Prot pally - need def cap!

[afrokamel]

Hey!
Ive been gearing my pally in some heroics, getting items from emblems & some items from raids when noone else has needed em. But it seems to be kinda hard to become defcapped for me, i have enchanted pretty much each and every part of my gear with +defense rating, and every piece of my armor but my wep is meant for tanking.

The only items i need from heroics now is the tanking wep from UP hc, wich i do every day, and i also need a decent pair of shoulders.

So, i was hoping i could have some advice on how to become defcapped, Kinda boring to be told you cant come tank in rads because i have 13 defense less than is needed.

Heres the armory link to my char: The World of Warcraft Armory

[afrokamel]

Hey again guys, was just gonna add that armory hasnt gotten updated yet, so my char is still holy specced and in its holy gear.

Also, red sword of courage dropped for me in up today! =) So now im at 533 defense, 7 more to go for naxx tanking =)

[headknocker]

have you picked up seal on the pantheon yet? when you say 13 from the def cap are you referring to the raid minimum (not cap) of 540 or the heroic minimum of 535?

[afrokamel]

I was referring to 540 def cap, had 526 atm. Now that i have red sword of courage i have 533, so only 7 more now. I have not picked up seal of pantheon yet, But thanks for the advice gonna farm it some and try to get it.

Also, got a epic tanking ring crafted and got a 16 def rating gem to it, so im at 535 defense now, 5 more and im off to raids =)

[afrokamel]

Just gonna add that the armory for my char has been updated with all the new gear i have gotten today.

[whitereef]

Here are some suggestions on improvements that would help you out to get to the defense cap. I would first get the Sons of Hodir enchant on your sholders. If that does not push you to the 540 def, then I would swap out the Valdor Metal of the First War with the Seal of the Pantheon or get the Iron Smith Pauldrons in HoL.

Gear improvements (at least until you get better defense gear out of Naxx)
normal HoL Seal of the Pantheon - Item - World of Warcraft
heroic HoL Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons - Item - World of Warcraft

Also you need to run the Sons of Hodir quests to get at least honored to get the +10 defense rating to sholders. Or exhalted to get the +15 defense rating. That alone would probably get you to the defense cap or really close.
Lesser Inscription of the Pinnacle - Item - World of Warcraft
Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle - Item - World of Warcraft

[TomHuxley]

Some good suggestions about. I'd also say that for your helm, since you're already ignoring the socket bonus with a red gem in a blue socket, swap that out for a +16 defense gem. Then work on getting the SoH choulser enchants (or if you're exalted with the aldors or scryers, go back and get that shoulder enchant to hold you over) and work towards upgrading your shoulders with the ones from either H Gundrak or H HoL.

Good luck!

[afrokamel]

Thanks for the answers guys! Changed some gems in my gear and i am now defcapped! =)

[BoJlk]

I Don't know what is the fuss about Defcap, i was tanking without being Defcapped and did it without a wipe because of it.

To be honest i wasn't the MT but OF in 25 Naxx but was MTing Naxx 10 all alone.

install Tankpoints addon to calculate exactly how many percents you left until you won't be hit with non mitigated attack while using the Holy Shield.

Good Luck.
With Naxx 25 gear you'll be Defcapped really quick so i wouldn't worry about it at first.

[Roana]

I Don't know what is the fuss about Defcap, i was tanking without being Defcapped and did it without a wipe because of it.

Because, while "good enough" may be good enough for you, most raids, if given the choice between a crit-immune and a non-crit-immune tank will pick the former, for a number of reasons.

First, while the likelihood of a wipe to a boss is small due to an unlucky crit, it's non-zero, especially when learning the instance. All else being equal, the raid leader should pick the crit-immune tank.

Second, the crit-immune tank presumably has shown more up-front dedication in getting her own gear in good shape rather than relying on being carried by the rest of the raid.

In short, while you can tank without crit immunity if needed, it does put you at a competitive disadvantage.

[Damonvile]

Thanks for the answers guys! Changed some gems in my gear and i am now defcapped! =)

One suggestion I'd make is stop calling it defcapped. It makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about.

Hit can be capped...meaning at some point adding to it will provide no bonus what-so-ever. Adding def will always give you a bonus to stats and therefor has no cap. You're trying to become uncrittable or crit immune not def capped. It may just be a matter of wording but why use the wrong ones and give people a bad impression right ?

Good luck with your gear, Once you get into some 10 mans better stuff will come pretty quick.

[BoJlk]

One suggestion I'd make is stop calling it defcapped. It makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about.

I meant reaching the 540 target.

"good enough" may be good enough for you, most raids, if given the choice between a crit-immune and a non-crit-immune tank will pick the former

I'm not sure that 0.25% to be critted will be that important, it's still a change but it's like winning a lottery chance.

And all that was back then before i was in Hardcore guild.

[Fetzie]

Bojik: if you are sitting at 538 defense how do you justify missing out on 50 odd def rating when it is so easy to get?

Afrokamel: I would strive to stay above 540 def while gearing up, every epic upgrade will have less defense rating on it compared to blueitems, potentially dipping you below the minimum.

[BoJlk]

Bojik: if you are sitting at 538 defense how do you justify missing out on 50 odd def rating when it is so easy to get?

True i wouldn't find justification for that.
BUT it's hard to obtain the golden 540 defense with all 5 man content.

[Roana]

True i wouldn't find justification for that.
BUT it's hard to obtain the golden 540 defense with all 5 man content.

I had been at 540 defense right after I hit level 80, with only 5-man, blue BoE crafted items, quest, and reputation gear. I had, in fact, been crit-immune against at least +2 mobs at any single point between level 70 and 79 already. And I've been doing nothing but 5-man content.

[BoJlk]

Did you get Achievement for that?
I wasn't the person to be able to craft them nor buy them, and farmed 5 man content.
If the person had them he would't made that post.

And contribute to the post instead of flaming each of my comment.

[Erichilles]

One suggestion I'd make is stop calling it defcapped. It makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about.

Hit can be capped...meaning at some point adding to it will provide no bonus what-so-ever. Adding def will always give you a bonus to stats and therefor has no cap. You're trying to become uncrittable or crit immune not def capped. It may just be a matter of wording but why use the wrong ones and give people a bad impression right ?

Good luck with your gear, Once you get into some 10 mans better stuff will come pretty quick.

YEAH! we dun like yer 'defcap' type around huhr.... >:O

seal of the pantheon is a big one, and it+stoneform is a nice survival mechanism.

[Andaris]

Keep in mind that hitting the def "floor" (i.e., the lowest acceptable amount of Def) is important, but does not, in and of itself, qualify you for tanking Naxx/OS. HP and avoidance are important stats too, and having 540 Def does not assure an appropriate amount of HP or avoidance.

[Erichilles]

I'm not sure that 0.25% to be critted will be that important, it's still a change but it's like winning a lottery chance.

And all that was back then before i was in Hardcore guild.

regardless, it's been proven that point-for-point, defense rating is the best thing to stack in terms of avoidance. Def rating gives dodge, parry, miss %, and block for pallys (and warriors) i think the numbers i remember seeing was, say you get 1% avoidance (dodge, parry, and miss combined) from x defense rating. with the same amout of dodge rating, you'd get 1.03% dodge, that's .03% avoidance gain from stacking dodge, but
1) it's in all dodge, not balanced with your other avoidance stats
2) dodge gets hit the hardest by DR
3) in addition to that 1% avoidance, the defense rating also gives 0.33% block chance. 0.33% block > 0.03% dodge any day

Edit: and if you want to throw in another, 4) thorim in ulduar is going to dock you 200(?) def skill on 25 man (100 on 10 man). if you stack up high enough and throw on the elixer of major def, you could potentially get it high enough to not be crushed even after the unbalancing strike. Now it wouldn't be difficult at all to simply switch tanks, which is why i didn't include it initially, but an interesting fact

[BoJlk]

Sorry, i probably didn't express myself correctly, Defense is the only stat you can stack because of no Diminishing Returns on it.

I just meant that if you have 539 defense and the Raid leader won't invite you because of it, that would be strange.