VP gear is a little different this time around. With tier being raid-only, all slots have some kind of VP offset piece you can purchase. Some are good, some are bad, many are crap. To help decide, here’s a list of everything broken down with their CTC values. Pieces with threat stats were assumed to be reforged to the best choice, and pieces with dodge and parry had the higher value reforged to mastery. Gem sockets are listed, but I didn’t include them in the calculations.
- Chestplate of the Unshakeable Titan (3.08%) [2]
- Gauntlets of Feathery Blows (1.83%) [1]
- Stoutheart Talisman (1.90%) [1]
- Bladeshatter Treads (3.05%) [2]
- Jaw of Repudiation (4.00%) [2]
- Forgesmelter Waistplate (4.07%) [2]
- Bracers of Unrelenting Excellence (2.49%) [0]
- Guardspike Choker (3.21%) [0]
- Indefatigable Greatcloak (2.20%) [1]
- Signet of the Resolute (2.35%) [1]
- Fire of the Deep (5.75%) [0]
Personally, my pick order will probably be:
- Stoutheart Talisman
- Bladeshatter Treads
- Signet of the Resolute
- Guardspike Choker
- Foresmelter Waistplate
- Chestplate of Unshakable Titans
And the rest are crap, except for the trinket which could be situationally useful. (Side note: all the socket bonuses are +avoidance! Ugh.)
I worked out the numbers of what CTC and stamina my current pieces give and compared that to the new VP pieces. The pick order I chose is based on what are the biggest upgrades for me (though bottom of the list is mostly stamina upgrades). Your mileage may vary, and I expect this to change based on what upgrades I get in Dragon Soul.
Wait, I’m confused. Even with the on use instead of a proc, that trinket looks wonderful.
Of course, my loladin never did more than a couple bosses in firelands, so she’s still wearing the BOE trinket from there along with her Mirror. My warrior has the spindle from Beth and the mirror – he never got very far into Firelands either.
@Rhidach
I’m always wary of clicky dodge trinkets, though they do have their situational uses. I should amend the designation of it as crap, it’s not, but I’m not sure I’d go for it. I’m trying to shed mastery, an additional 458 won’t be super helpful! haha
Ah, yeah, I’ve been huntering and then rogueing mostly, so my tanks have gotten behind on mastery.
I also have a dirty secret – when it comes to tanking, I like having more cooldowns.
Uh, as long as the static bit is also good. Some of the trinkets have had pretty awful static bits.
You can always reforge it to other avoidances and make up the shortfall elsewhere. High avoidance is actually preferrable on Morchak and Blackhorn, because you can dodge the application of the armor debuff.
The Renaissance Man\’s last [type] ..Blizzard, Forum Angst, and the Confluence of Events
The boots and bracers are BoE, so I won’t be spending my own valor points on them. That’s what I have moderately geared alts for. And dungeons are so fast so far this week I’m already valor capped on one alt and halfway there on the other.
@Rhidach
I really suspect I’m not going to get most of these, once I get a chance to look at the raid drops in total and check out their stats in depth. Then my valor points are going to my Conquest Point Fund, to buy me that amazing arena gear for transmog.
Ultraxion drops http://www.wowhead.com/item=77246 Stillheart Warboots, which are dodge/parry. But if you’re dumping mastery for avoidance, the valor boots will be nicer.
@Rhidach
Hawt. Probably go for those over VP. In the end I’d rather have too much mastery and need to reforge it than not enough.
durr – parry/mastery. the valor boots are dodge/parry.
@PinkRaidFrames
Rhidach, how ya feeling about this gear vs. the tier gear at the moment?
Obviously CTC coverage benefits aside I’m not super jazzed about the tier bonuses.
Yet, I feel like they are going to be very beneficial because the tank bonuses are so similar it makes me feel that Blizzard has designed encounters around them, or vice versa.
@Rhidach
Ultraxion screams “designed for tank 4pc”, for sure.
I’m ok with the tier bonuses. I like that the 2pc is a mitigation bonus — I can’t remember the last time it wasn’t some threat freebie. And the 4pc is uninspired but pretty still handy. I’ve made my peace with them, neither is certainly “bad” on the merits. Just okay. Except for Ultraxion.
Just looking at the numbers and the listing in the dungeon journals, it looks like Zon’ozz, Yor’sahj, Ultraxion, and Blackhorn are all going to have situations on Heroic where the tanking 4pc will be a godsend.
The Renaissance Man\’s last [type] ..Patch 4.3: Dragon Soul – First Impressions
On an unrelated note, as a fellow Blood Knight I was disappointed to see that you, perhaps the foremost spokesman for our brotherhood, are not representing with a Blood Knight set for transmog. You cut me deep, Rhidach. You cut me real deep.
I for one was really disappointed to find out that I am not allowed to transmog the said set for my tankadin. :(
You can get it, or at least a look alike – you just use tempered inferno for gloves, boots, chest, and legs,(from the VP vendor in Shat)and another belt the same vendor sells, Dark Iron shoulders (BS recipe, lvl 52 or so), then the Blood Knight Shield and Cloak (cloak is VP purchase, again in Shat, shield is drop from Heroic Ramps.
I actually used tech mech shoulders or something like that, a quest drop form Area 52. Works just as well. Wish I hadn’t logged out in healing gear last night.
Big thanks for the tip, I wasn’t aware of the inferno tempered set nor the mech tech shoulders. It doesn’t have quite the same shade of color as the lvl 60 pvp gear, but at least it resembles a blood knight. Cheers!
How does the DPS ring, Ring of Torment, shape up for a paladin? It has higher CTC than the Firelands rings for a warrior, and I would have figured that it would fare similarly for paladins.
Button\’s last [type] ..Patch 4.3 VP Picks (For Warriors)
I see your pick order does not include Indefatigable Greatcloak?
Iceward Cloak is the only other 4.3 tanking cloak I am aware of, what will you be doing for this slot?