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Derchlon's picture

Hunter Replacement for Avoidance

Derchlon — Thu, 10/08/2009 - 00:21

So, currently on the PTR they are removing the avoidance talent (Reduces damage done by AoE by 75%), and giving our pets an innate 90% AoE reduction.  In the place of Avoidance, we are getting a new pet talent called Culling the Herd.  It reads as follows:

Culling the Herd: This pet talent has replaced the Avoidance talent in the pet trees (Hunter pets now gain that benefit automatically without expenditure of talent points). Culling the Herd increases pet and hunter damage by 1/2/3% for 10 seconds each time the pet deals a critical strike with Claw, Bite, or Smack.

3% for 10 seconds each time a pet crits with Claw or Bite is really good, so I did some spreadsheet work.  In my current gear, if this change were to go live, that is a 249.2 dps increase.

Personal gains may vary.  Here are the dps gains per KB hunter, just for fun:
Grasen:  230.39 dps gain
Luminaire:  255.5 dps gain

  • Hunter
  • PTR
  • WotLK
  • Derchlon's blog
  • 2 comments
garreth's picture

test

garreth — Sat, 05/09/2009 - 01:19

testing auto line break converts 1

Testing auto line break converts 2
tersting auto line break converst 3

  • PTR
  • garreth's blog
Fjork's picture

Tankadin in Wrath - 3.1 - Tankadin Gear for Dual-Spec’ing into Tanking *NEW in 3.1*

Fjork — Fri, 03/20/2009 - 14:55

I'll add links later to wowhead.com so you can click each item to see it and decide if you like it.  Late on a Friday and I wanted to post this before heading home.

Have a good weekend!

 
Tankadin Gear for Dual-Speccing into Tanking
 
With the coming of Dual-Specs, I expect to see a great deal of DKs, Warriors, Paladins, and Druids doing everything they can to grab up every single piece of tanking gear that drops “for my off-set”. I have seen this already. So what is the under-voiced raider to do?
 
Here’s a whole pile of stuff you can pickup without setting foot back into those Heroics/10man/25mans that all the DKs, Warriors, and Paladins have been taking all the gear from. Provided you have enough Emblems to spare and provided you’ve actually spent some time on your reputation with the various WotLK factions all of these are available to you.
 
·          Weapon
o         Teldrassil Protector / Axe of the Sen’jin Protector *NEW in 3.1*
§          This is a nice tanking weapon available through the Argent Tournament.
o         Titansteel Bonecrusher
§          This has no defensive abilities, but allow for full TPS.
o         Titansteel Guardian
§          If you are a Holy Paladin who’s been using this, you don’t really have to change weapons. You’ll have enough TPS. Just keep it for now.
o         Grasscutter – 50 Emblems of Heroism
§          Good Agility, good dps. Buy this only if you seriously don’t have a tanking weapon, and you have A LOT of spare Emblems of Heroism. Seriously. I’m talking TONS of spare emblems.
·          Shield
o         Crygil’s Discarded Plate Panel – 35 Emblems of Heroism
§          Second purchase if spending a lot of emblems at once. It’s a good solid shield when enchanted and will carry you through all pre-Ulduar raids.
o         Titansteel Shield Wall – Crafted (around 600g)
§          You have more money than you know what to do with? We’ll buy our way there. Crygil’s will serve you better, but the Titansteel will carry you into Ulduar just as quickly as Crygil’s.
·          Libram
o         Libram of Obstruction – 15 Emblems of Heroism
§          This should be the first thing you spend emblems on, if you are using emblems for your tanking gear. Not much choice here.
·          Helm
o         Tempered Titansteel Helm – Crafted (Around 1200g)
§          We’ll buy our way into tanking yet!
o         Greathelm of the Unyielding Bull – World Drop (Around 150g)
§          If you don’t want the Titansteel, this is your only alternative. Not worth much, you’ll need to run some heroics to get it replaced.
·          Neckpiece
o         Chain Military Gorget – 25 Emblems of Heroism
§          Good solid purchase. #3 of your spare Heroism emblems when buying up your tanking gear.
o         Titanium Earthguard Chain – Crafted (Around 800g)
§          Piece. Of. CRAP. Get the Burning Skull or save up some Emblems.
o         Burning Skull Pendant – BoE Zone Drop (Around 80g)
§          Usually goes for around 80 gold. Will need to be quickly replaced.
·          Shoulders
o         Valorous Redemption Shoulderguards – 60 Emblems of Valor
§          I’d get these in front of the legs since there isn’t much in the way of shoulders, but that depends on how much money you are willing to front.
o         Wapach’s Spaulders of Solidarity – World Drop (Around 2500g)
§          Alright! I can pickup these!   They are cheap for my gold-farming.’
o         Crusader’s Square Pauldrons – Zone Drop (Around 80g)
§          For those of us with some sanity on spending.
·          Cloak
o         Platinum Mesh Cloak – 25 Emblems of Valor
§          Good pickup, hard to replace. Carry you through Ulduar.
o         Durable Nerub-Hide Cloak – Crafted (Around 300g)
§          This is a good cloak to spend some gold on, though you’ll need to make up the defense rating elsewhere. Good through all pre-Ulduar raids.
o         Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions – Wyrmrest Accord Rep
§          Cheap and good. Carry you through all pre-Ulduar raids.
·          Chestpiece
o         Heroes’ Redemption Breastplate – 60 Emblems of Heroism
§          Good purchase, solo Breastplate. Carry through all pre-Uldaur raids.
o         Breastplate of Solemn Council – Wymrest Accord Rep
§          Cheap and good. Carry you through a lot of the pre-Uldaur raids, but not all.
·          Bracers
o         Bracers of Dalaran’s Parapets – 60 Emblems of Valor or Around 1200 gold.
o         Tempered Saronite Bracers – Crafted (Around 30g)
§          You can take them raiding. In Naxx10. Maybe. This would be last-ditch need.
·          Gloves
o         Refined Ore Gloves – Zone Drop (Around 40-100g)
§          These are a nice set of gloves that drop in H VH. If you’re building your dual-spec gear while trying to get Lavanthor’s Talisman, keep an eye out for these.
o         Fireproven Gauntlets – Kirin Tor Exalted
§          Won’t find better outside of raiding. These are NICE.
o         Heroes’ Redemption Handguards – 60 Emblems of Valor
§          Good gloves, even into Ulduar. You won’t misspend your Emblems of Heroism to pick these up.
·          Waistguard
o         Indestructible Plate Girdle – Cost unknown.
§          This is one of the two new crafted tanking items coming out of WotLK. Good Luck if you can get it.
o         Waistguard of Living Iron – 40 Emblems of Heroism
§          Solid tanking belt. 2nd best ilevel 200 belt, and good through all pre-Ulduar raids.
o         Waistguard of the Risen Knight – Zone Drop (Around 150g)
§          Not a bad piece, but not good enough for Ulduar.
o         Tempered Saronite Belt – Crafted (Around 30g)
§          Don’t get yourself laughed out of a raid, though you might be able to sneak into 10mans with it.
·          Legplates
o         Valorous Redemption Legguards – 75 Emblems of Valor
§          Not a bad purchase, but I would get the shoulders first because the Bolstered Legplates are an easy pickup.
o         Special Issue Legplates – Argent Crusade Revered
§          Definitely worth the pickup. Not uncommon to see Tier 8 tanks still wearing these because they haven’t gotten the Bolstered Legplates (or anything else) to drop for them.
·          Boots
o         Kyzoc’s Ground Stompers – 40 Emblems of Valor
§          Nice boots, not gonna find many better.
o         Tempered Titansteel Treads – Crafted (Around 1400g)
§          Alright! Let’s blow ALL of our money!
o         Sabatons of Draconic Vigor – Wyrmrest Accord
§          Cheap, semi-decent. Won’t carry you very far.
  • Ulduar
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Fjork's picture

Tankadin in Wrath - 3.1 - Weapons and Armor

Fjork — Fri, 03/20/2009 - 14:47

 

Weapons and Armor
 
Due to the massive load-times for my T1 internet connection with all of these weapons and armor embedded I have decided to post them all as web-linked directly to wowhead.com instead. 
 
As a shield-bearing tank with a +30% Block spell that last for 10 seconds on an 8 second cooldown, you should be gearing almost exclusively for Block Rating before Dodge or Parry. It’s actually possible after Armor Mitigation and Block Value to drop the average 15,000 hit down to a manageable 2,000 or 3,000 damage every single time. Your healers will thank you.
 
Look for a page soon dedicated solely to Block, and what uses a Tankadin can take out of it, and how to best maximize it’s effectiveness.
 
As a warning though, you cannot block Hatestrikes from Patchwerk and a few other attacks throughout WotLK. So if you are going to build your “Block Value” set (Block Value <- Strength <- Block Rating <- Dodge <- Parry <- Expertise) you will need to be building a second set at the same time for Patchwerk type fights or your healers will run out of mana very quickly if they can keep you alive.
 
While gearing, be aware there is such thing as a ‘Block Cap’. (See Elitist Jerks for more info until I can build an article.) Each of the following gear items is ranked based on available avoidance. There are diminishing returns on Parry Rating and Dodge Rating. There is also a Block Cap. If there are articles here, read each thoroughly to determine how that might affect your next upgrade which may not be an actual upgrade.   You never know until you really look at the numbers.)
 
·          The Weapon
o         Things to Consider
§          As a Tankadin, the most Threat-Per-Second available to you will come from weapons which have very high dps and/or very high strength.
§          Every 2 points of strength will award a point of additional damage to each Shield of the Righteousness. 
§          Hammer of the Righteousness formula is ( DPS * 4 ). So for TPS, [40345] is preferred over [39344].
§          Just because it isn’t a ‘tanking’ weapon doesn’t mean it can’t have a use for you, especially on trash mobs or low-hitting bosses. For example, the [Hailstorm] and [Torment of the Banished] both have a very nice amount of agility and attack power for crit rating and HotR dps. Your Shield of the Righteousness will suffer on block value, but for trash, multi-mob fights (Gothik), or weak bosses (Loatheb) both of these swords will help your contribution to the raid by keeping avoidance (dodge through agility) and doing more overall dps.
o         Raid-Progression
§          Hammer of the Quiet Mourning
§          Infantry Assault Blade
§          Red Sword of Courage
§          Teldrassil Protector / Axe of the Sen’jin Protector *NEW in 3.1*
§          Slayer of the Lifeless
§          Broken Promise
§          Stoneguard *NEW in 3.1*
§          Legacy of Thunder *NEW in 3.1*
§          Shiver *NEW in 3.1*
§          Last Laugh
§          Titanguard *NEW in 3.1*
§          Sorthalis, Hammer of the Watchers *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Shield
o         Things to Consider
§          Your shield will be rarely upgraded through Wrath. There are only a few. Spend the time to get a good one, and enchant it well. I would recommend +20 Defense Rating. Once your progression starts building, Defense Rating will be harder and harder to maintain.
§          Don’t waste your money having a Titansteel Shield Wall crafted (like I did). The Royal Crest of Lordaeron is much better and Heroic Culling of Stratholme is a very easy instance. Not to mention with 35 emblems (after your neckpiece and libram) you can purchase Crygil’s Discarded Plate Panel as well. Purchasing the Titansteel is definitely misplaced money.
o         Raid Progression
§          Titansteel Shield Wall
§          Royal Crest of Lordaeron
§          Crygil’s Discarded Plate Panel
§          The Skull of Ruin
§          Barricade of Eternity
§          Hero’s Surrender
§          Shieldwall of the Breaker *NEW in 3.1*
§          Northern Barrier *NEW in 3.1*
§          Wall of Terror
§          The Boreal Guard *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Helm
o         Things to Consider
§          Your helm won’t really be upgraded that often, and the [Tempered Titansteel Helm] is not a bad investment because you can have it ready before level 80, and the helm drops in Heroic Dungeons aren’t all that great. Then you enchant it with either the Keepers of Time or Argent Crusade rep reward and your helm is 10/25 man raid-ready.
§          The [Armored Titanium Goggles] are also very nice, and equip-able at level 72. You should take the time to craft these early if you are a serious Engineer.
§          You’ll definitely want to focus on picking up each upgrade as it comes along, because another might not come that soon. If you are raiding 10mans with anything weaker than the Ground Tremor Helm, you should probably ask your raid-leader to start with Four Horseman each week because there are only two upgrades in Naxx10, and one of them is your T7 helm which drops off Kel’Thuzad.
§          When enchanting, the +32 Stamina and Armor% will look tempting (and is not a bad idea when beginning), but as your gear builds you will want to go ahead and get the +22 Defense Rating and 5% Block Value gem instead. It will serve you much better and help with keeping uncrittable as your gear improves and your available defense rating falls.
o         Raid Progression
§          The Crusader’s Resolution
§          Helm of the Ley-Guardian
§          Arcane-Shielded Helm
§          Ground Tremor Helm
§          Tempered Titansteel Helm
§          Armored Titanium Goggles
§          Heroes’ Redemption Faceguard (Up one with 2 pc set bonus)
§          Thane’s Tainted Greathelm
§          Platehelm of the Great Wyrm
§          Valorous Redemption Faceguard
§          Helm of Vital Protection
§          Ironbark Faceguard *NEW 3.1*
§          Valorous Aegis Faceguard *NEW 3.1*
§          Helm of the Faceless *NEW 3.1*
§          Conqueror’s Aegis Faceguard *NEW 3.1*
 
·          The Shoulders
o         Things to Consider
§          If you spend the money on the Wapach’s Spaulders of Solidarity, you’re an idiot. Patchwerk (10man) drops the Abomination Shoulderblades on a fairly regular basis.
§          The Crusader’s Square Pauldrons are BoE and pretty cheap in the AH usually (or just run H CoS until they drop). You can have them ready alongside your Tempered Titansteel Helm and Hammer of the Quiet Mourning before you even hit 80.
o         Raid Progression
§          Tempered Saronite Shoulders
§          Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons
§          Pauldrons of the Colossus
§          Abomination Shoulderguards
§          Heroes’ Redemption Shoulderguards
§          Wapach’s Spaulders of Solidarity
§          Pauldrons of Unnatural Death
§          Valorous Redemption Shoulderguards
§          Burdened Shoulderplates
§          Valorous Aegis Shoulderguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Shoulderplates of the Deconstructor *NEW in 3.1*
§          Conqueror’s Aegis Shoulderguards *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Neckpiece
o         Things to Consider
§          The Chained Military Gorget should be your second purchase with Emblems. It’s nice, it’s solid, you won’t be upgrading it very quickly, and it can always be switched in for a Patchwerk fight.
§          The Burning Skull Pendant is a nice BoE you can usually pickup relatively inexpensively.
§          Don’t waste your money on the Titanium Earthguard Chain. The Chained Military Gorget is better, and guaranteed with enough Heroics.
o         Raid Progression
§          Burning Skull Pendant
§          Pendant of the Nathrezim
§          Blood-Infused Pendant
§          Titanium Earthguard Chain
§          Amulet of Autopsy
§          Chained Military Gorget
§          Medallion of the Disgraced
§          Heritage
§          Drakescale Collar
§          Boundless Ambition
§          Shard of the Crystal Forest *NEW in 3.1*
§          Nexus War Champion Beads
§          Necklace of Unerring Mettle *NEW in 3.1*
§          Bronze Pendant of the Vanir *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Cloak
o         Things to Consider
§          Make sure you do a pile of Wyrmrest quests while leveling. The Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions will be worn by you for a long time, and you’ll find that you keep throwing it on for this or that fight.
§          The Cloak of Armed Strife isn’t actually an upgrade to Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions for a Tankadin. The extra mitigation is nice, but doesn’t make up the difference.
§          If you want to (and have the cash to), get the Durable Nerub-Hide Cloak crafted before 80. It’s Avoidance will carry you a long way.
o         Raid Progression
§          Cloak of Armed Strife
§          Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions
§          Durable Nerubhide Cape
§          Cloak of the Shadowed Sun
§          Gale-Proof Cloak
§          Shadow of the Ghoul
§          Titanskin Cloak *NEW in 3.1*
§          Cloak of the Makers *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Chestpiece
o         Things to Consider
§          Here is another reason for getting that Wyrmrest rep up while leveling. The Breastplate of the Solemn Council is a nice enough piece to even carry you into 25man raiding. Definitely worth the rep grind.
§          The Massive Skeletal Ribcage and Dragonstorm Breastplate’s are good pickups for the Patchwerk fight, but I would recommend passing them to DKs if they are there tanking as you can always pickup the T7 chestpiece with 80 emblems.
o         Raid Progression
§          Breastplate of the Solemn Council
§          Zigguarate Imprinted Chestguard
§          Massive Skeletal Ribcage
§          Heroes’ Redemption Breastplate
§          Dragonstorm Breastplate
§          Breasteplate of Tormented Rage
§          Valorous Redemption Breastplate
§          Chestguard of the Exhausted
§          Valorous Aegis Breastplate *NEW in 3.1*
§          Conqueror’s Aegis Breastplate *NEW in 3.1*
§          Unbreakable Chestguard *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Bracers
o         Things to Consider
§          Not another [Bracers of the Green Fortress] here. We actually have options in WotLK. Just not that many. You’ll want to run Old Kingdom a few times to pickup the Bracers of the Herald before wasting the 300g for the +40 Stamina enchant.
§          If you complete the Hodir questline while questing (which you should since you REALLY need the shoulder-enchant only available through Hodir unless you are an inscriber), pickup the Bracers of Reverence. They can carry you into 25mans if you have to, but keep trying for the Bracers of the Herald.
§          If you have a great deal of money sitting around for the AH, or a friend who raids 25man consistently but can’t spend anymore emblems of valor, you should consider picking up the Bracer’s of Dalaran’s Parapets. They are the second-best pre-Ulduar bracers available and you can have them sitting about when you turn 80.
o         Raid Progression
§          Tempered Saronite Bracers
§          Bracers of Reverence
§          Bindings of Dark Will
§          Bracers of the Herald
§          Minion Bracers
§          Bracers of the Unholy Knight
§          Bracers of Dalaran’s Parapets
§          Bindings of the Hapless Prey
§          Flamewatch Armguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Mimiron’s Inferno Couplings *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Gloves
o         Things to Consider
§          The gloves are pretty easy. You’ll eventually pickup the T7 if you keep getting emblems, and it’s likely you’ll get the Gauntlets of the Water Revenant while running Heroic Violet Hold for Lananthor’s Talisman and Bolstered Legplates.
§          I would recommend purchasing the Daunting Handguards as soon as you hit level 78 and equipping them. The 71 Defense Rating will come in handy as you are trying to gear up if you haven’t managed to get the Seal of the Pantheon trinket for the +65 Defense Rating it offers.
§          If you don’t mind spending money, the Refined Ore Gloves can usually be found for around 80 gold on the AH and with 2.01% Avoidance through Block Rating they are a nice set to have waiting when you ding 80.
§          The ‘tank’ enchant for the Gloves is Armsman with 2% added threat and 10 Parry Rating, however that is minimal avoidance and there aren’t many even half-geared tankadin’s that have any trouble with threat. However, the Strength enchant will get you additional attack power and block value.
o         Raid Progression
§          Daunting Handguards
§          Gauntlets of the Water Revenant
§          Refined Ore Gloves
§          Horn-Tipped Gauntlets
§          Fireproven Gauntlets
§          Heroes’ Redemption Handguards
§          Gauntlets of the Master
§          Valorous Redemption Handguards
§          Callous-Hearted Gauntlets
§          Gauntlets of the Disobedient
§          Valorous Aegis Handguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Conqueror’s Aegis Handguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Gauntlets of the Royal Watch *NEW in 3.1*
§          Handguards of Revitalization *NEW in 3.1*
§          Handguards of the Enclave *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Waistguard
o         Things to Consider
§          Love the Eternal Belt Buckle. You’ll probably want to be putting it on every single piece of gear you get as you level. It’s a free socket that doesn’t mess with socket bonuses, but counts towards your meta-gem requirement. However, be honest with yourself. It’ll be a [Solid Sky Sapphire] or a Solid Majestic Zircon *+30 Stamina. NEW in 3.1*.
§          The Waistguard of the Risen Knight is another one you can usually pickup in AH for around 80g, and it will carry you easily into 10man and beginning 25man. I would recommend going after the Ancient Aligned Girdle though as it has a solid drop rate and Heroic Drak’Tharon is easy-mode.
o         Raid Progression
§          Tempered Saronite Belt
§          Waistguard of the Risen Knight
§          Skadi’s Iron Belt
§          Ancient Aligned Girdle
§          Waistguard of Living Iron
§          Waistguard of the Tutor
§          Fleshless Girdle
§          Ablative Chitin Girdle
§          Stormtempered Girdle *NEW in 3.1*
§          Shieldwarder Girdle *NEW in 3.1*
§          Indestructible Plate Girdle *NEW in 3.1 CRAFTED!*
§          Dragonslayer’s Brace *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Legplates
o         Things to Consider
§          Here’s the next step of where your Argent Crusade Rep comes in. The Special Issue Legplates are a very nice set useable even into 25man naxx. If you absolutely have to have the extra defense rating, you can pickup the Daunting Legplates. If you are that starved for uncrittability though, you probably aren’t ready to even try and tank heroics.
§          The legs are another example of why you are going to want to be running Heroic Violet Hold a lot. Besides the gloves and the trinket, your Raid-equal legplates are also in H VH.
§          If you are reading this while leveling, I would pickup the Tempered Saronite Legplates as soon as you ding 74. There’s not a better pair you can have approaching heroics, and nobody will notice if you are wearing them when you start your heroics.
o         Raid Progression
§          Daunting Legplates
§          Special Issue Legplates
§          Ley-Guardian’s Legguards
§          Bolstered Legplates
§          Heroes’ Redemption Legguards
§          Dragon Brood Legguards
§          Legplates of Inescapable Death
§          Greaves of Turbulence
§          Valorous Redemption Legguards
§          Valorous Aegis Legguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Legplates of Sovereignty
§          Gilded Steel Legplates *NEW in 3.1*
§          Saronite Plated Legguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Wyrmguards Legplates *NEW in 3.1*
§          Conqueror’s Aegis Legguards *NEW in 3.1*
§          Legplates of the Endless Void *NEW in 3.1*
 
·          The Boots
o         Things to Consider
§          Don’t get the Tempered Titansteel Treads crafted. Seriously. Compared to pretty much half the other gear available they aren’t worth much. The Stamina on them is really nice, but with no avoidance?   Is it worth it?
·          “Hey ya’ll healers! Check out my huge HP pool!”
·          *dies from six unavoided hits in a row*
·          *blames healers*
§          If you have the Wyrmrest Rep, go ahead and get the Sabatons of Draconic Vigor. The Toxin-Tempered Sabatons are okay, but at early gear progession the Wyrmrest is going to be better off.
§          *NEW in 3.1* You can get the same boots through the Argent Tournament instead of Wyrmrest Rep.
§          *NEW in 3.1* The Spiked Deathdealers are comparable to the Greaves of the Stonewarden as the best boots in the game. If you can get them crafted? DO EET!
o         Raid Progression
§          Sabatons of Draconic Vigor
§          Slaughterhouse Sabatons / Blood-Caked Stompers *NEW in 3.1*
§          Greaves of Ancient Evil
§          Tempered Titansteel Treads
§          Terrace Defence Boots
§          Plague-Impervious Boots
§          Sabatons of Endurance
§          Kyzoc’s Ground Stompers
§          Inexorable Sabatons
§          Charred Saronite Greaves *NEW in 3.1*
§          Spiked Deathdealers *NEW in 3.1 – CRAFTED!*
§          Greaves of the Stonewarder *NEW in 3.1*
 
Emblems
 
I’ve sorted each of the Emblems in ‘purchase’ order. Obviously if you have picked up a naxx25 neckpiece before getting the Chained Military Gorget, you’re not going to get it. This is just a recommended list based on the fact that the RNG hates paladins who think they can tank.
 
Basically, if it isn’t an upgrade, or you can get a larger upgrade by saving a few more emblems than do it. Spend wisely.
 
·          Emblems of Heroism
o         Libram of Obstruction – 15 Emblems
o         Chained Military Gorget – 25 Emblems
o         Crygil’s Discarded Plate Panel – 35 Emblems
o         Waistguard of Living Iron – 40 Emblems
o         Valor Medal of the First War – 40 Emblems
o         Gloves of the Lost Conqueror – 60 Emblems
o         Chestguard of the Lost Conqueror – 80 Emblems
·          Emblems of Valor
o         Signet of the Impregnable Fortress – 25 Emblems
o         Platinum Mesh Cloak – 25 Emblems
o         Kyzoc’s Groundstompers – 40 Emblems
o         Bracer’s of Dalaran’s Parapets – 60 Emblems
o         Mantle of the Lost Conqueror – 60 Emblems
o         Legplates of the Lost Conqueror – 75 Emblems
·          Emblems of Conquest *NEW in 3.1*
o         Will update when information available. What little is here is most likely wrong, and a spoof.
o         Neckpiece – 16 Emblems
o         Tank Belt – 23 Emblems
o         Tank Gloves – 23 Emblems
o         Tank Legs – 32 Emblems
o         T8 Helm – 48 Emblems
o         Emblem of Valor – 1 Emblem
 
 
  • Ulduar
  • Paladin
  • PTR
Fjork's picture

Tankadin in Wrath - 3.1 - Cookie-Cutter Specs

Fjork — Thu, 03/19/2009 - 14:14




I’ll be attempting to update each article to be Patch 3.1.1 equal.  If we have moved on from 3.1.1, and there are further protection changes, they aren’t in here.  I will update each as the new changes come out.  I’ve removed a lot of information that was not only redundant, but confusing. 

 

I also removed the ‘Gearing Out the Righteous Defender, and Glyphing Out the Righteous Defender book-pages for revision and rewriting.  Each is outdated, but also takes like five minutes to load on my T1 connection at work.  Look for the pages to be reposted soon!

 

Cookie Cutter Specs

 

The All-Tank – This is a 0 / 59 / 12 spec based on the idea that there is no such thing as a ‘flexible’ tank. 

It is not your job to Blessing of Protection someone.  You are not there to heal.  You are NOT there to show-up on Recount.  You are there to take a mass of damage and fight to cap Omen.

You are also most likely NOT going to get invited back to raid.

In case you haven’t realized it, this is a BAD build.

The True Paladin – This is a simple 11 / 54 / 6 spec where you a true Paladin, and healing will be part of your routine. 

The only true ‘tanking’ loss to this spec is the total loss of the 10 second Hammer of Justice.  The five points in Seals of the Pure is comparable to the loss of damage from dropping out of the Retribution tree, but is still a significant loss.  There are two large benefits to this spec.  One is the Improved Lay on Hands which will allow you to give a free health / mana bomb to anyone in the raid every 16 minutes instead of every 20.  The second is Guardian’s Favor, which while widely regarded as a primarily pvp talent, has many uses throughout almost every WotLK fight except KT and a few select others.

This is more off an off-tank / off-healer spec than the others, which will limit your effectiveness in raid-contribution as you can be a more effective off-dps than an off-healer.

Not ineffective, but not recommended.  It is nice having the upgraded LoH, but you are loosing A LOT in the way of damage for a small amount of healing (comparatively).

The Cookie-Cutter Part 1 – This is preference, but probably going to be one of the two main cookie cutters. 

5% extra crit-chance.  Very useful and flexible spec, especially when you have very reliable healers.  If healing is not an issue, this is going to be my spec of preference as the added damage / TPS will speed up a great deal of fight and there will be a lot more chances of what few heals I throw to crit.  If healing becomes an issue, drop some points from Improved Hammer of Justice or Conviction for 5/5 Divinity.  Drop more points as needed from Conviction.

If having trouble on Heigan, etc, etc, it’s never a back idea to pickup Pursuit of Justice, but I would recommend getting the Tuskar’s Vitality Enchant instead.

Notice there is only one point in Spiritual Attunement.  Watch the figures, no matter what you aren’t going to need two points unless you are massively over-geared trying to run Heroics.  You will not be using 2/2 unless you really want to waste a talent point.

A slight variation involves 4/5 Conviction and 1/2 Vindication for extra beat-down.

The Cookie-Cutter Part 2 - This is preference, but probably going to be one of the two main cookie cutters.

The benefits of this spec are slightly more subtle than cookie number one.  If you have a very low amount of agility (pickup up the stam / def rating enchants instead of the agility / stats enchants for example) this will be a slightly more preferred spec.  Notice you have the two points in Benediction.  They are floaters.  You can place them where you like.

With the +15% damage to each dot of Seal of Vengeance and each Judgement you have guaranteed, maintainable threat as opposed to the slightly higher burst-damage from cookie one.  However, with the loss of added damage and crit to ALL spells and abilities, your overall TPS will most likely be lower, and there will be a lot less chances for crits when you really need to heal. 

I could go on for a while on the potential shortcomings of both Cookie one and Cookie two, but in the end it is going to fall on preferred playstyle, gear, and enchants.  If you don’t have any extra agility anywhere in you gear / enchants (52.08 Agility = +1% Crit) than most likely 11% isn’t going to make that much difference, but still a lot more crits than you would otherwise have.

Notice there is only one point in Spiritual Attunement.  Watch the figures, no matter what you aren’t going to need two points unless you are massively over-geared trying to run Heroics.  You will not be using 2/2 unless you really want to waste a talent point.

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Tankadin in Wrath 3.1 - Talent Trees

Fjork — Thu, 03/19/2009 - 14:12

Trying to align this version a little better to Saedo’s style as his legibility is much greater than my articles. 

 
I’ll be attempting to update each article to be PTR Tankadin Build 9704 equal. If the PTR has moved on from 9704, and there are further protection changes, they aren’t in here. I will update each as the new changes come out. I’ve removed a lot of information that was not only redundant, but confusing. 
 
I also removed the ‘Gearing Out the Righteous Defender, and Glyphing Out the Righteous Defender book-pages for revision and rewriting. Each is outdated, but also takes like five minutes to load on my T1 connection at work. Look for the pages to be reposted soon!
 
Quick note:  Divine Plea will now have 100% uptime with 2/2 in Judgements of the Just whenever you stike an opponent.
 
Talent Trees
 
Those of you whom have been tanking since 3.0.2 have probably be used to a comfortable 1-10 points to ‘play’ with if you aren’t one of the top min-max’ers. We are going to be a lot more limited post 3.1, but we’ll instead have a few different specs available to us instead of being locked into one spec as we were in BC.
 
Something to consider as your gear progresses is your Talent build. In BC, and even partially in WotLK so far you were able to create a spec and just sit with it. Reviewing 3.1, that is not exactly the case. When you first ding 80 you will have almost no Agility, even with a handful of enchants. Seals of the Pure will be a requirement in that case instead of Conviction / Crusade. Or perhaps you had a healer-heavy build because your healers were just as under-geared as you were when you began raiding. Every few upgrades it would behoove the average Tankadin to review their spec and ensure they are getting not only the best TPS, but the best Raid contribution (such as Vindication if there are no Ret pallies going to be raiding with you).
 
·          Retribution Tree
o         Tier 1
§          Deflection = +5% Parry Skill – Required
§          Benediction = 10% cheaper instant abilities – Optional
o         Tier 2
§          Improved Judgements = 2 sec cooldown decrease on Judgements. Optional unless a subscriber to the 96969696 paradigm (google it.)
§          Heart of the Crusader = +3% chance to crit against mobs that have been stuck with your Judgement. If there is going to be a Ret Paladin in the raid, the points will be better spent in Benediction (Tier 1) to get you into Tier 3.
o         Tier 3
§          Conviction = +x% Crit Chance on all spells and abilities. Optional. Depending on level of agility/gear, this actually will average out to higher overall TPS (Threat per second) than Seals of the Pure (Holy Tier 1)
§          Pursuit of Justice = +15% movement speed. Optional. Get Tuskarr’s Vitality Enchant. Don’t waste the loss of 2% crit when moving into Tier 4.
o         Tier 4
§          Sanctity of Battle = +1-3% Crit chance and +5/10/15% damage by Exorcism. Optional. 1/3 and 3/3 in Crusade if Agility (crit rating) might be possible with only one point in Judgements of the Just but I’m not certain it’s worth it.
§          Crusade = +1/2/3% damage on all targets, +1/2/3% extra damage against undead and demons. Optional. Probably gonna go a head and fill 3/3 in Crusade unless your going after Cookie-cutter two or the True Paladin type builds. With +3% damage and +5% crit, the Conviction / Crusade pair MORE than surpasses having 5 points in Seals of the Pure.
·          Protection Tree
o         Tier 1
§          *NEW in 3.1*Divinity = Increases healing done by and to you by 1/2/3/4/5%. Optional. Most likely will not be taking this talent unless you have terra-bad healers.
§          Divine Strength = Strength +15%. Required. This greatly increases the Block Value of your shield (Str / 2 = +Block Value), and thus overall mitigation.
o         Tier 2
§          Anticipation = +5% Dodge Skill Required Free Avoidance, can’t beat that.
o         Tier 3
§          Improved Righteous Fury = All damage taken is reduced by 6%. Required. This is 6% pure mitigation on all damage after being mitigated by armor.
§          *NEW in 3.1*Divine Sacrifice = Causes all party/raid members affected by one of the paladin’s auras to transfer 30% of all damage taken to the paladin (maximum of 150% of the paladin’s max health). Lasts 10 seconds. 2-minute cooldown. Required IF Off-Tanking at all.This spell has a great deal of potential, but I would imagine the Tankadin will Bubble before casting this spell unless he wants to have HUGE heals from a number of healers at once.
o         Tier 4
§          Improved Hammer of Justice = Decreased HoJ cooldown. Optional. Paired with the 3.1 upgrade of Judgements of the Just, this can drop HoJ cooldown to ten seconds. That is three second spells interrupt (works on most bosses) every ten seconds.
o         Tier 5
§          Blessing of Sanctuary = 3% straight mitigation and free mana when you dodge/parry/block.  Required.
§          Reckoning = Waste of talent points. Do not get UNLESS you are expertise capped. The more hits you have, the more chance that the boss will parry, thus speeding up their attack-tables temporarily.
o         Tier 6
§          Sacred Duty = Stamina increased by 8%. Required.
§          One-Handed Weapon Specialization = +10 Damage Increase Required.
o         Tier 7
§          *NEW in 3.1*Spiritual Attunement = +5/10% of amount healed in Mana. Required. Theorycrafting and testing has determined that it is possible to get away with only 1 point after the Dodge / Parry / Block Ratings are high enough for Blessing of Sanctuary and your 100% up-time Divine Plea to take-over.
§          Holy Shield = +30% Block Skill while active…. and some damage. Required.
§          Ardent Defender = Innate Last Stand…. kinda. Required.
o         Tier 8
§          Combat Expertise = +6% Stamina and Expertise Skill by 6. Required.
o         Tier 9
§          Touched by the Light = +Spellpower equal to 10% of Stamina. Required.
§          Avenger’s Shield = Extra Attack, and good for pulls. Required.
§          Guarded by the Light = +6% Spell Mitigation and cheaper spells. Required.
o         Tier 10
§          Shield of the Templar = +3% Mitigation and extra damage/TPS. Required.
§          Judgements of the Just = Slows enemy attack speed and *New in 3.1* reduces the cooldown on Hammer of Justice by 20 seconds. Required/Optional? I’m torn on this talent. If your TPS is suffering, you should probably spec out of JotJ to pickup the extra 2% crit and +10% Exorcism damage from Sanctity of Battle, but if your TPS is fine you should probably stick with the JotJ for Raid-Utility purposes since the dps’ers are going to be so far ahead of you that it would be ridiculous to loose this raid utility for the sake of damage. NOT MAH YOB!
o         Tier 11
§          Hammer of the Righteous = Main multi-mob attack. Required.
·          Holy Tree
o         There’s a third tree? Not anymore.
 
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Tankadin in Wrath - 3.1 - Tanking Basics

Fjork — Fri, 11/21/2008 - 15:52

 Trying to align this version a little better to Saedo’s style as his legibility is much greater than my articles. 

I’ll be attempting to update each article to be PTR Tankadin Build 9704 equal. If the PTR has moved on from 9704, and there are further protection changes, they aren’t in here. I will update each as the new changes come out. I’ve removed a lot of information that was not only redundant, but confusing. 
 
I also removed the ‘Gearing Out the Righteous Defender, and Glyphing Out the Righteous Defender book-pages for revision and rewriting. Each is outdated, but also takes like five minutes to load on my T1 connection at work. Look for the pages to be reposted soon!
 
Tanking in Wrath of the Lich King
 
Basics
 
The most important tanking mechanic is the Defense Rating. A tankadin’s first concern should always be the hallowed “Uncrittability”. This goes for all other tanking classes as well. Reaching uncrittability is extremely easy and inexpensive when reaching level 80. However, as mitigation, avoidance, and health are upgraded you will be relying more and more on trinkets, enchants, and gems to keep your defense rating uncrittable. Do not equip that upgrade if you will loose your 540 Defense! Wait until after the Raid/Heroic/etc so that you can change your gear or upgrade your enchantments.
 
A level 83 mob’s base attack skill will be 415 vs. our base defense skill of 400. To prevent critical strikes, our defense skill will need a 5.6% increase, or 140 added Defense Skill (540 Defense as opposed to the original 490). All math totaled, we would be needing 688.59 Defense Rating to achieve uncrittability at level 80.
 
The current stat conversions for Avoidance are thus:
·          Defense – 4.92 Defense Rating per 1 point of Defense Skill.
o         25 Defense Skill (41 Defense Rating)
§          +1% chance to be missed
§          +1% chance to Dodge, Parry, and Block Skills
·          Shield Block – 16.29 Block Rating per 1% Block Skill
·          Dodge – 39.35 per 1% Dodge Skill
·          Parry – 49.18 per 1% Parry Skill
·          Agility – 30 Agility per 1% Dodge Skill
 
As can be seen, Defense Rating will be the cheapest route for overall Avoidance to begin, moving next to Block Rating, then Dodge Rating, and finally Parry rating.
 
Stacking Shield Block Rating ‘sounds’ like a good idea, but only XX amount of the damage is blocked, while the rest is taken by the Tankadin. Dodge is second best in that the damage is removed altogether. Parry tops the meters because the Tankadin dodges all of the damage, and then gets a ‘free’ swing back. This is also why Parry is the hardest to gear for, and shouldn’t be a primary focus. 
 
The Tankadin’s Armor Value reduces the actual damage taken by X %. This is why Devotion Aura should be maintained through all Raiding.
 
It should be noted the Dodge Rating and Parry Rating each suffer from a different set of diminishing returns (approx. 1.95% per 2%) so it is sometimes a higher upgrade to get the item with a larger amount of Defense Rating over a large amount of dodge/parry rating since the 1% Dodge/Parry/Block gained through Defense Skill does not suffer from diminishing returns.
 
Primary Attributes
 

Strength
2 Melee Attack Power per 1 Str.   HotR TPS Upgrade.
 
½ Block Value increase per 1 Str. SotR TPS Upgrade.
Strength is plentiful on a great deal of the tanking gear that will be purchased and equipped. This is a stat that a gearing Tankadin should rarely have any focus on. The only time a Str upgrade should be considered over Health, Def Rating, or Avoidance is if Threat generation is a serious issue and [Armsman] is already on your gloves with it’s 2% increased threat. End-raiding Paladins will begin to give consideration to Str more.
 
 
Agility
2 Armor Value per 1 Agi
 
0.034 Dodge per Agility
 
0.019 Crit Rating
So at a glance, Agility isn’t all that it is cracked up to be, but when you consider that you are getting direct mitigation and Avoidance from every point of Agility, and it usually comes in +20 or greater ([37891]), this is a viable stat to consider when you have 540 Defense already. Most tanks will not gear specifically for Agility as the conversions for Shield Block Rating are easier to acquire.
 
 
Stamina
10 Health per 1 Stam. (Except for 20, which are 1 HP)
 
Modified by Sacred Duty: Stam +8%
 
Modified by Combat Expertise: Stam +6%
 
Modified: 11.4 Health per 1 Stam
 
0.3 Spellpower per 1 Stam.
Obviously Stamina will be a stat each Tankadin will be giving a great DEAL of focus to. Many Gem-Sockets are Red with a semi-decent socket bonus. Most likely you will still be gemming [40008] in a good majority of them, though keep in mind you’ll need one Red/Orange/Purple gem for the meta-requirement on a [41380]. Not to mention that with enough stamina a Tankadin can easily cap 30,000 HP Raid-Buffed. This makes healers VERY happy. Especially when you mitigating even more damage.
 
 
Intellect
You will NOT be gearing for these. EVER. Don’t. Just don’t.
Spirit
 
 
 
 

 
 
The Weapon – Maximizing Threat Per Second
 
This is a “rough-sketch” example of comparing the stats on two damage weapons. Most specifically the Tankadins will choose weapons with high Stamina, Defense Rating, Avoidance, Strength, and Agility (in that order), however there will be situations where high damage is preferred. (Off-Tanking on Loatheb).
 
[41383]
 
The Bonecrusher has a very high dps, which will contribute well to Hammer of the Righteous (dps*4), 140 Attack Power, and 3.5% Expertise (keep that bosses parry/dodge/miss rating down!) Each of these stats will assist in the overall threat-per-second on every single Tankadin ability and spell. A final thought to keep in mind, the slower the weapons usually have higher dps. Just sayin.
 
[41384]
 
The Guardian has a very low dps, which will contribute very little to HotR (dps*4), 0.6% Crit Rating (which won’t even be felt by most tankadins), and 457 spellpower which will assist in every spell and ability of the Tankadin EXCEPT HotR.
 
However, since the Guardian contributes more Spellpower than the Bonecrusher, the AOE uses are much greater than the Bonecrusher. For 1v1 fights (Heigan, Thaddius, etc, etc) the Bonecrusher will win by a landslide every time. But on AOE fights (Gothik the Harvester, Trash Mobs, Noth the Plaguebringer, etc) the Guardian will almost always hold higher overall TPS, just not on the boss!
 
This is a good progression for your Tankadin’s Weapon:
·          [44736] – Quest: Wanted: Ragemane’s Flipper (level 75. EASY. Get this at 73)
·          [Infantry Assault Blade] – Utgarde Keep (H) – This can actually carry you into 25mans.
·          [item]Red Sword of Courage[item] – Utgarde Pinnacle (H) – Even the Naxx Swords are somewhat side-grades to this amazing tanking sword.
·          [Slayer of the Lifeless] – As foretold by Salzman. VERY nice tanking sword, but you’ll have noticed by now your damage has started to slip a little. That’s okay, your TPS will pick back up.
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Tankadin in Wrath - 3.1 - Armaments

Fjork — Fri, 11/21/2008 - 15:50

 rying to align this version a little better to Saedo’s style as his legibility is much greater than my articles. 

 
I’ll be attempting to update each article to be PTR Tankadin Build 9704 equal. If the PTR has moved on from 9704, and there are further protection changes, they aren’t in here. I will update each as the new changes come out. I’ve removed a lot of information that was not only redundant, but confusing. 
 
I also removed the ‘Gearing Out the Righteous Defender, and Glyphing Out the Righteous Defender book-pages for revision and rewriting. Each is outdated, but also takes like five minutes to load on my T1 connection at work. Look for the pages to be reposted soon!
 
 
Armaments
 
1.       Hand of Reckoning             (HoR)
a.       A single-target taunt that damages the mob. This is the Off-Tank’s Taunt of choice for adds, etc. I haven’t been able to confirm yet if this is able to be silenced, but the HoR should be the Taunt of choice over RD because it maxes your threat on the mob (like RD), then damages the target, which is preferred as the DPS/Healers can sometimes take the mob right back after a successful RD. Macro it if you can.
b.       Not affected by silence.
c.        Not affected by Global Cooldown.
2.       Righteous Defense            (RD)
a.       This ability MAXs your threat up to three mobs attacking a single Raid/Party member. RD should always be followed quickly with a high-threat ability to ensure that the player doesn’t take the aggro immediately back from you. Macro it if you can.
b.       Not affected by silence.
c.        Not affected by Global Cooldown.
3.       Shield of the Righteousness            (SotR)
a.       This is Shield Bash. More importantly, this is your largest single-punch threat generator for all targets. Shield Bash should be used each time it is on cooldown. Damage is affected by Block Value (Block Value + xxx). Early estimates would be 900-1200 average.
b.       Can be silenced.
4.       Exorcism               (Ex)
a.       *NEW in 3.1* In the Ulduar Patch, Exorcism has been stated to be useable on all targets (previously undead and demon only). Since Exorcism scales with Atk Pwr and Spw, this will quickly replace SotR as your bread and butter attack.
b.       Can be silenced.
5.       Hammer of the Righteous (HotR)
a.       The Silence Breaker. This multi-target attack is usable even when silenced, and slams three mobs for four times your dps. Weapon speed doesn’t matter. Therefore, since slower weapons have higher dps, your choice will be a slower weapon over a faster.
b.       Not affected by silence.
6.       Seal of Vengeance (SoV)
a.       DOT#1 – SoV is a very useful overall Seal to use. Also, the dot is placed on every enemy struck in melee including those adds hit by HotR. After five stacks it does more damage than Seal of Righteousness, but only after five stacks. Bear this in mind.
b.       Not affected by silence. (Should already have up before fight.)
7.       Consecration
a.       DOT#2 – Consecration should be up at all times when possible, and when it will not disrupt crowd control measures. Good damage, easy to almost keep on cooldown.
b.       Can be silenced.
8.       Judgement of Light / Wisdom (JoL / JoW)
a.       If you have a Holy Paladin or Ret Paladin in raid with you, they should be using JoL because the healing effects scale with the Atk Pwr and Spw of the caster. Since both will be higher than yours overall, as a Tankadin you will usually be using JoW. Situational however, a smart Tankadin will realize when the Ret Pally dies and judge light, or Judge Light on the add that the Ret Pally won’t be touching.
b.       Can be silenced.
9.       Avenger’s Shield (AVS)
a.       This spell launches a shield up to 30 yards, striking, stunning, and creating threat on up to three nearby targets. It has a long cooldown, but is always useful when both RD and HoR are on cooldown.
b.       Can be silenced.
10.    Holy Shield (HS)
a.       Formerly the bread and butter threat generator (along with BoS, and Ret Aura) available to the tankadin, instead now the Holy Shield is more of a reactive and defensive tool. With a 10 second duration and an 8 second cooldown you will usually have a moment or two on boss fights to throw HS back up. HS increases your block chance by 30% for the duration and does damage whenever you are struck (up to eight times). This is free 30% Avoidance and should always be on cooldown when possible.
b.       Can be silenced.
11.    Devotion Aura
a.       When upgraded, Devotion Aura is a useful tool not only for overall mitigation, but also for healing received. Devotion Aura should be the aura of choice for all 10/25man bosses unless otherwise specified by your raid leader. The ‘Improved’ effects are present in each of your aura’s however (*NEW in 3.1*) and other aura’s can be used when the extra mitigation is unneeded on a boss or trash fight.
b.       Not affected by silence or death (*NEW in 3.1*).
12.    Retribution Aura
a.       Let the Ret Pallies keep it up, see previous.
b.       Not affected by silence or death (*NEW in 3.1*).
13.    Divine Protection (DP)
a.       Shield Wall. With the changes introduced in 3.0.2, the revised DP does 50% damage reduction from all sources for 12 seconds. Especially useful during Enrages, or during the initial pull while you let the healers drink. Everybody loves good DP.
b.       Can be silenced.
14.    Lay on Hands (LoH)
a.       The ‘Oh CRAP’ button. You pulled the trash while they were looting the boss. Your healer just went OOM and desperately needs mana. LoH is a free mana bomb, and a health-bomb wrapped into one for the person in raid that desperately needs it. Should you get improved LoH, you will have at least one available for almost every boss fight.
b.       Can be silenced.
 
 
Ability Statistics
 

Ability
Cooldown
Threat Meter   (1-10)
Main Stat
Hand of Reckoning
8 seconds
MAX+
??% SP
Righteous Defense
10 seconds
MAX
N/A
Avenger’s Shield
30 seconds
9
7% SP + 7% AP
Shield of the Righteousness
6 seconds
9
Strength (Block)
Hammer of the Righteous
6 seconds
8
Strength (DPS)
Judgement of Light
10 seconds
4-5man / 7-Raid
10% SP + 10% AP
Holy Shield
8 seconds
5
9% SP + 5.6% AP
Retribution Aura
N/A
2
6.6% SP

 

 

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Tankadin in Wrath - 3.1

Fjork — Fri, 11/21/2008 - 09:32

 

I’ll be attempting to update each article to be PTR Tankadin Build 9704 equal. If the PTR has moved on from 9704, and there are further protection changes, they aren’t in here. I will update each as the new changes come out. I’ve removed a lot of information that was not only redundant, but confusing. 
 
I also removed the ‘Gearing Out the Righteous Defender, and Glyphing Out the Righteous Defender book-pages for revision and rewriting. Each is outdated, but also takes like five minutes to load on my T1 connection at work. Look for the pages to be reposted soon!
 
*edit* Added a few pages.   Please send me a PM or post a comment if you notice any discrepancies, errors in theorycrafting, spelling errors, or other douchebaggery anywhere in the article (besides the section that says “Author’s Name”)
 
Sources
·          Elitist Jerks
·          Maintankadin
·          WoWhead
·          MMO-Champion
·          A lot of my own theorycrafting, testing, excel number-crunching, and spreadsheet mashing.
·          Thanks to the following guildies (though they know it not):
o         Ghli
o         Grovinski
o         Olorien
o         Saedo
o         Jayel
o         Leighann / Rhoora
o         Aidin / Grasen
 
Table of Contents
·          Armaments – The spells and abilities of most interest to the upcoming Tankadin.
a.       Ability Statistics – Cooldowns, Attack Power, and Spellpower Modifiers.
·          Tanking
a.       Basics
b.       Primary Attributes
c.        The Weapon – Maximizing Threat-Per-Second
·          The Talent Tree
a.       The Retribution Tree
b.       The Protection Tree
c.        The Holy Tree
·          Cookie-Cutter Specs
a.       The All-Tank
b.       The True Paladin
c.        Cookie-Cutter 1
d.       Cookie-Cutter 2
·          Weapons and Armor
a.       Slot (Helm, Shoulder, etc)
·          Things to Consider
·          Raid Progression
b.       Emblems of Heroism
c.        Emblems of Valor
d.       Emblems of Conquest *NEW in 3.1*
·          Tankadin Gear for Dual-Spec’ing into Tanking *NEW in 3.1*
·          Block Value and Block Rating *Under Construction*
·          Trinkets and Rings *Under Construction*
·          Glyphs and Enhancements *Under Construction*
 
Quick and Dirty FAQ
1.       When should I be to start X Heroic / Instance?
a.       There isn’t really a ‘specific’ gear level, iLevel, etc to aim for outside of being uncrittable. That is 540 Defense, or 688.59 Defense Rating. We’ll get into that later. From there maximize on Avoidance for every fight except Patchwerk.   Block Rating ß Dodge Rating ß Parry Rating. You should do enough Heroics to have your [Libram of Obstruction], [40683], and [Chained Military Gorget] and hopefully have gotten some decent upgrades while you were at it. 
2.       Well fine, what Heroics should I start in then?
a.       Start in Heroic Violet Hold, Heroic Utgarde Keep, and Heroic Drak’Tharon for your upgrades. Start running regular Halls of Lighting as soon as you can to pickup a [36993], which can always pair with [27891] if you are really desperate for Defense Rating. You will not get rid of your Seal very soon. Also, don’t stop running Heroic Violet Hold until you’ve picked up [37872]. It comes with a solid 4.50% Avoidance on equip for everything except Patchwerk.
3.       Crushing Blows were removed, why are you talking about Avoidance?
a.       Avoidance is not as critical to begin raiding as it was during Burning Crusade with the presence of Crushing Blows. However, Avoidance is still the most necessary stat for a Tankadin outside of Defense Rating and Stamina.
4.       Why should I ‘macro it’?
a.       With the plethora of defensive and offensive Paladin capabilities, it is much simpler to create a macro that (for example) will cleanse yourself if you don’t have a friendly target, or will taunt and cast exorcism at the same time.
5.       What changes am I looking for in 3.1?
a.       For one, your dps is going to go up by anywhere from 500 to 1,000 per second, and your survivability will get a little weight, but other than that very little. The changes are addressed more accurately in ‘The Talent Tree’ book page.
6.       Why should I start in Heroic Violet Hold? I hate that instance. (Friend at work asked me to clarify.)
a.       [43500] – This is a need, though the Argent Crusade Rep pants can substitute.
b.       [37862] – If your Kirin Tor Rep isn’t Exalted and if you aren’t geared enough to take on Heroic Gundrak, here you go.
c.        [37872] – 4.51% Avoidance right out-the-door. You need this.
d.       [37873] – If you ever AOE-solo, you WANT this.
7.       So why Utgarde Keep next then?
a.       [37193] – Dual-spec
b.       [37179] – It’ll carry you as far as it has to in raiding.
c.        [37186] – Not much better available outside of crafting or raiding.
8.       So I get those two now, why Drak’Tharon?   Because I said so…..   But seriously, these are the three easiest heroics for a Tankadin, and if you keep at all three of them you’ll be a raid-ready Tankadin within only a few days and some RNG luck.
a.       [37784] – Best avoidance ring you’ll get outside of raiding.
b.       [37723] – Duel spec
c.        [37712] – Best Non-crafted boots outside of raiding.
d.       [37735] – Best Tankadin Chestpiece outside of raiding and the T7 from turning in Emblems.
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