Help with Heroic Gearing plz.Follow

It is REALLY hard to try and critique non-80 gear in terms of 80 Heroics. Especially because you don't pass the first check mark for heroic tanking--540 defense (or 535 if you won't be doing raids).

So, first work on that.

But, for the moment, you are on the right track. Replace the De-Raged axe with the Titansteel Destroyer when you can. And try to get 540 defense without SSG if at all possible. Because, at 540 defense, SSG will give you an additional 3% avoidance and 2% Health. And Sword Shattering gives 4%. But, because you need 540 Defense, that additional avoidance can't be had unless you get there without SSG.

Clicky clicky.

Your goals at 80 are:

540 defense. Yes, 535 is "ok" but it's only 5 more to become crit immune to raid bosses so why not.

30k Health. Again, you can get by with less, but more is better.

Avoidance: Dodge & Parry (more info). Look to stack these next. Make sure that stacking avoidance doesn't allow your Defense to dip below the crit immune cap.

Follow the above up with a bit of Expertise, some Hit and stam, stam, stam, baked beans, stam and stam.

Good luck!

For all your DK Tank Gear needs

Obviously it's better to focus on the stuff that's easily obtainable first; for a DK tank starting out, probably the best two hander you can get before doing so me major upgrades, tank wise, is the Argent Skeleton Crusher. It's a simple quest reward and it has Defense on it. It is a godsend.

Baseline stats to shoot for:

The previously mentioned 535/540 Defense. 535 for Heroics, 540 for Raids.

20K armor and 22K Health in Frost Presence UNBUFFED.

Other Pointers:

1) The Rune of Stoneskin Gargoyle is a MUST for two handers.
2) The Tempered Saronite set works very well for a starter set, especially when grouped with the Daunting 3) Legguards, Daunting Handgrips and Crusader's Square Shoulders.
4) Always find something to improve on. Example: Yes, I was kicking butt in heroics, but I knew I could do a little better. Thus, I decided on the goal to reach 540 without the help of the Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle.


It will be a little expensive at first, but when starting out don't discount something based on item color or required level. It's the stats that help.

Also, gemming wise:

Gem for Defense, then Stamina.

Damnit Therion, didn't see the link you put in. Oh well. Use the link. As far as you're concerned until you hit 540 defense, that is your bible.

Just grab a Titansteel Destroyer. It's better and easier to get.



22K Unbuffed is still really low. It's... enough... but low.



Rune of Swordshattering is higher avoidance. SSG isn't a MUST have at any stretch. 2% extra health isn't necessarily superior.

Tempered Titansteel stuff is better than Saronite, if you can give up the defense. You should only have a max of three Saronite items to reach the Defense cap if gearing independently of instances (and less if you are going to be running regulars).



At the same time, it isn't worth buying the really expensive enchants or gems if you are going to replace the piece right away before you hit Naxx. Do research and adjust accordingly.



Stamina isn't the end-all be-all stat. You want Dodge and some threat gems too. If you have a ton of health, but no avoidance, you just become a mana sink.

Damnit, I didn't mean Argent Skeleton Crusher...I mean Axe of Bloodstained Ice...

Gives 79 Stamina, 53 Strength and 53 Defense. It got me by until I could get some heroic gear and I could switch to using the Titansteel Destroyer on a permanent basis.

And regarding the post, there's no need to rip it up piece by piece, we're not discussing NAXX gear, we're talking stuff that will make him capable of going through Heroics pretty much as soon as he hits 80. It will be difficult to find better gloves than the Tempered Saronite ones early on, of which there is no Tempered Titansteel alternative.



It should take him maybe a month to replace them. It's stuff he can get right now, in fact, for help with tanking the last regulars before finally hitting heroics.

This was the exact strategy I followed. It worked wonders for me. He's not going to be a super tank, but for the most part it meets his immediate needs. Obviously he's going to work on it in the future, but for now, it will do.

Don't forget your avoidance gems, too. Stamina is good, but not as pretty if you only have 4% dodge and parry.

But, don't gem for parry either... just dodge. I'd say entry level you want 10% dodge and parry, unbuffed, at least. Your HoW will boost these to 11% or so and other buffs will take them higher.

It would, of course, be better to have more. But that is probably the lowest you can go without becoming a drain. And, you need them up there for RS to light up, as well.

Out of curiosity, what spec do you plan to start raiding as? I think I remember you being Frost in your sig, but I'm not sure...

Good, because BB no longer boosts Parry. XD

Don't worry, we all have pre-3.1 slip-ups. :P

A few notes about your armory:

-Unfortunately, that sigil is probably the best you can get now that they severely nerfed the IT one. One other option you can get is the one where ITs bosot Defense. But, it isn't really that good. The additional threat from Dark Rider is generally better until you can get the one from Naxx that boosts Oblit, SS and DS.

-Start doing your WR dailies everyday. I don't know how long you plan to take to get to 80, but their rep rewards are very nice for entry-level tanks. Getting Hodir up there for the enchants is really important, too. Same goes for AC. If I recall, they also have great tanking enchants.

-Your spec is good for tanking (I know you didn't ask, but I thought I would put that out there, lol).

-For your third glyph, I would take UA or FS. The first is higher mitigation, the latter is higher threat. You choose which is more important to you.

-Get those professions up!!! You don't realize it now, but they generally have very nice boosts. Mining, for instance, gives a 50 Stamina perma-buff that, I believe, IS included in the calculations that are percent boosts (so, BoK will give you 5 more stamina from that alone). If you are willing to drop Herbalism, which appears to be at 0, grab BS or JC.

The first will give you two more gem slots, for anything but a Meta (they are great places to stick AP gems for threat if you focus on defensive stats elsewhere). Plus, being able to craft your own crap is nice, especially if you keep mining and end up getting a Titansteel Destroyer for 2 hours worth of work instead of 1.2K.

JC will allow you to get some better gems to put in better slots, giving you slot bonuses without sacrificing stats. Plus the ability to craft your own necklaces and rings. I don't recall if there are any good tanking ones, but it'll be nice when making a DpS off-set.

One other option is Enchanting, though it isn't as good as those two. I don't THINK there is a defensive ring enchant. There MAY be a Sta one.

Happy hunting.