BlockCap or Stamina?

This is exactly the same question I have been struggling with. I have 540+ defense and 24.5K HP unbuffed. I run regular heroics and have noticed my health plummeting pretty quickly against the harder hitting bosses.

I will start Naxx soon and, in preparation, I have been unsure whether to gem for pure avoidance in an effort to get block capped as quickly as possible, or whether to go with hybrid avoidance/stam gems to bring my HP up a bit.

Armory link

Note: After reading here, I recognize the error of my choice in gemming a Defender's Twilight Opal and will replace it with a Regal Twilight Opal tonight.

After getting my helm last night from Sapphiron I ran the macro and had more then enough for the 102 so I started stacking stam. I may have to regem because I still have some blues and 1 lvl 70 trinket let lol....anyways, your best bet is to stack block first then worry about stam.
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I'm at 26k unbuffed and I hit the block cap yesterday. It'll come
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Your mom is a 6 pull.

If you are block capped you are in theory having whatever you block for added to your HP, as you will NEVER take a full hit of damage if you can keep up your holy shield and if its a melee attack. However you may want to swap into a stam set for a caster/melee type boss like Sapphiron.

Block Cap > Stamina, I believe I am only 2% off of block cap however unsure on how/if I plan to change this just yet or wait for some more gear. As I need new Bracers, Rings, and a cloak pretty bad and I will be getting more block from the Drakescale Collar when we kill Malygos.

As well as the 15 Badge Libram from TBC may be an easy option to get to block capped, you may lose some TPS/DPS from the Wrath Badge one as if it block caps you, you can increase your stamina even further through gemming/enchanting differently.
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Regretful - Female Blood Elf Paladin of Mannoroth
Subject - Male Human Paladin of Arthas (Sold Pre-2.4)

Let me start by saying I'm annoyed and I'm going to whine a little.

I'm block capped and have been for a while. Fully buffed (25 man) I have 33k health. We've cleared all 10 and 25 man content and I've tanked everything except Malygos (haven't even seen the fight yet to be honest).

There is a druid in my guild who breaks 40k in the same situation. With trinkets/cooldowns I saw him have over 50k health.

He says we need 40k for Malygos. Dunno if that's true because I haven't had the time to study the fight from a paladins perspective.

I'm annoyed that if we choose to gear for block cap (I block for 2007 with libram procced) that our stamina is so low. And even if I do add the 2000 to my 33k it's still only 35k which is very far from 40k.

I'm jealous of Druids right now. Should I not be? I think we're pretty balanced with Warriors.

I don't usually make a fuss about this stuff but it's been on my mind recently.
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Whoever told you that you need 40k is wrong. The first time I did it I had 33kish buffed, I'm obviously higher than that now, just as you are.

You'll be able to do it fine. Just make sure that as people are coming down from vortex a healer or 2 is assigned to topping you off immediately. The other healers can spam coh/wg to top the raid. The main reason for this is that right when he comes down in the 25man he tends to breathe immediately. The breath does like 26k or something, I don't remember the exact number.

Maybe he told you to get 40k knowing that it would be the safest with respect to your healers. The way I've instructed my healers to heal me (yes a tank telling the healers, also the raid leader and ex-full time healer), is to 100% top me immediately. If I take 10k, top me. If I take 26k, top me. Treat it like hatefuls, keep me topped at all times, whatever my deficit is fill it immediately. Our first kill when I had 33k hp was with 5 healers too, so it's not like I'm getting spammed.

Sorry to get off topic, actually really interested to see some more responses in this thread.
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Dork <Audacious> of Magtheridon

I'd still love to see some simple math as to equate actual block value to stamina. If we can link these two stats it would add another layer onto paladin tanks that the other tanks cannot. This is obviously going to lower the epeen factor of our hp, and make some guild leaders/healers turn away from us, but hopefully through time everyone will see we're probably the easiest tank to heal in a melee fight. I still have to give spell damage fights to DK's though

Anyone have what they think could be conversion factors for these stats?

I have pretty good gear for entering Naxx and Maexxna was destroying me during her web wraps. If I had gemmed for avoidance we likely would not have killed her that night because there was nothing Block, Dodge, or Parry was going to do to save me in that web. Even as it was she killed me at like 4% and our DK managed to tank her the rest of the way with IBF up. My healers always have plenty of mana, it's only when they're unable to heal that I ever feel threatened, so I'm gemming stam until I feel like I can afford not to.
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Yes, but our half pug group didn't have the DPS to take her down from 30% to 0% in one web wrap, so I died anyways. The point is that there are situations where your avoidance is negated (magic damage being the most common, time stops being another, any situation in which mobs can get behind you (skirmishers in AN) being another) and it all comes down to your armor (and sometimes not even) and your stamina.

I understand the math behind the avoidance and the fact that stamina tanks soak up mana far worse than those who block every attack and all of that - but for me, personally, in my raiding before wotlk and after, healer mana was far less of an issue than sustaining an effective health pool. Things change once you break through some threshold (about 20k life pre-wotlk, I don't know now) and then longetivity of healers becomes a bigger issue.
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So it seems we have a few for the stamina side, with some very legitimate concerns. Do I hear anything from the Block Value crowd? What are your rationalizations for stacking avoidance before stam? Time to death in melee fights? Anyone?

Blizz made balancing simple-simple, you have very limited gear customisation choices. So, upgrading every time you get a better item works best. Whether that new item has more avoidance or stamina compared to the old doesn't matter, as long as it is an overall better item. I am assuming the basis of non-crit is covered. This debating what we should "aim" for is somewhat pointless, go for the stuff with the higher item level and rest assured you'll be able to perform well. Gem / enchant for what floats your personal boat, or just do it balanced - you'll still perform well. You have less control over your progression goals than you think, and that's alright: The game was meant and made to work, so it'll work.
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Ythalaine - Die Aldor EU

Veilan that really is not true. For paladins we have two tanking stats which we should avoid as much as possible. Both Parry and Expertise are not good tanking stats for us and any item that has a lot of these will be a less useful item over a lower I level piece.
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