by HorschdJust hit level 80 and want to quickly gear up for tanking duties in Naxxramas or heroics? Don’t want to run 5-man instances over and over hoping for just 1 item to drop? There are several things you can get through quests, reputation or simply buy those BoE (bind on equip) items at AH. If you got all these and still feel in need for some purples, i found lots of tanking stuff that you’ll get by doing heroics or that can be purchased for Emblem of Heroism. So this guide may help you to build your tank up from scratch.
- About this guide
- What this guide is not
- Target Stats
- Gem Selection
- Other Comments
- Head
- Neck
- Shoulder
- Cloak
- Chest
- Wrists
- Gloves
- Waist
- Legs
- Feet
- Rings
- Trinkets
- Weapons
- Shields
- Offhand
About this Guide
First of all: I didn’t reinvent the wheel. Polar from tankspot.com wrote a great guide. I found it when I tried to get my own Paladin Naxx-ready. It just didn’t cover all my whishes, so I took his guide as a base, changed/added some things and reformatted it to fit into the design of wow-pro. So now it is a list of some of the better L80 pre-Naxxramas plate tank gear that you can get by
- Quests
- The Auction House (drops from 5-mans that aren’t BoP)
- BoE-crafting
- Reputation (up to “revered”)
By getting just these items you’ll be ready to get beaten up (without dying :)) by those heroic mode bosses in 5-mans and you should be able to tank 10-man Naxxramas.
If you’ll want further gear, yust check out the mayor quality items (these are marked in purple).
These might include some BoP raid drops and Epic World Drops, so expect them to sell for somewhat bigger amounts on gold at AH.
All items are plate, so this guide mainly applies to Warrior, Paladin and Death Knight tanks.
What this guide is not
This is not the “ultimate” pre-raid tanking guide – it is focused on getting you ready to tank bosses in the 5 man runs. It also dosn’t set priority on gear that requires exalted faction rep. You’ll get this rep, but maybe you’ve done lots of heroics and some Naxx-runs before, so you won’t need this gear any more. Well, i’ll add some of those rewards either, but later on.
Oh, and sorry Droods, this guide excludes leather. I don’t have a clue what you need for tanking, but Cloud9 seems to have! Take a look at Cloud9’s Pre-Raid Feral Tank Gear Guide. (thx eric)
Another thing that isn’t covered in this guide is how to play actually. If you are playing a Paladin and you haven’t read Tannyr’s Guide to the “96969” Paladin Tanking Rotation you should really do that! It’s great! For all you Warriors, DK’s and poor Druids who haven’t such a great guide and are good tanks too, just write your own guide to play as a tank with your class. I’ll link it here! 🙂
Target Stats
The primary aim of the items listed is to increase stamina, defense, dodge/parry and armor. 540 defense is the target value to minimize crit chance against you. If you plan to tank only heroics, 535 should be enough since there are no boss mobs. Once you hit 540 you should be aiming for a good balance between armor, stamina and avoidance (dodge+parry). DK’s are going to have to work a bit harder to hit 540 defense because you don’t have a shield but they may enchant their weapon with Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle (tnx Kwaice). The head, chest, legs and shield contribute most to the tanking stats so aim to get these sorted above all else. Unbuffed 21k armor, 21k health and 32% dodge+parry is a good target for entry-level Naxxramas.
Gem Selection
Recommended green quality jewels are
- Perfect Regal Shadow Crystal (red slots)
- Perfect Enduring Dark Jade (yellow slots)
- Perfect Solid Chalcedony (blue slots)
Remember that you do not have to match the jewel color to the slot color and you only give up the socket bonus if you take this approach. Buy those Perfect ones. They are worth the few gold more you’ll pay. Suggested gems are shown as a guide only for each socketable item. Better quality gems are recommended if you can afford them.
- Defender’s Twilight Opal (red slot)
- Thick Autumn’s Glow (yellow slot)
- Solid Sky Sapphire (blue slot)
All you Jewelcrafters (or those of you who plan to be one) might want to have a look at those:
Other Comments
If you wonder what professions you should choose, consider taking Mining and Jewelcrafting/Blacksmithing/Engineering. Mining will give you some additional stamina and you’ll get the resources for your other job too. As Jewelcrafter you can make some really great BoP gems and some Trinkets, Blacksmithing gives you the Ability to forge some extra sockets to your bracers and gloves and if you choose to be an engineer you could make a helmet and a trinket that could be worn twice.
Of course this is just a proposal. Any other job will be fine too.
The Wyrmrest Accord reputation rewards provide many quality tanking items. You are encouraged to concentrate on getting to ‘revered’ as quickly as possible. The next reputation to aim for is Argent Crusade (revered) so that you can pick up the best head enchant. The third faction you should get revered with are the Sons of Hodir as you’ll get your shoulder enchant there. You have to do a long quest chain to unlock those reputation quests, but you’ll be remunerated with some cool gloves (Gauntlets of Vigilance) and lots of XP and gold.
Highly recommended items – generally better than 5-man non-heroic instance boss drops are marked with an *.
If you just hit Lvl70 and want to start playing a tank in WotLK from the scrap, I recommend to buy the whole green cobalt set:
- Cobalt Chestpiece
- Cobalt Boots
- Cobalt Gauntlets
- Cobalt Helm
- Cobalt Legplates
- Cobalt Shoulders
- Cobalt Belt
- Cobalt Bracers
That should be a good base for tanking Utgarde Keep and The Nexus and you should get them for only few goldpieces in the AH.
But thats not the matter of this guide. Lets see what you should have if you’ve finally finished leveling:
Head
The Crusader’s Resolution*
Source: L79 Quest – Icecrown: The Crusaders’ Pinnacle (you must have several other quests completet to get this one. See comments page on wowhead!)
Recommended Enchant: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector (Argent Crusade – Revered)
Profession note:
Engineers should craft their epic googles Armored Titanium Goggles
Mayor quality item:
Tempered Titansteel Helm
Source: AH – Blacksmithing BoE
Neck
Burning Skull Pendant*
Source: AH – Requires L80
or
Reinforced Titanium Neckguard
Source: L80 Quest – Icecrown: The Admiral Revealed (end of a quest chain)
or
Betrayer’s Choker
Source: L74 Quest – Zul’drak: Betrayal (end of a quest chain)
Major quality item:
Titanium Earthguard Chain
Source: AH – Jewelcrafting BoE
Shoulder
Crusader’s Square Pauldrons*
Source: AH – Requires L78
or
Pauldrons of Reconnaissance
Source: L76 Quest – Halls of Stone: Halls of Stone
Recommended Enchant: Lesser Inscription of the Pinnacle (Sons of Hodir – Honored)
Profession note:
Inscriptioners should enchant with: Master’s Inscription of the Pinnacle
Cloak
Tattered Castle Drape*
Source: AH – Requires L80
or
Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions
Source: Wyrmrest Accord quartermaster (Honored) – Requires L78
Major quality item:
Durable Nerubhide Cape
Source: AH – Leatherworking BoE
Recommended Enchant: +16 defense (Enchant Cloak – Titanweave)
Chest
Breastplate of the Solemn Council*
Source: Wyrmrest Accord quartermaster (Revered) – Requires L80
or
Silver-Plated Battlechest
Source: L79 Quest – Utgarde Pinnacle: Junk in My Trunk
Recommended Enchant: +22 defense (Enchant Chest – Greater Defense) or +10 all stats (Enchant Chest – Powerful Stats) or +275 HP (Enchant Chest – Super Health)
Major quality item:
Sorry, i didn’t find any that is BoE 🙁
If someone finds one, let me know!
Wrists
Bracers of Reverence
Source: L80 Quest – The Oculus: A Wing and a Prayer (this ist the last quest of a chain that requires several quests in The Oculus)
or
Tempered Saronite Bracers
Source: Crafted/AH – Requires L77
Recommended Enchant: +15 expertise (Enchant Bracers – Expertise) or +6 all stats (Enchant Bracers – Greater Stats)
Major quality item:
Bracers of Dalaran’s Parapets
Source: sold for 60 Emblem of Valor, but BoE. Well, try to find those in AH if you have too much gold or buy them with your main if your doing 25ers regulary. (Tnx Night_Hawk for the link)
or
Bracers of the Herald
Source: dropped by Herald Volazj in heroic Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom
Gloves
Gauntlets of Vigilance
Source: L79 Quest – Storm Peaks: The Reckoning (this is a loooooong quest chain, but you should do it anyway. It is needed to get those daily Son’s of Hodir quests which are essential to get the faction honored for your shoulder enchant. See the comments on wowhead for details.)
or
Refined Ore Gloves
Source: AH – Requires L80
or
Daunting Handguards
Source: Crafted/AH – Requires L78
Recommended Enchant: +2% threat and +10 parry (Enchant Gloves – Armsman)
Major quality item:
Horn-Tipped Gauntlets
Source: Dropped by Gal’darah in Gundrak heroic
Waist
Waistguard of the Risen Knight
Source: AH – Requires L80
or
Tempered Saronite Belt
Source: Crafted/AH – Requires L74
Recommended Augment: Eternal Belt Buckle for an extra socket.
Major quality item:
Sorry, i didn’t find any that is BoE 🙁
If someone finds one, let me know!
Legs
Daunting Legplates
Source: Crafted/AH – Requires L78
or
Special Issue Legplates
Source: Argent Crusade quartermaster (Honored) – Requires L78
Recommended Enchant: Frosthide Leg Armor (+55 stamina, +22 agility) – Epic but should be inexpensive.
Major quality item:
Bolstered Legplates
Source: Dropped by Cyanigosa in heroic Violet Hold
Feet
Sabatons of Draconic Vigor
Source: Wyrmrest Accord quartermaster (Revered) – Requires L80
or
Toxin-Tempered Sabatons
Source: Knights of the Ebon Blade quartermaster (Honored) – Requires L78
Major quality item:
Tempered Titansteel Treads
Recommended Enchant: +15 stamina/speed (Enchant Boots – Tuskarr’s Vitality) or +22 stamina (Enchant Boots – Greater Fortitude) or Heavy Borean Armor Kit (+18 stamina).
Rings
Ring of Earthen Might
Source: Crafted/AH – Requires L78
Staunch Signet
Source: L78 Quest – The Oculus: The Struggle Persists
Kurzel’s Warband
Source: L73 Quest – Drak’tharon Keep: Search and Rescue (needs a prequest to be done in Grizzly Hills)
Solid Platinum Band[
Source: L76 Quest – Gundrak: For Posterity
Major quality item:
Titanium Earthguard Ring
Source: AH – Jewelcrafting BoE
or
Keystone Great-Ring
Source: dropped by The Prophet Tharon’ja in heroic Drak’Tharon Keep
or
Signet of the Accord
Source: AH – dropped by Sartharion in Obsidian Sanctum (heroic?) – BoE
Profession note:
Enchanters should enchant their rings with Enchant Ring – Stamina
Trinkets
It seems that there are no dedicated tank-trinket that you can get through quests or buy. If i’m wrong, please correct me. Luckily there are some professions that could make some (BoP)trinkets with cool stats:
Jewelcrafters should craft Figurine – Monarch Crab and Figurine – Ruby Hare
Alchemists should craft Indestructible Alchemist’s Stone
Engineers should craft/buy Sonic Booster (can be equiped twice!)
Seal of the Pantheon
Source: dropped by Loken in Halls of Lightning (nh)
or
Offering of Sacrifice
Source: dropped by Gal’darah in heroic Gundrak
or
Lavanthor’s Talisman
Source: dropped by Lavabthor in heroic Violet Hold
or (kind of “must have”)
Essence of Gossamer
Soucre: dropped by Hadronox in heroic Azjol-Nerub
Weapons
Blade of the Empty Void
Source: L80 Quest – Icecrown: Tirion’s Gambit (once again, the end of a quest chain)
or
Fang of Truth (Warriors choice to maximize threat)
Source: Wyrmrest Accord quartermaster (Honored) – Requires L78
or
Hammer of Quiet Mourning (good for dwarves due to mace racial ability)
Sword of Heartwrenching Slaughter
Crescent of Brooding Fury (Paladins should thake this one due its slow speed and high damage)
Source: all 3 from the same L75 Quest – Zul’Drak: Wanted: Ragemane’s Flipper
or
Argent Skeleton Crusher (DK 2-hander)
Source: Argent Crusade quartermaster (Revered) – Requires L80
or
De-Raged Waraxe] (DK 2-hander)
Source: L75 Quest – Zul’Drak: The Champion of Anguish (Zul’Drak Arena Quest)
Recommended Enchant: +26 agil (Enchant Weapon – Exceptional Agility) or +25 hit/crit (Enchant Weapon – Accuracy).
Major quality items:
Red Sword of Courage
Source: dropped by King Ymiron in heroic Utgarde Pinnacle (good for Warriors, Paladins should keep Crescent of Brooding Fury due its higher damage)
Colossal Skull-Clad Cleaver
Source: Loken in heroic Halls of Lightning (just for our undead, blueeyed friends)
Shields
Saronite Bulwark
Source: Crafted/AH – Requires L77
or
Bulwark of the Warchief
Source: Horde Expedition quartermaster (Revered) – Requires L78
or
Shield of the Lion-hearted
Source: Alliance Vanguard quartermaster (Revered) – Requires L78
Recommended Enchant: +20 defense (Enchant Shield – Defense)
Major quality item:
Titansteel Shield Wall
Source: AH – Blachsmithing BoE
or
Royal Crest of Lordaeron
Source: found in the chest in heroic The Culling of Stratholme (CoT4)
Ranged (warriors)
Weighted Throwing Axe
Source: L80 Quest – The Storm Peaks: Changing the Wind’s Course (another long quest chain)
Libram (paladins)
Venture Co. Libram of Protection
Source: Purchased through Venture Coins (Grizzly Hills PvP) Alliance: “Grizzly” D. Adams Horde: Purkom both located at Venture Bay.
I’ll add some items from 5-man heroics soon…
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Cheers for the replyCheers for the reply Night_hawk
Took a look at the link you supplied and I think it confirms, as a tank, we should be going after highest DPS for using HotR and SoV
2thingsGood guide two things….
1.Red Sword of Courage
Source: dropped by King Ymiron in heroic Utgarde Pinnacle (good for Warriors, Paladins should keep Crescent of Brooding Fury due its higher damage)
dont real get your point here. they do the same dmg/sec and red sword of courage is faster.
2. i know this guide wasnt done for absoult best gear to start raiding but i think you can mention bages rewards as shild neck and trinket. when I was gearing up my pally tank i found my self having tons of bages after all heroics I ran^^.
I think it’s a case ofI think it’s a case of Paladins prefering the higher base damage on [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=44735]Crescent of Brooding Fury[/url] (as opposed to [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37401]Red Sword of Courage[/url]), I’m not sure exactly why, but it has been proven by some guys at elitist jerks. I’ll try and find the link explaining it.
Edit: Source :[url=http://elitistjerks.com/f76/t37172-protection_paladin_field_manual_wow_3_0_wotlk/]Elitist Jerks Link[/url]
Just found this and it seems to have changed since I last read it.
The speed of your weapon is relatively inconsequential. Slower weapons have slightly better properties for parrying (both yours and your target’s) and for using HotR with Seal of Righteousness. Fast weapons allow you to stack Seal of Vengeance slightly faster. Neither of these effects is significant enough for weapon speed to be a factor in your gear decisions. [b]Choose the weapon that has the highest dps or the best stats.[/b]
Seems like the base damage of the weapon is less important now.
pally weapon choicejust one piont on
“Major quality items:Red Sword of Courage
Source: dropped by King Ymiron in heroic Utgarde Pinnacle (good for Warriors, Paladins should keep Crescent of Brooding Fury due its higher damage)”
Pallys work off the higher dps not dmg, and the Red Sword of Courage has 143.4dps compared to 111.7dps on the Crescent of Brooding Fury
i may be wrong on this and please correct me if i am but from what i have been reading im sure its Dps that counts
Anyway thank you for the info, I’m leveling up to 80 now and will definitly be refering back to this guide on my way
UpdateUpdate on this situation:
I contacted Polar via tankspot last week and he still hasn’t responded. I see no harm in keeping this up here unless he says to take it down, we did our best to contact him and you did cite it as coming from him. However if he does get back to us and ask it to be taken down, it will be.
Hopefully there won’t be a problem though, and glad it’s (somewhat) resolved, at least for now!
I second Jiyambi’sI second Jiyambi’s opinion.
The best way to handle this is to ask Polar if he’s okay with his guide being posted and re-worked here. If he’s not ok, we’ll just unpublish the guide.
So Horschd, I would appreciate if you could ask Polar for permission 🙂
Your guide is also moreYour guide is also more updated, better layout etc, nice work ! 🙂
You said two reasons why iYou said two reasons why i posted this guide yourself. 😉 In fact i didn’t find your guide as i needed gear for my paladin, so that may be the main reason.
Anyway, thanks for the link to cloud9’s guide!
2 things I wanna2 things I wanna say:
[list=1]
[*][url=https://www.wow-pro.com/class_guides/cloud9s_preraid_feral_tank_gear_guide]cloud9s pre-raid feral tank gear guide[/url] – Add a link to this one for druid tanks.
[*] Why are you posting this guide? I wrote this long time ago : [url=https://www.wow-pro.com/general_guides/erics_lvl_80_easy_tank_guide]Eric’s level 80 Plate Tank Gear Guide[/url] –
Your guide is more updated than mine, however I disagree on a few items.
[/list]
“P.S. @Maw: My reply answers“P.S. @Maw: My reply answers your question but I wasn’t aiming all of this response at you, sorry if it looks that way. Its meant for the guide author!”
I don’t mind, I were just curious.
Thanks, Tag, for making this subject clear 😉
Thank you for saying what IThank you for saying what I was trying to say in a much more eloquent fashion!
NONo you cannot.
When you create something, it belongs you to. Thats what copyright is about. Something is automatically protected by law when you create something. Reproducing said work with trivial changes and no permission from the author constitutes a violation of copyright law. Unless of course the author has released this under a specific license such creative commons or similar.
In short, take it down, until you get the author’s permission. All this article does is places yourself and wow-pro in a legally questionable position. It also doesn’t add much to the wow community as we know tankspot is a good place for tanks to get advice on gearing (and other things!) and most tanks will have visited at one time or another. The purpose this guide serves, I do not know.
So until you get permission from the author to not only posts this guide but to also make trivial changes then you are indeed violating copyright law and WoW-Pro is probably also culpable for hosting it.
Tag. 🙂
P.S. @Maw: My reply answers your question but I wasn’t aiming all of this response at you, sorry if it looks that way. Its meant for the guide author!
Are you allowed to postAre you allowed to post guides that others have made as long as they are not copyrighted, and as long as you CLEARLY state that the guide is NOT your own, but someone else’s?
Again, the above is myAgain, the above is my opinion, I’ve left a note on the moderator page directing Jame to this conversation so we should get some final answers soon 🙂
I appologise also I didn’tI appologise also I didn’t see that at all last night lol
Jiyambi, I think it is ok seeing as he has given Polar credit for the origional guide. And yes I have also noticed some small parts were added or slightly changed. But hey, I’m not in charge of this whole parade haha good job too probably… 😛
As I said, I retract my previous statement and offer my appologies to you Horschd.
– Skumball
Lmao, didn’t even notice iLmao, didn’t even notice i wrote Dark Knights.
Darn Joker x(
Hah, I didn’t see that.Hah, I didn’t see that. Well, that changes things somewhat, sorry for the misunderstanding.
I still think it’s a bit off to use all his explanation and what-not word for word. No, there’s nothing wrong with taking the list of items itself, but taking it word for word basically means we get the traffic tank spot may have gotten due to his hard work. If I did something like this in school, even if I said where I got the info, I would get an automatic F and possibly even be expelled. Using the information is one thing, copying word for word is still something else, even when citing the source. Would we want someone to copy Jame’s guides on another site word for word, even if they said that they were Jame’s? I wouldn’t.
I know I’m kinda splitting hairs here, and ultimately it’s up to Jame what he feels the rules should be on his site. Also, if you talked to Polar and checked if it was okay to repost the guide here, then I would have no issue with it.
Well, thaty why the firstWell, thaty why the first three sentences in this guide are:
“First of all: I didn’t reinvent the wheel. Polar from tankspot.com wrote a great guide. I found it when I tried to get my own Paladin Naxx-ready. It just didn’t cover all my whishes, so I took his guide as a base, changed/added some things and reformatted it to fit into the design of wow-pro.”
Copy & Paste…
Word forCopy & Paste…
Word for word it is exactly the same. It is a great guide there is no arguement about that, but unless you are Polar yourself then you should either give him credit for the origional guide in yours, or remove it.
If you are Polar, than I do appologise to you.
At the end of the day though, this is a good guide and thanks for putting it up here on WoW-Pro. I just thing credit where credit is due is all 🙂
– Skumball
You’re right, lots of thisYou’re right, lots of this is word-for-word coppies, which is NOT okay. You can’t exactly change which items are best, so that doesn’t violate anything, but what you have done here is blatant plagiarism. If you are Polar, as the above poster allowed, then of course this does not apply. If you are not, take this down right away.
EDIT: I messaged Polar on Tankspot, we’ll see if he gets back to me.
I’ve healed my guild’s druidI’ve healed my guild’s druid tank in that Polar Vest, I know some tanks wear it all the time due to the stam. As a healer, I recommend against it. It makes them harder to heal overall, because while they have more total HP, they are taking more damage, which means overall more healing that needs to be done.
Yep, the stats definitelyYep, the stats definitely leave something to be desired, apart from the stamina, which is found in fairly epic proportions.
Driuds version is: [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43590]Polar Vest[/url]
Right. If you don’t tankRight. If you don’t tank boss mobs you’ll be fine with 535, but this guide aims for getting your tank Naxx-ready.
And tnx for remembering me that DKs (Dark Knights? Don’t mix that with Batman 🙂 ) have some “Specials”!
Generally, on my serverGenerally, on my server there are a couple of these on the AH at any one time, however the prices are usually pretty extortionate – 1500g minimum.
Cheers
You’re right, but you’llYou’re right, but you’ll find blues with better stats for tanking. This should be the chest for doing damage to Sapharion with frost resistance, but no gear choices for tanks at all… (this may except Druids with the leater chest because they dont need to stack a certain amount of def)
Well, right, that’s BoE, butWell, right, that’s BoE, but either you need a main who is doing 25ers regulary or you have to find one who sells theim in AH. 60 Emblems of Valor are quite a lot, but I’ll add them!
hmmmmmm………This sure looks a lot like http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f97/40966-polar-s-easy-pre-naxx-tank-gear-list.html ……. unless of course you are Polar, in which I apologise.
Sorry, just also foundSorry, just also found this:
[url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43586]Icebane Chestguard[/url]
It is a BoE chest,however it’s stats are not that good for tanking, but it does have a lot of stamina and some slots for those lacking health.
Cheers
Good work, great as my DeathGood work, great as my Death Knight is coming to Northrend soon 😉
You said in the guide that you could not find epic quality bracers, I would suggest using:
[url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40734]Bracers of Dalaran’s Parapets[/url]
However they will cost you quite a lot.
Cheers
Nice guide !
However i’llNice guide !
However i’ll have to disagree when you say “DK’s are going to have to work a bit harder to hit 540 defense because you don’t have a shield”.
Dark Knights have access to the [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=62158]Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle[/url] which gives them a flat 25 def (not score) if they use a two handed weapon.
You might also add that 535 def is enough to become uncrittable in heroics.
But good work !