As Holy guardians of light, Paladins are a powerfully strong class with a variety of Auras to use; each of which provide added abilities to both the Paladin and anyone within his party. Because of their immense power; you may only have one Aura active. When describing the greatest attribute of a Paladin, you would have to say they are built for protection. Giving them great healing and protection spells to cast on both themselves and those around them.
Being of holy nature, Paladins have a powerful effect on undead creatures. Their holy spells are designed specifically to destroy the legions of undead armies. The only healing class that can wear plated armor, allows them to also be great tanks and good DPS characters. Blizzard really made the Paladin to be a universal character, giving them the ability to be very strong in all aspects.
If you are looking for more info on expanding your knowledge on Paladins then check out this Paladin Leveling Guide.
The use of two handed weapons allows them to become even more powerful allies in a fight. Being able to survive huge amounts of damage comes from their plated armor and their natural defensive nature.
Many times Paladins can be the difference in a battle or a boss fight. Able to contribute in so many ways, they can sometimes feel like the missing cog to machine. You will want to develop your skills to learn how to use both your strong melee as well as your potent spell power.
As a healer, you will find that Paladins are more than equipped to heal multiple targets or even just a single target with relative ease. You will want to learn which healing spells are the best while you level up. Utilize your leveling time wisely; find what you like to do as a Paladin so when you are finished leveling, you can focus on what interests you.
Along with their Auras the Paladin can also place blessings on themselves. These blessings very in stats, but they all are designed to enhance certain aspects of a player to maximize their value. Paladins are also able to do this for each individual within their group. This wonderful spell, gives the Paladin the ability to literal go player to player and give them one of their blessings. Raids and PvP battles are the place you will use these most often, but sometimes when leveling with another character you will use them too.
If you want to dive deeper into being a Paladin check out this Paladin Leveling Guide.
The way you use all of these powerful spells is through your mana consumption. A lot of the time you will be dependent on others to help you regenerate your mana because you will consume it so quickly. Many times when people are first leveling a Paladin, they will run into mana issues. This is the most frustrating part of being a Paladin. As you level you will want to be aware of what spells consume a lot of mana and which ones don't. Without mana you will become very weak, very quickly.
Each of the three talent builds is designed for the three specs that make up being a Paladin. Retribution is used as a DPS Paladin, Holy is used for healing, and Protection is designed specifically for tanking. As easy as it is to choose your talent build as a Paladin, it can also be somewhat predictable. One of the drawbacks to being a Paladin is the limited freedom you have when putting together your talent builds. This is the only way to make it fair for a Paladin to have so many different specs.
Many times you will hear that Retribution is the best talent tree to level with. But in fact Protection is the best for leveling. Protection has less damage but Retribution consumes to much mana to make leveling effective. Defense and mana are the basis for Protection, and will make leveling fun and easy. When leveling always utilize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
Being a popular character class, there are a ton of Paladin players out there who can help you with any questions that might come up. This hero class will give you plenty of things to master. Whether it is tanking, healing or DPS, you will never get bored with a Paladin. Using too much mana can be your downfall as a Paladin, be careful to not use to much to soon. Beyond that the sky is the limit when it comes to the Paladin; this class is a fun and powerful addition to any group.