WotLK Threat increase rate question

[taralej]

So you're telling me you're using your FU rune pairs for IT+PS spam?

[zerf]

I'm telling you that Obliterate is weak skill for a t7 geared tank compared to other options that are available on same runes and it's not like you have lots of excess runes to dump somewhere. Regarding FU runes, it goes like this:

0) Precast DnD if aoe threat crucial and there are 4+ targets
1) IT spam for single target threat (or if there are only few targets)
2) Howling Blast for aoe threat
3) Plague strike if need to put Plague Disease up
4) Death Strike if both diseases up and good opportunity to heal (optimal to reserve runes for this)

At this point, rest of runes are basically dumped on damage:
5) Howling Blast
6) IT if still have excess runes

As you can see, Obliterate would replace Howling Blast in 5) for single-target damage however in heroic almost everything is aoe, except for bosses which are the easiest part.

[taralej]

No, you just wouldn't spam IT and boggle with your diseases and U runes. Instead you do the normal rotation of using the FU pair for Obli for the single-target threat, damage, and the chance for it to proc Rime. After that, just IT+PS when the diseases are about to drop. Voila!

[zerf]

On single target yes, however, single target situations typically mean boss fights and I would argue that it's simply better to use Death Strike unless you don't take any damage / don't care about survivability.

Note that this thread is about AoE tanking trash packs in heroics and optimizing talent spec for AoE threat. Obliterate sub-spec wastes 6 talent points that hardly give extra AoE threat (measly 15% chance on Rime proc, but you loose runes/threat by using Obliterate over IT). Since points are limited, skipping out on talents like Glacier Rot, Black Ice is disaster if you consider both of them directly scale Howling Blast. You could get both, but it means you have to sacrifice something else.

[taralej]

Two-handed Frost is also an option, by the way, which will save you 6 points from Nerves of Cold Steel and Threat of Thassarian.

[Sandayver]

Two-handed Frost is also an option, by the way, which will save you 6 points from Nerves of Cold Steel and Threat of Thassarian.

With 2h you can you rely on fast KM proc anymore?.i have doubts.. didn't test it yet..just thoughts.


As for build suggested by zerf, I tried it with some random parties and it's very very helpful due to insane damage from HB on packs under always active KM. However first HB crit is very very important since without it overall threat on secondary mobs will be not enough for holding it. And i can say that FS is becoming useless here since KM is for IT or HB only (single/multi target).