It's hard to really know the cookie cutter specs of the death knight so far because they are so new to arena pvp play, but if you want to know what the top teams are using, then here ya go.
They have a blood/frost/unholy builds, but I personally would go unholy because it seems as if 80 or more percent of the top teams are using the 21/0/50 build.
http://www.arenajunkies.com/talents/death%20knight/21_0_50/
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Recent Blue Season 5 Arena Posts
Burst damage in Arenas
Totally agree that the matches like you are describing can involve a lot of skill. But we also heard from plenty of players during the heydey of maxed out resilience that they felt like they couldn't compete because pure damage dealing wasn't of much use in an Arena. Instead, every class was asking for CC, counter CC, ways to close the gap, ways to interrupt or silence, etc. Damage itself was devalued. Even today you can see players who are glad to no longer have 20+ minute Arenas that feel more like chess matches.
Things may be too bursty now, but I think we've also been in a state where CC'ing or draining the healer was basically the whole game too. I think there is a sweet spot somewhere, but I didn't want players to think that was a very different place than what we thought
Resilience and burst damage
It is hard to nail the sweet spot on Arena balance, and what that sweet spot is depends a lot on what role you play. At times players have felt that they couldn't prevent someone from healing, which turns the entire fight into mana draining, silence and crowd control, since nobody ever dies. Damage-dealers were frustrated because they felt like just beating on someone (which their entire spec may have been designed around) was ineffective. Currently, the opposite is true, where players can be beaten down very quickly and healers tend to wonder why they should even bother trying to heal.
Resilience will make a difference - remember that not only is PvP gear itemized for resilience, but it uses up points that would normally be spent on +dps. The defenses are not only higher, but the offenses are lower. Furthermore, once players can survive for a few seconds, it tends to force everyone to worry about defenses once again. Will resilience make enough of a difference? That is something we are discussing right now.
We hear and understand all of the concerns. I don't have any announcements to make of changes at this time, and honestly changes of the magnitude we're talking would not be the kind of thing I would just casually drop as an answer to a forum thread like this. But we do hear you.
[...] While that was true to an extent, if you look at the Lich King PvP gear, you'll see that it pays a higher price for resilience. In previous seasons, you could get very high dps and resilience on the same set of gear. That is harder to do now. Rogues, like everyone else, will be risking being very fragile if they go with all PvE gear for the damage. That isn't happening now because very few people have much PvP gear. Once players can survive a few hits, then players without resilience are going to go down quickly.
(Weapons are an exception to this, at least for now.)
Again, I'm not saying that burst damage won't still be too high. That is something we're looking at.
Arena Matchmaking
My point was that when the matchmaking is working well, it will pit you against players very close to your skill level. Playing players very close to your skill level increases the chance you will lose. The point is actually not to have the 2000+ players mowing their way through scrubs. It's to pair off the best teams against each other so that getting e.g. Gladiator means something.
What I was actually getting at though was a loftier sentiment that players run through quests or an instance and one-shot everything and then go into PvP and can lose a lot. It's a very different experience, and psychologically I think it affects players more than they give it credit for. (If you are highly-ranked or don't even play PvE much then it likely affects you a lot less.)
Totally agree that the matches like you are describing can involve a lot of skill. But we also heard from plenty of players during the heydey of maxed out resilience that they felt like they couldn't compete because pure damage dealing wasn't of much use in an Arena. Instead, every class was asking for CC, counter CC, ways to close the gap, ways to interrupt or silence, etc. Damage itself was devalued. Even today you can see players who are glad to no longer have 20+ minute Arenas that feel more like chess matches.
Things may be too bursty now, but I think we've also been in a state where CC'ing or draining the healer was basically the whole game too. I think there is a sweet spot somewhere, but I didn't want players to think that was a very different place than what we thought
Resilience and burst damage
It is hard to nail the sweet spot on Arena balance, and what that sweet spot is depends a lot on what role you play. At times players have felt that they couldn't prevent someone from healing, which turns the entire fight into mana draining, silence and crowd control, since nobody ever dies. Damage-dealers were frustrated because they felt like just beating on someone (which their entire spec may have been designed around) was ineffective. Currently, the opposite is true, where players can be beaten down very quickly and healers tend to wonder why they should even bother trying to heal.
Resilience will make a difference - remember that not only is PvP gear itemized for resilience, but it uses up points that would normally be spent on +dps. The defenses are not only higher, but the offenses are lower. Furthermore, once players can survive for a few seconds, it tends to force everyone to worry about defenses once again. Will resilience make enough of a difference? That is something we are discussing right now.
We hear and understand all of the concerns. I don't have any announcements to make of changes at this time, and honestly changes of the magnitude we're talking would not be the kind of thing I would just casually drop as an answer to a forum thread like this. But we do hear you.
[...] While that was true to an extent, if you look at the Lich King PvP gear, you'll see that it pays a higher price for resilience. In previous seasons, you could get very high dps and resilience on the same set of gear. That is harder to do now. Rogues, like everyone else, will be risking being very fragile if they go with all PvE gear for the damage. That isn't happening now because very few people have much PvP gear. Once players can survive a few hits, then players without resilience are going to go down quickly.
(Weapons are an exception to this, at least for now.)
Again, I'm not saying that burst damage won't still be too high. That is something we're looking at.
Arena Matchmaking
My point was that when the matchmaking is working well, it will pit you against players very close to your skill level. Playing players very close to your skill level increases the chance you will lose. The point is actually not to have the 2000+ players mowing their way through scrubs. It's to pair off the best teams against each other so that getting e.g. Gladiator means something.
What I was actually getting at though was a loftier sentiment that players run through quests or an instance and one-shot everything and then go into PvP and can lose a lot. It's a very different experience, and psychologically I think it affects players more than they give it credit for. (If you are highly-ranked or don't even play PvE much then it likely affects you a lot less.)
Friday, December 19, 2008
Good 2v2 Arena Season 5 Comps
Since WoTLK and arenas have just been released, there are still many many people, well, almost everyone, who is lacking in resilence gear. ALSO since the damage increase from lvl 70 to 80, the burst damage that can be done is almost over the top.
So, as you can probably figure out, double DPS is winning arenas atm.
Death knight / Ret Pally
Death knight / Holy pally is also very strong because of the surviablity.
Rogue / mage
Boomkin / rogue
Right now the arenas are still working their way out but we arn't seeing too many dps/healer 2v2 teams, so for the moment, dps/dps will be the strong contender.
So, as you can probably figure out, double DPS is winning arenas atm.
Death knight / Ret Pally
Death knight / Holy pally is also very strong because of the surviablity.
Rogue / mage
Boomkin / rogue
Right now the arenas are still working their way out but we arn't seeing too many dps/healer 2v2 teams, so for the moment, dps/dps will be the strong contender.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Death Knight DPS Rotations
As a Death Knight, there are 4 key rules to DPS:
1. Always keep your two diseases up
2. Use your primary DPS strike as often as possible
3. Use your secondary DPS strike to get Death Runes, which feeds back into letting you use rule #2 more often
4. Use a runic dump once rules #2 and #3 fill out your runic power
Real-world application, on a spec-by-spec basis:
I. Blood spec
The spec: http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqh0IsbRxzAZZfMhhhck
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Heart Strike 2x -> Obliterate -> Death Coil until RP is depleted -> Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Heart Strike 4x -> Death Coil until RP is depleted
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
Heart Strike is your primary DPS strike, which fulfills rule #2
Obliterate converts its Unholy and Frost rune cost into Death runes via Death Rune Mastery, which you then use for more Heart Strikes, which fulfills rule #3
Your runic dump is Death Coil, which fulfills rule #4
II. Frost spec
The spec: http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVZGMxtIxdRhoVosx
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Blood Strike 2x -> Obliterate -> Frost Strike until RP is depleted -> Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Obliterate 2x -> Frost Strike until RP is depleted
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
Blood Strike converts its Blood rune cost into Death runes via Blood of the North, which you then use for more Obliterates, which fulfills rule #3
Obliterate is your primary DPS strike, which fulfills rune #2
Your runic dump is Frost Strike, which fulfills rule #4
In this case, rule #3 comes before rule #2 because Plague Strike and Icy Touch use an Unholy and Frost rune, respectively, which are the same runes needed by Obliterate. You use your secondary strike while you wait for the runes of your primary strike to come back.
If Rime is up and you are in the Frost Strike/Runic dump portion of your rotation, use a Howling Blast, since Rime makes it cost nothing
III. Unholy spec
The spec: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVZZfMhhhckgcsMcsut
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Blood Strike 2x -> Scourge Strike -> Unholy Blight -> Scourge Strike 3x -> Death Coil until RP is depleted
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
Blood Strike converts its Blood rune cost into Death runes via Reaping, which you then use for more Scourge Strikes, which fulfills rule #3
Scourge Strike is your primary DPS strike, which fulfills rule #2
Your runic dump is Death Coil, which fulfills rule #4
As with the Frost rotation, Plague Strike and Icy Touch share the same runes as your primary strike, necessitating that you use your secondary strike first while the runes spent on the disease setup gets regenerated.
IV. Dual-wield Tri-spec
The spec: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfV0VZG0ethxdRhoZfM0hxco
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Blood Strike -> Blood Strike -> X -> Death Coil until RP is depleted
If Rime is up and you are in the X part of the rotation, use Howling Blast, since Rime makes it cost nothing. If Rime is not up, use Obliterate
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
The tri-spec does not have any Death Rune talents, which is in violation of rule #3. However, Blood Strike is still used to consume Blood runes, which would otherwise just stay static.
Obliterate during Rime and Howling Blast otherwise is your primary DPS strike, while fulfills rule #2
Your runic dump is Death Coil, which fulfills rule #4
This is a different kind of spec, which leverages three key talents:
Blood-caked Blade, which generates extra 50% weapon strikes (with two diseases active) based on 30% of your auto-attacks
Killing Machine, which increases the crit chance of your next Howling Blast (or Icy Touch or Frost Strike) after an auto-attack crit.
Howling Blast, whose damage is independent of weapon damage, making it an ideal 'strike' for one-handed weapons.
The rest of the talents (Dark Conviction, Bladed Armor, Nerves of Cold Steel, Ravenous Dead, Necrosis and Shadow of Death) are all based around maximizing auto-atack damage.
You will want to use a slow main-hand coupled with a fast off-hand. This is because Blood-caked Blade's extra attacks will use the main-hand's damage, even if it was the off-hand that procced it.
1. Always keep your two diseases up
2. Use your primary DPS strike as often as possible
3. Use your secondary DPS strike to get Death Runes, which feeds back into letting you use rule #2 more often
4. Use a runic dump once rules #2 and #3 fill out your runic power
Real-world application, on a spec-by-spec basis:
I. Blood spec
The spec: http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMqh0IsbRxzAZZfMhhhck
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Heart Strike 2x -> Obliterate -> Death Coil until RP is depleted -> Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Heart Strike 4x -> Death Coil until RP is depleted
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
Heart Strike is your primary DPS strike, which fulfills rule #2
Obliterate converts its Unholy and Frost rune cost into Death runes via Death Rune Mastery, which you then use for more Heart Strikes, which fulfills rule #3
Your runic dump is Death Coil, which fulfills rule #4
II. Frost spec
The spec: http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVZGMxtIxdRhoVosx
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Blood Strike 2x -> Obliterate -> Frost Strike until RP is depleted -> Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Obliterate 2x -> Frost Strike until RP is depleted
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
Blood Strike converts its Blood rune cost into Death runes via Blood of the North, which you then use for more Obliterates, which fulfills rule #3
Obliterate is your primary DPS strike, which fulfills rune #2
Your runic dump is Frost Strike, which fulfills rule #4
In this case, rule #3 comes before rule #2 because Plague Strike and Icy Touch use an Unholy and Frost rune, respectively, which are the same runes needed by Obliterate. You use your secondary strike while you wait for the runes of your primary strike to come back.
If Rime is up and you are in the Frost Strike/Runic dump portion of your rotation, use a Howling Blast, since Rime makes it cost nothing
III. Unholy spec
The spec: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfVMVZZfMhhhckgcsMcsut
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Blood Strike 2x -> Scourge Strike -> Unholy Blight -> Scourge Strike 3x -> Death Coil until RP is depleted
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
Blood Strike converts its Blood rune cost into Death runes via Reaping, which you then use for more Scourge Strikes, which fulfills rule #3
Scourge Strike is your primary DPS strike, which fulfills rule #2
Your runic dump is Death Coil, which fulfills rule #4
As with the Frost rotation, Plague Strike and Icy Touch share the same runes as your primary strike, necessitating that you use your secondary strike first while the runes spent on the disease setup gets regenerated.
IV. Dual-wield Tri-spec
The spec: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=jfV0VZG0ethxdRhoZfM0hxco
Plague Strike -> Icy Touch -> Blood Strike -> Blood Strike -> X -> Death Coil until RP is depleted
If Rime is up and you are in the X part of the rotation, use Howling Blast, since Rime makes it cost nothing. If Rime is not up, use Obliterate
Plague Strike and Icy Touch cast your diseases, which fulfills rule #1
The tri-spec does not have any Death Rune talents, which is in violation of rule #3. However, Blood Strike is still used to consume Blood runes, which would otherwise just stay static.
Obliterate during Rime and Howling Blast otherwise is your primary DPS strike, while fulfills rule #2
Your runic dump is Death Coil, which fulfills rule #4
This is a different kind of spec, which leverages three key talents:
Blood-caked Blade, which generates extra 50% weapon strikes (with two diseases active) based on 30% of your auto-attacks
Killing Machine, which increases the crit chance of your next Howling Blast (or Icy Touch or Frost Strike) after an auto-attack crit.
Howling Blast, whose damage is independent of weapon damage, making it an ideal 'strike' for one-handed weapons.
The rest of the talents (Dark Conviction, Bladed Armor, Nerves of Cold Steel, Ravenous Dead, Necrosis and Shadow of Death) are all based around maximizing auto-atack damage.
You will want to use a slow main-hand coupled with a fast off-hand. This is because Blood-caked Blade's extra attacks will use the main-hand's damage, even if it was the off-hand that procced it.
Death Knight Tanking guide: Uncrittable before Naxx
DK Preraid Itemization for Tanks: a gear guide
by Ragnarök
I've scoured the wowhead databases to come up with the best compilation of preraid available DK gear that I can. First, let me explain my rationale in making these comparisons, because while I'm quite confident in my knowledge of the DK class mechanics, it never hurts to put anything up for peer review.
Let me start by saying that this is NOT a definitive list of raiding requirements. That will be up to guild leadership. What this is is an attempt to share the benefit of my research and experiences with other Death Knights who have raiding and tanking aspirations. Hopefully this will encourage a discussion, because it's really discussions where the best ideas come from.
This list is not intended to list the ultimate gear choices for all slots. It is intended instead to highlight some of the best items available before raid zones. The items on this list are intended to get a Death Knight tank ready for the entry level raids like Naxxramas. Thus the only criteria for inclusion in this list is that the item be obtainable without raiding; heroics, emblems of heroism, tradeskills (that don't require raid zone mats/recipes), and factions are all valid sources for the purpose of this guide. There's also a list of specific enchants to help get where you need to be.
The things you need to be thinking about are--
Uncritablity (540 Defense Skill == 689 Defense Rating): The Defense Rating is what you'll be sacrificing most other important stats for early on, but it's necessary. A tank taking a critical strike is a quick way to wipe a raid. Fortunately, crushing blows are no longer a concern, as a mob has to be 4 levels higher than the player to deliver one.
HP Pool: This is of obvious importance to any tank, but again, as you'll be focusing on obtaining uncritable, it's important to consider how best to maximize Sta/HP without sacrificing defense.
Strength: In addition to being your primary threat generation stat (EVERYTHING scales with AP) strength doubles as an avoidance stat for DKs thanks to the passive ability Forceful Deflection, which adds an amount equal to 25% of total strength to your parry rating.
To sum it up before I get into the actual list, the heirarchy weight I'm using to determine the list looks something like this:
Defense (Until Uncritable) > Sta/Str > Dodge Rating > Parry Rating
Strength is our biggest threat generation stat, but others to consider in making gear choices are Expertise, Haste, and Hit Rating.
Head:
Ground Tremor Helm
Binds when picked up
Head Plate
1760 Armor
+48 Strength
+93 Stamina
Meta Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +12 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 61 (12.4 @ L80).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 37 (1.13% @ L80).
Drops from Moorabi in (H)Gundrak
Enchant: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector
Requires Argent Crusade - Revered
Use: Permanently adds 37 stamina and 20 defense rating to a head slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Neck:
Chained Military Gorget
Binds when picked up
Neck
+41 Strength
+75 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 33 (6.71 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 32 (0.81% @ L80).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 21 (0.64% @ L80).
Costs 25 Emblems in Dalaran
Shoulder:
Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Plate
1625 Armor
+58 Strength
+87 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 36 (7.32 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 40 (0.81% @ L80).
Drops from General Bjarngrim (H)Halls of Lightning
Enchant: Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle
Requires The Sons of Hodir - Exalted (Lesser Inscription will also suffice until you can get Exalted)
Use: Permanently adds 20 dodge rating and 15 defense rating to shoulder armor. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Back:
Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions
Binds when picked up
Back
140 Armor
+31 Strength
+64 Stamina
Requires Level 78
Requires The Wyrmrest Accord - Honored
Equip: Increases defense rating by 43 (10.12 @ L78).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 25 (0.88% @ L78).
Purchased for approx. 20g from Wyrmrest Accord at Honored
Enchant: Enchant Cloak - Titanweave
Permanently enchant a cloak to increase defense rating by 16.
Chest:
Breastplate of the Solemn Council
Binds when picked up
Chest Plate
2166 Armor
+49 Strength
+117 Stamina
Requires The Wyrmrest Accord - Revered
Equip: Increases defense rating by 76 (15.45 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your expertise rating by 56 (6.83 @ L80).
Purchased for approx. 52g from Wyrmrest Accord at Revered
Enchant: Enchant Chest - Greater Defense
Permanently enchant chest armor to increase defense rating by 22.
Wrist:
Bindings of Dark Will
Binds when picked up
Wrist Plate
948 Armor
+42 Strength
+66 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 27 (5.49 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 30 (0.61% @ L80).
Drops from Salramm the Fleshcrafter in (H)CoT: Stratholme
Enchant: Enchant Bracer - Fortitude
Permanently enchant bracers to increase Stamina by 12.
Hands:
Gauntlets of Vigilance
Binds when picked up
Hands Plate
1308 Armor
+51 Strength
+34 Agility
+76 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 34 (8 @ L78).
Reward from The Reckoning in Storm Peaks
Enchant: Enchant Gloves - Armsman
Permanently enchant gloves to increase threat caused by 2% and increase parry rating by 10.
Waist:
Waistguard of the Risen Knight
Binds when equipped
Waist Plate
1218 Armor
+58 Strength
+87 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 42 (8.54 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 33 (0.84% @ L80).
BoE drop in Drak'Tharon Keep
Legs:
Daunting Legplates
Binds when equipped
Legs Plate
1831 Armor
+54 Strength
+93 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 88 (20.71 @ L78).
Created by Blacksmithing
Enchant: Frosthide Leg Armor
Use: Permanently attach frosthide armor onto pants to increase Stamina by 55 and Agility by 22.
Feet:
Sabatons of Draconic Vigor
Binds when picked up
Feet Plate
1489 Armor
+44 Strength
+85 Stamina
Requires The Wyrmrest Accord - Revered
Equip: Increases defense rating by 58 (11.79 @ L80).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 29 (0.88% @ L80).
Purchased for approx. 37g from Wyrmrest Accord at Revered
Enchant: Enchant Boots - Greater Fortitude
Permanently enchant boots to increase Stamina by 22.
Ring1:
Gal'darah's Signet
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Finger
+26 Strength
+54 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 36 (9.81 @ L76).
Equip: Increases your expertise rating by 20 (3.27 @ L76).
Drops from Gal'darah in (N)Gundrak
Ring2:
Dragonflight Great-Ring
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Finger
+26 Strength
+58 Stamina
Requires Level 78
Equip: Increases defense rating by 38 (8.94 @ L78).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 24 (0.85% @ L78).
Drops from Cache of Eregos (N)The Oculus
Trinket1:
Essence of Gossamer
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Trinket
+111 Stamina
Equip: When struck in combat has a chance of shielding you in a protective barrier which will reduces damage from each attack by 140, up to a total of 4000 damage absorbed. Lasts 10 secs.
Drops from Hadronox in (H)Azjol-Nerub
Trinket2:
Seal of the Pantheon
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Trinket
Equip: Increases defense rating by 65 (15.3 @ L78).
Use: Increases armor by 3570 for 20 sec. (2 Min Cooldown)
Drops from Loken in (N)Halls of Lightning
Weapon:
Titansteel Destroyer
Binds when equipped
Unique-Equipped
Two-Hand Mace
507 - 761 Damage Speed 3.40
(186.5 damage per second)
+124 Strength
+105 Stamina
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54 (1.65% @ L80).
Crafted by Blacksmithing
Relic:
Sigil of Haunted Dreams
Binds when picked up
Unique
Relic Sigil
Classes: Death Knight
Equip: Your Blood Strike and Heart Strikes have a chance to grant 173 haste rating for 10 sec.
Costs 15 Emblems in Dalaran
Summary: This set will get you to 705 total Defense Rating including enchants, or a total of 543 defense skill. 540 is the magic number for uncritable, so this gives a little leeway in terms of upgrading your gear as you progress through raid content.
Taken from the WoW Forums post by Ragnarok
by Ragnarök
I've scoured the wowhead databases to come up with the best compilation of preraid available DK gear that I can. First, let me explain my rationale in making these comparisons, because while I'm quite confident in my knowledge of the DK class mechanics, it never hurts to put anything up for peer review.
Let me start by saying that this is NOT a definitive list of raiding requirements. That will be up to guild leadership. What this is is an attempt to share the benefit of my research and experiences with other Death Knights who have raiding and tanking aspirations. Hopefully this will encourage a discussion, because it's really discussions where the best ideas come from.
This list is not intended to list the ultimate gear choices for all slots. It is intended instead to highlight some of the best items available before raid zones. The items on this list are intended to get a Death Knight tank ready for the entry level raids like Naxxramas. Thus the only criteria for inclusion in this list is that the item be obtainable without raiding; heroics, emblems of heroism, tradeskills (that don't require raid zone mats/recipes), and factions are all valid sources for the purpose of this guide. There's also a list of specific enchants to help get where you need to be.
The things you need to be thinking about are--
Uncritablity (540 Defense Skill == 689 Defense Rating): The Defense Rating is what you'll be sacrificing most other important stats for early on, but it's necessary. A tank taking a critical strike is a quick way to wipe a raid. Fortunately, crushing blows are no longer a concern, as a mob has to be 4 levels higher than the player to deliver one.
HP Pool: This is of obvious importance to any tank, but again, as you'll be focusing on obtaining uncritable, it's important to consider how best to maximize Sta/HP without sacrificing defense.
Strength: In addition to being your primary threat generation stat (EVERYTHING scales with AP) strength doubles as an avoidance stat for DKs thanks to the passive ability Forceful Deflection, which adds an amount equal to 25% of total strength to your parry rating.
To sum it up before I get into the actual list, the heirarchy weight I'm using to determine the list looks something like this:
Defense (Until Uncritable) > Sta/Str > Dodge Rating > Parry Rating
Strength is our biggest threat generation stat, but others to consider in making gear choices are Expertise, Haste, and Hit Rating.
Head:
Ground Tremor Helm
Binds when picked up
Head Plate
1760 Armor
+48 Strength
+93 Stamina
Meta Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +12 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 61 (12.4 @ L80).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 37 (1.13% @ L80).
Drops from Moorabi in (H)Gundrak
Enchant: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector
Requires Argent Crusade - Revered
Use: Permanently adds 37 stamina and 20 defense rating to a head slot item. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Neck:
Chained Military Gorget
Binds when picked up
Neck
+41 Strength
+75 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 33 (6.71 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 32 (0.81% @ L80).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 21 (0.64% @ L80).
Costs 25 Emblems in Dalaran
Shoulder:
Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Plate
1625 Armor
+58 Strength
+87 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 36 (7.32 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 40 (0.81% @ L80).
Drops from General Bjarngrim (H)Halls of Lightning
Enchant: Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle
Requires The Sons of Hodir - Exalted (Lesser Inscription will also suffice until you can get Exalted)
Use: Permanently adds 20 dodge rating and 15 defense rating to shoulder armor. Does not stack with other enchantments for the selected equipment slot.
Back:
Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions
Binds when picked up
Back
140 Armor
+31 Strength
+64 Stamina
Requires Level 78
Requires The Wyrmrest Accord - Honored
Equip: Increases defense rating by 43 (10.12 @ L78).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 25 (0.88% @ L78).
Purchased for approx. 20g from Wyrmrest Accord at Honored
Enchant: Enchant Cloak - Titanweave
Permanently enchant a cloak to increase defense rating by 16.
Chest:
Breastplate of the Solemn Council
Binds when picked up
Chest Plate
2166 Armor
+49 Strength
+117 Stamina
Requires The Wyrmrest Accord - Revered
Equip: Increases defense rating by 76 (15.45 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your expertise rating by 56 (6.83 @ L80).
Purchased for approx. 52g from Wyrmrest Accord at Revered
Enchant: Enchant Chest - Greater Defense
Permanently enchant chest armor to increase defense rating by 22.
Wrist:
Bindings of Dark Will
Binds when picked up
Wrist Plate
948 Armor
+42 Strength
+66 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 27 (5.49 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 30 (0.61% @ L80).
Drops from Salramm the Fleshcrafter in (H)CoT: Stratholme
Enchant: Enchant Bracer - Fortitude
Permanently enchant bracers to increase Stamina by 12.
Hands:
Gauntlets of Vigilance
Binds when picked up
Hands Plate
1308 Armor
+51 Strength
+34 Agility
+76 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 34 (8 @ L78).
Reward from The Reckoning in Storm Peaks
Enchant: Enchant Gloves - Armsman
Permanently enchant gloves to increase threat caused by 2% and increase parry rating by 10.
Waist:
Waistguard of the Risen Knight
Binds when equipped
Waist Plate
1218 Armor
+58 Strength
+87 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 42 (8.54 @ L80).
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 33 (0.84% @ L80).
BoE drop in Drak'Tharon Keep
Legs:
Daunting Legplates
Binds when equipped
Legs Plate
1831 Armor
+54 Strength
+93 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 88 (20.71 @ L78).
Created by Blacksmithing
Enchant: Frosthide Leg Armor
Use: Permanently attach frosthide armor onto pants to increase Stamina by 55 and Agility by 22.
Feet:
Sabatons of Draconic Vigor
Binds when picked up
Feet Plate
1489 Armor
+44 Strength
+85 Stamina
Requires The Wyrmrest Accord - Revered
Equip: Increases defense rating by 58 (11.79 @ L80).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 29 (0.88% @ L80).
Purchased for approx. 37g from Wyrmrest Accord at Revered
Enchant: Enchant Boots - Greater Fortitude
Permanently enchant boots to increase Stamina by 22.
Ring1:
Gal'darah's Signet
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Finger
+26 Strength
+54 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 36 (9.81 @ L76).
Equip: Increases your expertise rating by 20 (3.27 @ L76).
Drops from Gal'darah in (N)Gundrak
Ring2:
Dragonflight Great-Ring
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Finger
+26 Strength
+58 Stamina
Requires Level 78
Equip: Increases defense rating by 38 (8.94 @ L78).
Equip: Improves hit rating by 24 (0.85% @ L78).
Drops from Cache of Eregos (N)The Oculus
Trinket1:
Essence of Gossamer
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Trinket
+111 Stamina
Equip: When struck in combat has a chance of shielding you in a protective barrier which will reduces damage from each attack by 140, up to a total of 4000 damage absorbed. Lasts 10 secs.
Drops from Hadronox in (H)Azjol-Nerub
Trinket2:
Seal of the Pantheon
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped
Trinket
Equip: Increases defense rating by 65 (15.3 @ L78).
Use: Increases armor by 3570 for 20 sec. (2 Min Cooldown)
Drops from Loken in (N)Halls of Lightning
Weapon:
Titansteel Destroyer
Binds when equipped
Unique-Equipped
Two-Hand Mace
507 - 761 Damage Speed 3.40
(186.5 damage per second)
+124 Strength
+105 Stamina
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54 (1.65% @ L80).
Crafted by Blacksmithing
Relic:
Sigil of Haunted Dreams
Binds when picked up
Unique
Relic Sigil
Classes: Death Knight
Equip: Your Blood Strike and Heart Strikes have a chance to grant 173 haste rating for 10 sec.
Costs 15 Emblems in Dalaran
Summary: This set will get you to 705 total Defense Rating including enchants, or a total of 543 defense skill. 540 is the magic number for uncritable, so this gives a little leeway in terms of upgrading your gear as you progress through raid content.
Taken from the WoW Forums post by Ragnarok
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
