Hey all. I'm looking for a review of my gear, and possibly playstyle/priority of how I play. I'm one my guild's main tanks, so I'm always looking to stay sharp, especially since we're just now accruing enough geared players to enter raids.
Per another thread in this forum, it had occurred to me that I wasn't keeping Frost Fever up on bosses, so that's a noob error I'll correct. Considering that, this is my priority/rotation on a boss:
[START ROTATION: Outbreak > Blood Boil > Heart Strike (to raise Blade Barrier)] > Death Strike > wait for one Blood Rune to come up > Rune Strike dump (forcing U/F rune procs) > Re-apply Frost Fever as necessary, refreshing Blade Barrier, yada yada.
As far as my gear goes, I've been told that Mastery is a priority over avoidance, so my gear has been altered accordingly. I hear conflicting reports about gemming Stam vs Mastery, considering that DKs are presently being hit much harder than any other tank class/spec. I'd like specific feedback on that, if possible.
Other than that, an overall opinion of where I can improve my gear, any tips or tricks, whatever you can say that'll make me more effective would be greatly appreciated! After that, please do highjack this thread as a "rate the above DK" thread, as I'd love to see what others are doing, specifically tanks where possible.
All the best,
Gaff
WHY WILL NO ONE LOVE ME
Saturday, April 21, 2012
How important is mastery to blood now?
with the new blood shield how important is mastery to DK tanks now?
same as always.
edit: because i know someone will pipe up... There's a certain level of gear where theoretically we'd be stacking up to 100% shields constantly. when that happens mastery will be devalued. until then, nothing's changed.
I've always considered it pretty important but then again I don't do heroic 25mans. (yet?)
The on-demand mitigation is amazing, it stacks now so you can be a little less picky about waiting until your shield pops before putting another on (if you're raid-tanking then it's not really an issue at most times anyways, but still), and it's more fun in my opinion.
There is no reason to cookie cutter yourself quite yet since both avoidance and mastery are viable (and arguably close in effectiveness) ways to build a DK Tank even still.
I just wish I didn't need to Lichborne heal. I don't "like" it. It feels off.
I don't use lichborne and do fine.
thx for the speedy answers...on another note is it still advisable for deseaseless tanking with the new changes?
if we can get by with out then virulence is pretty worthless.
(does any1 remember what the old crimson scourge talent read?)
use outbreak.
there's really no where else to put points but virulence.
Personally, since we have 2 constant raiding dk's. I will be reapplying scarlet fever via BP once every minute by BT + PS to get a free one. Outbreak should be up to reapply again. Frost Fever will be taken care of by the DPS.
thx again :)
same as always.
edit: because i know someone will pipe up... There's a certain level of gear where theoretically we'd be stacking up to 100% shields constantly. when that happens mastery will be devalued. until then, nothing's changed.
I've always considered it pretty important but then again I don't do heroic 25mans. (yet?)
The on-demand mitigation is amazing, it stacks now so you can be a little less picky about waiting until your shield pops before putting another on (if you're raid-tanking then it's not really an issue at most times anyways, but still), and it's more fun in my opinion.
There is no reason to cookie cutter yourself quite yet since both avoidance and mastery are viable (and arguably close in effectiveness) ways to build a DK Tank even still.
I just wish I didn't need to Lichborne heal. I don't "like" it. It feels off.
I don't use lichborne and do fine.
thx for the speedy answers...on another note is it still advisable for deseaseless tanking with the new changes?
if we can get by with out then virulence is pretty worthless.
(does any1 remember what the old crimson scourge talent read?)
use outbreak.
there's really no where else to put points but virulence.
Personally, since we have 2 constant raiding dk's. I will be reapplying scarlet fever via BP once every minute by BT + PS to get a free one. Outbreak should be up to reapply again. Frost Fever will be taken care of by the DPS.
thx again :)
Beginner Frost Death Knight.
Hello everyone, I'm a new player to WoW started about 2 months ago, or about the time that Cataclysm was realeased. I have a few questions about Frost Death Knights.
I have another alt, he is a level 41 enhancement shaman. I leveled him, because my real life friend recommended for me to play a shaman. And I have a level 60 DK atm. I was wondering which is more viable in PvP? I find them both equally fun, so that will be the deal breaker for me.
What sucks about my frost DK atm is, I run into a battle and I die like quick, cause no self heals ;(
Lichborne+deathcoil=heals
I have another alt, he is a level 41 enhancement shaman. I leveled him, because my real life friend recommended for me to play a shaman. And I have a level 60 DK atm. I was wondering which is more viable in PvP? I find them both equally fun, so that will be the deal breaker for me.
What sucks about my frost DK atm is, I run into a battle and I die like quick, cause no self heals ;(
Lichborne+deathcoil=heals
DK Tanking Gear Advice
Hello all! After a recent 6 month hiatus, I have decided to dust off my little death knight and get back to playing. After a month or so, I've gotten him to 80 and put some nice gear on him. However, after getting bored of constant 15k crits, I've decided I want to play a tank. The problem I have however, is I have absolutely zero tank gear. I can buy some wyrmcrest accord rep blues, put on my Ironsoul and start tanking that way, or keep using my current gear which has higher stamina but zero dodge/parry. Can someone tell me how or where I should start gearing up my tank and good places to go?
Thanks in advance!
Also, any advice on glyphs, spec, reforging, gear stat priority would be greatly appreciated!
PS. Please no "cataclysm out in 10 days" I am aware of this
Queue as DPS and spend your JPs on 251 Tier gear and work your way down the vendors (Frost Emblem vendor > Triumph > Conquest etc). That is, if you really must do it. You'll be much better served simply saving JPs for 85 (sorry, had to).
At this stage in the expansion, I'd say forget it. Anything you get will be replaced instantly in a little more than a week.
I know you want to get involved in tanking, but I have to agree that anything you get now will be replaced once level 85 becomes available. And, yeah, that does make any Justice Point purchases at level 80 a waste.
EDIT: I just looked at the items you have.... you could probably get away with tanking heroics just with that, so long as you have the right spec and a 2-hander to use.
i'm in the same boat i have t9 tanking and dps gear i am just waiting til cata for new tanking and dps gear its not worth the time to queue as dps. you may want to spend your time farming gold and buying flight mastery for the extra 30% mounted speed.
It's simple really.
Since the only way to Tank something is to make sure you're hitting it, prioritize gear with +Hit and +Expertise on it (up until you're 8%/26 respectively). Since Blood Shield is a significant source of damage mitigation (your second job - not die from the boss hitting you), this places even more of an emphasis on Hit/Expertise gear.
Outside of that, you should know that currently, Healers have infinite mana. Therefore, Avoidance takes a back seat to flat mitigation (Armor). If you're looking at a piece of gear and it has more Armor on it than the current piece, and you're Hit/Expertise capped, you'll generally want it. If significant Armor is lost for a gain in Avoidance, it's probably best to keep that for an off-set.
After that it's just making sure you maintain these caps and keep your Mastery and Armor up, and that's all there is.
Certain fights favor certain gear sets. Since you asked for simple advice (if I'm reading correctly), I'll let you find that on your own later on.
172 is the expertise soft cap now, it still has a value past that point but is largely diminished.
This.
In 10 days you can get full T10, all the extra gear from the vendors and be back at JP cap for 85.
Thanks in advance!
Also, any advice on glyphs, spec, reforging, gear stat priority would be greatly appreciated!
PS. Please no "cataclysm out in 10 days" I am aware of this
Hello all! After a recent 6 month hiatus, I have decided to dust off my little death knight and get back to playing. After a month or so, I've gotten him to 80 and put some nice gear on him. However, after getting bored of constant 15k crits, I've decided I want to play a tank. The problem I have however, is I have absolutely zero tank gear. I can buy some wyrmcrest accord rep blues, put on my Ironsoul and start tanking that way, or keep using my current gear which has higher stamina but zero dodge/parry. Can someone tell me how or where I should start gearing up my tank and good places to go?
Thanks in advance!
Also, any advice on glyphs, spec, reforging, gear stat priority would be greatly appreciated!
PS. Please no "cataclysm out in 10 days" I am aware of this
Queue as DPS and spend your JPs on 251 Tier gear and work your way down the vendors (Frost Emblem vendor > Triumph > Conquest etc). That is, if you really must do it. You'll be much better served simply saving JPs for 85 (sorry, had to).
At this stage in the expansion, I'd say forget it. Anything you get will be replaced instantly in a little more than a week.
I know you want to get involved in tanking, but I have to agree that anything you get now will be replaced once level 85 becomes available. And, yeah, that does make any Justice Point purchases at level 80 a waste.
EDIT: I just looked at the items you have.... you could probably get away with tanking heroics just with that, so long as you have the right spec and a 2-hander to use.
i'm in the same boat i have t9 tanking and dps gear i am just waiting til cata for new tanking and dps gear its not worth the time to queue as dps. you may want to spend your time farming gold and buying flight mastery for the extra 30% mounted speed.
I just turned 80 on this dk, though leveled as tank. It's near impossible trying to justify waiting a week while I'm rolling around in 1.8kgs. The hardest part for me, and this is readily apparent for all the other classes, is trying to differentiate the good info for starting gear, versus theorycrafting for those with nice gear and their corresponding tactics. I'll just keep on-a-readin...
It's simple really.
Since the only way to Tank something is to make sure you're hitting it, prioritize gear with +Hit and +Expertise on it (up until you're 8%/26 respectively). Since Blood Shield is a significant source of damage mitigation (your second job - not die from the boss hitting you), this places even more of an emphasis on Hit/Expertise gear.
Outside of that, you should know that currently, Healers have infinite mana. Therefore, Avoidance takes a back seat to flat mitigation (Armor). If you're looking at a piece of gear and it has more Armor on it than the current piece, and you're Hit/Expertise capped, you'll generally want it. If significant Armor is lost for a gain in Avoidance, it's probably best to keep that for an off-set.
After that it's just making sure you maintain these caps and keep your Mastery and Armor up, and that's all there is.
Certain fights favor certain gear sets. Since you asked for simple advice (if I'm reading correctly), I'll let you find that on your own later on.
[quote]
Since the only way to Tank something is to make sure you're hitting it, prioritize gear with +Hit and +Expertise on it (up until you're 8%/26 respectively)
172 is the expertise soft cap now, it still has a value past that point but is largely diminished.
Queue as DPS and spend your JPs on 251 Tier gear and work your way down the vendors (Frost Emblem vendor > Triumph > Conquest etc). That is, if you really must do it. You'll be much better served simply saving JPs for 85 (sorry, had to).
This.
In 10 days you can get full T10, all the extra gear from the vendors and be back at JP cap for 85.
Should frost dks duel wield?
I have a frost Death knight with a 5.4gs hes an alt don't really play him but I would like to know if I should duel wield or use a 2h? I would like a lot of opinions.
http://elitistjerks.com/f72/t105701-frost_dps_cataclysm_larger_than_life/#Generalized_Spec
How many opinions? So many opinions!
Either is fine if setup right(see the above link for that info)
Dw unholy will work @ 85 although blizz doesn't want it to(and will probably break it in the future).
Dw blood is bad even though it's still supported by runeforges
DW win's by 10% so if you want to be serious play DW if you want to have fun and be inferior just for the sake of liking a 2h wep go 2H.
DW UH wins over DW Frost and 2H UH by 5% and beats 2H frost by 15%
So now you have the numbers how you want to play and how competitive you want to be will make your final decision.
http://elitistjerks.com/f72/t105701-frost_dps_cataclysm_larger_than_life/#Generalized_Spec
How many opinions? So many opinions!
Either is fine if setup right(see the above link for that info)
Dw unholy will work @ 85 although blizz doesn't want it to(and will probably break it in the future).
Dw blood is bad even though it's still supported by runeforges
I have a frost Death knight with a 5.4gs hes an alt don't really play him but I would like to know if I should duel wield or use a 2h? I would like a lot of opinions.
DW win's by 10% so if you want to be serious play DW if you want to have fun and be inferior just for the sake of liking a 2h wep go 2H.
DW UH wins over DW Frost and 2H UH by 5% and beats 2H frost by 15%
So now you have the numbers how you want to play and how competitive you want to be will make your final decision.
New to death knights, Question.
I'm making a tanking death knight and my current rotation as is follows.
icy touch>plauge strike>Blood boil>>pestilence>D&D>then random heart striking and rune strikes.
I'm guessing my rotation is way off what is too be used, could someone gear me in the right direction?
Thank you.
Start with DnD>BB for Scarlet fever and then spam HS and use DS to get death runes. Also Rune Strike is on the GCD now so it can't be macro'd to your skills. I Usually tab HS and RS every target at least once since RS is crazy threat and is now available to us all the time.
Diseases are close to useless right now for tanking (at least in 5 mans) since Dps will never give you the chance to apply them and they deal insanely low damage better off using the runes on another DS.
In all honesty I have found, for me at least, that diseaseless tanking does more tps than using diseases, and yes that means single target too, though Im not sure if that is because of my gear or not.
For groups of adds I usually start with 2 BB then blood tap, heart strikes tab target rune strikes, (death strikes when needed for healing)
If the group has more than 3 adds I start with D&D
For single target Ill start with Heart Strike and BB (for the debuff) watch my health for death strike use throughout the fight) Blood Tap for more heart strikes and runic power dump with RS.
This usually keeps mobs on me quite well, and single target when the boss is on me no one will pass my threat
Diseases, at least for me, will be applied for me more often once we get Outbreak
But again like I said I dont know how dependent diseaseless tanking is on good gear
EDIT: DRW I save as a defensive cooldown or if a dps is getting near me in threat
The only time I use full diseases is in massive AoE situations where my Crimson Scourge actually earns its keep, and I use both diseases on bosses when I have Dancing Rune Weapon up for the extra dps of double-stacking my diseases. The DRW's diseases don't do anywhere close to 50% of the damage of my normal ones, more like 75% or better, probably a scaling thing.
icy touch>plauge strike>Blood boil>>pestilence>D&D>then random heart striking and rune strikes.
I'm guessing my rotation is way off what is too be used, could someone gear me in the right direction?
Thank you.
Start with DnD>BB for Scarlet fever and then spam HS and use DS to get death runes. Also Rune Strike is on the GCD now so it can't be macro'd to your skills. I Usually tab HS and RS every target at least once since RS is crazy threat and is now available to us all the time.
Diseases are close to useless right now for tanking (at least in 5 mans) since Dps will never give you the chance to apply them and they deal insanely low damage better off using the runes on another DS.
In all honesty I have found, for me at least, that diseaseless tanking does more tps than using diseases, and yes that means single target too, though Im not sure if that is because of my gear or not.
For groups of adds I usually start with 2 BB then blood tap, heart strikes tab target rune strikes, (death strikes when needed for healing)
If the group has more than 3 adds I start with D&D
For single target Ill start with Heart Strike and BB (for the debuff) watch my health for death strike use throughout the fight) Blood Tap for more heart strikes and runic power dump with RS.
This usually keeps mobs on me quite well, and single target when the boss is on me no one will pass my threat
Diseases, at least for me, will be applied for me more often once we get Outbreak
But again like I said I dont know how dependent diseaseless tanking is on good gear
EDIT: DRW I save as a defensive cooldown or if a dps is getting near me in threat
The only time I use full diseases is in massive AoE situations where my Crimson Scourge actually earns its keep, and I use both diseases on bosses when I have Dancing Rune Weapon up for the extra dps of double-stacking my diseases. The DRW's diseases don't do anywhere close to 50% of the damage of my normal ones, more like 75% or better, probably a scaling thing.
Icebound Fortitude used to get out of stuns?
I am wondering when this is going to happen cause as a death knight i am finding myself getting stun-locked and thinking oh my IBF would make me immune to it for the duration! :D
but sadly i end up getting killed by chain stuns. when are we gonna get the ability to use that move to get us out of stuns?
I"ve been saying it for awhile. Warriors can break them and so can Paladins. For whatever reason we have to have RP (Unless we are blood) and predict ahead of time that a rogue is going to come up behind us. If we pop it early its clearly visible that we popped it and it has a long CD. People just wait it out and then stun us. Its almost a useless non blood skill now.
Deleted by Tkdpunkk
but sadly i end up getting killed by chain stuns. when are we gonna get the ability to use that move to get us out of stuns?
I"ve been saying it for awhile. Warriors can break them and so can Paladins. For whatever reason we have to have RP (Unless we are blood) and predict ahead of time that a rogue is going to come up behind us. If we pop it early its clearly visible that we popped it and it has a long CD. People just wait it out and then stun us. Its almost a useless non blood skill now.
Deleted by Tkdpunkk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)