Battleworn Tuskguard… not so worn anymore.
Amongst all the raving about Patch 2.4’s new instances and new gear a simple, seemingly undocumented changed slipped through the cracks.
Battleworn Tuskguard (At the time I write this even my wowhead tooltips will show it with the following stats)
1355 Armor
60 Stamina
3 Sockets
23 Dodge Rating
40 Block Rating
51 Block Value
As you might have guessed by the text struck through, this ZA helm doesn’t have the rather underwhelming 40 Block Rating anymore. It’s got 40 Defense Rating now. Those of you wearing this helm just got handed 2% Avoidance for free and a whole lot of new options thanks to a massive 0.67% additional crit reduction that you didn’t have last week.
…so where were we?
Well in the past, I’d had the opinion that it was strictly better than the T4 helm which quickly brought up the comparison between it and the T5 helm. I won’t deny that initially I wasn’t a fan of the T5 helm, but the reality is it’s just different than the Battleworn Tuskguard. The ZA helm was for threat and the T5 helm was for survivability. They both had their places and ultimately that’s why I have them both today.
The New Gem
However, along with the exciting buff to Battelworn Tuskguard came Eternal Earthstorm Diamond. I don’t think I have to tell you that 10% additional Block Value is a whole lotta Threat and certainly 12 Defense Rating doesn’t hurt either. So, why is this relevant? Well the T4 and T5 helms respectively have meta sockets. Our ZA friend does not.
4 Flavours for Fighting
The following 4 comparisons show different ways of adjusting the 3 helms previously discussed and will be using 15 stamina gems for non-meta sockets since they are now widely accessible.
Battleworn Tuskguard
Effective Health: 60 Stamina, 3x 15 Stamina Gems, 1355 Armor
= 1169 EH
Avoidance: 40 Defense Rating, 23 Dodge Rating
= 3.25% Avoidance
Threat: 51 Block Value
Warbringer Greathelm with Eternal Earthstorm Diamond
Effective Health: 53 Stamina, 1x 15 Stamina Gem, 1261 Armor
= 752 EH
Avoidance: 24 + 12 Defense Rating, 17 Agility
= 2.39% Avoidance
Threat: 15 Strength, 17 Agility, 39 Block Value, 10% Block Value
Destroyer Greathelm with Powerful Earthstorm Diamond
Effective Health: 48 + 18 Stamina, 1x 15 Stamina Gems, 1411 Armor
= 906 EH
Avoidance: 30 Defense Rating, 33 Dodge Rating, 28 Agility
= 4.20% Avoidance
Threat: 28 Strength, 28 Agility
Destroyer Greathelm with Eternal Earthstorm Diamond
Effective Health: 48 Stamina, 1x 15 Stamina Gems, 1411 Armor
= 704 EH
Avoidance: 30 + 12 Defense Rating, 33 Dodge Rating, 28 Agility
= 4.81% Avoidance
Threat: 28 Strength, 28 Agility, 10% Block Value
…so where are we now?
The buff to Battleworn Tuskguard has turned the SSC/TK level helm game on it’s head. Where as before we’d use the ZA helm for threat and the T5 helm for survivability now we are faced with the very opposite! The new and improved ZA helm is now the survivability helm of choice because it’ll allow you to aggressively swap some high defense slots for a lot of additional stamina while maintaining uncrittable status. (The trinket slot comes to mind) On the flip side, the T5 Helm thanks to Eternal Earthstorm Diamond now becomes the threat helm of choice offering a ton of extra Block Value to go with the insane amount of Avoidance it always did offer. What about the T4 helm, you ask? Offering the highest Block Value of all 3, this helm should find itself slipping back into your bags for high burst threat situations such as trash pulls and aggro-dump style fights.
That’s all for now. Tons more 2.4 Information still to come!
March 27th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Thanks for the math Venny. It’s a good thing the new meta is so awesome!
[Reply]
March 27th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I wish this thing would drop for me already. ;_;
[Reply]
March 27th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Thank you oh so much for reminding me of the existence of this gem. Once I get home I’ll start work on helping the guild JC rep up with the Shattered Sun.
[Reply]
March 27th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
i wish we can get 10 ppl to go to kara let alone ZA. =(
[Reply]
March 27th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Prior to Battleworn’s buff I kinda regretted not picking up the Destroyer Helmet. I didn’t have an opportunity to get it before picking up the BWTG and since passed on it to let guildies get their Helm Tokens. I ended up gemming the BWTG for avoidance as a survivability helmet and enchanted the Warbringer for threat with a Presence of Might. With the new metagem I’ll have an excellent threat helmet that’s also respectable for multi-tanking. When I get on tonight I’ll check to see if any of my minions hit revered with SSO yet.
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 5:41 am
So now Battleworn Tuskguard is almost exactly the same as Tankatronic Goggles with the new metagem(at my 500 sbv).
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 8:31 am
How about vs tankatronic goggles?
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 9:01 am
That is hilarity!
I am such a tool! I hadn’t been able to figure out where the 510+ defense was coming from before boss pulls. (Not that I looked to carefully mind you, but still… LAWL)
What a wonderful surprise!
Thanks Ven.
-Atank
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 10:09 am
If you get to go to sunwell, there are upgrades to engineering goggles that drop. =)
Also I’m a bit confused by the stats. It was 40 block rating before and now 51 block value according to what you have posted, but it should have 40def rating? :confused:
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
It had 40 Block Rating AND 51 Block Value pre 2.4
Now it has 40 Defense INSTEAD of the 40 Block Rating.
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
ah. thx lancelet. I would’ve looked up the stats, but game sites are blocked at work…
[Reply]
March 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
hot.
[Reply]
March 30th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I must say now that we’re reaching the end-game where shadow and fire res is required for the tanks, this helm has come more or less as a god-send. High stamina, high defence and aggro - throw on a +FR or +SR enchant and you got one of the best resistance pieces in-game.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2008 at 3:56 am
I am hoping that you will be updating the uncrittable & uncrushable listing given the new items available with 2.4… as well as comment on an ‘expertise cap’ now that so many items come with expertise… pretty please?
[Reply]
April 1st, 2008 at 6:11 am
…and to think I was just discussing tight defense rating recently.
The potential options created by these changes are much needed & should lead to some even more interesting developments. This should really open up some new doors & oh, how I love doors.
Thanks for the heads-up on this change!
[Reply]
April 9th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Was just wondering if anyone had done the maths comparing these to the Tankatronic Goggles you can make with engineering?
[Reply]
April 13th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Can you throw in a comparison to the t1 and t2 engineering helms?
[Reply]
May 30th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I think that is a misleading statement to indicate battleworn can’t win as both the survival helm and the threat helm. With Shield Mastery, it’s adding 66 block value. You have to have a lot of shield block value outside of the helmet slot to make T5/Tankatronic goggles beat battleworn. It’s much easier for T4 to do so, since it has 39(50) shield block value on the item prior to the Eternal Earthstorm Diamond.
[Reply]
Veneretio reply on May 30, 2008 4:18 pm:
Excellent point. I have to say that when I initially wrote this, I really felt a lot better about the new meta than I do now. It turns out that it really doesn’t offer too much BV after all even in a threat set. The T6 Helm naturally out paces the Tuskguard as a threat helm, but I have to agree that T5 really doesn’t seem to keep up.
[Reply]