Karazhan-Clearing Protection Warrior Gear Checklist
So, you gathered all of your tanking gear before entering Karazhan…and you’ve gotten some (or a lot) of experience tanking through the halls of Karazhan, perhaps all the way to Prince Malchezaar himself. The question is, have you gotten your tanking drops from Karazhan? Are you ready to move beyond?
Let’s review which Karazhan drops are good pieces for protection Warriors.
Attumen the Huntsman & Midnight
- Vambraces of Courage armor is an excellent upgrade for most of the pieces you might be wearing in the wrist slot. In Rockstar’s case, these have more armor, stamina, and defense than the Sha’tari Wrought Armguards. In addition, this item offers block value.
Moroes
- Crimson Girdle of the Indomitable is an excellent upgrade at the waist slot.
- Moroes’ Lucky Pocket Watch is probably one of the most (if not the most) coveted trinkets in Karazhan. It has an incredible amount of dodge value and should be one of the more reliable “panic trinkets” you could have for quite some time.
Maiden of Virtue
- Barbed Choker of Discipline is a terrific piece for the neck, and is loaded with stamina, defense, and dodge rating.
- Iron Gauntlets of the Maiden has opportunity for loads of stamina, defense, and a lot of block.
Opera Event
- Eternium Greathelm is a drop shared by all Opera events, so most tanks will be able to get this helm fairly quickly. This is a good placeholder until you can get your hands on your T4 helm from Prince Malchezaar.
Curator
- Warbringer Handguards (from Gloves of the Fallen Defender) offer more defense and probably much higher parry rating than whatever you’ve currently got. Make sure you get the right ones from your set vendor.
- Wrynn Dynasty Greaves is a nice upgrade to the Timewarden’s Leggings. Both pieces have three gem slots, but most Warriors will be stacking three heavy stamina gems. These greaves have nice increases in armor, defense, and dodge.
Terestian Illhoof
- Gilded Thorium Cloak is big in armor, stamina, and defense. Prior to Karazhan there are many different tanking cloaks, specializing in armor or defense or block rating. This cloak has an excellent mix of attributes.
Shade of Aran
- Shermanar Great-Ring is pure stamina, armor, and dodge rating. This is a ring that all manner of tanks will likely be seeking.
Chess Event
- Battlescar Boots is another big upgrade…more armor, some parry rating, and socket potential.
- King’s Defender is the sword that replaces The Sun Eater or the Crystalline Kopesh. The weapon has armor on it, and the dodge rating is replaced with hit rating.
Netherspite
- Mantle of Abrahmis is a solid upgrade at the shoulder position. It’s got a bit more stamina and defense over the Shoulderguards of the Bold, which I think is the leading contender of pre-Karazhan shoulder pieces.
Prince Malchezaar
- Warbringer Greathelm (from Helm of the Fallen Defender) is not only really cool-looking, it’s a huge helmet stats-wise. Helm of the Stalwart Defender has more armor and resilience, but this T4 helm for tanks has agility, a lot of block stats, and the opportunity to socket a meta-gem…and plus the upshot of set bonuses down the road. I think hands-down this is a better helm than anything pre-Karazhan. I also think it’s better than the Eternium Greathelm from the Opera event. Make sure you get the right one from your set vendor.
Nightbane
- Panzar’Thar Breastplate seems to have it all. More armor, more stamina, more defense, more shield block rating and shield block value, and three gem slots to boot. I’m not sure how this compares to items that might be crafted (assuming you’re an armorsmith), but this chest piece seems to be much better than any of the pre-Karazhan pieces I’ve listed before.
- Shield of Impenetrable Darkness has upgrades across all categories over Crest of the Sha’tar. The downside is no gem slots, so no customization. In all likelihood this means a bit less stamina, but still a great shield nonetheless.
These items pretty much comprise all of the plate-based Warrior gear with any combination of high armor, defense, or stamina attributes. There are many other pieces designed for protection Paladins or DPS-type Warriors that are not included in this list.
January 25, 2008 | Filed Under Equipment
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2 Responses to “Karazhan-Clearing Protection Warrior Gear Checklist”
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Great job. Exactly what I needed for my prot warrior. Now if I could only get that shield from Nightbane. . .
This and most of your other articles are the most useful info about wow i ever put the eyes on, keep the good work.