Playing around with RetFollow

Ok, so I'm taking a small break from WoW during the Holidays, but when I come back I want to play around with the Ret tree for a while. I've managed to get about 8 pieces of gear so far for Ret, though I don't remember right off hand what all they are, and my account is already down :) What I can remember right off hand are:

The Horseman's Helm - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=33808;source=live

Doomplate Shoulderguards - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=27771;source=live

Bulwark of Kings - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=28484;source=live

Gorehowl - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=28773;source=live

NOTE: I didn't take any of the drops over a DPS Warrior or actual Ret Paly, so, no griefing me over it =P Gorehowl I did win over the other tank though (Warrior) on a "Let's just roll instead of sharding it" roll.

I am currently using the Bulwark as my tank chest, but am working on getting enough Badges for the Chestguard of the Stoic Guardian, at which point I can re-socket the Bulwark. In the meantime I want to build up the rest of my Ret gear, but since I've done a lot of quests that gave some good Ret gear and then sold the items already, gonna have to work mostly off of 5-man drops/rep items. Not using my Badges for Ret gear either till I get all the tanking items I need.

With that in mind, here is a list I have come up with of things that I want to work on getting for my Ret set:

Adamantine Chain of the Unbroken - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=29349;source=live

Netherfury Cape - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=28371;source=live

Bands of Syth - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=27918;source=live

Doomplate Gauntlets - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=27497;source=live

Deathforge Girdle - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=27985;source=live

Vanquisher's Legplates - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=30533;source=live

Vortex Walking Boots - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=32648;source=live

Nexus Prince's Ring of Balance - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=31919;source=live

A'dal's Command - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=29177;source=live

Hourglass of the Unraveller - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=28034;source=live

Icon of Unyielding Courage - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=28121;source=live

Libram of Righteous Power - http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=31033;source=live

And this is the spec I was thinking of going with. I won't be doing much, if any, PvP so keep that in mind:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/paladin/talents.html?5200000000000000000050300000000000000000000523035100033125331051

Any constructive criticism is more than welcome :) I mostly wanna do this to relieve some of the tedium of tanking the same things over and over again, but still want to be as good at it as I can.

Pretty much the same low end Ret set that I always run into and which always underperforms in PvP and PvE.

Oh and I have the Panzar breastplate, got it last week. I could tank Magtheridon in my Prot Pally set. Just need to roll on t5 shoulders next time they drop and I will be geared enough to start tanking SSC! Too bad I am stuck healing.

yeah, a beginning ret set is part of what i'm offering. people have to start somewhere don't they? or is there some way i can hit 70 and automatically have full t6 or s3 gear? if i can skip the "low end" gear please tell me how. if not, then i'd appreciate more constructive feedback and not just bashing.

i think part of why so many ret have a hard time is because ret isn't easy to figure out. its an easy spec to mess up. i've seen it a lot. but when people try to learn how to play ret right, all they get from the forums is "advice" like yours here.... its really not very helpful.



maybe thats why you're so hard on those of us playing a more fun spec... you feel trapped in your spec. break free. enjoy your new tanking set. play the game to have fun, not to feel trapped.

i've appreciated a lot of what you've posted on healing/tanking threads, but i'd ask you (and others with nothing positive/constructive to say) not to bash ret so much. what's the old saying? "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

I think it depends largely on what you need, if you are low on crit go Mongoose or 35 agi. Low AP? Get Savagery .

On the cheap you could get Fiery as its procs can crit.

If you want my opinion though I would say Savagery is best for a Ret that is gearing up and once you get to a certain point Mongoose would be better

I'm gonna say it.

lawl ret.

haha, i know. but it still annoys me. some people really want help. i teach martial arts (taekwondo) and have a strong desire to see people be their best. he just happens to be hitting my biggest pet peeve. i hate people getting in the way of people improving or getting help. i'll survive though... i'll jiust continue to cringe every time i see a counter-productive post... oh well.

i realize that my ret hasn't been raiding yet, since she's only 67. but, honestly, even at 67 hunters and mages and even most rogues in similar gear at best equal my dps. if you say that in t6 or s3 gear ret falls behind, i can't say anything, because i haven't got there yet. but when talking about blues i know for a fact that hunters, mages and most rogues still can't out-dps me. some rogues can beat me by a little bit, but never by much. the only people i've had badly beat me were lvl 70 epic'd rogues and a 70 dps warior that helped me get through Durn.

oh, and i'm curious how you think dps warrior gear isn't good for ret? only thing i wish was all the t5 and t6 dps warrior gear was available for ret pallies. the s3 gear is definitely a step in the right direction. too little crit for my liking, but i like how it has more strength than the dps warrior s3 gear... :-D i look forward to someday in the distant future when they finally get around to fixing the rest of the ret gear. till then a mix of dps warrior gear and a few ret peices for the int will suffice.