Post by mojojojo101
I was in heroic ramps the other day and at the time i was using
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31464#comments to tank (for the dodge rating). However
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29264 dropped from last boss. I needed and won it for a dps set but my heaer said that i should use tree-menders belt as it gives me more health and more armour. He also said that i should be aiming for 16k+ health before i started to look for items with dodge rating on.
So is tree-menders better for tanking and is this priest right or diulosioned.
Also is
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=30535 better for tanking than
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25690 once i reach the defence cap without them?
Post by Aeliel
The issue with dodge is simple: you can't dodge
everything (well, you can by building a set of very specific items, but it requires access to all levels of equipment including BT/MH and isn't really worth much beyond theorycrafting fun).
If you focus on dodge at the expense of health and armor, the hits that do get past (the ones you don't dodge) are more likely to kill you, because you'll have less armor to mitigate them and less health as a buffer for your healer to top you up (you don't want to get two-shot).
And let's not even go into the fact that spells can't be dodged, so you do want a health buffer :)
Ideally, for a tanking druid, armor > stamina >= agility / dodge. (I try to balance stamina and agility, but I've got a respectable health pool by now.)
Naaru Belt of Precision: +25agi, 21 dodge rating, 164 armor
Tree-Mender's Belt: +27agi, +22sta, 406 Armor
Equipping Tree-Mender's Belt, you lose ~0.8% dodge, and gain 22sta and 242 armor. The gains far offset the losses.
So yeah, I would replace Naaru Belt of Precision with Tree-Mender's Belt :)
As for Forestwalker Kilt vs. Heavy Clefthoof Leggings, I would say Forestwalker Kilt is superior once you can reach the defense cap without them (or even if you're close enough to the cap that you just have to socket a couple of gems). Assuming you're socketing with
Shifting Nightseye, you end up with these stats:
Heavy Clefthoof Leggings: 51sta, 12agi, 503 armor
Forestwalker Kilt: 42sta, 38agi, 459 armor
I would consider the slight loss of armor and stamina very much worth it for the enormous gain in agility (-44 armor, -9sta, +26agi).
In general, when comparing two pieces of gear and deciding between them, what you want to do is compare stats and observe gains and losses. If what you gain is worth more than what you lose, switch; if not, don't. :)
