stam pieces vs various hit rating/expertise item swaps are needed, you can't have done too badly. Encourage players to swap equipment regularly between boss encounters. Eg, armor set on Marrowgar, then a higher Expertise/Stamina set for LDW, and back to Armor set for gunship without sacrificing too much hit rating or falling under expertise softcap.
As a wise man once said, If I had more time, I would've written a shorter letter. Polish and finesse down the key information into the least words possible when writing a quality guide.
Cheers for your contribution. Good luck condensing all the info down.Edited: July 5, 2023
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Very nice and detailed guide. Appreciate your input on item sets and prot pala POV on some encounters. If only there was some fresh guide, and in the same manner, for BDK...
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Just so you know...you do not want to use sacred shield, its a pvp spell. plus it uses 12% of you base mana just for 500 absorbed dmg...
also avenging wrath prevents you from using defensive cooldowns for 30 sec :S
definitetly don't do that if you are low gs or in/with low gs group
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Forum Veteran
Any mitigated damage is damage that you didn't receive. And scared shield scales with SP just like any other spell.
Avenging wrath is huge boost to threat and that few % of DPS that may determine wipe or kill.
If he is low GS, he won't get in situation where it would matter, i.e. LoD or RS25HC.
Definitely don't give advices while not knowing anything about class yourself.
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Member
Except this guide is manly aimed at new players. (please learn to read)
...wich won't find themselves doin LoD or RS25hc anytime soon :D
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Member
This is so hilariously wrong it almost hurts. Lets address all your concerns 1 by 1
Regarding Sacred Shield
- Mana:
At level 80 Sacred Shield costs about 500 mana depending on race. That's less than HALF the cost of an Avenger's Shield or Consecrate, and only slightly more than the cost of a single Holy Shield spell. For a spell that lasts 60 seconds (with talents) this is almost negligible given the amount of mana restored from Blessing of Sanctuary, Divine Plea and a single point in Spiritual Attunement, and any other external sources such as replenishment or an rdruid's revitalise talent.
-Absorption amount:
The formula per Sacred shield is (600 / 80 * 100) + sp/1.064)*1.2
With a Base of 600 absorption, level of 80, and a typical BiS Prot paladin's unbuffed ~1300 spell power assuming 2.1k strength (from Touched by the light, low assumption, usually higher with raid buffs) we get ~2,560 damage absorbed, per shield on a 6 second internal cooldown.
Remember; The Sacred shield spell cast puts a 60 second buff on yourself, and any time you take damage with this 60 second buff, you trigger a 100% chance to trigger a 2,560 damage shield, with a 6 second internal cooldown between shields.
We can expect around 9 procs in a 60 second interval since not every proc is guaranteed to happen off cooldown, or in other terms, about 23,040 damage absorbed OUTSIDE OF ICC per 500 mana spell cast.
Long story short; A Prot pala should always be aiming to make sure he has a Sacred shield buff on himself at all times, this is literally one of the most effective and efficient ways to reduce your damage taken and improve your survival for literally a single button press per minute. Not to mention if you have a holy paladin, the Sacred Shield buff also works with other friendly targets Flash of Lights in regards to the additional Heal Over Time component.
Especially since you can literally cast this on yourself before a pull begins, or whilst moving between trash mobs into a dungeon.
Secondly; regarding Avenging Wrath useage as a tank;
YOU SHOULD BASICALLY ALWAYS USE THIS AT THE START OF A BOSS FIGHT TO KEEP AGGRO IT'S SERIOUSLY THAT SIMPLE. Your Divine Prot has a 2 minute cooldown, the 30 second lockout is inconsequential. No math needed here, simple common sense. If you're in danger of dying within the 30 second wings lockout at the start of a fight you have other serious concerns and you can use trinkets, healthstone and potions to compensate AND you can still use Divine Sacrifice cooldown, with a /cancelaura macro to stop the health transfer component and still enjoy the -20% damage reduction effect from Divine Guardian.
If that's still not enough, don't forget Prot paladin benefits from one of the most insanely powerful talents in the game; Ardent Defender. This talent practically states that as long as you healer isn't falling asleep more than once per 2 minutes you literally can't die.
If you lose aggro to your DPS, they die, and you failed in your role as a tank. Simple as that. Your points about being undergeared are actually points in favor of why habitually using Avenging Wrath is especially important; This is an old realm with plenty of characters dating all the way back to the moltdown, many of which are BiS or very close to BiS; Hence if you're a low geared tank, you need to work HARDER to keep aggro from these DPS'ers, not be lazier. Especially in the context of a guide, which aim to offer guidance and build good habits in players, for any circumstance they may find themselves in. With all these factors in mind, yes you may need to be wary of the 30 second lockout, but in almost every circumstance you should still be "popping wings" at the start of a boss encounter.
Again, note that these forums are a place to share knowledge, mostly regarding to the principle of "meta". The principle that all endgame aspects of the game have been thoroughly researched, calculated, and tested over the course of over 15+ years (wotlk literally came out in 2008) by MILLIONS of players, many of which smarter than anyone on the warmane forums and have left behind their calcs and knowledgebase for us to follow. To put in perspective how many people that is, if each person who has played WotLK WoW was represented by a single grain of rice, it'd be enough to fill up a large mansion to the rafters with rice grains. And every single last one of those rice grains represents a person who has tried and experimented with builds and spells and added to the collective total "meta knowledge" that serves as our knowledge foundation in the modern era.
All I ask is that ill thought, low effort opinions are kept to their owners, to prevent the spread of misinformation.Edited: October 2, 2023
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Member
its funny you mention that, because like you said, people have done their research but there are things that completely eludes them wierd heh ?
like for example, a 15+ years old habit that makes no sense.
Sacred shield is a holy paladin spell, wich grants him the ability to crit with flash heal. (only that should be sufficient to tell you i'ts not a prot tank spell)
now here is the funny thing : holy pala doesn't use flash heal at all in Pve. they use holy light instead.
but it doesn't stop there. you see, sacred shield scales on spell power. (like Persivaln stated above) that means the tank would have a lesser effective sacred shield than the holy pal anyway. coz... you know... spellpower and tank...
And to top it all, the tank doesn't have the use for flash heal either. also, apparently, even if you do use it, the crit portion wich supposedly affects your tank doesn't work at all when someone else cast the spell, wich makes using this spell as a tank totally useless because your holy pal cannot get the effect of it.
Now, i know you're thinking. the damage absorb right ? yes that makes sense... for the holy pal to use it on the tank. not the other way around.
Hopes it clear any misunderstandings ;)
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Member
You know your entire paragraph is pointless information.
Judgement is a ret-paladin ability. Should holy and prot paladins use it? Are Holy and Ret Paladins allowed to bubble despite it being a prot pala ability? Guess not.
If there's no other source or hpals sacred shield is used on another tank there's no reason not to use it on yourself.
The HoT-Portion for FoL is like the most negligible thing ever about the spell in pve. Same for the increased crit while the shield lasts. It btw works on every sacred shield - infusion of light doesn't care for who casts the sacred shield on your flash target. It just checks for the buff to be present to apply the hot.
But I guess it's not easy to accept being wrong, isn't it?
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Holy Paladin has to waste a whole GCD to refresh shield, not having to do that and using that GCD to heal instead is a big boost in survivability for the tank
Trying to optimize the healing output to make it seamless is like the number one rule in Hpal
As someone who has played both Hpal and Ppal, I'd rather have the Ppal refresh his own Sacred Shield in every single scenario
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Member
Hi!
Thank you for your comment.
Regarding precasting consecration, I did forget about that and didn't include in the opener rotation. You are right with adding it, you can precast consecration in many scenarios, such as Lady adds, DBS, BPC, Sindy, LK, and in many other fights, where the boss is not active yet.
About not using specific spells, or delaying them for a better use, those are mentioned below on specific boss fights, such as Marrow Spikes, Lady adds, Halion Inferno ect..
The reason I put ShR as Number one, becasue the fact you are using Libram of Valiance, which gives 200 Strenght on Corruption dot Proc, that means if you start with ShR, by the time GCD is off, you will have the bonus 200 Strenght for your HoTR, but if you don't consider this, then yes comparing the 2 spells, HoTR does more threat in general.
I didn't mention 6-9-6 at all, the reason for that, is most of the guides are only about this rotation, so I didn't find it useful to add. Other reason for this, is you can't always use this 2 macros, since sometimes you need to use different spells in scenarios, such as on Halion while tanking it, you will have to delay HoTR 2 seconds to not get any add on yourself, making everyone's life easier. Then again, true, you can use this rotation with 2 macros, if you don't wish to keep track on what you are using, or want to focus on other things, for avarage tanking its a good option to skip mechanics, especially for new players.
Thank you very much for your input, you mentioned a lot of good, and useful ideas for the readers. Have a nice day!
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Member
Hi!
Thank you for your comment.
You are right in a way that SS is used in PVP, although its really usefull in PVE aswell. In general you are going with 2 tanks, with a DK as MT, and with a Protpala as OT. In most of the raids there will be a Holy Paladin, he will put SS on DK, and Protpala will put SS on himself. In dungeons you do have issues with mana as Protpala, but in raids its not the case. You have a talent called Spiritual Attunement, which will prevent you from going OOM + you will have divine plea on yourself. Even if you think its a small damage reduction, you are not behind with anything if you use it since you have to apply it once every minute. If you are tanking anything as MT, such as BPC in general, then you want to start with wings to generate the most threat you can. In case you are OT, then obviously you don't have to use Avenging Wrath at start. When you do a raid a few times, you will get to know it better, and you will also get to know when you need to use defensive cooldowns, in a PUG raid, or low gs scenario, you may want to keep your Avenging Wrath, since you don't know the healers, or you may get too much DMG, but in a LOD/RSHC, or any case you have a decent gear, and decent healers, you won't have issue using Wings at start at all.
Thank you for your thoughts. Have a nice day!
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