Ask Spooner: Protection Warrior Professions

Ho There Spooner!

I’m a HUGE fan of your site, and you’re my no. 1 stop for WoTLK news and info!

I know WoTLK is still in the beta, and so much can change before we finally see the retail version, but I have a question i’m hoping you might be able to help me with.

I’m a prot spec’d warrior, have been since the night WoW went live, and most likely will be until I quit the game. I’ve been very frustrated with the professions in WoW so far as they relate to tanking, and I was wondering if you’ve seen/heard of any profession that might be really sweet for tanks this time around?

I’m more of a casual raider, I currently only have T4 gear, and i’ve always been disappointed by the crafting system when it comes to tanking. By the time I could make anything really nice to wear with blacksmithing, I was already getting equivilant raid drops, and the engineering items just weren’t worth the time and effort imo. Twice now i’ve simply gone mining/herb just for the cash, and i’d hate to rework a profession all the way back up just to find out i’ve wasted my time and money yet again :/

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for me? Are there any professions that, at the moment at least, look promising for a casual raider who tanks?

Thanks bro, and once again, great job with the website man!

Bill

First off a major thank you for the support; it hasn’t been easy keeping this site true to the style I want (non corporate and very much by a gamer for gamers) and now that I don’t really have a job other than this website (and making sure my kids don’t decapitate themselves) it’s my baby. But enough emo, let’s get to your problem.

As you know I’ve been doing the Warrior thing for a REALLY long time so I feel your pain when it comes to professions. Spooner 1.0 (my human warrior) has had litterally every single primary professions except enchanting and tailoring to 300 or 375. I decided to stick with Blacksmithing and went the way of the weaponsmith but I’m starting to regret that a little bit. Here’s what I think would be the best solution for you.

You said that you currently have mining and herbalism maxed out to generate funds. Good. Generate A LOT of gold because you’re going to need it. Engineering is fun and all (my shaman’s now a 375 engineer and I’m never looking back) but you’re going to be walking the path of the mighty blacksmith. Here’s why.

In Wrath of the Lich King we can make A LOT of great tanking armor that has tons of strength on it which the way protection has been rebuilt is an awesome stat for warriors looking to tank and dish out the FUCKING SICK amounts of DPS prot warriors are dealing now. We can also FINALLY make shields.

Cobalt Triangle Shield is cheap to make and you can make it right away the moment you walk into Northrend.

4358 Armor
133 Block
+22 Strength
+33 Stamina
Durability 85 / 85
Requires Level 70 Equip: Increases defense rating by 22 (9.3 @ L70).

Those are pretty decent stats for a crafted shield if you don’t happen to have something better at the moment. But there are also tons of great armors that grant copious amounts of defense rating (which as it helps shield block, helps those big shield slam crits!

Eventually you’ll be able to make this bad boy. Titansteel Shield Wall and it looks beautiful.

7530 Armor
211 Block
+36 Strength
+69 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 80 Equip: Increases defense rating by 64 (11.45 @ L80).

It’s an epic shield and just like almost EVERY pattern seen so far you get it from the trainer. That means no running stupid ass instances over and over again for the rare chance that a pattern will drop. You’ll even be able to modify the shields yourself so no real reliance on an enchanter with Titanium Shield Spikes. As far as good tanking weapons you can rock out with a Titansteel Bonecrusher. I’d go on and on linking all the great armors you can make but you kind of get the picture by now.

Since you already have mining maxed out it should be pretty cheap if you have the time, to get your own materials and bullrush through Blacksmithing. There are plenty of free guides out there that can give you exact values as to your shopping list. Today alone I went from Lv. 1 mining and engineering and I’m at about 225-250 with both just by having stockpiled ore and bars as well as other materials for a good week now. It’s been around 1500g but I already have the epic flyer, what else would I spend the money on?

My suggestion is to get your professions up to snuff quickly because as soon as Wrath hits I have the funny feeling there will be more people trying to level and see content than those trying to gather materials and craft.

Even if you do end up replacing some of the gear you craft with raid drops you can also create a lot of PVP armor sets that add tons of resilience giving you at least a fighting chance if you ever want to PVP a bit and not commit the time to grinding out enough honor or arena points to start earning some of the gear.

I hope this helped in the least, I’ve had this same problem many tmes before so I feel you bro. Hey by all means if you’re Horde by chance, I could always use a good tank.