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Ardent Defender

Ardent Defender

Instant	3 min cooldown

Requires Paladin (Protection)
Requires level 70

Reduce damage taken by 20% for 10 sec. While Ardent Defender is active, the next attack that would otherwise kill you will instead cause you to be healed for 12% of your maximum health.

Buff

Ardent Defender

Damage taken reduced by 20%.
The next attack that would otherwise kill you will instead cause you to be healed for 12% of your maximum health.
10 seconds remaining

Spell Details

Duration

10 seconds

School

Physical

Mechanic

n/a

Dispel type

n/a

GCD category

n/a

Cost

None

Range

0 yards (Self)

Cast time

Instant

Cooldown

n/a

GCD

0 seconds

Effect #1

Apply Aura: Absorb Damage (Arcane, Fire, Frost, Holy, Nature, Physical, Shadow)
Value: 20

Effect #2

Apply Aura: Dummy
Value: 12
Server-side script

Flags

Generates no threat

Guides

Protection Paladin Guide

Raid and Class
cooldown list.

Warlords of Draenor
Paladin Changes

Comments

Comment by Duckzorz

Seems like the cooldown will be extended in beta build 12604, from 2 minutes to 3 minutes, putting it more in line with Last Stand.

Comment by Freechoice

Yes, the death prevention is counterintuitive as an active ability, but there is some reasoning behind the spell's weakness.

Divine Protection, "bubblewall" has been nerfed to 20% as well, but is down to a 1 minute cooldown.
Guardian of Ancient Kings, talented and as of 16 days ago as of posting, reduces incoming damage by 60%.

It is single-handedly better than any other class combinations and can be used just as frequently if not more.

Although you would never do so, stacking all three nets you around 75% damage mitigation. Again, don't do that.

And don't say anything about this either.

I was never here.

*Woosh!*

Comment by Wynadorn

Oh so our lvl 85 tallent will be a tallent we can now already have on lvl 42 but now it isn't passive any more and they nerfed it, oh that really nice. Thanks Blizzard.

Comment by GilbertoGrape

I can live with the nerfing and the fact that it's now the protadins 31, but making it an active spell with a 10 second duration really is just throwing salt in the wound. Perfect scenario for me would be keeping it as 31, making it passive and making it equivalent to a 3 point version of what it is now. However, since I live in the real world I'd settle for just making it passive.

Comment by Xbowhyena

it's not really that much worse, if at all. 20% damage decrease, alright that's a nice addition. It's also very easy to anticipate a point in the fight where you will have to use it, and it will be even easier since damage done by enemies is going to be even more predictable than before in Cataclysm. Also, it's not even a nerf to your tanking at all, it's a nerf to your healer, and will allow less room for error on their part, not yours; that applies to only PvE though. PvP, this is pretty much the same plus a -20% buff.

Comment by Demonhunter987

I definitely like this version of it more as i was getting sick of it auto blowing on wipes and then having to wait for it (yes had two min cooldown) again so it would be ready in case I'd actually want it to go off. Now i can choose whether or not to blow this cd or divine protection and imo this will be better one for raiding for soft enrages or those times where you down a boss moments after he enrages.

Comment by Sasfild

now pro pally have more skill to keep him alive: Divine protection (1min cd/-20%damage/10s dur), Lay on Hand (10min CD/100%hp) or Divine Shield (-100%damage/5min cd/8s dur), Word of Glory+Guarded by the Light+Holy Shield (instant heal +overHP shield+ block/6s ,15s dur.Now; blocking give reduction of 30% of damage) and Guardian of Ancient Kings (with give more damage reduction for 5min CD and i dont know how long it keep guard you).

Comment by dingbot1

Usable while silenced, if that matters.

Comment by shotgunblitz

does ardent defender stack whit devine protection?

Comment by zombiesue

Lay on hands, divine protection, divine shield and hand of protection (pvp only) and a damage absorbing or health-granting trinket are enough. I wish this was passive again.

Comment by Geles

Ok, argent defender talent is really nice for duels and especially arenas: when u see that you are going to die u can turn in quickly and dmg which will kills u will heal u for 15% of ur total health, it works in the duels and it was helping me alot as prot. pala in the arenas aswel when i was going to die.

Comment by rnbw

It's interesting to note that this ability actually absorbs damage rather than reduce the actual damage taken directly, like and Divine Protection do.

I am not sure if there is any case in the game where this matters, but I thought it was useful to mention. So for example if you get a hit for 1000 damage, with Divine Protection on, you would actually just get 800 damage. With Ardent Defender on, you get a 200 damage absorption and only receive 800 damage as well.

And on an entirely unrelated note, our damage cooldown abilities stack multiplicatively rather than additively. So popping Ardent Defender, Divine Protection and together results in 68% less damage taken. A hit of 1000 is first reduced to 400, and then 80 is absorbed, leading 320 damage taken.

Comment by angelblack

I loved this talent in Wrath. In cata, since it was changed from passive to activation-required the number of times it has proven useful is diminished greatly.
When you're tanking you have to make split second decisions that can make or break you and, as such, wipe the raid. There are a few scenarios, none of which are particularly fun for a tank:
1. You're 80% hp and you get globaled by a boss. Has happened due to unlucky chains of hits + a special ability following quickly. In this scenario, the talent is useless.
2. You're 10% hp and the boss is about to hit you. You have the chance to use this talent. You use it. You get LoH'd to max HP or get Pain Supression or get a shaman 130k crit heal on you, or get Priest Wings. In this scenario, you just wasted a cooldown.
3. You're 30% hp and the healers aren't shouting in vent. You think you're fine and heals are incoming, you don't think it's worth wasting a cooldown when it's very likely to get healed very soon. All the healers stumble to find their heal button and you die.

I'm not saying this is a bad talent by any stretch of the meaning. It's a life saver and a raid saver IF you know how to use it and if you GET to use it. The main problem is that even vent communication takes too long when you have to make split second decisions. You simply don't have time to ask "hey guys, i'm at 10%, you plan on healing me soon or should I pop a cooldown?".
It's very frustrating when you waste such a powerful cooldown and then it's extremely satisfying when you use it properly. I liked it more in wrath since it was useful 100% of the time but this model is better suited to Cata raiding which I prefer over Wrath anyway.

Comment by hurin

anybody know if this will save you from dying to fading light in the ultraxion encounter, when you are the tank that stands out during hour of twilight ? i'm too scared to try it. ;-(

Comment by Deathsdefend

No one mentioned this yet? This ability WILL make you live through Fury of Frostmourne. Try it some time :)
EDIT: Fixed up the might make you live through to a WILL make you live through.

Comment by Silmafarion

Note to self (and other prot paladins); Ardent Defender does NOT save you from death by fall damage.

Ardent Defender

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