T7.5 Vs Shoulderplates of the Deconstructor

I received Shoulderplates today but after looking over stats myself i was unable to make a conclusion on my own as to which was better i was wondering if i could get some help with this? (Main tanking of course)

I use the Shoulderplates, primarily because they have a bit more stam, but secondly because I don't look like I have freaking corn holders stuck in my shoulders.

I second the thought of looks but i would still prefer a lil more insight by a few more people not sure if this has been discussed anywhere else, some gear lists place Shoulderplates as tied for BiS however i also find it arguable. T7.5 may be a whole tier down it still has much nicer avoidance.

Regardless of the look, T7.5 clearly is still the BIS as MT, particularly you can easily pair this with another 7.5 to get the HoTR bonus. The Decon one is purely for a better look.

P.S.Appearance wise T8/8.5 is just another nightmare.

From a building a MT set PoV you will find that going solely with avoidance leaves you little room for threat stats, irritating when more and more dps are pushing the 6k dps mark as they gear.

Thats why these guys feature in my BiS list, a bit more hit pls

I missed two taunts in a row on Horsemen yesterday. I'll take the Hit.

I'm noticing as I get upgrades, I juggle gear around.

It can't hurt to keep both up and ready to use, but use what gives you the most even layout out of stats at the time.

I'm personally using the shoulders from 10 man Kol and hoping for the 25 man tier shoulders. My character is sort of "sqaure" already (dwarf female) so the shoulders wouldn't actually look that bad!

I think Shoulderplates are an upgrade if you can use the hit. But it's marginal; I think either choice is fine. So looks are the decisive factor for me.

all about the looks baby!!!!

Well in my opinion the shoulderplates are a small loss in survival in the form of avoidance. However they give shitloads more threat then the t7.5 shoulders IF you don't have the set bonus.

Since I already replaced my gloves with the emblem ones for the huge overal upgrade, and I didn;t have the set bonus, I sacrifised the little avoidance for the huge threat upgrade to make up for the loss.

Preference I guess.

Yup I'm really enjoying the extra str an hit on the decon shoulders as our DPS get more and more gear. I haven't had threat issues yet but they are definitely closing in on a once large gap between their threat and mine.. My avoidance is getting to a point where I feel the decon shoulders are a better more rounded piece for my set than the 7.5 shoulders. Again, it's down to preference and what you need in your particular case.

I'll be using the 8.5 shoulders in my BV set.

What do you guys think is a better combination - T7.5 shoulders and gloves or Shoulderplates of the Deconstructor and Gauntlets of the Royal Watch? I'm hesitant to break my two piece T7.5 because I'm not sure how much threat is gained by the set bonus.

Assume you gem with two solid sky sapphires in the T7.5 and you are below melee hit cap with either armor combination.

Deconstructor/Royal Watch versus 7.5x2:
+6 Stamina
+19 Strength
+69 Armor
+12 Defense rating
+21 Dodge rating
+55 Hit rating
-39 Parry rating
-10% damage on hammer

Clear survival upgrade and hardly any difference in threat as you are gaining 19 str and 55 hit

Yeah that was my exact reasoning to upgrade the 2 t7 with those 2 items.

Side by side survival only though, T7.5 is dominating Shoulderplates of the Deconstructor and T8.5 >.>

I still have no need for threat stats and am afraid I'll never be getting rid of my "wings".
Though with the JC nerf next patch, T7.5 might drop down in my value of it.