Why 20+ defence on shield?

[Sempx]

Hello!

I've been playing as a tankadin since early tbc. In tbc we only had one decent shield enchant which was 18+ stamina. There was some crappy block thing too but yeah ..
Anyways.
Nowdays everyone is enchanting their shields with 20+ defense rating, why is that?
I still prefer to enchant my shield with 18+ stamina.
I know it gives some avoidance but if you are defense capped and got the 102.40% avoidance, what's wrong with giving the shield 18+ stamina?

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet ... hwind+Gale

[hoho]

It's just the difference between raw item budget.

Basically 30stam = 20 def
18stam = ~11.7 def

Obviously for raw EH fights stam is better but for overall balance def gives you more value in terms of itemization points.

[Sempx]

Alright. Thanks

[macadadude]

I also find that the gear I get lately is very light on defense and heavy on avoidance so the def on shield really helps out.

[Worldie]

Actually i'm experiencing the opposite problem: I got 550+ defense without a single defense gem/enchant on gear. I even enchanted 45 stam on helm, 18 stam on shield and 30 stam on shoulders and i'm still overcapped...

[Snake-Aes]

Since it' not a cap, it's not a problem by itself =P Just be glad you don't have to worry about the minimum value!

[kanst]

I am absolutely loving being over 540 defense. It makes new gear so much better knowing that you wont have to reshuffle enchants to fit the piece in. Atm full raid buffed I am sitting at around 551 def, ~60% dodge+parry+miss and 51k health

[Gamingdevil]

You have awefully low defense I'm sitting at 571.

[Macktruck]

If I used +def enchants instead of armor to cloak, health to chest, 30 stam to shoulders and what not, I'd also be at 570 def.

At this point, it's overall just better to enchant stam to shield. BUT, makes sure to follow the enchant and gemming guide over in the gear section. When you want to replace +def enchants, it gives you the correct order and when to replace those enchants if you so desire.