Changes coming for Block in Patch 3.2
by Matthew Rossi 
Jun 18th 2009 at 3:00PM
Well, as we already discussed, block is currently a lackluster stat for tanking. But patch 3.2 has some changes in store, and one of those changes is to how much block value you'll see on just about everything, clearly aimed at boosting block's worth.- Block Value: The amount of bonus block value on all items has been doubled. This does not affect the base block value on shields or block value derived from strength.
- On-Use Block Value Items: All items and set bonuses that trigger temporary increases to block value have been modified. Instead of increasing their block value amount by 100% like other items, they have all had their effect durations doubled. This applies to Glyph of Deflection, Gnomeregan Autoblocker, Coren's Lucky Coin, Lavanthor's Talisman, Libram of Obstruction, Tome of the Lightbringer, Libram of the Sacred Shield, the tier-8 paladin Shield of Righteousness bonus, the tier-5 paladin Holy Shield bonus, and the tier-5 warrior Shield Block bonus.
Secondly, however, any item you've been using to temporarily double your block value either for mitigation or for threat (I used to keep Coren's in my bags for that very reason) will not provide double the block value on the proc, but rather the same amount for twice as long. To use Coren's as an example, it will now provide 118 block value, and when used will provide 200 more block value for 40 seconds instead of 20.
If anything this will increase block's value as a threat stat (I've seen no changes to abilities like Damage Shield, Shield of Righteousness or Shield Slam) as well as giving it a bit more teeth as a mitigation tool. I don't think it's a permanent fix to block, but as a stopgap measure it should make the worth of it a bit more obvious.
Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!Filed under: Paladin, Warrior, Patches, Items, Analysis / Opinion, News items, Instances, Buffs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gabriel Jun 18th 2009 2:51PM
So now that they're making block work better, can I have my Frost Presence back?
Robert M Jun 18th 2009 3:38PM
Oh please, just chain your tanking cooldowns like a good DK is supposed to do and drop the QQ.
Being recognized as the best hard mode tanks in the game gives DK's no room to whine about improved block mechanics (which are still lackluster btw).
Apoc Jun 18th 2009 4:44PM
And exactly how does a DK now chain defensive cooldowns since the cooldowns for all the tanking mitigation have been doubled? Ignorance like this is what makes me ignore idiots that call it QQ. When wrath hit, the first thing I did was level a death knight. Then I worked for months to achieve a full set of 25-man level tanking gear just to get nerfed to where there is no chance I can tank Ulduar. I had to reroll, level, and gear a paladin just to tank because of the nerfs. In a third of the time, I surpassed my death knights tanking stats, with gear that iLevel-wise is NOT as good, yet my paladin has more armor, more dodge, more parry, more health, AND can block, in addition to having almost exactly as much magical damage mitigation through talents, and even more physical mitigation. And it took me about a month to gear out completely. And I can heal, tank, or dps. Fair? No. Death knights were nerfed too hard in the tank department. It's pretty sad that a geared DK that used to be able to pull trash in OS25 and do well should go in after the nerfs and get 2 shotted. You call that acceptable? Please experience what you're talking about before you spout ignorance.
Robert M Jun 18th 2009 5:02PM
You know Apoc, that's pretty interesting.
Like I have said before, some members of Exodus told the rawrcast that DK tanks were still superior for hard mode encounters. Though I don't pretend to be the expert you claim to be, I would hardly call my claim ignorant when supported by one of the top guilds in the world.
If the problem is your DK tanking and not that of some of the best guilds in the world, you might considering learning the class before calling another player ignorant.
Just a thought though...
Apoc Jun 18th 2009 5:13PM
I assure you I know the class just fine. Maybe you are lucky enough to have DK's who can tank the hard mode encounters. But there is no ignoring the fact that the nerfs were extremely significant. Perhaps DK's were overpower for tanking before, but the nerfs went too far. As a paladin who dual specs holy, I can else tell you that death knights, aside of feral druids, are the hardest tanks to heal, with prot paladins being the easiest. Paladins and warriors simply as a general rule get it better. What makes no sense is feral druids having a ton more health and armor, with even more avoidance, yet they somehow take even more damage. They got hit even worse than DK's. But I can't ever recall a single patch where a TANK was nerfed so hard, so fast, for strictly PvE purposes, than what happened to death knights. It literally made me stop wanting to play the class. And I am not the only one who thinks this way because I have seen a drastic drop in the number of death knights trying to tank at 80. Even the lower levels are affected. Had a level 69 death knight tank pull the first 2 mobs in mana tombs just to drop faster than penance could get 3 ticks out. Something is wrong with that.
Ensane Jun 18th 2009 5:14PM
You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. DK's never got nerfed to the ground, they are the premiere tanks in Ulduar with druids close behind them. Thats the whole reason why block value is getting raised right now. So you should'nt have lved your paladin in the first place; they look better stat wise but pale in comparison because of their inferior defensive abilities. Paladins and warriors only pass up the other tanks on trash because they migrate a higher % of the dmg.
Apoc Jun 18th 2009 5:26PM
DK tanks never got nerfed to the ground? You can make a comment like that and say I don't know what I am talking about? In a singular patch, death knights lost 10% parry, a good chunk of armor, 5% of the base mitigation from frost presence, had all defensive cooldowns doubled, and in the case of unholy DK tanks like myself, had a 2% hp nerf (not worth QQing about, but it's there, and it happened). Some might call those nerfs fairly significant, friend.
Robert M Jun 18th 2009 5:47PM
"What makes no sense is feral druids having a ton more health and armor, with even more avoidance, yet they somehow take even more damage."
Druids have more avoidance? Since when did dodge alone provide more avoidance that dodge and parry? Druids cannot parry remember, so the avoidance of a DK should be higher than that of a druid. Druids have always had only one avoidance stat, DODGE, that is why savage defense was even implemented. Savage defense is a block like mechanic, which makes it a mitigation ability and not an avoidance ability, therefore, druids should not have more avoidance than a DK. What additional avoidance would a druid have to boost total avoidance past DKs?
“But there is no ignoring the fact that the nerfs were extremely significant.”
You are correct, the reason they are significant is because they are meant to help balance tanking classes with each other and not make them feel like identical classes. A nerf here, a buff there, and hopefully Blizzard can balance as good as they can hope to do. If you want an paladin biased opinion that calls for some DK love here it is, I still have yet to discover the Ardent Defender buff when the blood DKs similar talent Will of the Necropolis seems similar but lacking. That’s a fair assessment and could still be completely wrong since I don’t really know enough about DKs and am only comparing based on tooltip. If you think changes to DK tanking are unwarranted, then again, I will say you are one of a few because DKs are performing well in Ulduar.
“Even the lower levels are affected. Had a level 69 death knight tank pull the first 2 mobs in mana tombs just to drop faster than penance could get 3 ticks out. Something is wrong with that.”
Though I do not know the exact circumstances, I would guess that some of it had to do with gear, a level 69 isn’t yet privy to any of the TBC tanking gear or the cobalt set from Northrend. If they dropped that fast based on the level and the encounter, they might have been inappropriately equipped, though that is speculation and hardly anything to accept as fact.
“And I am not the only one who thinks this way because I have seen a drastic drop in the number of death knights trying to tank at 80.”
Oh really now? My guess would be that it has less to do with DK mechanics and more to do with the players. It is a pretty widely joked about idea that DKs are the new huntards in Northrend and maybe those DK tanks you speak of have never tanked before, got their butts handed to them or dropped from the group, and said, “to hell with it, I’m going to DPS.” I assure you from the realm stats I have seen from a few posts here on wow.com and in my own experience, there is no shortage of DKs on any server, so maybe they are just bad tanks.
qoa Jun 18th 2009 5:57PM
I do love that since op class A got nerfed, you went right to op class B. From DK to Paladin, wow you're so worldly.
Gabriel Jun 18th 2009 7:27PM
@Robert M.
I have never whined about making block mechanics better. Matter of fact, that's what I wished they would have done to start when when the whole "hard mode tank" thing became an issue. If pallys and warriors are having issues tanking hard modes, make them do it better. Making every DK tank in the game, from level 58 up, worse at their job, just so a tiny contingent of warriors and pallys running hard modes can be more useful is heavy handed, and not well thought out. See, like 99% of the people playing the game, I'm not doing Ulduar hard modes. But because shield-wearers are having a hard time in one mode of one raid, every single time I want to tank something, it's getting harder and harder to do. And since I'm the sole tank at the moment, in my small guild of friends, everytime the nerf bat hits, it's more and more likely that the night ends with an unfinished heroic and me telling people, "sorry, I'm just not able to tank this yet." I don't have overgeared, raid-equipped guildies that can walk me through everything I need to get properly equipped, if I can't tank the boss with guildies in dungeon blues, I'm not getting the loot. If it's QQ to think it's stupid that Blizzard keeps screwing up my class and my role when the obvious answer improving other classes to make to make them equivalent is being ignored, then yup, I'm proudly doing just that.
I was glad to see changes in block here, I thought maybe Blizz doing the sensible thing and improve the mechanics that make shield tanking less viable would perhaps get them to leave DK tanks alone for a while, but the announced DK tank nerfs make the Frost Pres nerf pale in comparison. So it goes. I'll keep trying to tank, and if it doesn't work, I'll level my mage.
Noscy Jun 18th 2009 7:47PM
Our DK Tank is still MT, he tanks Mimiron, General and all the others quite well, I think the argument is purely trolling by person\s who cannot tank
Tim Jun 18th 2009 3:09PM
75% more block value...pally shield bash crits will be fun. =D
Dragoest Jun 18th 2009 3:15PM
i seen warriors crit Shield Slam for over 10k.. you saying they can do more then that?.. 17k crit SS.... ok.. take me i'm yours.
fusionpit Jun 18th 2009 4:13PM
I've done raid buffed ShoR crits for 11k, but since this change will give Paladins at most 30% more block value and 30% less on ShoR, it won't change much!
tatsumasa Jun 18th 2009 3:10PM
this.
i sincerely hope they do something for dk/druid tanks then. right after they nerf the hell outta these tanks they make pally/warrior tanks better? they can't seriously do the nerfs with these buffs and still say they want dks and druids to tank.
tatsumasa Jun 18th 2009 3:11PM
um that was a reply to gabriel. stupid interwebz lag
Hal Jun 18th 2009 3:10PM
Now if we could just get a PvP shield. I'm eagerly looking forward to throwing out 10k+ crits with Shield of Righteousness.
Excellent.
jyorore Jun 18th 2009 3:14PM
This sounds great for boss tanking, but I'm a little leary about how this is going to effect paladin threat, as it is now, they're the front of the pack when it comes to both single target and aoe threat already. But I know warrior could probably use the little boost it will provide.
This doesn't seem like the super fix that is needed for the stat, and I have a feeling I'm going to hear a lot of the word "Band-aid" being thrown around, but its a good start.
Robert M Jun 18th 2009 3:40PM
It is a bandaid, but Blizzard has recognized that, and admitted they are working on an overhaul. I'll take a bandaid anyday as long as I know the surgery is around the corner.
Heilig Jun 18th 2009 4:39PM
"they're the front of the pack when it comes to both single target and aoe threat already"
Threat doesn't matter when you're dead on the floor because you have no tanking cooldowns.