I am leveling my Pally as Prot. From 1-35 Ret is generally the way to go which is how I leveled my Pally to 35, but once you hit 35-40 then the Prot tree becomes a very viable option.
How do you level as Prot? Easy, go into a mob camp pull three or four and start DPSing one down. S/Jol, S/JoW and SoR as needed, depending on whether you need to regen HP or Mana. I can usually clear mobs very quickly. The only issue I run into is with casters, though Hammer of Justice and Arcane Torrent helps shut em down long enough for me to deal with them. However if I get more than one caster, then it is time to Bubble and run. I can usually finish a fight with almost full Health and a big pile of corpses to loot. Plus I am getting requests all the time to come tank instances which is a bonus.
Keys to leveling as Prot:
A decent fast weapon. This is because you want to Proc (especially Reckoning) as often as possible. With Prot you have several talents that proc and make you much more survivable and can also increase your DPS:
Reckoning - a 2% chance when hit by a mob/player to get an extra attack for the next 4 swings in the next 8 seconds. When you pull several mobs this will proc very often. With a bunch of fast hitting mobs, this will almost be constant. Lots o' DPS.
Redoubt - increases the chance you block with your shield
Blessing of Sanctuary - causes Holy damage everytime you block with your shield From the WoW EU Pally forums: This not only reduces damage taken by 14/19/24/80, but also deals 21/28/35/46 damage every time you block. Coupled with our shield spike (20-30 if you buy thorium), you're returning 40-76 damage every time you block.
Holy Shield: Causes Holy damage everytime you block. 4 Charges (can be increases with talents), lasts 10 seconds
Plus you want to use
Retribution Aura - Reflects some damage back to the attacker
Righteous Fury
Plus two of the following (alternate depending on the situation)
Seal/Judgment of Light - Regen HP by attacking/being attacked
Seal/Judgment of Wisdom - Regen Mana by attacking/being attacked
Seal of Retribution - causes Holy Damage with each Hit
Also you want a Shield Spike for even more damage when you block. Plus if you can get one, a shield that can proc a damage effect. For Belfadins, this easy one is easy as (Vile Protector) is a quest reward from a SM Library Quest
Basically you take a beating and reflect much of that damage back to the mob/player dishing it out. As stated in the "Light and How to Swing It" feature on WoWInsider:
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Originally Posted by WoW Insider
, the most sadistic spec in paladindom.
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And since much of the damage being reflected is Holy Damage, the chance of resists/immunity is extremely small (only mobs that are immune to any from of magic based attack which are pretty rare to encounter while leveling).
Strengths:
-Able to easily solo 4 mobs 2 levels above you, 5-6 equal level or lower, and end fights with nearly full mana and health.
-Very tough in PvP, especially against rogues, fury warriors, feral druids, and enhancement shaman.
-Tanking ability for instance runs.
Weaknesses:
-Fairly slow DPS against a single mob.
-Casters avoid your mitigation and therefore will toast you.
-Ranged are difficult to manage because you can only use SoL to heal if they are close enough to hit.
Links:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...sid=1&pageNo=1
http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/07/03...o-palaoeadins/