Post by nerkel
Hello once again. I am in alot of need for my DK's tanking spec. Not just gear wise, but I guess rotation wise too. Most of the "Helpful Threads" are outdated and no longer useful ( Or, not useful pertaining to the newest changes to DK tanking)
I've read alot of the threads here, and there are alot of them, all about different specs. Blood Tanking, Frost Tanking, hell even dual wield tanking, but I don't see anything in there that can really help me out any. I understand the basics that All builds start with 5/5/5 (or 5/8/5, depending on who you are), I just can't seem to apply anything decently.
Right now, when I'm tanking, I'm lucky if I don't take massive damage. The paladin or warrior tank usually gets called in now, and I'm trying to improve my gear set with badges and gold wherever I can.
My current spec is a Blood spec, and I feel that I'm not holding aggro decently in it.
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#j0EGVh0IcbofssbhxZ0ghh:iLGMmVMy next question is about gearing. What should I exactly be gemming for? How much Avoidance should I be aiming for?
Any help with my question would be amazingly appreciated. I can post my gear, if anyone is interested or needs to look at it.
Post by Thror
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Drak%27thul&cn=Thr%C3%B3r&gn=Iron+GuardsYou can see what i gem for... whats my spec... whats my avoidance. Everything the character has equipped (except for the weapon and legs) has been purchased for Emblems of Conquest or dropped in heroic ToCH. The legs are from VoA. I brought the DK into Ulduar once instead of my main just for the Hodir fight to get the axe.
I am not very good at building AoE threat fast, but in 95% cases i am able to pull a group without a single mob running loose. My single target threat per second in a 5-man ranges from 5k to 7k. On Patchwerk and Emalon i have had 9-11k steady TPS. I have more avoidance than my druid, whom i tank Ulduar hard modes and ToC heroic with.
Rotations i use... for more targets:
DnD -> IT -> PS -> Pest -> tap+Blood Boil (optional) -> DS -> HS/BB -> DS -> HS/BB
It helps to have nameplates displayed. I usually tab targets and strike different enemies. I prefer Heart Strikes over Blood Boils in groups with 2-4 enemies.
For single target...
I just start up diseasing my target, and during the fight i refresh the diseases with Pestilence (glyphed).
Then i only use Heart Strikes and Death Strikes, depending on whether my Frost/Unholy runes are Death or not.
I have Rune Strike macroed to everything, and i also have a separate button just to turn it on (and to see when its ready).
I am not very fond of burning my RP with Coils though. I only use Coils as a filler, i hate rotation gaps. When my rotation is in a phase where i dont need fillers, i dont care about my RP being capped. I like having enough RP for Rune Strike and IBF all the time.
And do not forget to launch your cooldowns often. IBF only has a 2 minute cooldown. On an average instance run you can use it over 15 times, and on an average raid you can use it over 75 times. Using your cooldowns only when you are in "oh crap" situations is bad.
I am still a newbie to blood though. Compared to feral, whom i tanked a few hundreds instances with, and even Frost-tank which i used until recently... tanking is about practice. It takes a while to master your spec, class, style.