I'm ready for Kara and heroics...i think

Or maybe not

You would be doing me a great favor to critique my pally.

In the past 3 weeks I've had some very fortunate gear drops and just really accelerated my abilities...and along with that, the expectatations of my guildees and friends to tank kara and the heroics.

I've tanked all the instances now...some i still have a few things to work out. But I can trapse through Shattered Halls now like a knife through butter. What can I expect with how I'm currently geared and spec'd in heroic modes?

On the spec side...I dont see much discussion on Imp Ret aura. Have I reached the point where I've 'grown out of it'? And Imp Hammer of Justice....I dont get it...seems like wasted pts imo. And i'm embarrissed to say but I've never used that Avenger's Shield...it appears I've missed alot on that ability.


Thanks for any input in advance....Glad I stumbled across this forum; I can see where I'm going to be doing alot of my research from here on

Dwarfskinner
Garona
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Ok, first up you need to get a Defense of 490 total to be immune to critical hits (if you're only going to be doing heroics or off-tanking in Kara, then you can make do with 485). The rest of your gear isn't bad, and you'll probably do fine in heroics at least.

Your health could use an upgrade as well though. If you're KoT revered, get the sword from there over the one you're using atm, the extra stamina is invaluable. Also, try to get a clefthide armor patch on your leggings, and replace all the gems with +12 Stamina gems. In fact I'd say if you're serious about raiding/heroics, then replace all your gems, irrespective of color with stamina ones. Stamina is the one thing that Paladin tanks really lack.

If you're going to be maintanking in Karazhan, then you need to become immune to Crushing Blows asap. There's a long article about tanking gear here, but here's the important bit:

I've been trying to get my defense rating up which is the reason for the +def socketed gems. Are you saying its wiser to make def secondary to improving stamina?

Also curious as to what you think about using the Rightous set...I have all but the helm and was considering loading it up with +spell dmg for ao grinding. Is the set viable for tanking?

Thx again


Dwarfskinner
Garona
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Stamina's important for Heroics and Karazahn both, and you'll find that Defense becomes more common as you go along. Being a Paladin Tank in raid instances is a constant balancing act, you need:

1. Enough Defense to be uncrittable.
2. Enough Avoidance to be uncrushable.
3. Stamina stacked elsewhere.

Gems help. Stack avoidance/defense gems whilst you need them and then replace them with Stamina gems when you have enough defense and avoidance to do so. Things like the ring from the Black Morass quest can really help boost your avoidance early on, although you pay the price in Sta.

I'd personally go for the Felsteel Helm and Gloves over what you're using atm. You should be able to get both cheap at the AH, and they have more Stamina, Defense and gem slots to stack more of the same. See if you can get a Cloak of Eternity made as well, or just farm Steamvault endlessly for the Devilshark Cape.

As for the Righteous set, I use it mainly for Aoe Grinding and "DPS" these days. I use the shoulders for tanking still though and I swap in the breastplate when I can spare the avoidance for the 2pc bonus on zergs and regular five-mans.
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http://www.wulfsblood.com - Wow Blog

Let me just say that the firs four bosses of Karazhan aren't challenging enough to require you to be uncrushable. It damn well helps, but if you have over 10k unbuffed HP, it should be doable while 2-4% crushable.
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Thx for all the excellent advise...Off to respec, then go shopping
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