When I was sitting at 515 defense at level 77 I thought to myself that it would be very easy to hit 540 defense at level 80. Well I got to 80 and with all my gear upgrades I was only at 525. Burn. So I've been running heroics for almost a week now, and yesterday I enchanted my cloak with Titanweave, my chest with greater defense, and picked up an Ancient Aligned Girdle in a Heroic Azjol-Nerub. I'm currently sitting at 542, woo!
Sigh... I'll never get away from multiple gear sets I guess. I've got some items in my bank with higher defense on them in case I run across something that's a huge upgrade but not in a defense category I can swap out the gear. Plus I'm beginning to think I should have a 535 defense set for heroics and a 540 defense set in case I ever do a raid.
So what's next on my plate? Trinkets!
Tanking trinkets in Wrath of the Lich King are few and far between. I'm still wearing two blue quested trinkets from BC for the defense. Oy. So where are my upgrades?
Trinkets with Defense:
Here is a list of all trinkets from BC onwards with defense on them that aren't crafted by a profession. Like my 8-ball just told me, outlook is bleak.
Trinkets with Dodge:
Here is a list of all trinkets from BC onwards with dodge rating on them. One's from Alchemy, so scratch that. One from Moroes (might be attainable?) and one from Black Temple (probably not). That leaves one remaining, purchasable with 40 Emblems of Heroism. Honestly this isn't a bad option for me, except I'll have to get about 10 more badges plus fill out my defense in another spot.
Trinkets with Parry:
This list is even worse. One trinket from ZA, and one from Naxx-25. Skip!
Trinkets with Stamina:
Here's a list with all post-BC stamina trinkets (that aren't profession related). Ah ha, now we're finally making some headway. Still, there's only one from Wrath. The good news is it's in a heroic, not a raid: Azjol-Nerub. Not exactly the most easily completed heroic, but it's feasible. I might try to snatch a Darkmoon Card: Vengeance but still, its not that amazing unless the cost is very low.
Trinkets with Armor:
This list is pretty short, only 3 trinkets. One is from Naxx and another is a world drop from BC. That leaves Offering of Sacrifice from heroic Gun'drak. 550 armor is pretty good, it's not avoidance but it's mitigation; plus it has a tiny last-stand mechanism on it. I'd grab it if it dropped, but I wouldn't go out of my way to farm it.
All other trinkets
Here's a final list of trinkets, parried down as much as I could. Let's see, anything look decent for a tank? There are more than a few crit rating ones, so those wouldn't be awful for threat, but probably not your best choice. Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood deserves an honorable mention since hit rating is still desired by tanks for that sure-fire threat, but most of the time you'll get enough of that on your tanking gear anyways. Another one I'd grab if it dropped, but not going to farm it. Another maybe is Darkmoon Card: Greatness. You'd gain some parry rating out of that sucker, plus some threat; or, if you go for the agility version, you'd pick up some dodge and threat. Pretty good options, but will definitely cost you a pretty penny.
So which ones am I going to go for? Well the Darkmoon Card with strength looks pretty nice, but the cash to get it might be a barrier, so I'll keep checking the AH. In a deeper look at it:
According to deathknight.info, at 80:
25% of Strengh = parry rating
49.18 Parry rating = 1% to parry,
90 / 4 = 22.5 parry rating = 0.457% parry on the card.
300 / 4 = 75 parry rating = 1.52% parry when it procs
That's in addition to the 180 attack power (plus 600 on proc) on that card. Pretty decent in fact. I feel since it's still more of a offensive trinket my second one should be defensive. Honestly I'll probably start saving for the emblem of heroism one which grants 2% dodge and a mini-evasion, but I'll keep my eye out for any heroic drops.
6 comments:
There is a very good 78 blue +defense trinket that drops in non-heroic halls of lightning, I do believe. Could be wrong about the location, but it definitely drops (as I have it).
Thanks for pointing that out Nate, I totally missed it! Post edited to reflect this trinket.
Also a Stam trinket I would recommend would be
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34473
Drops off Priestess Delrissa in Heroic Magisters which is fairly easy at 80, plus theres a chance for the mount and minipet from Kael
You're very welcome.
How is it at 77 you only had 515 defense? I currently have 532 defense at level 75, doubt I am hit capped though but haven't worried too much as I don't miss often.(Tanked HoL earlier with no problems, and I must say my improved runetap and mark of blood saved me several times) I'm a 75 DK tank wearing quest items, crafted gear and a few drops. Also picked up inscription to get the 52dodge 15def shoulder enchant and have +22 def to chest. I'm a slightly odd spec though, blood/frost with 2 points in morbidity and 5 in anticipation. I went with blood to heal myself all the way down to bloody vengence and abominations might. In frost I went for improved icy talons to pick up a second raid buff and am working on getting howling blast and unbreakable armor. Seems to work well so far Ive tanked everything that blizz would let me into so far and haven't had a problem yet.
(darkswrath- Drenden server)
agi, dodge and stam ftw.
As we know agility increases armour which in turn decreases dmg done to you.
I'm sorry to burst any bubbles but capping defense is something for the other 3 tanking classes. I think blizzard has allready hinted towards it by leaving out defense stats on tier and craftable feral gear.
For max threat I would also suggest capping expertise (6%) which is fairly easy with the high end drops currently in the game. It will deminish the chance to be dodged or parryed = more threat. Atm i'm working on getting my +hit capped as well since i'm off tanking the drakes in OS. It enables the raid to start nuking tenebron when he lands, with use of bl.
regards, wauter
Slapshot from Nagrand, EU.
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