Shopping List: the 3.2 edition
I receive a lot of questions from newer tanks via e-mail or I read about struggling tanks who are getting discouraged, in a world where a WoW Heroes score seems more important to PUGs than actual skill. But it’s never been easier than today to get awesome tanking gear in little time. Don’t let the snobs discourage you and stick to your game plan. Consider all my previous gear lists irrelevant after the big gear reset of 3.2. Here’s your ticket to fabulous tanking gear that will find you ready to tackle Ulduar-10.
I will list several pieces of gear per slot. The top piece is your entryway into heroics, the second or third piece your gear progression.
Head:
- Tempered Titansteel Helm – buy in AH or bring the mats to a friendly blacksmith.
- Helm of the Crestfallen Challenger – Once you’re comfortable with tanking H ToC, this is what you should pick up next.
- Conqueror’s Siegebreaker Greathelm – buy this one last with 58 Emblems of Conquest, as the above is superior until the 4pc T8 bonus.
Neck:
- Titanium Earthguard Chain – buy in AH or bring mats to a friendly Jewelcrafter
- Shard of the Crystal Forest – excellent 19 badge purchase
Shoulders:
- Crusader’s Square Pauldrons – common as dirt BoE drop in CoS (reg or heroic), which seems to be the daily on my server just about every day. Should be able to pick this up cheap anywhere.
- Regal Aurous Shoulderplates – lovely shoulders from H ToC
Cloak:
- Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions – Honored with Wyrmrest Accord, your companion for a long time
- Platinum Mesh Cloak – still a valuable buy at 25 Emblems of Valor
Chest:
- Breastplate of the Solemn Council – Revered with Wyrmrest Accord, which should take you right to…
- Conqueror’s Siegebreaker Breastplate – earn 58 Emblems of Conquest, buy it, hug it, gem it, love it
Wrist:
- Tempered Saronite Bracers – This is our problem slot, there is very very little selection. Starting out with the crafted bracers should be sufficient to get you to…
- Bindings of Dark Will – in H CoS, a fairly common drop off the 2nd boss
- Bracers of the Herald – H OK, the best you can get outside of a raid instance.
Gloves:
- Mercy’s Hold – fabulous gloves from reg ToC, well worth running this until you receive it.
- Gauntlets of the Royal Watch – a sweet deal at 28 Emblems of Conquest
Waist:
- Waistguard of the Risen Knight – common BoE drop in H DTK, should be cheap.
- Ancient Aligned Girdle – a direct upgrade in H A-N
- Shieldwarder Girdle – available for 28 Emblems of Conquest, unless you want to get yourself the crafted…
- Indestructible Plate Girdle – made by a friendly blacksmith, mats might be a bit steep
Legs:
- Legguards of Abandoned Fealty – from reg ToC, absolutely fabulous starter pants, and should be more than sufficient for raiding. I raided Ulduar-10 in worse!
- Wyrmguard Legplates – a lot of item budget is wasted on block rating and SBV, but these are the highest ilevel legs outside of raid instances. I personally would not purchase them if you have the above, and wait for a raid drop.
Feet:
- Boots of Heartfelt Repentance – yet another strong drop from Trial of the Champions. These boots will take you a long way.
- Spiked Deathdealers – crafted by blacksmiths, cost a pretty penny, but are most excellent
Rings:
- Titanium Earthguard Ring – fabulous ring, crafted, save up some gold and profit
- Signet of the Accord – BoE drop in Obsidian Sanctum-10, should be up in the AH or…
- Keystone Great-Ring – if you’re still def-capped anyhow, drops in H Drak’tharon Keep
- Alternatively any of the blue tanking rings from heroics. Eventually replace one of the above with…
- Mark of the Relentless – beautifully itemized ring from H ToC, just no defense on it.
Trinkets:
- Seal of the Pantheon – regular Halls of Lightning. Should it just not drop, have Dabiri’s Enigma or Adamantine Figurine as standby.
- The Black Heart – the sacred grail of stamina, available in regular ToC
Main Hand:
- Wanted: Ragemane’s Flipper – start out with any of the quest rewards as per race and personal taste.
- Axe of the Sen’jin Protector or Teldrassil Protector – if you enjoy the Argent Tournament Dailies, these are available for 25 Champion’s Seals.
- Peacekeeper Blade – replacing the H UP sword as best available tanking weapon from heroics, this vibrating turkey knife is where it’s at. Stuff a def gem in it if necessary. Available in H ToC.
Shield:
- Titansteel Shield Wall - crafted by blacksmiths
- Royal Crest of Lordaeron – with a lead on avoidance, this drops from H CoS and is still your best bet outside of raids
Ranged:
- Armor Plated Combat Shotgun – crafted by engineers, and still the best in the slot for us.
Before anyone mentions that I did not list any of the Emblem of Triumph upgrades, they’re not the purpose of this post and I greatly recommend the ever fabulous Tankingtips.com to help you spend your hard-earned EoTs.
Why did you leave out the emblem of valor items?
Cloak, boots and ring are pretty great upgrades and cheap as well.
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Kadomi Reply:
September 15th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Check again. The cloak is already on the list, and the boots are not an upgrade to the ones from ToC. You are right though, I forgot about the ring.
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Good list. Two additions I’d make:
- wrist: Bracers of Dalaran’s Parapets. These are BoE, so you can buy them on the AH or try to find somebody who has extra badges they want to get rid of.
- chest: Icebane Chestguard. Easier to get than revered with Wyrmrest, when you are just starting out. Gem it for stam and defense and you have a decent tanking item. The mats are pretty cheap, so find a BS to make them.
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Kadomi Reply:
September 15th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Very good additions, thank you.
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I would like to put in a good word for the Bracers of Dalaran’s Parapets for a Wrist Slot. At 60 Emblems of Valor they’re a little steeply priced, but they’re well itemized for threat.
Here’s the comparison versus the Bracers of the Herald:
http://www.wowhead.com/?compare=40734;37620
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You know one day I will stop enjoying healing so much and maybe finish leveling my tank to 80. Then I will be able to use this list.
.-= Skraps´s last blog ..Weekend Update. =-.
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A great website to give people an idea on where to start for gearing for Naxx and Ulduar is http://wowraid.com/article58-Protection-Warrior-Loot-List.html
This list doesnt cover some of the items you mention above though. it hasn’t been updated with the ToC 5/10/25 Dungeons
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I love when you do all the work for me.
Thanks!
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The general rule can be: use Crafted/Rep items for heroics, use heroics to get into TOC and pick up some badge items along the way, and then enjoy raiding.
.-= Ossein´s last blog ..What A Horror Story =-.
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thumbs up~!
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armor plated shot gun is not best in slot anymore IMO….eather the gun off of 25m razor in ulduar, or the throwing wep from badges….if i’m wrong plz correct me but from what i’ve seen it’s been out classed.
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Kadomi Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 1:13 am
You are completely missing the point of this gear list. This list will show you all items you can get via heroics, for Emblems of Valor and Conquest or from crafters. This is a list to get you started into raiding. I also specifically stated that I would not include Emblem of Triumph gear.
So for anyone who is not raiding TotC or Ulduar-25, the gun is still the best in slot.
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oh sorry i missed that part.
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Great list! Though i believe the conquest neck is only 19 emblems. Otherwise its back to a few more heroics
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Kadomi Reply:
September 19th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Correct, I fixed this. Thanks for letting me know.
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Very nicely done. I wish I had this when I was getting gear for my Pally Tank.
Kudos
.-= Oakstout´s last blog ..The Book of Enforcement =-.
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This is exactly what I needed as a fresh 80 tank in all blues. Kudos on being the best source of information on gearing up that I’ve found.
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Kadomi Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Thank you kindly.
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appreciate a list that finally includes the drops from reg Toc and H toc in the list of beginner tank get for a fresh 80.
my tank is a pally, but it basically follows through same as warriors. Odd seeing sites like tankspot, or EJ having lists as old as 2007 or like 3.0 or something.
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Kadomi Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I have every intention of keeping this up-to-date when 3.3 and the new 5-mans come out. Fresh 80s need all the support they can get this late into the expansion!
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Brilliant thread, has been bookmarked and look forward to the updates in 3.3
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I will always be appreciative of the extra work that people do to make it easier for us poor new people in the dark
My bf directed me to this site because my tanky paladin is almost at 80 and I’m starting to gather materials etc for the gear I’ll need.
But I’m just curious, do you focus on mainly warrior gearing? I was just wondering where would be a good place to get an upgrade for my libram or whatever the dks have there… I still have a blue libram from outlands and have no idea where to look for a better one.
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Kadomi Reply:
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:20 pm
My focus will always be prot warriors. Prot warrior for life!
As for Librams, there are several emblem options that I am aware of. Libram of Defiance is considered best for avoidance, for 25 Emblems of Triumph. Alternatively, buy the Libram of the Sacred Shield for 19 emblems. In the meantime, you should probably pick up the Venture Co Libram of Protection in the Grizzly Hills, which you can buy once you’ve done all 5 PvP quests in Venture Bay. Hope that helps!
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Prissa Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Thanks, it does help a lot
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