Holy hell, what a hectic past couple of weeks it's been. Beyond the vast changes that will be happening to Warriors next patch, I've switched guilds. Twice in fact. In my own defense, let's just say that I'm not as gullible to accept a tanking spec as viable as I used to be, and I have a lot of lost respect for some certain people now. No, it isn't any of you readers or any of my fellow bloggers. I still love you guys. :)
Anyway, I digress. Enough about me. Time for a guide! This is a continuation on my previous guide on the basics of stats to concentrate on as a Prot Warrior. Now, you may know these things, but what about enchants? What about those colored rocks that I'm supposed to be putting in my armor? Well, that's what I'm here for. I'll be covering Warrior tanks in this guide, so sit back and...well, just read.
Enchants:
Head: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector, Must be revered with Argent Crusade
Shoulders: Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle, Must be Exalted with The Sons of Hodir, or if you're a Scribe, invest in the Master's.
Cloak: Titanweave, Mighty Armor, or Major Agility. This depends on, respectively, whether you need defense, effective health, or threat.
Chest: Greater Defense, Super Health, or Powerful Stats. See Cloak.
Wrists: Major Stamina. You probably won't need Expertise or Defense, but they're still there.
Hands: Armsman. Alternatives include more health or more avoidance, or Engineers can add more armor.
Waist: Do I really have to explain? As far as gems go for the buckle, put what you need in it. If you don't need anything, then you need Stamina. See below. :)
Legs: Frosthide Leg Armor, and nothing else really. No tank I know would take anything otherwise.
Feet: Greater Fortitude, but I personally prefer Tuskarr's Vitality. It may sacrifice a little bit of stamina, but the extra bit of run speed is very helpful when you need to get to a position quicker or get out of a position quicker. I hear that most raid bosses like to make players position themselves in certain ways around them and they also like making areas on the floor around them where the players get hurt when standing in those areas. (See what I did there?)
Rings(Enchanters Only): Stamina on both. No other choices really.
Weapon: Several choices here. Blood Draining is recommended for main tanking because you're taking the most damage as the main tank and it helps slightly with the healers. If you're not main tanking, then you can choose between Blade Ward and Accuracy. The first is a little cheaper in terms of mats, so you could go for it if you don't need hit while you save for the second one, but if you need the hit (which you most likely will eventually), you'll want the second. More pricey, but more worth it.
Shield: Major Stamina, Defense, or Titanium Plating. Take your pick of health, defense if you need it, or threat.
As a tank, you should be able to generate enough threat through your abilities, talents, priority rotation, and maybe a couple threat enchants, but overall, my advice is to mostly stick with the health and stamina. Depending on where you're having problems, whether it be survivability or threat issues, you can adjust your enchants accordingly.
Gemming Your Gear:
(Note: Seeing as Dragon's Eye gems are going to be mono-colored next patch, I will assume this for this part of the guide. Also, all gems have the same prefix before the gem name, so I'll just mention these prefixes. You should always be using the best gem available to you, meaning blue gems pre-3.2 and epic gems post-3.2.)
Gemming as a Protection Warrior isn't just "put the correct color into the according socket". As far as gemming goes, stamina is your best friend. If you're a smart player, you'll know that if the socket bonus isn't worth getting for your class, then you can gem however you please. Still, keep in mind what you are putting in for gems so you can keep your meta gem active.
As far as a Prot Warrior goes, you want stamina. LOTS of stamina. If the socket bonus doesn't offer extra hit that you need or something like +9 or +12 stamina or something similar that you absolutely need, your socketing will be pretty basic, or, shall I say, solid, if you know what I mean. With this in mind, here are some alternatives to activating your meta gem or getting the socket bonus:
Red: Need defense? Go Stalwart. Need Expertise? Go Guardian's. Need both? Go Resolute. Hit and Expertise? Accurate. Otherwise, whether you want more avoidance or threat, go for Regal or Shifting respectively.
Yellow: The orange options can work here too, but you can also use Enduring if you just need defense, or if you're really in desperate need for defense, you can use Thick.
Blue: Do I really have to explain? Again? Still, for those Jewelcrafters out there, please, for the love of The Light, use three of these. I don't care where. Just use them. Please.
Meta: Only found in your helmet. Austere Earthsiege Diamond should be your go-to choice for your meta, but Eternal Earthsiege offers some more defense if you need to reach the cap.
Once again, if your socket bonus isn't worth it (see above), stick a Solid blue gem in it. Not really complicated honestly.
All the information here is fairly obvious, especially if you want to be an outstanding end-game tank, meaning you keep up on current information on your class and you make decisions based on what you believe you need most as a tank. In the end, this guide is mostly from my own experiences, and for the tank that wants to have a DPS offspec or wants to tank with just one set of gear. There are those of you that want to do nothing but tank and want several sets for different situations. For this kind of information, I can refer you to Kazeyonoma's guide on tankspot.com. It covers all your recommended enchants, gems, and even gear pieces for all the possible kinds of tanking sets you would want.
Next time, DPS enchants and gems! Until next time, this is Cláymore signing off!
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