New Warrior Gear Suggestions

[Phirebrow]

I was hoping people could provide some input on my gear. My guild is currently gearing up for Kara but not in there yet. I am confident I can tank the first few encounters. I fear my defense is getting too high but am not sure where to go from here with gear. I was thinking I would make the autoblocker my first badge purchase to reduce my DEF while raising my block. Any other suggestions? Thanks!!!

Here is the link to the Armory

I noticed my armory profile has me DW'ing, I have the sunwell rep shield.

[dlongest]

You have good pre-Kara gear. You need a new neck. If you already have the Sunwell rep shield, that means you can buy the SSO neckpiece which will serve you well for a good long time. Also, get the Khorium Destroyer gun craftd or buy from AH, it will last for a long time and provides you with massive stamina out of that slot.

I would *not* buy the Auto-Blocker first. There are so many pieces that would help you more than the auto-blocker right now. I always personally recommend the bracers first (Bracers of the Ancient Phalanx). For badge purchases, check out Vene's "What to buy" list, he goes through the order he suggests and why (I think his current order is the 2.4 belt, then bracers, then goes from there).

Beyond that, upgrades will depend on how ofen you play, your badge income, etc. Check out Berg's gear rankings if you haven't done so already.

Daniel

[Phirebrow]

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.

I do have the SSO neck but carry it in my bag. My aldor rep is not high enough to get the proc, so right now its only +42 STA, should I still swap it out?

I have read the guide for badge purchases. I dont understand buying the bracers first. The bracers would give me +194 Armor, +24 STA, +22 Expertise, -1 Def, and -18 STR.

While I agree they are an upgrade, I would think the 100 badge legs would be a greater incremental upgrade for me. Likewise the autoblocker would put me above 25% block, which I have read is a benchmark number. I dont doubt the wisdom of the list, if someone could help me understand taking the bracers first I would appreciate it. If my warrior was naked I can see the benefit of the bracers, its the bracers vs. my current gear that makes me wonder.

Thank you again for all the help and advice. This really is the greatest community in WoW and I appreciate it greatly.

Thnaks!!

[dlongest]

Block rating is borderline worthless as a stat, forget it even exists. And the auto-blocker doesn't affect it anyway, it bumps your SBV (amount blocked, size of shield slams). Block rating and block value are not the same.

I pitch the bracers first because you have no idea how valuable expertise is until you start acquiring it. Removing dodges and parries increases your threat and cuts down on getting parry-spiked. And 194 armor and 24 stam is not an insignificant increase in EH for that slot. Strength is worthless as a tank stat.

This discussion seems to always come down to two schools of thought: buying smaller upgrades first to help you farm for the bigger ones easier; or buy the biggest ones first because of their absolute value. I believed in the first school. There's nothing wrong with believing in the second.

Daniel

[Sprot]

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.

I do have the SSO neck but carry it in my bag. My aldor rep is not high enough to get the proc, so right now its only +42 STA, should I still swap it out?

[item]Shattered Sun Pendant of Resolve[/item]
definetely - 13 Hit, 18 expertise are both wonderful threat boosts, and Stamina at your current gear is more important than +defense - as long as you can stay at 490, stack Sta at least till you're up to 12k HP unbuffed.

I have read the guide for badge purchases. I dont understand buying the bracers first. The bracers would give me +194 Armor, +24 STA, +22 Expertise, -1 Def, and -18 STR.

While I agree they are an upgrade, I would think the 100 badge legs would be a greater incremental upgrade for me.

Depends on how many badges you have, how many new ones you are getting, etc - generally speaking, Venes list assumes you already have more than enough health/armor/defense for your current content and are looking at upgrades that immediately boost your threat and reduce the risk of getting parried while to a somewhat lesser extent boosting your HP/Armor. As the bracers are relatively cheap, they do provide lots of bang for the buck -
509 Armor, 21 Sta, 24 Def, 20 Str
vs
703 Armor, 45 Sta, 23 Def, 22 Exp

more than double the stamina, practically identical Def, and 22 Exp will do tons more for your threat (plus a bit more survivability) than the 20 Str could ever do. It's good value for your badges - the legs also, but you can get the bracers in a week or two, the legs will take closer to two months probably if you don't have the badges now.

Likewise the autoblocker would put me above 25% block, which I have read is a benchmark number. I dont doubt the wisdom of the list, if someone could help me understand taking the bracers first I would appreciate it. If my warrior was naked I can see the benefit of the bracers, its the bracers vs. my current gear that makes me wonder.

Block % isn't really important unless you're aiming for passive uncrushability (which is more of a gimmick and only feasible if you're well past early 25-man stuff) or for certain AoE situations, very few occasions overall where block% is important. I wouldn't focus on it, especially not with regards on spending badges.


-Sprot

[Phirebrow]

Thank so much for the replies, I appreciate it. I'll grab the bracers! MY badge generation is pretty poor, running maybe 2 to 3 heroics per week. Thanks again!!