I figure, I'm going to do all this work anyway, I might as well share it with the community. I know that we have some DK's who tank in <Lurkers>, Terenas, and I'm sure there are some in <Lurkers>, Stormrage who might be interested.
Patch 4.3 changed a lot of things about the Death Knight Tank.
1.) Blood Shield ALWAYS happens, Your runes are always spent. This is a good thing. This helps reduce spike damage.
2.) Blade Barrier is now just passive Damage reduction. YES! Now, Rune Tetris isn't quite so "complicated"
3.) Blood Presence Armor component was buffed.
4.) Bone Shield now has 6 Charges
5.) Outbreak now has a 30 second cooldown for Blood.
These, are big changes my friend. VERY big changes. So, where does that leave us in terms of stat priority?
In terms of Secondary Stats,
1.) Mastery
2.) Dodge
3.) Parry
4.) Hit
5.) Expertise
6.) Haste
7.) Crit
Why?
4.3 made our mastery better. No. It didn't do anything to our mastery specifically, but it made it our mastery more reliable by always being capable of applying it, and blizzard buffed us considerably to take less spike damage.
So, by being able to count on getting it up, and taking less damage, Blood is in a far better spot. So mastery is still, by far, KING.
I rated dodge higher than parry. They are actually REALLY close, and you only want your dodge rating to put you 1% higher than your parry while Horn of Winter is ACTIVE
Hit higher than expertise. This used to be the other way around, because you got such value out of expertise rating. Well, Expertise rating is only threat now. it doesn't help get, or maintain blood shield. It is just threat. Hit, on the other hand, makes life a lot nicer at this point. Hit Rating improves the chance of outbreak hitting, and outbreak hitting is a very nice thing.
Haste, improves rune regeneration, and while I don't expect people to stack it, if you have to choose (say.... a weapon choice?) Haste > Crit.
Gemming:
Still use the same basic gems.
Puissant for Blue Sockets.
Fine for Orange Sockets.
Fractured for Yellow Sockets.
Be on the lookout for Epic Gems. You can only get them from running 10m or 25m (no raid finder) Dragon Soul.
So, how do I gear?
I plan on getting as many pieces that are Dodge/Parry + Mastery as possible. Sadly, there are some concessions that will need to be made. Both Paladins and Warriors are hitting the CTC Cap, so there influence means that there is less mastery pieces sitting around.
head
You have 2 options here.
Jaw of Repudation - 2200 Valor Points.
Necrotic Boneplate Faceguard Tier Token.
Warmaster Blackhorn holds the helm token in 10 and 25 man content.
Comparing the two options, it is pretty easy to see that the Faceguard, while not 'perfectly' itemized, is leaps and bounds better than the Jaw. Hold out hope, and swing for the Faceguard as a raider.
Neck
There is only one Tanking option.
Guardspike Choker - 1250 Valor Points.
There are no other necks in Dragon Soul that combine both Strength and Mastery sadly, so this is a surefire pickup for 1250 VP. It should be one of your first VP purchases.
Shoulders
You have 2 options here. Neither are itemized 'perfectly'.
Brackenshell Shoulderplates Mor'Chok
Necrotic BonePlate Shoulderguards - Tier Token
Hagara the Stormbinder has the token for Shoulders in 10 and 25 man.
This will probably come down to where your mastery is rating wise, and if you feel like the 1.5% avoidance is better than the 1.38 Mastery. I will probably use the Brackenshell, because Expertise is a pretty weak stat for us, and while I lose a lot of mastery on this piece, the overall damage reduction from the Mastery + Avoidance on the Brackenshell is more important than the threat from the Expertise.
Cloak
Again, a slot with only one option. The problem with the option is that it is marginally terrible.
Indefatigable Greatcloak - 1250 VP
This cloak ONLY takes this spot due to ilvl and the socket. The Str + Socket makes it better than the Heroic Dreadfire AGI cape from Heroic Rhyolith. I would hold off on purchasing this, until last. The amount of upgrade contained in this piece is rather paltry compared to the other VP items that you will want to purchase.
Chest
2 options.
Unshakable Titan - 2200 VP
Necrotic Boneplate Chestguard. Tier Token
Ultraxion's chest drops the token in 10 and 25 man.
Again, looking over the stat weights, this is a very easy decision. Tier gear. The chest is perfectly itemized, and has a whopping 3 sockets. You want this piece.
Bracers
3 options.
Unrelenting Excellence Vendors / BoE - 1650 VP
graveheart Bracers Warlord Zon'ozz
Titanguard Wristplates Crafted.
The Titanguard are clearly The best of the three. In order.
1.) Crafted
2.) Graveheart
3.) Excellence
Don't waste your VP on those bracers. They will simply be placeholders to getting the crafted. If you get the Zon'ozz bracers great, but those too, will only last until you get your Crafted bracers.
Gloves
Guantlets of Feathery Blows - Vendor 1650 VP
Necrotic Boneplate Handguards - Tier Token
Warlord Zon'ozz has the Tier Token in 10 and 25 man.
Again, the VP piece is terriblly itemized. Don't even bother with it. It will be a downgrade from any tanking gloves you have that are 378. While the hit on the Tier isn't great, it is paired with mastery, and you can reforge the hit into avoidance, and end up with a piece that is 'better' itemized.
Belt
3 options
waistplate of the desecrated hero BoE Raid Drop
goriona's Collar Warmaster Blackhorn
Forgesmelter Waistplate - 1650 VP
A Vp Option that beats out Raid Options? THIS IS MADNESS! But true. The Forgesmelter (has to be a typo right?) belt is by far the best of the 3 options. Use it wisely.
Legs
2 options
Foundations of Courage
Necrotic Boneplate Legguards
Hmmm.... Interesting.... TECHNICALLY The Foundations are better. But, to wear them, you will need to be wearing both the shoulders and the gloves, which are both Threat + mastery pieces to obtain your 4 pieces bonus.
Boots
2 options.
Bladeshatter Treads - 1650 VP
stillheart Warboots - Ultraxion
The Ultraxion boots are leaps and bounds ahead. Again, Don't waste your VP on this piece.
Rings
There are 2 tank rings available that are 397. You wear both.
Hardheart Ring - Can drop from Zon'ozz, Morchok, Yorshaj, or Hagara.
Signet of the Resolute - 1250 VP
I wouldn't purchase the ring right before I purchased the greatcloak for VP.
Trinkets
There are plenty of fantastic trinkets out there right now for DK tanks, that you should have multiple and swap them around based on the fight. Instead of telling you what to wear, because trinkets are varied in use, I will tell you that there are
Indomitable Pride - Seems like a good trinket for hard hitting bosses. Would be weak in an AoE situation. This can drop from any of the 'first four' bosses, similar to the ring.
Soulshifter Vortex - This thing is AMAZING ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. This drops from Yor'shaj.
Fire of the Deep - Mastery static + Avoidance on use. This is a VERY solid trinket. This is sold by the VP vendor for 1650 VP.
relic
As has been the case for a while now, We only have 1 relic this tier.
Stoutheart Talisman - 700 VP
This is a pretty solid piece. I plan to pick it up early.
weapon
Experimental Specimen Slicer Drops from Yor'shaj.
This is our only option.
As you can see, the loot tables are rather small in Dragon Soul, and there aren't a lot of choices. At most, we had 3 options to choose from, and really the only tough choice is Do you use the Drop Shoulders, or the Crafted legs? Everything else is pretty easy to figure out.
This Is what I plan on wearing.
Avoidance Tanking
In Firelands Heroics, it wasn't uncommon to see a Death Knight tank switch over from mastery based, to Avoidance based due to the size of the hits they were taking in heroic.
We dont' know yet if this will be the case in Dragon Soul. I would suggest talking it over with your healers before making the change no matter what is decided. In the heroic Firelands work I did, my healers and I never felt it necessary to try and go avoidance. That doesn't mean all healers will be that comfortable with it.
With Heroics beginning tomorrow, I'm sure we will see some very interesting things take place.
Purchasing VP Upgrades
You can purchase them in any order you want, but assuming I cap every week until I have all the tank pieces:
Week 1: 1000 VP = 1000 VP - Purchase relic = 300VP at end of week.
Week 2: 1000 VP = 1300 VP - Purchase Necklace = 50VP at end of week.
Week 3: 1000 VP = 1050 VP - Purchase nothing = 1050 VP at end of week.
Week 4: 1000 VP = 2050 VP - Purchase belt = 400 VP at end of week.
Week 5: 1000 VP = 1400 VP - Purchase Ring = 150 VP at end of week.
Week 6: 1000 VP = 1150 VP - Purchase nothing = 1150 VP at end of week.
Week 7: 1000 VP = 2150 VP - Purchase Cloak = 900 VP at end of week.
Week 8: 1000 VP = 1900 VP - Purchase Trinket = 250 Vp at end of week.
So in 8 weeks, you can pick up all the VP items that you would be interested in. You could pick them up in any order, or prioritize the trinket higher, but most raiding Dk's should have good trinkets already, unless you were unlucky with Beth'tilac.
Patch 4.3 changed a lot of things about the Death Knight Tank.
1.) Blood Shield ALWAYS happens, Your runes are always spent. This is a good thing. This helps reduce spike damage.
2.) Blade Barrier is now just passive Damage reduction. YES! Now, Rune Tetris isn't quite so "complicated"
3.) Blood Presence Armor component was buffed.
4.) Bone Shield now has 6 Charges
5.) Outbreak now has a 30 second cooldown for Blood.
These, are big changes my friend. VERY big changes. So, where does that leave us in terms of stat priority?
In terms of Secondary Stats,
1.) Mastery
2.) Dodge
3.) Parry
4.) Hit
5.) Expertise
6.) Haste
7.) Crit
Why?
4.3 made our mastery better. No. It didn't do anything to our mastery specifically, but it made it our mastery more reliable by always being capable of applying it, and blizzard buffed us considerably to take less spike damage.
So, by being able to count on getting it up, and taking less damage, Blood is in a far better spot. So mastery is still, by far, KING.
I rated dodge higher than parry. They are actually REALLY close, and you only want your dodge rating to put you 1% higher than your parry while Horn of Winter is ACTIVE
Hit higher than expertise. This used to be the other way around, because you got such value out of expertise rating. Well, Expertise rating is only threat now. it doesn't help get, or maintain blood shield. It is just threat. Hit, on the other hand, makes life a lot nicer at this point. Hit Rating improves the chance of outbreak hitting, and outbreak hitting is a very nice thing.
Haste, improves rune regeneration, and while I don't expect people to stack it, if you have to choose (say.... a weapon choice?) Haste > Crit.
Gemming:
Still use the same basic gems.
Puissant for Blue Sockets.
Fine for Orange Sockets.
Fractured for Yellow Sockets.
Be on the lookout for Epic Gems. You can only get them from running 10m or 25m (no raid finder) Dragon Soul.
So, how do I gear?
I plan on getting as many pieces that are Dodge/Parry + Mastery as possible. Sadly, there are some concessions that will need to be made. Both Paladins and Warriors are hitting the CTC Cap, so there influence means that there is less mastery pieces sitting around.
head
You have 2 options here.
Jaw of Repudation - 2200 Valor Points.
Necrotic Boneplate Faceguard Tier Token.
Warmaster Blackhorn holds the helm token in 10 and 25 man content.
Comparing the two options, it is pretty easy to see that the Faceguard, while not 'perfectly' itemized, is leaps and bounds better than the Jaw. Hold out hope, and swing for the Faceguard as a raider.
Neck
There is only one Tanking option.
Guardspike Choker - 1250 Valor Points.
There are no other necks in Dragon Soul that combine both Strength and Mastery sadly, so this is a surefire pickup for 1250 VP. It should be one of your first VP purchases.
Shoulders
You have 2 options here. Neither are itemized 'perfectly'.
Brackenshell Shoulderplates Mor'Chok
Necrotic BonePlate Shoulderguards - Tier Token
Hagara the Stormbinder has the token for Shoulders in 10 and 25 man.
This will probably come down to where your mastery is rating wise, and if you feel like the 1.5% avoidance is better than the 1.38 Mastery. I will probably use the Brackenshell, because Expertise is a pretty weak stat for us, and while I lose a lot of mastery on this piece, the overall damage reduction from the Mastery + Avoidance on the Brackenshell is more important than the threat from the Expertise.
Cloak
Again, a slot with only one option. The problem with the option is that it is marginally terrible.
Indefatigable Greatcloak - 1250 VP
This cloak ONLY takes this spot due to ilvl and the socket. The Str + Socket makes it better than the Heroic Dreadfire AGI cape from Heroic Rhyolith. I would hold off on purchasing this, until last. The amount of upgrade contained in this piece is rather paltry compared to the other VP items that you will want to purchase.
Chest
2 options.
Unshakable Titan - 2200 VP
Necrotic Boneplate Chestguard. Tier Token
Ultraxion's chest drops the token in 10 and 25 man.
Again, looking over the stat weights, this is a very easy decision. Tier gear. The chest is perfectly itemized, and has a whopping 3 sockets. You want this piece.
Bracers
3 options.
Unrelenting Excellence Vendors / BoE - 1650 VP
graveheart Bracers Warlord Zon'ozz
Titanguard Wristplates Crafted.
The Titanguard are clearly The best of the three. In order.
1.) Crafted
2.) Graveheart
3.) Excellence
Don't waste your VP on those bracers. They will simply be placeholders to getting the crafted. If you get the Zon'ozz bracers great, but those too, will only last until you get your Crafted bracers.
Gloves
Guantlets of Feathery Blows - Vendor 1650 VP
Necrotic Boneplate Handguards - Tier Token
Warlord Zon'ozz has the Tier Token in 10 and 25 man.
Again, the VP piece is terriblly itemized. Don't even bother with it. It will be a downgrade from any tanking gloves you have that are 378. While the hit on the Tier isn't great, it is paired with mastery, and you can reforge the hit into avoidance, and end up with a piece that is 'better' itemized.
Belt
3 options
waistplate of the desecrated hero BoE Raid Drop
goriona's Collar Warmaster Blackhorn
Forgesmelter Waistplate - 1650 VP
A Vp Option that beats out Raid Options? THIS IS MADNESS! But true. The Forgesmelter (has to be a typo right?) belt is by far the best of the 3 options. Use it wisely.
Legs
2 options
Foundations of Courage
Necrotic Boneplate Legguards
Hmmm.... Interesting.... TECHNICALLY The Foundations are better. But, to wear them, you will need to be wearing both the shoulders and the gloves, which are both Threat + mastery pieces to obtain your 4 pieces bonus.
Boots
2 options.
Bladeshatter Treads - 1650 VP
stillheart Warboots - Ultraxion
The Ultraxion boots are leaps and bounds ahead. Again, Don't waste your VP on this piece.
Rings
There are 2 tank rings available that are 397. You wear both.
Hardheart Ring - Can drop from Zon'ozz, Morchok, Yorshaj, or Hagara.
Signet of the Resolute - 1250 VP
I wouldn't purchase the ring right before I purchased the greatcloak for VP.
Trinkets
There are plenty of fantastic trinkets out there right now for DK tanks, that you should have multiple and swap them around based on the fight. Instead of telling you what to wear, because trinkets are varied in use, I will tell you that there are
Indomitable Pride - Seems like a good trinket for hard hitting bosses. Would be weak in an AoE situation. This can drop from any of the 'first four' bosses, similar to the ring.
Soulshifter Vortex - This thing is AMAZING ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. This drops from Yor'shaj.
Fire of the Deep - Mastery static + Avoidance on use. This is a VERY solid trinket. This is sold by the VP vendor for 1650 VP.
relic
As has been the case for a while now, We only have 1 relic this tier.
Stoutheart Talisman - 700 VP
This is a pretty solid piece. I plan to pick it up early.
weapon
Experimental Specimen Slicer Drops from Yor'shaj.
This is our only option.
As you can see, the loot tables are rather small in Dragon Soul, and there aren't a lot of choices. At most, we had 3 options to choose from, and really the only tough choice is Do you use the Drop Shoulders, or the Crafted legs? Everything else is pretty easy to figure out.
This Is what I plan on wearing.
Avoidance Tanking
In Firelands Heroics, it wasn't uncommon to see a Death Knight tank switch over from mastery based, to Avoidance based due to the size of the hits they were taking in heroic.
We dont' know yet if this will be the case in Dragon Soul. I would suggest talking it over with your healers before making the change no matter what is decided. In the heroic Firelands work I did, my healers and I never felt it necessary to try and go avoidance. That doesn't mean all healers will be that comfortable with it.
With Heroics beginning tomorrow, I'm sure we will see some very interesting things take place.
Purchasing VP Upgrades
You can purchase them in any order you want, but assuming I cap every week until I have all the tank pieces:
Week 1: 1000 VP = 1000 VP - Purchase relic = 300VP at end of week.
Week 2: 1000 VP = 1300 VP - Purchase Necklace = 50VP at end of week.
Week 3: 1000 VP = 1050 VP - Purchase nothing = 1050 VP at end of week.
Week 4: 1000 VP = 2050 VP - Purchase belt = 400 VP at end of week.
Week 5: 1000 VP = 1400 VP - Purchase Ring = 150 VP at end of week.
Week 6: 1000 VP = 1150 VP - Purchase nothing = 1150 VP at end of week.
Week 7: 1000 VP = 2150 VP - Purchase Cloak = 900 VP at end of week.
Week 8: 1000 VP = 1900 VP - Purchase Trinket = 250 Vp at end of week.
So in 8 weeks, you can pick up all the VP items that you would be interested in. You could pick them up in any order, or prioritize the trinket higher, but most raiding Dk's should have good trinkets already, unless you were unlucky with Beth'tilac.
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