Sneezie's Tanking Guide for 4.2 (see post #8)

Hi, and welcome to a brand new tanking guide. The last one had its sticky revoked and I have taken plenty of time to researching and creating a new one for the time being, seeing as 4.3 is a little while away.

Let's get straight into it.

Contents
Post One: Talents
Post Two: Glyphs and Stat Weights
Post Three: Gems, Reforging, Enchanting and Diseases
Post Four: Priorities, Dual Wielding, Best In Slot, Forcing Rune Procs, Notes on 4.3


Talent Specialisation

Blood Tier One: 2/2 Butchery, 3/3 Blade Barrier.
Blood Tier Two: 2/2 Improved Blood Tap, 3/3 Scent of Blood, 2/2 Scarlet Fever.
Blood Tier Three: 1/1 Bone Shield, 3/3 Toughness.
Blood Tier Four: 2/2 Sanguine Fortitude, 2/2 Blood Parasite, 2/2 Improved Blood Presence.
Blood Tier Five: 3/3 Will of the Necropolis, 1/1 Rune Tap, 1/1 Vampiric Blood.
Blood Tier Six: 3/3 Improved Death Strike.
Blood Tier Seven: 1/1 Dancing Rune Weapon.
Frost Tier One: 3/3 Runic Power Mastery, 2/2 Icy Reach
Frost Tier Two: 1/1 Lichborne, 2/2 Endless Winter
Unholy Tier One: 2/3 Epidemic.

Bladed Armor is now a pure DPS talent, due to the attempted removal of the Threat mechanic. The extra runic power is used for more Rune Strikes, to proc more Runic Empowerments, to allow greater use of Death Strike.

Hand of Doom is far inferior to Endless Winter in the Frost tree.

Blood-Caked Blade is a very poor DPS talent even with the extra disease from the tier set bonus.

The strength gained from Abomination's Might, once converted to Parry, is very small. The attack power raid-wide buff does not assist in tanking.

Crimson Scourge, even though effective for AoE tanking, is a straight DPS gain on your Blood Boil damage with a chance for free Blood Boils. Use of Blood Runes will be low, however, so Heart Striking or Blood Boiling with the Death Runes from Blood Tap and Death Strike should suffice. Move one point from Improved Blood Tap and one point from Blood Parasite to here if you want this talent.

Nerves of Cold Steel is very useful for dual wield tanking (which is viable now), but in essence is a hit and DPS talent. Hit is a threat stat, hence this talent is useless.

Annihilation is for Frost Death Knights only.

On A Pale Horse's movement speed effect duration reduction is the only useful tanking part of the talent, and is situational at best.

Unholy Command only useful if you need more taunts than one every eight seconds and one every thirty-five seconds, or if you are tanking a lot of adds. Situational.

Virulence is a DPS talent.