Monday, March 29, 2010

Expertise for Feral Tanks

Recently, I have begun to wonder if Blizzard forgot entirely about Bear Tank itemization when crafting the gear made available in Patch 3.3. Sure, there is tons of Stamina and Agility to be had, but the striking absence of two pivotal Druid tanking stats on a vast majority of our class specific gear is incredibly disheartening. Those stats are Hit and Expertise. To answer your Feral Hit Rating Questions, check out our Guide to Feral Hit Rating Gear and our Bear Form and Hit Rating guide. Below I will explore the Expertise side of the Bear threat equation and explain why Blizzard has created a problem for Bear tanks tackling ICC.

What is the Bear Form Expertise Cap?

The soft cap for Bear Form Expertise is 26 Expertise or 132 Expertise Rating (the stat which appears on your gear). This level of Expertise will completely eliminate dodges from your enemies' defense tables. To eliminate parry from your enemies table you would need 443 Expertise, but I don't need to tell you how impractical and unnecessary that would be. Just shoot for 132 Expertise Rating and consider anything over that a less significant bonus.

Why is Expertise Important for Bears?

There is a common misconception amongst all tanks that Hit and Expertise are exclusively dps stats. The truth is, they are also vital threat stats because an attack which misses or is avoided generates zero threat. A lack of Hit or Expertise leaves your dps one unlucky string of failed attacks away from getting splattered by the target you were supposed to hold and all the Stamina and Avoidance in the world won't save you from their anger at the coming wipe.

Aside from the short term consequences of occasionally generating zero aggro, a lack of expertise severely harms your threat generated per second. Point for point, until you reach 132 Expertise Rating, Expertise gives you more threat per point than any other stat. You heard right, ANY OTHER STAT. That includes our precious Agility, Crit, Attack Power, Haste, and even Hit. Until you reach the hard cap of 132, Expertise nets nearly double the threat, point for point, of any other ability. If I have not convinced you by now that the stat is important, I do not think I will be able to.

Where Can Bears Find Expertise?

There are currently only three gear slots where Bears can find endgame leather with Expertise on it. Those slots are chest, feet, and legs. To reach your 132 target, you will need to equip an Expertise item in at least two out of the three. Unfortunately, you only have one random drop possibility (and it is BoE), so to get the Expertise you need you will need to part with either a significant number of badges or a significant amount of gold. Here are your options:

Chest:
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE drop off Gunship in ICC 25)
Shadow Seeker's Tunic (95 Emblems of Frost)

Legs:
Lasherweave Legguards (95 Emblems of Frost)

Feet:
Footpads of Impending Death (Crafted BoE)

There are also a handful of rings and necks which provide Expertise, but they do not pair that Expertise with any other tanking oriented stats. Lastly, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Battered Hilt, the Lightborn Spire could help solve your Expertise woes.

Good luck in your hunt for this ever elusive stat. Hopefully, Blizzard will make things easier for us in the future.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Guide to Feral Druid Hit Rating Gear

On the heals of my comprehensive hit rating analysis and advice in Bear Form and Hit Rating it is now time to review some of the gear that is available to pull you out of your Feral hit rating slump. Below is a slot by slot breakdown of some of the best Feral hit rating gear currently available. For information on the Feral Hit cap and ways to work around it, check out Bear Form and Hit Rating.

Head

Mask of Lethal Intent/Hood of Lethal Intent - 75 Emblems of Triumph
Geistlord's Punishment Sack - Blood Princes (ICC 25)

Shoulders

Spaulders of Black Betrayal - Falric (H Halls of Reflection)
Shoulderpads of the Intruder - Assembly of Iron (Ulduar 25)

Back

Tank:
Platinum Mesh Cloak - 25 Emblems of Valor
Cloak of the Makers - Auriaya (Ulduar 25)
Titanskin Cloak - Mimiron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Royal Crimson Cloak - Blood Princes (ICC 25)

DPS:
Drape of the Lithe - Iron Council (Ulduar 25)
Accursed Crawling Cape - Devourer of Souls (H Forge of Souls)
Shawl of Nerubian Silk - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 10)
Might/Strength of the Nerub - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Drape of Icy Intent - Hordir (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)

Chest

Choking Hauberk - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Knightbane Carapace - Crafted Leatherworking
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE) - Gunship Battle (ICC 25) and in Sack of Frosty Treasures

Wrists

Chewed Leather Wristguards - Ick (H Pit of Saron)
Bracers/Armbands of Dark Determination - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)


Hands

Malfurion's/Runetotem's Handguards of Triumph - 25 Emblems of Triumph

Legs

Malfurion's/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Legwraps/Leggings of the Broken Beast - Northrend Beasts (ToC 25)
Gangrenous Leggings - Festergut (ICC 25)

Boots

Acidmaw Boots/Treads - Northrend Beasts (ToC 10)
Treads of the Icewalker/Icewalker Treads - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)

Rings

Tank:
Abomination's Bloody Ring - Gunship Battle (ICC 10)
Ashen Band of Courage - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Harbringer's Bone Band (BoE) - ICC Random Drop


DPS:
Planestalker Band/Planestalker Signet - Lord Jaraxxus (ToC 10)
Ashen Band of Vengeance - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Band of the Bone Colossus - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 25)

Trinkets

Mark of Supremecy - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Battlemaster's Precision - 34,100 Honor Points
Tiny Abomination in a Jar - Professor Putricide (ICC 25)

Weapons

Orca-Hunter's Harpoon - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Tortured Earth - General Vezax (Ulduar 10 Hard Mode)
Twisted Visage - XT-002 Deconstructor (Ulduar 25)
Dark Edge of Depravity - Yogg-Saron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Hersir's Greatspear - Blood Princes (ICC 10)
Shaft of Glacial Ice - Rotface (ICC 10)
Cryptmaker - Blood Princes (ICC 25)