Dinged 80 yesterday, accounts closed today

[Moorea]

My team can still only reliably kill 2 heroic bosses (the mammoth turning one and eck - enter from the far side from the summon stone in gundrak) and that's with a lot of wellfare pvp epics on the shammans (sadly there isn't any wellfare tanking gear I could find so I'm still mostly in crafted blues; not affording yet the crafted purple)

I think as many have said having a resto among your shamans is a must - earth shield alone makes a world of difference (glyph it too)

Because I'm not too successful I'm just doing the Midsummer for cash and distraction and fun (and xp on some lower alts I swap in) but I think with a few weeks of dailies you can afford to craft or buy crafted epic to make your tank good enough

[elsegundo]

oh yea... the level 80 wall.

hope you can get over this one. otherwise, the game will suck. no really, a lot of people reach level 80 and are not ready for the sudden stop in just about everything. it turns from a leveling game to a gearing game and its slow as molassas. or something.

oh and one more thing, when i tried tanking at 530 def, i had zero crits. call it luck. but being short some def didnt mean i was getting critted left and right. its a chance game and i got lucky. of course, to be safe, hit 535, at least for heroics.

but moreso... good luck getting over the level 80 wall.

[algol]

I got a couple levels into Northrend and said "eh, fuck this."

[Kayley]

How I did it?

I had a lame (geared) paladin tank and x4 elemental shamans. I just kept practising heh. My gear didn't improve for a while but the instances became ZZZZ.
Speccing a shaman resto is all well and good (I'm against it for a simple heroic - but opinions are opinions.. go with what is comfortable) but you will still die until you learn everything. Even silly trash mobs do unique things that can really mess you up. I'm assuming you died in Utgarde keep on trash because some mobs stun? 100% dmg heh. Collossus in Gundrak is a pain untill.. well. All I did was use NR totem and it was easy lol.

Post your macros/ingame setup if you still play - then people can really help


I had 20k hp on my tank. Shamans had the blue pvp starter set. My tank now has 28k hp and the shamans are nearing 2k sp buffed (srsly, no drops so far QQ) which isn't the best.. but makes the heroics i'm farming mind numbingly easy.

*edit*
My healing is basically this. I have two macros for dps. One is a castsequence they all follow for pewpew.. the other is a simple macro telling two to target the tank and lesser healing wave while the remaining two cast lightning bolt. Only need to press it once (twice if you let your tank get stupidly low) and you are fine usually. Healing stream totem really helps :P

[Ogloo]

If you are not willing to work hard through this (which I prolly am not lol.. in rl i would, but this is a game for me not work), I would drop the pali and just 3 box or if u have any more shamans i dunno maybe RAF or w/e just box them in pvp or just be the dps in the heroics.. this makes it easy because each button is the same on each screen no madder what

[Ogloo]

I got a couple levels into Northrend and said "eh, fuck this."

Thats exactly what i did, but if ur a 5 boxer with a paladin , im not sure why you would do this, but with just 4 shamans I had to quest which is a pain.. im waiting for 3.2 and doing solid BG leveling

[Zaelar]

If you want to say to go past 535 defense for avoidance you may as well say to go past 540. Going for avoidance dodge is better than defence by a little bit, so ideally you'd use the extra defense on dodge rating instead. Getting uncritable is very nice, but isn't a requirement. You should gem/enchant for it if possible, but just because you're a little short doesn't mean you can't tank a heroic. Don't forget resilience(the pvp shoulder enchant isn't bad, 30 stam 15 resil), but use defense as much as possible due to the avoidance it gives.

Block is good in heroics, but not against raid bosses that hit hard, so for heroics block is fine but if you want to go into raids you'll eventually need to switch it out to avoidance.

For progression, EH has time and time again been the preferred method for gearing. That means gem for stamina after you're uncritable. Of course meet your meta and sacrificing some stamina to get a socket bonus is justifiable. All gems should typically be 24sta(blue), 8def12sta(yellow), or 8dodge12sta(red), but going for extra defense for uncritability if needed is good too.

Strength is your threat stat, and also adds some nice block value, but threat shouldn't be a problem.

4x lhw spam should be able to keep your tank up, but you lose all of your dps when you do that. A resto shaman keeps 3 dps going 100% of the time.

I doubt heroics were meant to be a cakewalk the day you hit 80.

[Diwa]

What I did was I single box my pally first and join guild/pug 5man heroics and 10/25man raids. The next thing I know my pally already have decent gear for tanking and healing. I started out Holy then whenever the tank has a better gear than the drop then it goes to me. Be wise also in purchasing items from heroic emblems.

I use this as my guide when I started dressing up my tank



Armor:

Head
#Valorous Scourgeborne Faceguard - T7.5
#Helm of Vital Protection - ?
#Heroes' Scourgeborne Faceguard - T7
#Thane's Tainted Greathelm - 4 Horsemen, Naxx10
#Tempered Titansteel Helm - Blacksmithing
#Armored Titanium Goggles - Engineering (req. Engi 400)
#Arcane-Shielded Helm - Grand Magus Telestra, The Nexus (H)
#Ground Tremor Helm - Moorabi, Gundrak (H)
#Helm of the Ley-Guardian - Cache of Eregos, The Oculus
#The Crusader's Resolution - Quest, Icecrown
#Tempered Saronite Helm - Blacksmithing


Neck
#Boundless Ambition - Kel'thuzad, Naxx25
#Amulet of Autopsy - Heigan the Unclean, Naxx10
#Chained Military Gorget - 25xEmblem of Heroism
#Heritage - Several Bosses, Naxx25
#Titanium Earthguard Chain - Jewelcrafting
#Pendant of the Nathrezim - CoT Stratholme (H)
#Shadowseeker's Pendant - Jedoga Shadowseeker, Old Kingdom
#Reinforced Titanium Neckguard - Quest, Icecrown
#Amulet of Deflected Blows - Skadi the Ruthless, Utgarde Pinnacle
#Amulet of Wills - Sjonnir the Ironshaper, Halls of Stone
#Torta's Oversized Choker - ?
#Betrayer's Choker - Quest, Zul'drak


Shoulders
#Valorous Scourgeborne Pauldrons - T7.5
#Pauldrons of Unnatural Death - Anub'Rekhan, Naxx25
#Heroes' Scourgeborne Pauldrons - T7
#Abomination Shoulderblades - Patchwerk, Naxx10
#Wapach's Spaulders of Solidarity - World Drop
#Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons - General Bjarngrim, Halls of Lightning (H)
#Crusader's Square Pauldrons - Trash, CoT Stratholme
#Pauldrons of Reconnaissance - Quest, Halls of stone
#Glimmershell Shoulder Protectors - Oracles, rep?


Back
#Cloak of the Shadowed Sun - Various Bosses, Naxx25
#Platinum Mesh Cloak 25xEmblem of Valor
#Cloak of Armed Strife - Maexxna, Naxx10
#Gale-Proof Cloak - OS10
#Cloak of the Enemy - Optional Bosses, Nexus
#Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions - Wyrmrest Honored
#Flowing Cloak of Command - Salramm the Fleshcrafter, CoT Stratholme


Chest
#Valorous Scourgeborne Chestguard - T7.5
#Breastplate of Tormented Rage - Heigan the Unclean, Naxx25
#Dragonstorm Breastplate - OS10, 3 adds up
#Heroes' Scourgeborne Chestguard - T7
#Massive Skeletal Ribcage - Sapphiron, Naxx10
#Ziggurat Imprinted Chestguard - The Prophet Tharon'ja, Drak'tharon Keep (H)
#Sun-Emblazoned Chestplate - Sjonnir The Ironshaper, Halls of Stone (H)
#Breastplate of the Solemn Council - Wyrmrest Revered
#Reanimated Armor - Gortok palehoof, Utgarde Pinnacle
#Silver-Plated Battlechest - Quest, Utgarde Pinnacle
#Tempered Saronite Breastplate - Blacksmithing
#Agin's Crushing Carapace - BoE drop


Wrist
#Bracers of the Unholy Knight - Naxx25
#Bracers of Dalaran's Parapets - 60xEmblem of Valor
#Minion Bracers - Trash, Naxx10
#Bracers of the Herald - Herald Volazj, Old Kingdom (H)
#Bindings of Dark Will - Salramm the Fleshcrafter, CoT Stratholme (H)
#Svala's Bloodied Shackles - Svala Sorrowgrave, Utgarde Pinnacle
#Tempered Saronite Bracers - Blacksmithing


Gloves
#Valorous Scourgeborne Handguards - T7.5
#Callous-Hearted Gauntlets - Grand Widow Faerlina, Naxx25
#Heroes' Scourgeborne Handguards - T7
#Gauntlets of the Master - Grand Widow Faerlina, Naxx10
#Fireproven Gauntlets - Kirin-Tor Exalted
#Horn-Tipped Gauntlets - Gal'darah, Gundrak (H)
#Gauntlets of the Water Revenant - ?
#Daunting Handguards - Blacksmithing
#Gauntlets of Vigilance - Quest, The Storm Peaks
#Tempered Saronite Gauntlets - Blacksmithing


Waist
#Ablative Chitin Girdle - ?
#Waistguard of Living Iron - 40xEmblem of Heroism
#Ancient Aligned Girdle - Anub'arak, Azjol Nerub (H)
#Waistguard of the Risen Knight - ?
#Girdle of Obscuring - Mage Lord Urom, The Oculus
#Tempered Saronite Belt - Blacksmithing


Legs
#Legplates of Sovereignty - Malygos25
#Valorous Scourgeborne Legguards - T7.5
#Dragon Brood Legguards - ?
#Heroes' Scourgeborne Legguards - T7
#Bolstered Legplates - Cyanigosa, Violet Hold (H)
#Legplates of the Infinite Drakonid - Chrono-Lord Epoch, CoT Stratholme (H)
#Ley-Guardian's Legguards - ?
#Special Issue Legplates - Argent Crusade Honored
#Daunting Legplates - Blacksmithing

[Diwa]

Feet
#Sabatons of Endurance - ?
#Kyzoc's Ground Stompers - 40xEmblem of Valor
#Plague-Impervious Boots - Noth the Plaguebringer, Naxx10
#Tempered Titansteel Treads - Blacksmithing
#Greaves of Ancient Evil - ?
#Sabatons of Draconic Vigor - Wyrmrest, Revered
#Tempered Saronite Boots - Blacksmithing



Ring
#Signet of the Impregnable Fortress - 25xEmblem of Valor
#Sand-Worn Band - Various Bosses, Naxx25
#Signet of the Accord - OS10
#Deflection Band - Anub'Rekhan, Naxx10
#Keystone Great-Ring - The Prophet Tharon'ja, Drak'Tharon
#Titanium Earthguard Ring - Jewelcrafting
#Woeful Band - Maiden of Grief, Halls of Stone (H)
#Nerubian Shield Ring ?
#Band of Torture - Drakos the Interrogator, The Oculus (H)
#Dragonflight Great-Ring - Cache of Eregos, The Oculus
#Ring of Earthen Might - Jewelcrafting


Trinket
#Defender's Code - Grobbulus, Naxx25
#Rune of Repulsion - Sapphiron, Naxx25
#Repelling Charge - Thaddius, Naxx10
#Valor Medal of the First War - 40xEmblem of Heroism
#Seal of the Pantheon - Loken, Halls of Lightning
#Essence of Gossamer - Hadronox, Azjol-Nerub (H)
#Offering of Sacrifice - Gal'darah, Gundrak (H)
#Figurine - Monarch Crab - Jewelcrafting (BoP)
#Figurine - Ruby Hare - Jewelcrafting (BoP)
#Sonic Booster - Engineering (req. Engi 390)
#Indestructible Alchemist's Stone - Alchemy (BoP)


Weapons:

2-hand Weapons
#Inevitable Defeat - Trashmobs, Naxx 25
#Titansteel Destroyer - Blacksmithing
#Death's Bite - Kel'thuzad, Naxx10
#Colossal Skull-Clad Cleaver - Loken, Halls of Lightning (H)
#Saliva Corroded Pike Moragg, Violet Hold (H)
#Sword of Justice - Tribunal Chest, Halls of Stone (H)
#Edge of Oblivion - Jedoga Shadowseeker, Old Kingdom (H)
#Argent Skeleton Crusher - Argent Crusade Revered
#Dreadlord's Blade - Mal'ganis, CoT Stratholme

#Axe of Bloodstained Ice - Quest, Icecrown
(it's good to have around if you are severely lacking in the defense)


One-hand Weapons
#Broken Promise - 4 Horsemen, Naxx25
#Titansteel Bonecrusher - Blacksmithing
#Infantry Assault Blade - Prince Keleseth, Utgarde Keep (H)
#Cresent of Brooding Fury - Quest, Zul'drak


Off-hand Weapons (DK)
#Last Laugh ?
#Red Sword of Courage - King Ymiron, Utgarde Pinnacle (H)
#Slayer of the Lifeless - Gothik the Harvester, Naxx10
#Cloudstrider's Waraxe - Varos Cloudstrider, The Oculus
#Eternally Folded Blade - Volkhan, Halls of Lightning

Off-hand Shield (Paladin)
#Valorous Scourgeborne Faceguard


Sigil
So far I haven't seen any signs of any tanking sigils...


Enchants:

Head
#Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector - Argent Crusade Revered
#Arcanum of the Defender - Keepers of Time Revered

Shoulder
#Greater Inscription of the Pinnicle - The Sons of Hodir Exalted
#Lesser Inscription of the Pinnicle - The Sons of Hodir Honored
#Master's Inscription of the Pinnacle - Inscription Only

Cloak
#Titanweave - Enchanting
#Mighty Armor - Enchanting

Chest
#Greater Defense - Enchanting
#Super Health - Enchanting
#Powerful Stats - Enchanting

Bracer
#Major Stamina - Enchanting
#Expertise - Enchanting
#Fur Lining-Stamina - Leatherworking only

Gloves
#Armsman - Enchanting
#Expertise - Enchanting

Waist
#Eternal Belt Buckle - Blacksmithing

Legs
#Frosthide Leg Armor - Leatherworking
#Jormungar Leg Armor - Leatherworking

Boots
#Greater fortitude - Enchanting

Ring
#Stamina - Enchanting Only

[Diwa]

Glyphs:

for DK

Major
Glyphs for all tanking specs. Some are more useful to some specs; B=Blood, F=Frost, U=Unholy.
#Glyph of Dark Command (BFU)
#Glyph of Icebound Fortitude (BFU)
#Glyph of Death and Decay (BFU)
#Glyph of Icy Touch (BU)
#Glyph of Plague Strike (BF)
#Glyph of Bone Shield (U)
#Glyph of Scourge Strike (U)
#Glyph of Unbreakable Armor (F)
#Glyph of Vampiric Blood (B)


Minor
#Glyph of Blood Tap
#Glyph of Horn of Winter
#Glyph of Pestilence


Ok, a list of factions you "need" to farm/grind:
(Not too hard to do either, there are dailies and ofc the rep tabards!)
The Argent Crusade Revered for Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector
The Kirin Tor Exalted for Fireproven Gauntlets
The Wyrmrest Accord Revered for Sabatons of Draconic Vigor and Breastplate of the Solemn Council (you get: Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions at honored...)
The Sons of Hodir for Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle



Source: http://deathknight.info/forum/index.php?topic=2795.0

Goodluck and it takes time to have a decent tank for heroics...