03-17-2006, 06:00 AM
I agree that the purple items are not tanking items, however the existing blue tanking items are quite nice for tanking. Raid tanks will be expected to upgrade through raiding.
I do not see it as a set that will ever be used as an 8/8 full set. I see the warrior set more as plugging holes in existing itemization. The other bracers with +def on them are exceptionally rare (one drops from a rare spawn in BRD and has no stamina and the other from a very specialized quest mob). There are already several great tanking chest and head items plus the 1.10 will add another head alternative, and the pants give a tank a chance to get nice +def pants that don't have NO stats (Legplates) or collect 300-400g worth of mats for (ET legs).
The shoulders I think are actually meant to be tanking shoulders with the higher than average armor value and the high stamina. I see the 2/8 bonus as best for tanks, and the 4/8 is great for tanking too, though probably best for solo-grinding.
While I agree that it would have been nice to see at least one epic as a tanking item (especially the boots, since that would fill a nice gap in existing itemization,) I guess I see the existing pre-raiding tanking gear as pretty good. I also see better tanking gear primarily necessary for, well, raiding. And existing tanking gear is pretty good for non-raiding or early raiding. You need better gear for raiding, and you get better gear from... raiding. The DPS options are great for soloing and great for PvP, both areas where a blue warrior trailed the gearing of some of the other classes.
Blizzard somewhat painted themselves into a corner with that because of the existence of Might. As it is, if you compare Heroism bracers with a Stam enchant to Might bracers with a +defense enchant you end up with a pretty close comparison.
You specifically have gone out of your way to get some of the best gear available to a pre-raider. You're in gear that is better than most MTs start doing MC in. There isn't much wiggle room between what you have and Might. I don't think the heroism set is aimed at someone who is already near the pinnacle of pre-raiding gear. It's aimed at someone in the gearing-up for raiding phase of their WoW career, and by offering the tanking items early in the quest lines, they make that gearing up process easier. Much easier than now, where Heroism is not an option.
Also, one thing you shouldn't lose sight of is that 1.10 makes healers more effective. GHeal is significantly more viable to use, and long cast healing spells were made quite a bit more efficient for all classes. As a result, stamina may carry more importance than in 1.9, so you can be more able to withstand the ups and downs of longer cast time heals. From that standpoint, the HUGE amount of stamina on the helm may make it a decent alternative to a traditional "tanking helm" and the breastplate and boots are no slouch on stamina either.
I do not see it as a set that will ever be used as an 8/8 full set. I see the warrior set more as plugging holes in existing itemization. The other bracers with +def on them are exceptionally rare (one drops from a rare spawn in BRD and has no stamina and the other from a very specialized quest mob). There are already several great tanking chest and head items plus the 1.10 will add another head alternative, and the pants give a tank a chance to get nice +def pants that don't have NO stats (Legplates) or collect 300-400g worth of mats for (ET legs).
The shoulders I think are actually meant to be tanking shoulders with the higher than average armor value and the high stamina. I see the 2/8 bonus as best for tanks, and the 4/8 is great for tanking too, though probably best for solo-grinding.
While I agree that it would have been nice to see at least one epic as a tanking item (especially the boots, since that would fill a nice gap in existing itemization,) I guess I see the existing pre-raiding tanking gear as pretty good. I also see better tanking gear primarily necessary for, well, raiding. And existing tanking gear is pretty good for non-raiding or early raiding. You need better gear for raiding, and you get better gear from... raiding. The DPS options are great for soloing and great for PvP, both areas where a blue warrior trailed the gearing of some of the other classes.
Blizzard somewhat painted themselves into a corner with that because of the existence of Might. As it is, if you compare Heroism bracers with a Stam enchant to Might bracers with a +defense enchant you end up with a pretty close comparison.
You specifically have gone out of your way to get some of the best gear available to a pre-raider. You're in gear that is better than most MTs start doing MC in. There isn't much wiggle room between what you have and Might. I don't think the heroism set is aimed at someone who is already near the pinnacle of pre-raiding gear. It's aimed at someone in the gearing-up for raiding phase of their WoW career, and by offering the tanking items early in the quest lines, they make that gearing up process easier. Much easier than now, where Heroism is not an option.
Also, one thing you shouldn't lose sight of is that 1.10 makes healers more effective. GHeal is significantly more viable to use, and long cast healing spells were made quite a bit more efficient for all classes. As a result, stamina may carry more importance than in 1.9, so you can be more able to withstand the ups and downs of longer cast time heals. From that standpoint, the HUGE amount of stamina on the helm may make it a decent alternative to a traditional "tanking helm" and the breastplate and boots are no slouch on stamina either.
Conc / Concillian -- Vintage player of many games. Deadly leader of the All Pally Team (or was it Death leader?)
Terenas WoW player... while we waited for Diablo III.
And it came... and it went... and I played Hearthstone longer than Diablo III.
Terenas WoW player... while we waited for Diablo III.
And it came... and it went... and I played Hearthstone longer than Diablo III.