http://maintankadin.failsafedesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=4844 (Uncrushability Guide)
http://maintankadin.failsafedesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=163 (Theories, Goals, and Gear)
I would recommend this site in general and those two threads in particular to anyone interested in Pally Tanking. There is, however, a (sizable) minority of players who, for whatever reason, can't commit to raiding regularly or at all, so a lot of the "gear" content isn't as relevant to these players. In my case, due to RL, I am in Germany much of the time, six hours removed from my friends and guildies on my US server. Once raids start (generally around 7 PM when people get back from work), it's 1 AM for me, and difficult to commit to a 3+ hour raid even on weekends, and of course out of the question on a work night.
Fortunately, Blizzard has (finally) thrown a bone to players like myself in the form of Heroic Dungeons. We now have the opportunity to get some fantastic gear, at least in the same ballpark as high end raid gear, without having to actually leave your guildies, move to a different time zone, or otherwise compromise whatever was preventing you from raiding in the first place.
Unfortunately, tanking is somewhat of a catch-22 situation, in that most groups (pickup groups especially) expect you to already be equipped with high-end raid gear or heroic loot before they will allow you into their heroic group. A tank in blues just worries people. However, with a little patience, you can equip yourself well enough to at least get started on the easier heroics and not embarrass yourself until you start spending badges. I will list what I used; these aren't the only options but it worked for me. See the gear posts above for other useful options.
Head:
Felsteel Helm
Remarks: Reasonably cheap in the AH, or if you're a BS you can craft it yourself. You'll have been to SL plenty enough on regular.
Tankatronic Goggles
Remarks: The only choice if you're an engineer.
Neck:
Strength of the Untamed
Mark of the Ravenguard
Shattered Sun Pendant of Resolve
Remarks: Easy to get and excellent choices.
Shoulder:
Spaulders of the Righteous
Shoulderguards of the Bold
Remarks: Bold dropped for me on only my 80th SL run (about five runs after a DPS warrior grabbed it off of me). The Righteous shoulders are more popular, but Laj hates me.
Cape:
Devilshark Cape
Remarks: About the best you can get. An awful lot of raiders still use this. Plus, tanking SV is excellent AOE tanking practice. If you can't stand SV anymore, buy yourself
Cloak of Eternity.
Chest:
Breastplate of the Righteous
Remarks: High stamina, some spell damage, nothing to complain about.
Jade-Skull Breastplate
Remarks: Solid. Depending on your Aldor/Scryer, you could get the faction breastplate instead, or the Altrius Quest Chain reward.
Wrist:
Bracers of the Green Fortress
Sha'Tari Wrought Armguards
Remarks: Sha'tari aren't great but they're easy to get. Bracers of the Green Fortress are pure win if you have the cash. Happy farming.
Weapon:
Gladiator's Gavel
Seeker's Gavel
Continuum Blade
Gavel of Unearthed Secrets
Stormcaller (Horde)
Blade of the Archmage (Alliance)
Remarks: Any of these are great choices, it depends mostly on your rep, patience, or willingness to pvp. Keep an eye out in the AH for:
Depleted Sword
(you'll also need 50 Apexis Shards)
Shield:
Gladiator's Shield Wall
Remarks: Costs you a long weekend of serious pvping, or a couple weeks of casual/relaxed. If pvp isn't your style, choose your favorite out of:
Crest of the Sha'Tar or
Ogri'La Aegis
Dawnforged Defender
Sunward Crest
Hands:
Felsteel Gloves
Remarks: Pure win. These are better than quite a few purple "tank" gloves so nothing to be ashamed of here.
Belt:
Belt of the Guardian
Remarks: Vortexes are now readily available on AH (or for badges)
Sha'tari Vindicator's Waistguard
Remarks: Because what, are you going to NOT go to Arcatraz?
Pants:
Timewarden's Leggings
Remarks: You can put the good leather patch on this, you'll have it for a while.
Boots:
Boots of the Protector
Sha'Tari Wrought Greaves
Flesh Beast's Metal Greaves
Remarks: I was stupid and didn't get my Flesh Beast's when I had the opportunity, so I was stuck with Sha'Tari Wrought Greaves until I upgraded to badge boots. Don't be stupid, get Flesh Beast's
Blacksmiths can often find the Boots of the Protector pattern in the AH.
Rings:
Iron Band of the Unbreakable
Remarks: I have the Iron Band in both slots. Gives you a goal while you're grinding KoT rep and Old Hillsbrad is easier anyway. Other options are
Andormu's Tear
Dath'Remar's Ring of Defense
Delicate Eternium Ring
or many others.
Trinkets:
Darkmoon Card: Vengeance
Adamantine Figurine
Figurine of the Colossus
Regal Protectorate
Dabiri's Enigma
Argussian Compass
Remarks: I saved my pennies and bought Darkmoon Card: Vengeance. It goes for about 2000 gold flat out on my server, or about 1000-1500 if you're patient and buy the cards individually. Remember, impatient=poor! Pair it with either of the Figurines, or even the Protectorate or a jewelcrafting trinket. I was lucky enough that the Compass dropped for me on my second heroic run.
Gems/Enchants:
Get the best gems you can afford ... You will need a lot of
Solid Star of Elune
so try to make friends with a Jewelcrafter if you can. If you can't afford the best enchants,
Heavy Knothide Armor Kit
gives you great bang for your buck in most slots. You will be revered with Keepers of Time by now, so don't forget your
Glyph of the Defender!
Try to spring for the
Nethercleft Leg Armor
if you can afford it, you'll have your pants a long time. With all this, you should have well over 12.5 K health and armor. Join LFG and get started!
I've found that Slave Pens and Underbog are about the easiest heroics for a starting Pally Tank. You'll need a good healer, especially at first, but these are pretty common heroics and it's pretty easy to find a group. If you (or your healer!) starts having trouble, don't be ashamed to ask for CC. Use Hammer of Justice and Arcane Torrent to interrupt casters (with all due respect to our friends alliance-side) and avoid major damage. Use stamina buff food and
Elixir of Major Fortitude (or flasks if you're not on a budget).
Keep some Wizard Oil handy in case you have aggro trouble. Make sure your party helps you -- Priests and Warlocks have the best stamina buffs, Shamans (Wrath of Air) and Retro Pallies (Sanctity Aura) help you with your threat. Oh, and bring a bunch of healing potions, they're pricey but less than a repair.
Once you start getting practice tanking, heroic drops and (especially) badge loot, it gets easier fast. The biggest single upgrade is almost guaranteed to be the absolutely phenomenal
Chestplate of Stoicism
but you'll get a faster return with buying some cheaper items:
Libram of Repentance for 15 badges
Bracers of the Ancient Phalanx for 35,
Ring of the Stalwart Protector for 60 and/or
Ring of Unyielding Force for 25.
They aren't as flashy, but will certainly serve you well. In any event, you'll know you're getting there when you start getting tells from people you've grouped with asking to go again.
This post has become far longer than I had intended. I just hope it helps some other players in the same no-raiding boat that I am in. Remember, the game is for you too!
Enjoy.
EDIT: Incorportated the distilled wisdom of this thread, above, and address Heroic Rewards and Shields below:
Heroic Chest Pieces
There is some discussion in this thread (and many, many others) as to which heroic badge chest piece is "best":
Shattrath Protectorate's Breastplate
Chestplate of Stoicism
Chestplate of the Stoic Guardian
The Chestplate of Stoicism is ovbiously the best pure survival piece and the one I intend to purchase first. If you're looking for threat on your chest piece, it becomes less clear. Shattrath Protectorate's has higher stamina, armor, defense, and spell damage, but trades in critical dodge for (nearly) worthless spell hit. The general consensus is that Chestplate of the Stoic Guardian is the better value, and that Shattrath Protectorate's is poorly budgeted and not worth the 100 badges.
Shields
Which of the following shields should you prioritize? They are all legitimate tank shields, so you'll be making your decision based on your needs and situation (sitting on a bunch of pvp honor? exalted with one of the factions anyway?). But given the choice, which is "best"? As usual, depends.
Gladiator's Shield Wall
Crest of the Sha'Tar or
Ogri'La Aegis
Dawnforged Defender
Sunward Crest
(Warning: Gross Generalizaion) There are two things you're look for in a shield: Survivability and Threat. To evaluate Survivability, I calculate Avoidance and use the Armor formula to convert Armor and Stamina to "Equivalent Health Points". This isn't perfect of course, but it's a fast and dirty way to measure how much extra punishment each shield lets you take. I also assume that every gem slot has a +12 stamina gem, and the shield is enchanted with +18 Stamina. All of these shields have similar Shield Block Values so I will discount that stat here.
Gladiator's - 940 EHP
C.o.Sha'Tar - 868 EHP
Ogri'La - 816 EHP
Dawnforged - 716 EHP
Sunward - 716 EHP
Avoidance is also critical, and easier to calculate:
Ogri'La - 1.56% from 23 defense
C.o.Sha'Tar - 1.04% from 13 defense and 3 dodge (socket bonus)
Dawnforged - 0.95% from 18 dodge
Gladiator's - NO Avoidance
Sunward - NO Avoidance
By far, the biggest threat stat for Tankadins is spell damage. By that measure, it's easy, Sunward Crest is the only shield with threat. But you'll notice that it's the worst of the five shields in both survivability categories. As long as you're not having drastic threat difficulties, I reccomend the Gladiator's because I am a stamina whore, and also the Orgri'La, or Crest of the Sha'Tar.
_________________
Orcrist, lvl 70 Prot Paladin, Zul'Jin
http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Zul%27jin&n=Orcrist
