Comments on: Protection Paladin Tanking Mitigation Vs. Avoidance

By: Agorg

Agorg — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:33:17 +0000

Make sure Divine Plea is up at all times. Make sure one of your paladins is judging Wisdom in your group.

The only time mana ever becomes an issue. For me is on encounters like Grand Widow Fererlina, achievement, when all my adds are dead and I’m attacking the boss while the MT is the only one getting hit and healed, and even then I still have enough to build asignificant threat lead in case he goes down.

By: Agorg

Agorg — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:25:40 +0000

If you want to increase the damage you deal make sure to pick ip items that have block VALUE over block rating. With talents you block rating is usually very high anyways so it’ reallyblock value that will have a greater impact.

Notable items include Levanthor’s Talisman (Trinket) from Levanthor in Violet Hold and the Skull of Ruin (shield) in Naxx 10. From the top of my head.

To find a more detailed list you can search Wowhead.com for Plate gear items of level >199 that have >0 block value and sort by category (gloves, boots, etc)

One thing’s for sure you will most definately raise your DPS significantly. My paladin can clock in at 2750 DPS while tanking adds on Razorscale and XT-002 in 25 Ulduar … (remember I’m a TANK, not DPS here)

By: Wayde

Wayde — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:38:24 +0000

I’m so glad the mitigation tank is getting this boost. I have a paly tank and hate avoidance tanking. I much prefer the steady stream of damage because it also helps in my mana regeneration. For those who have not played the paly class before, we get mana when we are healed. As a tank, I don’t have much mana to start and easily go out of mana when I’m not getting hit, so for my style of play, I’ve always found mitigation tanking to be preferable over avoidance. Can’t wait for the patch.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:51:51 +0000

What are some ways to increase block?

Are there some “must-have” items that have previously been passed over in the 3.1 era that will become much better in 3.2?

By: Thram

Thram — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:04:30 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree with the statement that tanks should have two (or more!) sets of gear. Every encounter requires a specific build/gear set and it’s our job as tanks to be prepared.

However, on most (if not all hard-mode) avoidance is still key to survival as a tank, even with the buff to block value. A quick glance at an armory search for items with >0 block value turns up some interesting results. After adding them up and factoring in the strength conversion, I come up with under just over 3k worth of block value after doubling the currently displayed +block values on the items (not shields). (Armory is a bit funky sometimes, so I may have missed some items. Please let me know if I have.)

This means that even with the buff to block you’re still only taking ~3k off of a hit that can wax you for 22k – 25k. It’s not nothing, to be sure, but avoidance is still the surest way (if not the quite as cheap itemization wise) for a tank to live.

50% block is certainly well within the realm of possibility for either warriors or paladins. It’s also quite easy to get +45% in avoidance at the same time. In terms of keeping your healers happy, this means that you’ll avoid a lot of melee attacks and the ones that DO hit you will hit for a lot less.

*I posted this in reply to another post earlier, but this is a very insightful look into the new calculation of avoidance stats:
http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f14/52401-parry-dodge-change-question.html

By: Xish

Xish — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:37:12 +0000

Awesome series of articles! I actually just recently switched from Holy to Prot and was looking for something just like this. Thanks for taking the time!

By: James M

James M — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:36:26 +0000

Pally tanks will be able to survive back to back hatefuls a minimum of once ever 2 min come 3.2. http://ptr.wowhead.com/?spell=31852 What this means is that you take one hateful, and most tanks will be near the ardent defender range, bad tanks might be pretty far into it. However, even if you take another one, you get a "Guardian Spirit" type move built into our core tanking ability here. You could be at 100hp and take the hateful, and instead of dying you'll be brought to 30%. The way i understand the defense mechanic part of it is that if you have the 540 you will get the 30%. I completely agree with agorg's last statement here too. If you are a new tank of any type, and your starting up with heroics or regular dungeons...ask your healer after the run how you were to heal. You may find many times they will tell you a few specific things that are fairly easy to fix that you can do to make their life easier.