HI! This post assumes a basic understanding of how things work with the changes in Cataclysm. If you need an explanation of how the new Rune system works, what Runic Empowerment is, how Mastery works, or how Blood Shield works, this is not the place to find it.
The place to find those answers is by reading tooltips. Blizzard makes their in-game explanations of things relatively clear in most cases. Use Wowhead. It is your friend and has a lot of valuable information. Your best skill as a tank is being able to find and figure out information on your own.
What you will find in this thread are answers to questions that are not already answered by reading tooltips - the "How do I play" questions.
Posts in this FAQ:
1) How do I spec to tank?
2) Should I dual-wield or use a two-hander?
3) What Glyphs do I want?
4) What is my single target rotation?
5) What is my AoE rotation?
6) Do I still want to have 100% Disease uptime?
7) How do I gem, enchant and Reforge?
8) Why don't I want to Dual Wield anymore?
Also, here's a plug for my sim.
http://bloodsim.codeplex.com
It's very accurate and can give you a pretty good idea of what's going on, as well as what happens when you change stuff. I'm also updating it fairly regularly with more and more options. It has been instrumental in identifying a number of issues that arose during the Beta and I encourage you to check it out.
The place to find those answers is by reading tooltips. Blizzard makes their in-game explanations of things relatively clear in most cases. Use Wowhead. It is your friend and has a lot of valuable information. Your best skill as a tank is being able to find and figure out information on your own.
What you will find in this thread are answers to questions that are not already answered by reading tooltips - the "How do I play" questions.
Posts in this FAQ:
1) How do I spec to tank?
2) Should I dual-wield or use a two-hander?
3) What Glyphs do I want?
4) What is my single target rotation?
5) What is my AoE rotation?
6) Do I still want to have 100% Disease uptime?
7) How do I gem, enchant and Reforge?
8) Why don't I want to Dual Wield anymore?
Also, here's a plug for my sim.
http://bloodsim.codeplex.com
It's very accurate and can give you a pretty good idea of what's going on, as well as what happens when you change stuff. I'm also updating it fairly regularly with more and more options. It has been instrumental in identifying a number of issues that arose during the Beta and I encourage you to check it out.
1) How do I spec to tank?
In Cataclysm, Blizzard has been kind enough to provide us with a single tree that is dedicated to tanking - Blood. That is what you will be picking and liking. There have been a number of changes, some good and some silly, but that's where we're at right now. That said, this is your Level 80 tanking spec:
http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#jcGr0sMruszZMh
Alternatively, if you decide to go Diseaseless (which really is the best option):
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#jcGr0sMrusdZc:zRosRkMVc
Crimson Scourge because there really are no better options until we get to 85 and also gain Outbreak.
And this is your Level 85 tanking spec:
http://wowtal.com/#k=Yf2phMc6.a8t.deathknight.
Contrary to Blizzard's design intentions for Cataclysm, I am not going to be telling you - "This is the base cookie cutter spec, and there are some points left over that you can put where you want." While that was their goal, the reality didn't turn out that way. At 80, this is what your talents should look like and there really is no wiggle room. At 85, you have 1 talent point left that can go anywhere without it being likely that you will notice a difference. I'd probably drop it in Crimson Scourge because, sure, why not.
There are a number of talents that are unused where you could, theoretically, put points in, but most of them are redundant or just downright bad.
Redundant:
Abomination's Might - DPS classes can and will bring this and they do it better. The 2% Strength bonus that is not redundant is not worth the points you will spend on it.
Bad:
Hand of Doom - lol.
Blood-Caked Blade - Has a value of less than 0.5% overall damage increase per talent point. Not worth it.
3 Point Scent of Blood - Has stacking issues. You will hit 3 stacks, and it will proc, and any extra stacks will go to waste. 2 points is better and less likely to cause this problem.
Crimson Scourge - Thanks to Outbreak and Epidemic, you will be reapplying Blood Plague with Plague Strike only once every minute (if you even are). This devalues the "utility" portion of this talent quite a bit. The 20/40% damage increase to Blood Boil is also less than desirable because Blood Boil just doesn't do a lot of damage. With Heart Strike hitting 3 targets now, in any situation where there are 3 or fewer targets, Heart Strike always wins for threat and damage.
Runic Power Mastery - You will never pool enough Runic Power as a tank to make use of this talent.
Icy Reach - You will never be casting Icy Touch (the only one of the three spells it affects that you use as a tank) from far enough away (or probably at all) that this talent will matter.
Nerves of Cold Steel - DW tanking is no longer viable. It is possible but below 2H in almost every possible way. More information further down.
In Cataclysm, Blizzard has been kind enough to provide us with a single tree that is dedicated to tanking - Blood. That is what you will be picking and liking. There have been a number of changes, some good and some silly, but that's where we're at right now. That said, this is your Level 80 tanking spec:
http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#jcGr0sMruszZMh
Alternatively, if you decide to go Diseaseless (which really is the best option):
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#jcGr0sMrusdZc:zRosRkMVc
Crimson Scourge because there really are no better options until we get to 85 and also gain Outbreak.
And this is your Level 85 tanking spec:
http://wowtal.com/#k=Yf2phMc6.a8t.deathknight.
Contrary to Blizzard's design intentions for Cataclysm, I am not going to be telling you - "This is the base cookie cutter spec, and there are some points left over that you can put where you want." While that was their goal, the reality didn't turn out that way. At 80, this is what your talents should look like and there really is no wiggle room. At 85, you have 1 talent point left that can go anywhere without it being likely that you will notice a difference. I'd probably drop it in Crimson Scourge because, sure, why not.
There are a number of talents that are unused where you could, theoretically, put points in, but most of them are redundant or just downright bad.
Redundant:
Abomination's Might - DPS classes can and will bring this and they do it better. The 2% Strength bonus that is not redundant is not worth the points you will spend on it.
Bad:
Hand of Doom - lol.
Blood-Caked Blade - Has a value of less than 0.5% overall damage increase per talent point. Not worth it.
3 Point Scent of Blood - Has stacking issues. You will hit 3 stacks, and it will proc, and any extra stacks will go to waste. 2 points is better and less likely to cause this problem.
Crimson Scourge - Thanks to Outbreak and Epidemic, you will be reapplying Blood Plague with Plague Strike only once every minute (if you even are). This devalues the "utility" portion of this talent quite a bit. The 20/40% damage increase to Blood Boil is also less than desirable because Blood Boil just doesn't do a lot of damage. With Heart Strike hitting 3 targets now, in any situation where there are 3 or fewer targets, Heart Strike always wins for threat and damage.
Runic Power Mastery - You will never pool enough Runic Power as a tank to make use of this talent.
Icy Reach - You will never be casting Icy Touch (the only one of the three spells it affects that you use as a tank) from far enough away (or probably at all) that this talent will matter.
Nerves of Cold Steel - DW tanking is no longer viable. It is possible but below 2H in almost every possible way. More information further down.
