Phat Loot Phriday: Blade of Tarasque
by Mike Schramm 
Oct 23rd 2009 at 8:00PM
Name: Blade of Tarasque (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory)
Type: Epic Main hand Dagger
Damage/Speed: 108 - 343 / 1.80 (125.1 DPS)
Attributes:
- +48 Stamina, +65 Intellect. Used to be that Stamina on a caster item meant warlock, but I think this is just an endgame item -- any caster who needs it could use it just fine.
- Plus, there's a blue gem socket on it, so you can put whatever you want in there, with a socket bonus of +5 spellpower. Just because it came up on the site earlier this week, I'll use this opportunity to remind you that any gem can go in any socket -- you just won't get the socket bonus. Yes, really.
- Improves hit by 51, haste by 57, and spellpower by a tasty 692. Hit seems strange to have on a weapon this high (by this level, most people should have their hit capped already), but then again, having that much hit on a blade means you can take it off of something elsewhere. Truth is, if you're getting this weapon, you already know where you're at on hit and how to deal with it, so I'll leave you to it.
- I will say, however, that the Tarasque is a large-turtle like dragon spoken about in a legend in France, supposedly charmed and tamed by Saint Martha (though she wasn't able to stop people from killing it anyway). I know about the Tarasque from my days DMing D&D games -- the Tarrasque is a huge creature (and there is only one of them) based on the French legend. The Torrasque in Starcraft is based off of the same legend as well. And though I've recently learned that it probably isn't true, I always believed that Bowser was just a cartoony Tarasque seen through the filter of a Japanese game designer. Feel free to make your own conclusions about that.
Seriously, doesn't Bowser look like the Tarrasque? I guess he was supposed to be based on an ox instead, but I like my turtle legend better.
Getting Rid of It: I'm guessing you'll probably find something nice (and probably a little scarier) in Icecrown. So when that happens, you can sell this one for 25g 36s 94c, or disenchant it out into an Abyss Crystal.
Filed under: Mage, Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Humor, Phat Loot Phriday, Lore, Bosses, Galleries
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ted Oct 23rd 2009 8:15PM
Seriously; that is one Bowser-y looking dragon Mike
usmcbradley2003 Oct 23rd 2009 8:16PM
I love the stats on this weapon but it looks freaking heavy. Like I wouldn't want to carry that around for long.
Azizrael Oct 23rd 2009 8:17PM
Weapon +hit comes in handy when your tier 9 only has 150 or so of the 446 you need on it. Getting a sweet dagger like this can free up a trinket slot for other stats, especially when the badge wand and most offhands also have hit on them.
WoWie Zowie Oct 23rd 2009 8:54PM
i has, but the heroic 10 man version is better still
Cetha Oct 23rd 2009 9:51PM
I don't know about this dagger. I think it's ugly.
Turtlehead Oct 23rd 2009 10:06PM
Great weapon with a solid bonus for a blue socket. Nice place to dump
one of the two purple colored gems toward activating a Chaotic
Skyflare diamond.
[stage whispers: The Shoveler! so fun, so blue, so tooltastical! warriors dual wielding shovels for extra dig web hits!]
RetPallyJil Oct 23rd 2009 10:45PM
"Getting Rid of It: I'm guessing you'll probably find something nice (and probably a little scarier) in Icecrown. So when that happens, you can sell this one for 25g 36s 94c, or disenchant it out into an Abyss Crystal."
That isn't how you get rid of the Tarrasque, silly.
Oh ... never mind :x
(Showing off her own D&D love)
Kynikos Oct 23rd 2009 10:58PM
So, about Bowser
The japanese name for Bowser is Koopa (yes the same name we use for those damn turtles) which itself is an alteration of Kappa, a japanese yokai (kind of a monster or ghost) pretty famous and common in many legends, and yeah, it kinda looks like a turtle
Ametrine Oct 23rd 2009 11:01PM
Yeah, but now I can't help but picture a Bowser-fied Tarrasque.
and IT IS AWESOME.
Kadamon Oct 24th 2009 12:10AM
GigaBowser in the Smash games is kind of Tarrasque-esque.
Draenors Oct 23rd 2009 11:19PM
This isn't relevant to the item itself, but thought I'd might as well give one comment about gem-sockets:
As a DPS, you should (almost) always only use the amount of blue gems that your meta requires (2 for Chaotic, 1 for Relentless). This is because blue gems only give you one stat that is relevant for DPS. You should probably choose a gem where the non-DPS stat is relevant for PvE (MP5, Stamina or Spirit). If you are melee/hunter, you should probably choose a Nightmare Tear (+10 all stat) (which will by itself provide the requirements for Relentless meta).
Therefore: Put one or two blue gems (depending on meta) in blue sockets that provide the best socket-bonuses, and put yellow/red gems in all other sockets.
(The only situation where I could see a DPS-player wanting to socket additional blue gems was if you for some reason really valued the additional non-DPS relevant stat. For instance, if you had mana problems and really wanted MP5, or if you are a priest/mage/druid/lock who wants Spirit or perhaps even if you wanted that extra Stamina for some crazy-AoE-madness hardmode fight. In general, I'm sure you'll prefer a pure-DPS stat, though.)
Kadamon Oct 24th 2009 12:13AM
I was always told that if your bonus is +spellpower and it's a blue you put in a purple. If it's Yellow, put in an orange, and if it'd red, put in a red.
vazhkatsi Oct 24th 2009 10:50AM
about 40% ish of your spirit is converted to spellpower as a lock
(with the glyph of lifetap that nearly every dps spec has) so spellpower/spirit is sorta both dps stats.
Draenors Oct 24th 2009 10:50PM
@Kadamon:
It sounds reasonable, but you should do the mat before mindlessly socketing gems just because the color matches.
Let's assume that the socket-bonus which requires a blue gem gives +5 Spell Power (which most of them does in my experience, at least for Elemental Shaman gear).
A Glowing Dreadstone gives 10 Spell Power. So socketing the gem will give you 15 Spell Power total.
If you had ignored the socket-bonus and socketed a Runed Cardinal Ruby instead, you would have had 23 Spell Power.
Aubrecia Oct 23rd 2009 11:57PM
Bowser is based on an ox? I always thought he was based on a kappa.
Walynds Oct 24th 2009 5:45AM
My DM's favorite way to end a module we were stuck on or bored of.
"Tarasque appears. Please inform me why you are not dead'
Skem Oct 24th 2009 6:10AM
This dagger is awsome for way to many classes. Something I have found with ToC loot is the regular itemisation steriotypes (like MP5 is for healers, +Hit for casters, etc) are challanged.
I.e. Ring of the Darkmender has MP5 but will still come up as current tier best in slot for mages. This is also holding true for staves (Clemency, Cold Convergence, Enlightenment) all being upgrades.
WTF am I on about? well... my main is a Mage and I was really upset (not enought to be a jerk however) when this was given to a shaman (I know... Im a big baby), however when I look around at the items that are real improvements their are other options.
Plus the item went to a guildy so I know the progress isn't wasted.
Terethall Oct 24th 2009 6:24AM
Seriously, Mike? How long is it since you've looked at casters? Warlocks haven't cared about stam in forever. All dps caster gear is homogenized. All of it. Locks compete with Shaman, Mages, Priests, and Druids for drops like this.
I only bring this up because the last three times you've looked at dps caster items you've commented on the stam and mentioned warlocks. And every time someone brings it up in the comments that warlocks have no particular use for stamina more than anyone else these days. We actually tend to have less health dps classes with higher armor types, in contrast to the glory days when we'd have as much as a tank.
Koskun Oct 24th 2009 6:45AM
I remember the Tarasque. There wasn't only one that existed, there was only one known to exist.
vazhkatsi Oct 24th 2009 10:53AM
no... pretty sure theres only one of it. its immortal, pretty much indestructible and doesn't reproduce.