DK Tank Gem Slots. (Full Stamina gems or...???)

[Jaden]

Hello There.

Last week or so, I was in an Undying grp for Nax 10. I invited some guys and the one from a progressive guild in our server told me that I have too low HP as a DK Tank. So, we started an argument about the gems that I should use...

I am of the opinion that a DK, since the main ability he has for building threat to a Boss (except Death and Decay) is Rune Strike (which can be used only after a DK parrys, or dodges) , he should use gems that will upgrade his chance to Dodge or Parry.

On the other hand, that guy was of the opinion that a DK tank should equip all his gem slots with Gems which grants him more Stamina. For example, in Blue Slot Gems ''24 Stamina'' gem and in the other gem slots, gems like ''Parry/Dodge/Defence Rating + 12 Stamina''.

In the past, I had encountered a DK tank who had been like that. He had like 40k HP unbuffed. Yet, I never seen him from that day again and can't remember his either, cause I didnt pay too much attention to him, to be honest.

So, from that day on I have searched every website, looking for what gems should a DK use, until I found Tank Spot website. Yet, nothing mentioned here as well about using all ur Gem Slots with Stamina gems.

I'm really curious about ur opinion guys and ways of achieving so much stamina if there is any except Jewelcrafting and Blacksmithing extras.

I'm looking forward to ur ideas!

Thanks for reading!

***PS:What u read above was done before the release of Ulduar Patch***

Armory Link:
The World of Warcraft Armory

Im using Titanguard and Legacy of Thunder weapons for tanking if they aren't displayed on Armory.

[superx29]

In regards to gemming a deathknight...First of all, with the arguements you have been witnessing, they all have been correct in one manner or another. The overall answer is gems will scale with gear. Meaning, as you first start out as a new 80 dk tank, you will probably gem into def and avoidance gems. Once defense id capped, you can start gemming into your avoidance(preferably dodge over parry. Being that you will get more % from the numbers you gain. Parry % doesnt scale so well compared to the numbers you gain. Damn diminished gains ><) and sta gems. Once you become well geared you will need to convert to all sta gems. My theory is with tier gear will come your avoindance, and, with certain raid bosses(patchwork, Iron council<---OMG fusion punch!, etc...) you will need to have a high Health pool to be able to survive. Another point to be made is with a lot of avoidance your health will be more spikey causing healers to be very unhappy since your health pool is lower than a sta tank and you being able to take less hits. But with me rambling on and on...One final action that can be taken is to have two sets of tank gear. One for sta and one for avoidance. Hope my rambling kinda helped =p

[VerticalEvent]

Here's a question for you: When you run Naxx, how often do you go down? What bosses do you typically die at? Do you know why you died?

I did an Undying run with my guild a month ago, and we got up to KT before someone died (an Abomination came up and one shotted a healer - the first time we have ever seen it, I blame the fact we tried to one-night it), so feel free to examine my gems, which are roughly the same, except I now have a few +hit gems instead of my dodge+stam gems.

[Jaden]

Hehe, the point in Undying Runs is that I dunno not die. Maybe if not always a dps will !@#$ it up...anyway...

As superx29 for ur reply, you dont really help me cause I wanna know if tanking is possible with every single gem to be Stamina gem. Thats my point. As u correctly mentioned that in Ulduar there are some bosses like Steelbreaker (Iron Counsil), Mimiron (Blasma Blast, 1st phase) or even Alagon and General who are designed for like DK tanking cause DKs have a greater Magic resistance than the other tanks (Anti Magic Shell etc...+cooldowns) And it goes without saying that when u have greater gear with greater stats u wont need any stupid gems like Parry, Dodge etc...

So, pls read well whats my point to my topic.

[Mongface]

As Blood spec, stackin stamina is very effective, You should aim to take 3 boss hits without dieing (with raid buffs) I get Up to around 45k health In our 25man raids, I used to have Full +24 stam gems But I've swapped them Out for some + HIt/stam gems,

All in all,

Gem all + 24 stam gems, If You start having threat problems, Regem for some Hit/stam exp/stam gems.

(This Is from my experience as a blood tank and reading through satori's awesome threads )

[Mongface]

Ahh I see Your unholy, in that case, Gem for As much stam as possible while Keeping healthy avoidance, (roughly 45% Combined Dodge + parry)

[vine]

This is one of the dilemma's I go through as well, I simply use two sets of gear. The stats are (unbuffed and without Sigil proc):

EH Set: 36k | 52.73%
Av Set: 33.8k | 56.54

Admittedly there's not a huge difference, but it's enough to make it noticeable. My other quandary is which set to use where? I usually use the Av on trash and EH on bosses.

A healthy balance of both is important, if you are not having any threat issues then gem dodge+stam in red sockets for a little extra avoidance. Most socket bonuses are decent so I'd rather use a hybrid than gem pure stam.

[Jaden]

I see, thanks for the advice guys! Really appreciate it! I respec Blood and tried it today and I find it way cool! I suppose that guy I was arguing with was right.

Mongface: special thanks to you! I checked ur armory etc...and they were really helpfull!

[Satorri]

The guy you were arguing with was a little to vague and general.

Each tree and spec has its own theme to play to. The smartest way to gear is to match your spec appropriately. Blood benefits most from high stam, Frost from extra armor, and Unholy from high avoidance, in general.

Everyone needs good health, though the level you raid at will set a practical threshold, as does the needs of your tanking team. Do you have another tank (pally or bear maybe) who stacks stam for obsessively huge max health? You probably don't need to be that tank then.

You're right that avoidance buffs your threat through RS, but that's not a reason to stack it alone, it's just added benefit from doing so. He's right big health is important for taking big hits (zomgFusionPunchOW!). The reality is its rather more case-specific than that.

[Nunes]

the guy you were arguing with was a little to vague and general.

Each tree and spec has its own theme to play to. The smartest way to gear is to match your spec appropriately. Blood benefits most from high stam, frost from extra armor, and unholy from high avoidance, in general.

Everyone needs good health, though the level you raid at will set a practical threshold, as does the needs of your tanking team. Do you have another tank (pally or bear maybe) who stacks stam for obsessively huge max health? You probably don't need to be that tank then.

You're right that avoidance buffs your threat through rs, but that's not a reason to stack it alone, it's just added benefit from doing so. He's right big health is important for taking big hits (zomgfusionpunchow!). The reality is its rather more case-specific than that.

falcon punch!