Protection Paladin 3.3 Frost Emblem Priority Order

[rebornid]

Hello, on this forum I've seen many guides on what to spend your frost emblems on first but most of them are directed at warriors, are they still viable for protection paladins since I'm having trouble deciding what to buy first, could somone hit me with a priority list for protection paladins or just a few major upgrade choices. I know it depends on my gear but could you link me a few major upgrades that I should get first and I'll compare it to my gear and set a priority.

Thank you!

P.S, should i use falrics wrist chopper or rimefangs claw for new icc raid

[Martie]

While warriors favor expertise a little more then paladins, their gearing is almost identical. Following the warrior guide isn't a bad plan, though I strongly advice you to find out the reasoning behind all the choices so you can learn to make them yourself.

Ps. Block rating is horrible unless you are going for a specific set - Rimefang's it is!

[rebornid]

I have one more question, what red gem should I use to activate my meta gem, i don't know wether to get the regal dreadstone (10 dodge 15 stam) or the one with (10 agility 15 stam)

[Exiledknight]

Agility, you get more benefits, almost as much dodge as the dodge gem, more armor, and some crit.

[winterbourne]

...posting with the EXTREME caveat that you simply MUST sit down with your current gear and look for weak spots, not just in equip slots (like a 213 piece with low avoidance), but for a stat you want to focus on first (like HP if you are too squishy for instance)...

i have found (as a guild MT, and noted it as well in my two main OTs) that cloaks seem to be the worst-available item, outside of the geriatric Platinum Mesh and the Iron Council drop. (i have never seen the Jaraxxus cloak fall ever). Hence it was a slam dunk for all three of us (and a few others I know socially on my server) to snatch up the Sentinel's Winter cloak as fast as emblem-ly possible.

But again, look to your gear, what you will be tanking, and what stats you need to boost soonest. I really don't see any stinkers other than the inevitable loss of the quick-taunt 2pc set bonus from ToC. i really love 4 second taunts.

[Bumrusher]

I would agree with Winterbourne I think for the vast majority of Prot Pally's the back piece is going to be the Biggest upgrade and not to mention the hardest to do better then from ICC. At the moment if i'm not mistaken only a 251 cloak from 10man is available, and according to rawr the Sentinel's Winter Cloak is BiS and 2nd BiS according to maxdps.com. However there is also some that would say going for the belt is a very good idea as well, i think this would come down to what you have in the those 2 slots. Say you have the Jarraxas cloak from 25ToC and the Jarraxas Belt from 10ToC i would take the badge belt.

[kaehl]

For most it will be Cloak > Belt > Gloves > Trinket > Chest > Legs. The reason I put chest/legs last is because there are some great pieces that drop off the first few bosses which you can hope for while getting the emblems together for the first few pieces listed. If you were lucky with drops in ToC25/ToGC25 then your priority can get swapped around a little on the first three, but the first four are all worth picking up in the end.

[krc]

I agree with you kaehl but I don't understand why you would put the trinket ahead of the chest and legs because of drops in ToC when the Black Heart and Glyph of Indom can be obtained almost instantly and if you are comparing the Black Heart the Black Heart's proc is worth around 90 stam it relys on RNG a little but still on average all the frost trinket has on it is 8 stamina and a bad on use.

Comparing the frost trinket to the Glyph on a pure physical fight where you would be using the Glyph because you have the Black Heart for a fight that kills the tank with a fair percentage of magic the Frost trinket only has about 60 stamina of EH on it and the Glyph's on use is much better.

Comparing the Normal ToC chest to the badge one with the badge chest you gain 1344 armor and 57 stamina if you include the socket. Comparing the normal ToC legs to the Pillars of Might with the pillars you get 1336 armor and 57 stamina. The ToC legs also rely on randomness of the drop while the Glyph and Black Heart can be obtained close to instantly. And if you are going to look at the ToGC versions of these you also have to look the Satrina's trinket in heroic which is just as good as the trinket.

[kaehl]

I guess I ruled out the fact that people have better luck than I do with trinkets lol! I had two brewfest trinkets until I could get the skeleton key

I personally don't like the black heart's "proc" compared to a steady stam boost. I agree on the skeleton key having a shitty on-use, but the passive 228 stam was a no-brainer for me. I feel like having a chance to upgrade your chest/legs through drops while you pick up the other pieces (which you won't be replacing immediately due to a drop) is more worthwhile than picking up a 60 or 95 badge item only to have a nearly equivalent item drop the next day.

My priority system is taking into account the currently slow accumulation of badges. If one were to ignore that aspect of the game then going for the chest/legs before the trinket would be the more logical choice (given you have good trinkets to begin with, unlike myself).

[Martie]

I have one more question, what red gem should I use to activate my meta gem, i don't know wether to get the regal dreadstone (10 dodge 15 stam) or the one with (10 agility 15 stam)

I know, late reply, but I have to pitch in here.

I personally go for some other socket bonuses, (since the choice is basically 30 stamina vs 24 stamina+10something else) and I found that the best way to consider these gems is to see them as "whatever you like" bonuses. 10 of any stat won't break or make the character, and minmaxing only goes so far. I hate missing my attacks, so I'll pop in an expertise gem if I find myself running low. I like doing crits, so I'll favor agility over dodge. Hell, I've even gemmed for hit or defense from time to time. Sure, I won't be squeezing every last ounce of stamina from my gear, but at least it will feel like my gear. (Not that I make stupid choices, of course - there's a good argument behind each and every gem and enchant I have.)

[Gotankadin]

For most it will be Cloak > Belt > Gloves > Trinket > Chest > Legs. The reason I put chest/legs last is because there are some great pieces that drop off the first few bosses which you can hope for while getting the emblems together for the first few pieces listed. If you were lucky with drops in ToC25/ToGC25 then your priority can get swapped around a little on the first three, but the first four are all worth picking up in the end.

I wouls actually agree with most of this, having upgraded first he cloak, then the belt, but the next upgrade I am going for is the trinket, only because I have gotten a serious upgrade from Lady Deathwhisper 10 man the ghoul commander's chestguard, (and thanks to work's crappy control settings, I cant see what I have gemmed there).

[Osi]

Hey guys so I was reading this forum and I like the way everyone prioritized there gear and what to get first and after reading it I have a few questions.

I know back pieces are extremely rare and I've seen pride of the demon lord 3 times and lost it each time and am still stuck with the crafted one so I know everyone's pain when it comes to gear not being seen or dropping. If your doing fine with the back piece that you have why upgrade it with the 264 one right away when you have a chance of getting your tier 10pc and upgrading it if you do ICC 25 and get to Deathbringer.

To me I think the tier pieces are more valuable even when there are other drops in ICC that you can replace with stuff from vendors.

so wont you all want to get your basic tier gear eventualy?

and yeah everyone has there own luck when it comes to drops, trinkets and other gear i dont have a problem with but the odd junk like boots and bracers and belts and cloaks seem to be tough but i'm still doing fine with my old junk

just thought I'd share my 2 copper

Enjoy the new content and good luck raiding

(Also if anyone knows an addon to maxamize your geming and matching sockets to get the most efective itemization out of your gear, that would be awesome if you could please share it with me)

[Martie]

To me I think the tier pieces are more valuable even when there are other drops in ICC that you can replace with stuff from vendors.

I'm personally giving the tier pieces a low priority, though I must admit that that's largely because of my inability to secure a token for their upgrades anywhere in the forseeable future.

so wont you all want to get your basic tier gear eventualy?

Apart from the token issue, I think the tier gear isn't optimally itemized. The power of the extra armor on so many pieces just can't be ignored.

(Also if anyone knows an addon to maxamize your geming and matching sockets to get the most efective itemization out of your gear, that would be awesome if you could please share it with me)

You honestly shouldn't need an addon for that, it's easy enough. Here are the ground rules.

• When in doubt, go stamina.
• Any socket bonus under 9 stamina per nonblue can be ignored.
• Make sure your meta gem is active.
• When a piece has a 9 or more stamina socket bonus and only requires one nonblue gem, use an offcolor gem with whatever stat you need.
• Agility, Dodge and defense rating all offer about equal advantages.
• Only use blue, purple and green gems.

[Caerus]

I know back pieces are extremely rare and I've seen pride of the demon lord 3 times and lost it each time and am still stuck with the crafted one so I know everyone's pain when it comes to gear not being seen or dropping. If your doing fine with the back piece that you have why upgrade it with the 264 one right away when you have a chance of getting your tier 10pc and upgrading it if you do ICC 25 and get to Deathbringer.

To me I think the tier pieces are more valuable even when there are other drops in ICC that you can replace with stuff from vendors.

so wont you all want to get your basic tier gear eventualy?

and yeah everyone has there own luck when it comes to drops, trinkets and other gear i dont have a problem with but the odd junk like boots and bracers and belts and cloaks seem to be tough but i'm still doing fine with my old junk

just thought I'd share my 2 copper

Enjoy the new content and good luck raiding

(Also if anyone knows an addon to maxamize your geming and matching sockets to get the most efective itemization out of your gear, that would be awesome if you could please share it with me)

The armor bonus on the non tier pieces is quite nice. However I have to to agree with you and your choice to get the token tier piece. It could just be gearing options or luck, but the majority of my gear is 258 so i've decided to pick up the set for the t10 4pc. I know that progression and when you first learn a fight EH is the most important, but after awhile you will not need it as much and I think having another CD with DP will be a huge benefit in the latter part of ICC and HM.

But I also have to agree with everyone else, look at your gear and you should be able to determine what you need to replace first.

[Cardnialsyn]

I personally don't like the black heart's "proc" compared to a steady stam boost.


I would argue that there is not a better trinket for ICC than the Black Heart. It has +126 Stamina AND procs almost instantly when available. ICD of 50 seconds... So for every 1 min of a boss encounter you have almost an extra 7100 armor. Considering the average boss encounter is aprox 5-6 mins long you will now have a total of almost 7100 extra armor for around a full minute for that fight. That is HUGE mitigation in a place where you have crap for dodge and 85% of the damage flying around is physical.

[kaehl]

A proc is a proc, you don't control when it's up to mitigate the damage. A bigger healthpool can however, be always topped off by healers (technically). Personal preference in the end, but for a fight where my life is at stake, I prefer to have control of the variables as much as possible. If I'm just trying to minimize damage and my death is rather unlikely, then yes, I would definitely go with the black heart.

[Cardnialsyn]

A proc is a proc, you don't control when it's up to mitigate the damage. A bigger healthpool can however, be always topped off by healers (technically). Personal preference in the end, but for a fight where my life is at stake, I prefer to have control of the variables as much as possible. If I'm just trying to minimize damage and my death is rather unlikely, then yes, I would definitely go with the black heart.

You can't "control it" but you can figure it into your TTL scenario. The Black Heat has an outstanding proc rate and as stated +126 stamina. I can't see giving up 7100 extra armor for a full minute of a boss fight for an extra 1,000 health (if we are comparing it to the Corroded Skeleton Key let's say). While higher health pools are desirable for progression raiding they are of little value if you are constantly getting blasted with high spike damage. Take my avoidance away and I will start by stacking Armor>Stamina. It's a tough balance but the 7100 extra armor, even on a proc ups your TTL over a 5-6min boss fight over a static 1k health for physical damage.

[krc]

You can't "control it" but you can figure it into your TTL scenario. The Black Heat has an outstanding proc rate and as stated +126 stamina. I can't see giving up 7100 extra armor for a full minute of a boss fight for an extra 1,000 health (if we are comparing it to the Corroded Skeleton Key let's say). While higher health pools are desirable for progression raiding they are of little value if you are constantly getting blasted with high spike damage. Take my avoidance away and I will start by stacking Armor>Stamina. It's a tough balance but the 7100 extra armor, even on a proc ups your TTL over a 5-6min boss fight over a static 1k health for physical damage.

Well if you measure it out the proc is only worth 68 stamina on a pure physical fight. You are missing one of the main concepts of EH stacking, part of the reason people want it is because it is the least possible random situation and is there when you need it, that armor proc is just like avoidance, relys on randomness and might not be there when you need it.