Bear Pre-Naxx Gear List

[Genova]

What is the proc rate on mongoose in bear though, I have read that if you average out the proc rate vs the static of +35 agility that Mongoose comes out better in the long run on boss fights.

Shhh say that mongoose is better, it looks cooler.

[Manßearpig]

Proc rate is PPM. Haste modifies this but i believe the proc per minute for mongoose is:

Bear
"You get 2.67 ppm in bear form (40 specials, 2.5/60 chance to proc each).
1-0.75^2.67 = 46% uptime -> 55 agi avg (+some haste)"
(Shamelessly ripped from Elitist Jerks)

Kitty
You get 1.25 ppm in cat form (15 specials, 1/60 chance to proc each).
That should mean 1-0.75^1.25 = 30% uptime for 120 agi -> 36 agi avg (+some haste).

Since the difference of 20 AGI is .3% dodge for me im not terribly concerned. Its more a personal preference of mine to have Static Mitigation.

Over the course of a long fight it should average out to give slightly more dodge but this is directly opposed to what tanks generally try to avoid which is spike damage and long bouts of avoidance streaks.

[Genova]

Sweet, Ill take a .3% loss to get rid of the uglyness of +35 agility. Yes im a wow 'Ricer'. lol

[dynamitedean]

Hmmmm decisions decisions.......have to give it a think....thnx for the info man errrrr bear...dude

[bean81782]

Shouldn't this cloak be at the top of the pre-naxx cloaks? 504 armor is hard to pass up until the armor change goes through.

Flowing Cloak of Command

I think post armor change the Durable Nerubhide Cape will certainly be better if not the best.

[Manßearpig]

yes you are correct bean. At the time of this posting i couldn't find links in wowhead to any cloaks with armor.

It will still be a very good cloak after 3.0.4. The change doesnt make cloaks without armor necessarily better, only lessens the gap. Armor will still be a good stat.

Cloak of the Shadowed Sun will remain Best in Slot after the change.

Where we really get hit is in the area of trinkets. there is only one non profession specific stam trinket and one dodge trinket.

[Darksend]

yes you are correct bean. At the time of this posting i couldn't find links in wowhead to any cloaks with armor.

It will still be a very good cloak after 3.0.4. The change doesnt make cloaks without armor necessarily better, only lessens the gap. Armor will still be a good stat.

Cloak of the Shadowed Sun will remain Best in Slot after the change.

Where we really get hit is in the area of trinkets. there is only one non profession specific stam trinket and one dodge trinket.

Gale-Proof Cloak - Item - World of Warcraft with a 16 hit gem even pre patch it is almost as good.

[Manßearpig]

Gale-Proof Cloak is worth 12456.34 points on my scale

Flowing Cloak of Command 17920.25

Cloak of the Shadowed Sun 21642.63

I believe you are over valuing Hit and Expertise in your calculations. Threat is of very little concern right now. No dps can even come close in a single target boss fight.

[Darksend]

Gale-Proof Cloak is worth 12456.34 points on my scale

Flowing Cloak of Command 17920.25

Cloak of the Shadowed Sun 21642.63

I believe you are over valuing Hit and Expertise in your calculations. Threat is of very little concern right now. No dps can even come close in a single target boss fight.

i know i overvalue hit and expertise, but say you put a vivid in gale proof, thats 18300 less than flowing command and 45 more stam and 1% more avoidance plus the hit and expertise. I know armor is important but 1800 armor or 780 hp, not much of a choice there.

i also respectfully disagree in 25 mans threat is not an issue but its becoming one.

post patch however it wont even be close. both the badge one and gale proof will be far superior to command and just slightly above shadowed sun.

[Lifebloom]

this is an awesome thread guys
I am just new to ebar tanking after healing for 3 years
and most of the conclusions i came to about gear are in accordance with the gear listed, will keep referring tot his thread when I am not sure,

[Triceron]

I'm Heroic/10-naxx geared MT for my guild.

I've been using hybrid DPS leather pieces in some slots simply for the agi/hit boosts where it's needed, focusing mainly on getting my dodge back to 35%+ where I'm most comfortable with. I've been getting a lot of epic tank leather pieces out of Naxx 10-man, which are side grades to some heroic stuff I'm already wearing.

Now a lot of these pieces may have higher agi/stam with the same amount of armor, making them obvious tank upgrades. However what I seem to be getting is expertise on _EVERY_ tanking leather piece. I have 31 Expertise already, and I'm at ~200 hit. I would be trading up hit for expertise +agi +stam.

Is this a good trade off? I mean I had Chain Guard Leggings that gave a great amount of hit, traded for T7 Legguards which gave EXP (Gemmed with hit to retain a bit). Now I've got Boots of the Worshipper over my current Boots of the Neverending Path, which will again trade EXP for Hit.

With all the Tank leather available, is it really plausible to reach our full tanking potential without losing out on a ton of hit?

[Guzgan]

Thanks for this guide, quite useful.

Any comments on defense vs dodge pre-naxx? So defense is useless now wrt crit immunity, correct?

Also, I would be interested to see a guide about all the relevant stats and ratings (comparison, equivalences, scoring). Any clue?

Thanks.

[Banx]

So after doing some looking on WoWhead.com, post-patch, we're just going to be stam and agi/dodge loading on rings and trinkets? I know they say that the mitigation should be transfered into our talent from our gear, but I'm losing out on around 6k armor. It seems mindless to just begin to just load up on stam and agi now.

Have you found any better idols than the Idol of Terror for tanking?

I thought of Idol of Perspicacious Attacks from a Grizzly Hills quest, but that only helps with your threat and not damage mitigation. Any word on any new idols to appear anytime soon?

Also, any word on a bear specific head enchant? The closest I've found was the Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector from the Argent Crusade but where's the Stam/Dodge at?

Sorry for not knowing how to link items in the post box. I don't claim to know anything about computers, I just play WoW and come on here and that's it lol.

[Bloodsage]

This pre naxx gear is excelent.Ty for the post,i now just hope I ding 80 soon to start it :P

[Apokalypsetest]

It should be noted that all +Armor Items (Namely Staves, Trinket, Jewelry) needs to be reevaluted after 3.0.8 - since their armor does no longer contribute to the multiplier for bears.

[Xenbob]

While looking at the list of weapons it brings up a question. I have been using the Enraged Feral Staff but recently replaced it with the Staff of Trickery. In other players opinions is this a good swap out even though you lose the extra armor?

[ArcaneNature]

IMO i think Staff of trickery from Heroic VH is a much better choice more stam and more agi which in turn i think gives u more than 700 armor due to there being no multiplier on weapon armoe

[Adonra]

I did the same thing. Stack of Trickery seemed to be better for me until I got an upgrade in Naxx.

[decimoo]

Thank you for all your great insight. I've been working for the past few weeks to help progress my tanking druid to 80 and have him be ready for at least heroics straight out of the gate and posts like this have been an extreme help.

I do have one question though-- are the Valor badge bracers good for a bear? Wristwraps of the Cutthroat specifically.
(253 Armor, 38 Agility, 55 Stamina, Haste 41, AP 112, Armor Pen rating 32)

They seem to scream to me rogue but there don't seem to be one appropriate for a bear-tank in the Valor-badge book. I'm considering right now whether or not they're worth spending the 60 badges off my priest or if something more "appropriate" would drop from heroics/naxx.

[Darksend]

the bracers from heroic UK are much much better (in fact best until 25 naxx)

save the badges for gems or frozen orbs and make some gold or make sure you have blue quality gems in your gear