Shield Comparisons

[Bodasafa]

Has anyone done a thread on Ulduar 10/25 (+HardModes) and ToC 10/25 (+HardModes) shields?

[Rhyseh]

ToC 25 man and Heroic shields are hands down better.

[Martie]

There are quite a few tanking shields available, but in general, higher Ilevel=better.

This is true because higher Ilevel items will have higher overall stats.
Of course, sometimes you may prefer the stats a specific shield gives you even if another gives you more stats.
Compare Northern Barrier - Item - World of Warcraft and Bulwark of Algalon - Item - World of Warcraft, for example. There's a small ilevel difference, but the stats are quite different. The socket makes the bulwark quite strong in sheer stamina, and I'd love to have it for just that, but the block rating makes it worth slightly less in my eyes, especially since I'm a paladin.

So honestly, you need to decide on your own what is the best shield for your situation, it's rather too gear dependant (and there are too few choices) to make any solid call about it.

[drae]

Don't forget the higher armor on the higher ilvl pieces. It may not be worth the 30 stam a socket is, but it's important to remember that armor is EH.