My idea for a Frost tanking spec post-3.1. Have been Unholy up until this point, but between the free respec and various changes I thought this would be a decent enough time to try Frost:
Here.
My main concern is what seems like a lack of AoE compared to unholy; no Wandering Plague, and no Unholy Blight, but in theory Howling Blast makes up for that. The points in Killing Machine and Rime will hopefully mitigate that. Obliterate should, if I remember correctly, be better single-target threat than scourge strike.
Planned rotation would be open with Icy Touch + Plague Strike + Pestilence + Death & Decay. Soon as the runes come back, Deathchilled Howling Blast, Obliterate... and then I'm not sure if Blood Strikes or Blood Boils would be better, actually.
I'm also uncertain on one point: Would it be better to actually renew Blood Plague, or just use Hungering Cold as a sole way to keep up Frost Fever and cut future Plague Strikes out of the mix?
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(Potential) Frost tanking spec?Follow
The Frost build I was going to use before going Unholy was this.
How it differs from yours and why I think it works better:
3/3 Subversion--9% Crit on Oblit is pretty nifty for single target fights. And, sometimes, you want to lose threat to another tank so the Threat reduction in other stances can be nifty.
0/5 Icy Talons--I don't know what you will be running. This may or may not be useful for you. In general, the common consensus seems to be to bring a Shaman in possible, because it does a better job and costs no talent points. Plus, Haste isn't that important for 2-Handed DKs (at least as tanks, and except maybe for Blood DpS, but I'm not sure).
0/1 Icy Talons-- Same as the above. 5% to us isn't that great, and a Shaman works better.
[NOTE] If you will be running 5/10 mans, this MAY be a good choice, because it can boost certain class' DpS by a decent bit, and you are less likely to have someone else with it. Even still, I might keep a second spec without it until you get into 25 mans, just in case.
0/1 Lichborne--Just a PvP talent now. It has MINIMAL PvE use. And, depending on your race, the racial may cover it.
5/5 KM--Having a crit 90% of the time you HB is pretty damn sexy. Plus, it boosts your Frost Strikes and ITs on single-target fights.
2/2 Chill of the Grave-- More RP is never bad. This will equal 10-20 additional RP per cycle. So 1-2 additional Rune Strikes or 1 additional FS.
2/2 IFP--2% damage reduction. It may not be anything special, but that will be thousands and thousands of mitigated damage over the course of an instance.
0/3 Morbidity--If you are really having AoE problems and need to lay down a DnD every cycle, take it. But, the threat from HB should be similar, depending on your AP. And, this will open up your rotations for rotating Oblits/ and 2 (maybe more) BBs in AoE situations. You don't use DC, so that 15% is lost on you.
2/2 Epidemic-- A lot of people disagree here. On AoE fights, they pretty much win. Your HB, when glyphed, will cause FF, and that is all you should need after the initial IT and Pest. But, for single-target fights. Using all your runes, assuming you Oblit 3 times they second CD, you will only have .5 seconds left after you finish your third, so you risk losing the disease bonus if that third one gets delayed due to a stun or lag. Plus, your FSs will not be getting the 20% bonus from FF. Just seems wiser to take it, to me. The only other place I could think that is better for those points is in 2/2 Merciless Combat when ONLY considering enemies with 35% health or less.
Glyphs I picked and Why:
Obliterate-- 20% additional damage to our main, rune, single-target threat ability? Hell yes.
Howling Blast-- If you are only going to be tanking bosses, there are better glyphs. But, this one makes your AoE rotations pretty damn special. Removing IT from your rotation after the initial one basically means an extra Oblit or 2 additional BBs the entire fight instead. Doesn't do anything in Single-target situations, though, except refresh your FF on Rime procs.
Unbreakable Armor-- HIGHLY debatable. Once you get better gear, the addition to mitigation becomes smaller and smaller. Even when less well-equipped, there may be others. I was gonna test it out, to see if I liked it.
Other choices (to replace UA, and maybe HB):
Rune Strike-- I haven't heard good things about this glyph, but it is still an option worth investigating. I don't recall why it was looked down on, but worth checking out if you are interested.
Hungering Cold-- I would ONLY take HC if you were willing to take the glyph. 40 RP is a pretty hefty cost, imo, for an ability that doesn't offer much mitigation (in a Heroic AoE context).
Frost Strike--Some people swear by this glyph. I can see why they like it, but it isn't for me. You could give it a try though.
Blood Strike--If you have some boss setup where a Warrior will be Thunder Clapping while you tank, this MAY be valid. Otherwise, look elsewhere. I would probably never use it.
The rotations I would use are:
AoE: IT>Pest>HB>BB>FS> Then, the rest of the battle will be: >BB>Oblit>HB>BB>FS>BB>BB>HB>BB>BB>FS, repeat. Your Oblit will give 2 Death Runes to BB with. Or, you can Oblit again. Your choice. Your HB will refresh FF, so you don't need to IT again.
ST: IT>PS>Oblit>BS>BS>FS>Oblit>Oblit>Oblit>FS, repeat.
Happy getting your *** pounded by Ulduaran evils.^^
How it differs from yours and why I think it works better:
3/3 Subversion--9% Crit on Oblit is pretty nifty for single target fights. And, sometimes, you want to lose threat to another tank so the Threat reduction in other stances can be nifty.
0/5 Icy Talons--I don't know what you will be running. This may or may not be useful for you. In general, the common consensus seems to be to bring a Shaman in possible, because it does a better job and costs no talent points. Plus, Haste isn't that important for 2-Handed DKs (at least as tanks, and except maybe for Blood DpS, but I'm not sure).
0/1 Icy Talons-- Same as the above. 5% to us isn't that great, and a Shaman works better.
[NOTE] If you will be running 5/10 mans, this MAY be a good choice, because it can boost certain class' DpS by a decent bit, and you are less likely to have someone else with it. Even still, I might keep a second spec without it until you get into 25 mans, just in case.
0/1 Lichborne--Just a PvP talent now. It has MINIMAL PvE use. And, depending on your race, the racial may cover it.
5/5 KM--Having a crit 90% of the time you HB is pretty damn sexy. Plus, it boosts your Frost Strikes and ITs on single-target fights.
2/2 Chill of the Grave-- More RP is never bad. This will equal 10-20 additional RP per cycle. So 1-2 additional Rune Strikes or 1 additional FS.
2/2 IFP--2% damage reduction. It may not be anything special, but that will be thousands and thousands of mitigated damage over the course of an instance.
0/3 Morbidity--If you are really having AoE problems and need to lay down a DnD every cycle, take it. But, the threat from HB should be similar, depending on your AP. And, this will open up your rotations for rotating Oblits/ and 2 (maybe more) BBs in AoE situations. You don't use DC, so that 15% is lost on you.
2/2 Epidemic-- A lot of people disagree here. On AoE fights, they pretty much win. Your HB, when glyphed, will cause FF, and that is all you should need after the initial IT and Pest. But, for single-target fights. Using all your runes, assuming you Oblit 3 times they second CD, you will only have .5 seconds left after you finish your third, so you risk losing the disease bonus if that third one gets delayed due to a stun or lag. Plus, your FSs will not be getting the 20% bonus from FF. Just seems wiser to take it, to me. The only other place I could think that is better for those points is in 2/2 Merciless Combat when ONLY considering enemies with 35% health or less.
Glyphs I picked and Why:
Obliterate-- 20% additional damage to our main, rune, single-target threat ability? Hell yes.
Howling Blast-- If you are only going to be tanking bosses, there are better glyphs. But, this one makes your AoE rotations pretty damn special. Removing IT from your rotation after the initial one basically means an extra Oblit or 2 additional BBs the entire fight instead. Doesn't do anything in Single-target situations, though, except refresh your FF on Rime procs.
Unbreakable Armor-- HIGHLY debatable. Once you get better gear, the addition to mitigation becomes smaller and smaller. Even when less well-equipped, there may be others. I was gonna test it out, to see if I liked it.
Other choices (to replace UA, and maybe HB):
Rune Strike-- I haven't heard good things about this glyph, but it is still an option worth investigating. I don't recall why it was looked down on, but worth checking out if you are interested.
Hungering Cold-- I would ONLY take HC if you were willing to take the glyph. 40 RP is a pretty hefty cost, imo, for an ability that doesn't offer much mitigation (in a Heroic AoE context).
Frost Strike--Some people swear by this glyph. I can see why they like it, but it isn't for me. You could give it a try though.
Blood Strike--If you have some boss setup where a Warrior will be Thunder Clapping while you tank, this MAY be valid. Otherwise, look elsewhere. I would probably never use it.
The rotations I would use are:
AoE: IT>Pest>HB>BB>FS> Then, the rest of the battle will be: >BB>Oblit>HB>BB>FS>BB>BB>HB>BB>BB>FS, repeat. Your Oblit will give 2 Death Runes to BB with. Or, you can Oblit again. Your choice. Your HB will refresh FF, so you don't need to IT again.
ST: IT>PS>Oblit>BS>BS>FS>Oblit>Oblit>Oblit>FS, repeat.
Happy getting your *** pounded by Ulduaran evils.^^
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
12/51/8
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#j0EMZhxxzAbI0c0iostcx
This is what I'm using.
If you have KM and Deathchill, 3points in subversion is a waste, 2 points in 2h specialization +1pt is better. 2h Specialization affects Oblit, melee, and I think it affects RS and FS (both are melee abilities). Oblit will be critting enough that 3 talent points for 9% (and a mostly wasted talent) can not be justified.
Now I do not have deathchill because I wanted lichborne. Well, wanted is too strong of a word. I needed one more point at some point in the tree, and the fact that lichborne still breaks fears, making it more useful than deathchill.
I personally do not really need epidemic with FF and BP duration being increased, but between virulence and that, I can't argue. I wanted the +hit for HB, but thinking of that now, I may not need it.
Icy Talons and Imp Icy Talons really isn't that useful for a tank. We don't rely on haste to do our damage. Also Most likely in a raid there will be a shaman to drop windfury. You could use those points in other places.
Now I think if you are frost, Imp FP is a must. Hungering cold is pretty much PvP Oriented, I wouldn't take it.
My glyphs are UA, FS, and Oblit (until I get HB glyph).
EDIT: Got link to work.
Edited, Apr 17th 2009 10:03am by Gikkers
Edited, Apr 17th 2009 11:26am by Gikkers
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#j0EMZhxxzAbI0c0iostcx
This is what I'm using.
If you have KM and Deathchill, 3points in subversion is a waste, 2 points in 2h specialization +1pt is better. 2h Specialization affects Oblit, melee, and I think it affects RS and FS (both are melee abilities). Oblit will be critting enough that 3 talent points for 9% (and a mostly wasted talent) can not be justified.
Now I do not have deathchill because I wanted lichborne. Well, wanted is too strong of a word. I needed one more point at some point in the tree, and the fact that lichborne still breaks fears, making it more useful than deathchill.
I personally do not really need epidemic with FF and BP duration being increased, but between virulence and that, I can't argue. I wanted the +hit for HB, but thinking of that now, I may not need it.
Icy Talons and Imp Icy Talons really isn't that useful for a tank. We don't rely on haste to do our damage. Also Most likely in a raid there will be a shaman to drop windfury. You could use those points in other places.
Now I think if you are frost, Imp FP is a must. Hungering cold is pretty much PvP Oriented, I wouldn't take it.
My glyphs are UA, FS, and Oblit (until I get HB glyph).
EDIT: Got link to work.
Edited, Apr 17th 2009 10:03am by Gikkers
Edited, Apr 17th 2009 11:26am by Gikkers
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