Why would you ever wear any t5 over t6? 2/5 t4 and 2/5 t6 will be better for DPS than 4/5 t5, and every piece of t6 is better than t5 for tanking.

I can think of reasons-- like gemming/enchanting T6 for DPS rather tanking, running up against the soft/hard armor caps, etc. Sure, if you're the MT you might not make that tradeoff. If you're occasionally an OT and occasionally DPS, it might have a perfect spot even at endgame.

On the other hand, two pieces of arena gear and vet's bracers just about get you to the defense cap if you're looking to maximize DPS or threat while maintaining tanking ability. Hyjal rep ring instead of armor ring, [Telonicus's Pendant of Mayhem] instead of Juggernaut, DPS or Badge/Moroes trinkets... And at the very least, they provide some nice stam for those magic damage fights.

It really depends on your situation with gear. But the helm, shoulders, and gloves aren't terrible differences from T6, and if you aren't deep in BT you're comparing to T5.

So, I have a comment about the 156 def rating people have been using. As far as I can tell, it's based on a couple of assumptions, which I believe can be easily shown to be false.

1) 2.4 defense rating -> 1 defense (at level 70)

According to WoWwiki (not the most reliable of sources, sadly), at level 60, the conversion is 1.5:1 (and this is exact). The conversion from level 60 ratios to level 70 ratios is 82/52, giving us 2.3653846153:1. To test this, all that's needed is to get enough defense rating that the difference is noticeable. 363 defense rating turns out to be good for this (and exactly my paladin's max, conveniently enough). At 2.4, we should see 151.25, at 1.5*82/52, 153.463. The result is 153 - there is no way to get from 151.25 to 153. Thus, 1.5*82/52 is probably the correct ratio.

2) Defense skill as displayed by the character panel is rounded up.

Now that we have an accurate conversion from defense rating to defense skill, this is also easy to test. At 359 defense rating, we should get 151.772 defense. The tab displays 151. Ergo, the character panel is truncating the displayed value, exactly like one would expect (skill rating -> skill level behaves the same way).

Given this, how much defense rating is needed to reach uncrittability? 154.

I have noticed a double standard used when people talk about seeing crits at 154 or 155 defense rating, versus crits at higher ratings. That is, if you have under 156 defense rating, people will say that you need more defense rating, but if you're above that, they'll say that there was player error (sitting down) or a game bug (equipped item not giving defense rating, talent not giving its bonus). I see no reason not to apply the same reasoning to both situations. There may also be other mechanics at work that are hard to observe, as they come into play so infrequently. Nonetheless, the way to discover them (if they exist) is not to ignore crits, or to rely on superstition, but to accumulate data and create working hypotheses.

WoW-Europe.com Forums -> 31/05/07 Combat Ratings: Level 70 Conversions

That post explicitly states that:
Sure, blizzard aren't always exact (and it does say it's to one decimal place). The haste ratings are pre 2.2 too. Still, it's better to be over the cap than under, wouldn't you say?

We're trying to consolidate all Feral Druid stuff over here, so if you could carry this on over there it would be appreciated!

Nooo! I just finished 57 pages of reading.

I'll check in on the new thread.

As for the number, well, I ran my test - I'll only accept a blue or WoWwiki number if you can back it up with actually data, as both are known to be unreliable. And 2.4 is accurate - to two decimal places, anyway.

This has probably been discussed before, but there is a dilemma between Defense Rating and Resilience.

Defense Rating adds + less chance to be crit, dodge and chance to be missed
Resilience adds + less chance to be crit (greater than def) and less damage from damage over time spells.

The dot damage reduction is rarely needed, but it would always be nice to have PvP gear with resilience along for certain encounters, which; I cannot figure out right now. Anyhow, at some levels of gear it might be difficult to keep crit immune stats, and at those levels Resilience will be an efficient choice for the meantime.

Sorry, I posted my question in the wrong thread. I will repost it in the feral druid megathread.

* You need 365 of the appropriate resistance.

* It is possible to remain crit immune simultaneously.

* I would say they are both equally important for us, we don't have Defensive Stance nor a talent that improves it. If I was forced to pick one at gunpoint, I'd probably pick crit immunity. Seriously though, get both, it's very possible.

* Both crafted JC rings and one of the two necks are highly valuable. Everything else will need to be random enchant "of x protection" stuff. Get the highest ilvl greens possible, they will naturally have higher resists and stamina. Don't be afraid to use cloth, armor has no bearing whatsoever in this fight. Resilience is highly useful for achieving crit immunity. Try to avoid high armor items whereever possible as they use item budget on the extra armor, which is not necessary.

* Only take this course of action if no Protection Warrior or Paladin is available to fill the role, the crafted plate armor is really good!

* Direct all further queries to: http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t16902-f...id_megathread/