BB's Ulduar Death Knight BiS Tank Loot

[Bumbuckle]

BB's Ulduar DK Tanking BiS Guide

See here for the new post with ICC, ToC and Gem/Chant sections included.

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Head - Tier 8.5 and Helm of the Faceless have the same EH, I rank Tier 8.5 Higher as it allows you to get the 2set.

EH - Conqueror's Darkruned Faceguard - Item - World of Warcraft - Tier 8.5
AV - Helm of the Faceless - Item - World of Warcraft - General Vezax25
T - Conqueror's Darkruned Faceguard - Item - World of Warcraft - Tier 8.5
Note:Ironbark Faceguard - Item - World of Warcraft - Freya10 is a great threat helm, it will depend on which stat you need however.
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Neck - Bronze Pendant BiS without a doubt, KT 25man Neck will last until you pick that up.

EH - Bronze Pendant of the Vanir - Item - World of Warcraft - Freya25(H)
Note: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45696 - Kolgarn10 or http://www.wowhead.com/?item=46343 - Trash10 have decent EH
AV - Bronze Pendant of the Vanir - Item - World of Warcraft - Freya25(H)
T - Shard of the Crystal Forest - Item - World of Warcraft - 19EoC or
Titanstone Pendant - Item - World of Warcraft Trash25

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Shoulders - Not alot of options here, Tier for sure.

EH - Conqueror's Darkruned Pauldrons - Item - World of Warcraft - Tier 8.5 Ignore socket bonus.
AV - Conqueror's Darkruned Pauldrons - Item - World of Warcraft - Tier 8.5
T - Shoulderplates of the Deconstructor - Item - World of Warcraft - XT25
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Back - 239 wins again.

EH - Titanskin Cloak - Item - World of Warcraft - Mimiron25(H)
AV - Cloak of the Makers - Item - World of Warcraft - Auriaya25
T - Titanskin Cloak - Item - World of Warcraft - Mimiron25(H)
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Chest - Bah! 10man loot should never be BiS, but Breastplate of the Timeless comes through due to +9 socket bonus.

EH - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=46039 - Algalon10
AV - Conqueror's Darkruned Chestguard - Item - World of Warcraft
T - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=46039 - Algalon10
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Wrists - Armwraps of Bedlam with stam gem not considered (239 Dps Plate), Mimirons has more EH.

EH - Mimiron's Inferno Couplings - Item - World of Warcraft - Flame Leviathan25
AV - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40306 - InstructorRaz25
T - Mimiron's Inferno Couplings - Item - World of Warcraft - Flame Leviathan25
Note:Flamewatch Armguards - Item - World of Warcraft - Flame Leviathan10 is a small downgrade from the Inferno Couplings.
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Hands - 239 winnar! Tier 8.5 will suffice until you get them.

EH - Handguards of Revitalization - Item - World of Warcraft - Freya25(H)
AV - Handguards of Revitalization - Item - World of Warcraft - Freya25(H)
T - Conqueror's Darkruned Handguards - Item - World of Warcraft - Tier 8.5 or http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45834 28EoC depending if you need Hit or Exp.
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Waist - Crafted without a doubt.

EH - Indestructible Plate Girdle - Item - World of Warcraft - Crafted
AV - Indestructible Plate Girdle - Item - World of Warcraft - Crafted
T - Shieldwarder Girdle - Item - World of Warcraft - 28EoC
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Legs - Saronite Plated should be better for EH, however Endless Void does have 3 sockets, and would be better for fights where survival from non-physical damage is preferred.

EH - Saronite Plated Legguards - Item - World of Warcraft Kologarn25 or Legplates of the Endless Void - Item - World of Warcraft Algalon25
AV - Legplates of the Endless Void - Item - World of Warcraft - Algalon25
T - Conqueror's Darkruned Legguards - Item - World of Warcraft - Tier8.5
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Feet - Greaves of the Iron Army do have more EH, however Crafted doesn't have Exp so is better for taking less damage over threat even considering Parry Haste reduction.

EH - Greaves of the Iron Army - Item - World of Warcraft - Mimiron10(H)
AV - Spiked Deathdealers - Item - World of Warcraft - Crafted
T - Charred Saronite Greaves - Item - World of Warcraft - Ignis25or Greaves of the Iron Army - Item - World of Warcraft - Mimiron10(H) depending if you need Hit or Exp.
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Rings - Due to the armor on the other 2 rings Fate's Clutch does not take EH slot, however remains close behind. I would still use over either ring for the additional Exp, and because it's such a narrow difference.

EH - Seal of Ulduar - Item - World of Warcraft - XT10(H) and The Leviathan's Coil - Item - World of Warcraft - Flame Leviathan25
Note: Fate's Clutch - Item - World of Warcraft - Thorim25(H) is fairly close behind Leviathan's Coil
AV - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45874 - Hodir10 or Platinum Band of the Aesir - Item - World of Warcraft - Auriaya25
T - Fate's Clutch - Item - World of Warcraft Thorim25(H) or Platinum Band of the Aesir - Item - World of Warcraft - Auriaya25
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Trinkets- The Black Heart from ToC 5 is the best trinket you can get outside a raid and is better than anything inside Ulduar. Run Heart of Iron and The Black Heart.

EH - Heart of Iron - Item - World of Warcraft - Ignis25 and Royal Seal of King Llane - Item - World of Warcraft - Yogg10
Note: The Black Heart from ToC5 is better than both of these.
AV - The General's Heart - Item - World of Warcraft - Vezax25 and http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45313 - Ignis10
Note: Thaddius10 Trinket is better for avoidance.
T - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=42987 - Darkmoon Faire and http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45609 - Algalon25
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Two-Hand - The Arena Weps have the highest stamina of any piece, so take the EH slot. I would still use Dark Edge of Depravity over them however, having decent agility, Hit Rating and stamina.

EH - Furious Gladiator's Crusher - Item - World of Warcraft - No longer obtainable or Furious Gladiator's Bonegrinder - Item - World of Warcraft - No longer obtainable for those without http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45533 - Yogg25(H) is fine.
AV - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45533 - Yogg25(H)
T - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45533 - Yoggg25(H)
Note: Other Two-Handers to be considered are:
-Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion - Item - World of Warcraft - Vezax25(H)
-Hammer of Crushing Whispers - Item - World of Warcraft - Yogg10(H)
-Worldcarver - Item - World of Warcraft - Ignis25
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Main Hand - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442

EH - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442 - XT25(H)
AV - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442 - XT25(H)
T - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442 - XT25(H)
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Off-hand -

EH - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442 - XT25(H)
AV - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442 - XT25(H)
T - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45442 - XT25(H)
Note: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45876 - Hodir10(H) will be fine.
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Sigil- There are arena sigils available, however these fail in threat compared to Awareness and since Vengeful Heart has been nerfed, Awareness is better now for all tanking specs.

EH - None
AV - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45144 - Razorscale10
T - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40207 - Heigan25 or 25EoV
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[Neckro]

it would be nice to have some finalization or consensus on the weapon of choice, when in BiS ulduar gear.

Personally its a toss up between these 2 for me
Worldcarver - Item - World of Warcraft

Rune Edge - Item - World of Warcraft

there are others that could work, but i also want to consider the fact they might be better itemized for dps classes.

[Kazeyonoma]

Consider respacing some of your comments to streamline the formatting of this. Other than that. Nice to see a DK gear list to go with our paladin/druid/warrior guides. Will insert this link into the stickies.

[Necroisis]

Earthshaper - Item - World of Warcraft Seems to be a pretty decent tank weapon, esp for threat.

[Regurgitate]

Thanks very much for this post, this is really helping me formulate some decisions about gear, as I'm sure it is others.

[Liudeath]

I'd like to add this item in there for neck-slot. If you pretty set on Hit, I find it almost as good as the BoC one:
Mark of the Unyielding - Item - World of Warcraft 10Kologarn - Armor + Dodge

[Fourplay]

I know this is just a guide line but i'l ask anyway.

I was wondering what kind out weapon enchant you would be using whit that gear setup.
Since you only gain 575 defence from this gear setup.

[Rampart]

Fourplay, just some quick math tells me that by using Rune of Stoneskin Gargoyle, you will reach the required 540+ defense. That's without needing to gem for defense. This is all without hard mode gear, as I didn't calculate with that gear.

Edit: Some quick checking appears that it would be even easier to stay crit immune with full hard mode gear due to the massive defense increase on the Titanskin cloak over the Cloak of the Makers.

[Horaxe]

I've actually found this link to be quite helpful in seeing how items stack up.
Wowraid - Death Knight Tank Loot List

I might value a particular stat differently than them in some instances, but generally speaking it's a great list. Good work though.

[Genome852]

The S6 weapons should no longer be better than Ulduar weapons for PVE. In 3.1.2 alot of the weapons had their speeds decreased (3.4 -> 3.6, for example) making them a better choice.

[Rampart]

It's about the MASSIVE stamina on the arena weapons, not to mention the 2 sockets that make them so awesome for DK tanks.

[SavageKai]

How does this gear setup compare with a DW tanking build? I know DW needs a little more hit rating, but I think it still looks good for a DW tank. Any opinion or advise?

[swelt]

I'm picking up an 1850 weapon tomorrow on my DK alt and wondering how to socket it. I already have one socketed for DPS, so this would be specifically for tanking. Here's my thinking:

1) Ignore the 12 ap socket bonus and...
..a) socket for stam. Lots of health is very nice
..b) socket for defense. Having a weapon with a lot of defense (and some resilience) would be nice for those situations where you need to offtank for a bit, then dps. 80 resilience + 32 defense rating + stoneskin gargoyle should allow for me to wear a bit of DPS gear in the rest of a pre-built set.
2) Grab the socket bonus and go for 1xblue stam, 1x expertise+stam purple

I think 1a is the macho choice, but 1b offers some interesting options. Any pointers on calculating how much defense I'd need from the rest of my gear if I went with option 1b?

EDIT:
Answer found here: A list of useful Tanking Formulas for Warriors - Dodge, Parry, Block - the 80 resilience on the weapon itself lowers the uncrittable target to 516 defense skill. SSG reduces that by a further 25 to 491. Socketing 2xRigid Autumn Glow (+16 def) would grant 7 defense skill, needing to reach 484 from other gear. You could arguably make up a further 11 defense skill by switching to sigil of the unfaltering knight (risks getting crit if you slack icy touch).

I think on balance, stam is probably the better gem option. The additional 32 def rating makes very little difference, the majority of the benefit would come from the resilience and SSG rune on the weapon.