DevastateFollow

If you've already spent 40 points in the Prot tree, there's no reason not to get Devastate. If you're used to pre-TBC tankage, you'll have some getting used to to do. All in all it's a good ability, could be better, but it's good.

I like to use it after I get my sunders on. Then use liberally.

Rotation changes depending on whether I'm tanking a mob in a group instance or just questing, of course.

There are very few (read: no) situations where you'll get more threat out of Devastate than Sunder until you have five Sunders applied on the target unless you're cranking out some serious epic gear. Sunders will amp both the bonus damage and the overall damage (as you are, after all, lowering their armor) and providing a very significant increase to threat and damage output.

Devastate is of limited utility in five-mans, but it really shines in raid instances and even heroics when mobs start living for longer periods of time.

if you hit for 201 damage after mitigation (yes 5 sunders or don't use it) with devastate it deals more threat than sunder.

HS is better threat for the most part (and not on GCD), I use devastate as a way to reapply the sunder stack.

Devastate also provides MT type builds with a way of some DPS. Put on your DPS d/w set, put 5 sunders on your target (in berserker stance) and let the tank tank, spam devastate (after 5 sunders) and whirlwind. On single target boss fights, having a 2nd tank is pointless, at least devastate provides us with some form of DPS (although a poor one, is better than nothing).

With the reduction to threat from berserker stance, and especially since your prot specced, you shouldn't pull threat. But watch the threat meter anyhow, since your using a 'threat' ability to dps with.

Shield slam dps is usually counter productive to overall dps, and you can always put on a shield if you really really want to dps with a shield on (although shield slam is more of a threat generator and you should definitely watch your threat if you do decide to try to dps with it on).

Edited, Sep 18th 2007 7:15pm by devioususer

It's fairly common for a tank to start a boss fight with a 1.5-1.6 speed weapon and gain a fair chunk of agro. Then switch to a 2.5-2.6 speed weapon and spam devastate in place of heroic strike. Your rage gen is more consistent, although comes in spikier amounts (from weapon damage). And honestly if rage isn't an issue, it's devastate spam vs heroic strike spam.

Heroic strike is more efficient with a fast weapon, while devastate is more efficient with a slower weapon.

HS replaces next hit, Deva is an instant.

So... I personally HS spam, but that's because I don't have a 2.6 speed tanking weapon. It is hard enough getting one good tank weapon, let alone a second that's really slow.

Itemization is towards HS spam with tanking weapons. 1.6 speed weapons are the most common and 1.8 is the slowest specific tanking weapon type.

So devastate, IMO, is still more useful for it's OT/DPS ability. D/w with a big fat slow DPS weapon = decent dps, and you still retain all of your ability to tank 100% if you so choose to MT at a point.

(If you have a druid tank in raid, you may find they are better at certain things than a warrior tank, so you go from MT/OT to OT/DPS, and then they switch back and forth.)

::EDIT::

You can't tank if you wear DPS gear, so don't expect to OT if your in your DPS gear, I speak about each fight that you have the ability to switch from a great tank to a mediocre dps. Instead of the normal, great tank to a horrible dps. devastate is a super improvement over nothing.

Edited, Sep 25th 2007 9:12am by devioususer

When MTing, I have just started using Devastate in conjunction with HS. Use as a MACRO or a double click - HS, then immediately a Devastate. The result is that both attacks happen pretty much at the same time. It burns through your rage but gives you a real THREAT boost plus loads of damage

BTW - i would only use Devastate whith a full 5 SA stack

That's my understanding of it. I haven't seen any data on whether your first Devastate will produce more threat then Sunder Armor though, if not, Sunder may still see some use.

I'm not too good with the macro side of things but wouldn't it be possible to create a shield slam macro for Prot DPS that does
/equip shield
/cast Shield Slam
/equip OH

?

Devastate actually scales with gear. While sunder does not.

Lets assume 30% (5 sunders, 7700 armor base) mitigation, and we need to deal 201+ damage to beat sunder threat. Doesn't sound hard right? Well... We need a total of 162.5 DPS minus 'XYZ' DPS from weapon, with a 1.6 speed base. And with a 2.6 speed we require 100 DPS minus 'XYZ' DPS from weapon.

With gromtor's charge; 1.6 speed, 67.2 dps weapon. It takes 1334+ AP to make it deal on average sunder threat.

With say, king's defender, 87.5 dps 1.6 speed, it takes 1050+ AP to make it better than sunder.

The unbreakable will, 100.2 dps 1.6 speed, 872+ ap makes it better.

What this means is, with a higher DPS weapon, your AP scales better for threat with devastate.

If we switch to a 2.6 speed weapon (MH dps weapon)

the highwarlords cleaver, 71.6 dps and 2.6 speed, takes 397+ ap to make it better threat than sunder.

The merciless gladiators cleaver, 97.5 dps 2.6 speed, takes 35+ ap to make it better than sunder.

AND with Syphon of the Nathrezim a 100.2 DPS 2.8 speed weapon, your (with 5 sunders) devastate will always deal more threat than sunder. You gain 400 AP from switching to this weapon from the merciless weapon for devastate purposes.