What I have been looking at getting for Telsak..

[Alrin]

So I was making a little list from various resources. Mj guild pages etc.

Looking at maximizing Stamina gear along with +defence wherever possible.

- Head -
Golem Skull Helm - 18 Sta / 11 Defense
Helm of Awareness - 17 Sta / 2% Dodge

- Neck -
Medallion of Grand Marshal Morris - 7 Sta / 15 Defense (Have it)

- Shoulders -
Bulky Iron Spaulders - 12 Sta / 9 Defense
Stockade Pauldrons - 20 Sta / 15 Defense

- Chest -
Breastplate of Valor - 24 Sta (Have it - THANKS GG!)
Ornate Adamantium Breastplate - 22 Sta / 15 Defense

- Cloak -
Redoubt Cloak - 15 Sta / 10 Defense
The Emperor's New Cape - 16 Sta

- Bracers -
Bracers of Valor - 14 Sta (Have it)
Vigorsteel Vambraces - 17 Sta

- Gloves -
Reiver Claws - 15 Sta / 1% Crit
Stonegrip Gauntlets - 14 Sta / 15 Defense (Random blue world drop)

- Belt -
Girdle of Uther - 10 Sta

- Leggings -
Wraithplate Leggings - 20 Sta / 1% Parry
Warmaster Legguards - 15 Sta / 2% Dodge
Legplates of Valor - 15 Sta

- Feet -
Boots of Valor - 20 Sta
Master Cannoneer Boots - 21 Sta

- Shield (There can Be Only One) -
Draconian Deflector - 7 Sta / 10 FR / 15 Defense

- Ring -
Band of Flesh - 16 Sta
Ring of Protection - 9 Sta / 250 Armor
Blood of the Martyr - 15 Sta

So going for STA/DEF setup, I could reach.. 188 Sta / 60 Defense extra from my base.
Not super, but not really #$%&ty either. I am working on trying to get my gear in order but there are alot of runs to make, alot of rolls to win. :P

I am sure this is incomplete and there are better stuff out there. Please give a hollar if you see something that would fit better.

- Without wax, Alrin.

[Olon97]

The sample tanking build on this site has pretty good coverage of the optimal Pre-MC attainable tanking gear.

[lemekim]

Armor is also important when tanking. While having a bigger buffer is nice, taking less damage is nice as well. Example - Ornate Adamantium Breastplate is much, much better for tanking not only because of 15 defense, but because it also has 150 more armor (at the cost of 2 stamina).

So I was making a little list from various resources. Mj guild pages etc.

Looking at maximizing Stamina gear along with +defence wherever possible.

- Chest -
Breastplate of Valor - 24 Sta (Have it - THANKS GG!)
Ornate Adamantium Breastplate - 22 Sta / 15 Defense

I could add that you could also get Kromcrush Chestplate (777 armor, 16 str/sta, 15 def), or Deathbone Chestplate (657 armor, but 12 sta and whopping 25 defense). Ornate Adamantium is probably my armor of choice here.

- Cloak -
Redoubt Cloak - 15 Sta / 10 Defense
The Emperor's New Cape - 16 Sta

Redoubt Cloak without a doubt. Probably easier to get as well.

- Gloves -
Reiver Claws - 15 Sta / 1% Crit
Stonegrip Gauntlets - 14 Sta / 15 Defense (Random blue world drop)

Again, you can add Force Imbued Gauntlets - 538 armor (about 150 more then other gloves), 10 def 14 sta

- Belt -
Girdle of Uther - 10 Sta

I am not sure why Uther. Get Handcrafted Mastersmith Girdle (about 200 more armor and similar stats).

- Leggings -
Wraithplate Leggings - 20 Sta / 1% Parry
Warmaster Legguards - 15 Sta / 2% Dodge
Legplates of Valor - 15 Sta

I would add Legplates of Eternal Guardian there. 200 more armor and 22 defense.

I also know that Dire Maul drops some really nice tanking bracers, but it would require some luck and a friend warlock who is doing their epic mount quest. That's all the items I can think of for now =)

Also, I noticed that when I really focus on tankng gear, I find that it sometimes actually hurts tanking in casual instances. You will be really starved for rage on one hand because you have completely gimped your damage, and on the other because you don't take enough damage to get any significant amount of rage. Healers won't really get aggro in this case (As you are taking little damage), but it would be hard to keep up with DPS in your group, especialy considering you have to keep other mobs on you as well. My solution was to simply tank two-handed, but it seems this is just the downfall of warrior's rage system - taking less damage may not actually help tanking per se.

Good luck!

[Zarathustra]

Some items for your consideration:

Elemental Plate of Fire Resistance
Random resistance in Dire Maul, from the Tribute. Resistance aside, it's still on par with Uther.

Cloak of Warding
You won't find higher armor on a cloak, and the defense is a good addition.

Grand Crusader's Helm
Strength, Stamina, and 15 Shadow resistance for good ol' Luci.

Stone Form Shoulders
Great armor and defense.

Finally, if you've not yet hit the Blasted Lands for the Defiler chain, do so. If your goal is +defense, you'll get the Demon's Blood. Defense, shadow resistance, and life regen. Good stuff.

[kandrathe]

Also, I noticed that when I really focus on tankng gear, I find that it sometimes actually hurts tanking in casual instances.

::Nod:: My warrior started to really stink the more I focused hard on defense. I think there is a balance of damage reduction, increased stamina, and aggro building that make the best tank. For me, I fixed my problems by finding more +sta gear and getting the most poweful 1h I could, and enchanting it with +dmg to increase my threat.

[Alrin]

::Nod::  My warrior started to really stink the more I focused hard on defense.  I think there is a balance of damage reduction, increased stamina, and aggro building that make the best tank.  For me, I fixed my problems by finding more +sta gear and getting the most poweful 1h I could, and enchanting it with +dmg to increase my threat.
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Yeah well the plan here was to reach a good level of damage mitigation.
As I tanked some in MC earlier and I was not entirely satisfied with the way my gear was for that particular task I would like to improve on that.
Mind you, I am tanking any 5man as it is right now without having to sacrifice too much offensive output so I am not going to gimp myself in any other way than for MC or any other thing where there's a 40man raid at my back :)

[Gorthag]

In addition to the above gear suggestions, I would mention the Enchanted Thorium set. It's a somewhat rare crafted set of recipes for a helm, chest and leg pieces that all have decent armor, +sta, +str and +def. Especially in the helm slot, it's the best non-epic tanking helm IMHO. Several blacksmiths on my server have the recipe and will make the pieces if you bring the materials plus an optional donation, I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a similar deal.

[kandrathe]

Yeah well the plan here was to reach a good level of damage mitigation.
As I tanked some in MC earlier and I was not entirely satisfied with the way my gear was for that particular task I would like to improve on that.
Mind you, I am tanking any 5man as it is right now without having to sacrifice too much offensive output so I am not going to gimp myself in any other way than for MC or any other thing where there's a 40man raid at my back :)
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I hope you don't think I was slighting your equipment choices. Most of it is the type of equipment that does fulfill the balance I was talking about. Just that there are many warriors who think that tanking gear is only about armor and +def, sacrificing their abilities to gain rage and generate aggro. I like to browse profiles on http://www.wowrankings.com. You would find that your selections are mirrored by most warriors.

[Artega]

The enchanted thorium pieces are pretty good if you have some arcanite laying about.

The helm is quite possibly the best non-epic plate helm in the game, and the legs are nothing to scoff at, either (excellent stats, good armor, defense.) The chest would be excellent if not for the ease of getting Kromcrush's Chestplate or Ornate Adamantium Armor.

Force Imbued Gauntlets from DM would probably be the best choice for gloves if you're focusing entirely on mitigation. Otherwise, I'd take Reiver Claws.

Draconian Deflector is great, yes, but it's not necessarily the best. Barrier Shield from DM will block more than DD will, and that fire resistance doesn't help too terribly much if the targets aren't using fire-related abilities on you :)

Fel Hardened Bracers from DM are the only bracers with +Defense on them. A natural choice.

Handcrafted Mastersmith Girdle from UBRS is probably the best non-epic Warrior plate belt in the game. Unreal armor, excellent stats. Looks pretty swooky, too.

[Kevin]

Gnolack can make all the Enchanted Thorium stuff as well. Several Lurkers, CA, and other guild alliance members are wearing the helm and other pieces he made. If you have the mats he'll make em for you on Stormrage.