Returning from SL, and prot paladin is in a bad place in terms of PvP. In SL, it was quite weak in BGs, but at least it could almost keep up with healers in small fights, and could out damage healers. It suffered from being squishy as its only source of real tankiness was its ample immunities. However, immunities have never meshed strongly in BGs with being unable to flag carry.
Prot feels even squishier than back in SL. The nerf to Guardian of the Forgotten Queens being 5 min (up from 3), Righteous Protector reducing CD of Queens by 1.5sec (down from 3), WoG barely healing 10% HP when self cast, and the fact that Guardian only works ~5-10% of the time. To top it off, Prot has minimal damage.
From my time playing pre-season, Prot Pal seems to do damage on par with other healers, do healing on par with other dps, and its utility is weaker than in SL. There obviously can be a great deal of variation with my experience of healing/damage output, based on gear/skill, I’m trying to communicate a ballpark figure. In the past, Prot pal already was a spec that would never be played in RBGs, but now its laughable.
There was a small glimmer of hope that Hammer of Light burst could at least bring Prot closer to other dps output during their burst, but now that “bug” has been fixed. Even with the “bug” active, Prot Pal burst was ~60% of Ret Pal burst, so it wasn’t anything crazy.
It would be great if the PvP modifiers nerfing Prot Pal Damage and Healing were reverted, the guardian bug was fixed, and either AS generating HP was re-added or the legendary effect form SL, Magister’s Judgement, was introduced as a talent.