Prot Warrior: Is Shield Block worth using if you go for Avoidance gearing?

[Roshar]

I've currently geared my warrior tank with avoidance and am sitting at around 30% Mastery. With that amount of Mastery, is it worth it to use Shield Block at all? I still use it since I use the Heavy Repurcussions glyph and use Barrier in order to fill in the gaps when Block is on cooldown or if there's an unblockable attack incoming. I was wondering if it was worth it to completely forgo Shield Block and instead rely purely on Barrier? Or is it still worth it to use Shield Block even though I have low mastery?

I do prioritize Block when tanking multiple mobs, so this is more of a single-target question.

[Deleted]

I don't wish to insult you, but you'll see better results going for Parry/Dodge. However if you're intent on going for a Mastery build I would presume you'd want to prioritise Shield Block over Barrier due to the critical block mechanic? Shield Barrier does scale incredibly well with vengeance but I think it very much depends on the encounter and the damage incoming - knowing which ability to use will make you a good tank

[zoomgpally]

I don't wish to insult you, but you'll see better results going for Parry/Dodge. However if you're intent on going for a Mastery build I would presume you'd want to prioritise Shield Block over Barrier due to the critical block mechanic? Shield Barrier does scale incredibly well with vengeance but I think it very much depends on the encounter and the damage incoming - knowing which ability to use will make you a good tank

He said he is gearing for avoidance, but he has around 30% mastery(my guess is he can't reforge more away)

The question is: Is shield block useful for avoidance build at 30% mastery?

OP, I got no idea, sorry

[Deleted]

Due to the nature of Block being a % amount (that scales in dmg reduction with the size of the blow received) and Barrier being a set amount, I believe Shield Block is still worth using.

I know Barrier scales up with our Attack Power and thus Vengeance, but I recall someone crunching the numbers (although I forget where I saw it) and stating that for Barrier to beat Block, our vengeance would have to be so high, the damage incoming to produce that level of vengeance was not survivable.

Barrier really should only be for filling those gaps between Shield Block CD (to burn off excess rage) and unblockable damage!

**Ninja edit** - I believe it was based off Theck's numbers - http://www.sacredduty.net/2012/09/18...tion-followup/

[Deleted]

Ah you're right, sorry! I should probably level my reading skills.

[Deleted]

Block is still strong regardless. It's still a 100% block chance, which is 30% physical damage reduction on blockable attacks for 6s. Use Barrier with excess rage to fill, or on unblockable attacks.

You also get the damage bonus on Shield Slam through Heavy Repercussions, and you'll still occasionally crit block (60% physical reduction) which, if I'm not mistaken, also procs enrage.

[Deleted]

You also get the damage bonus on Shield Slam through Heavy Repercussions, and you'll still occasionally crit block (60% physical reduction) which, if I'm not mistaken, also procs enrage.

This is correct. The damage increase shield block gives you is certainly not negligible. I am always trying to use shield block as much as possible, only opting for barrier when absolutely necessary. This of course depends a lot on the circumstances (healers, gear, etc.)

[Ssateneth]

The only time where barrier > block is unblockable damage, or you are already passively unhittable, which is impossible with the gear that is available.

[Roshar]

Thanks for the info/confirmation. Yeah, I'm using Heavy Repercussions and I like the 100% block chance that comes with Shield Block which is why I'm still using it whenever it's off cooldown (except for unblockable attacks of course). My question came about due to a discussion I had yesterday with another prot warrior in the guild who suggested that I should ditch Shield Block entirely since my mastery is so low. Just wanted to confirm that Block was still worth using.

[idefiler6]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ection-Warrior


FYI, this question is covered in the OP of the protection sticky.

[Valech]

I think "worth using" is an understatement. It is so great, that you actually have to figure when exactly Shield Barrier is worth using. Aside from the significant damage boost through the mentioned Glyph Shieldblock is one of those abilities, that grant 100% mitigation of physical damage and can be used BEFORE shit hits the fan. Tell your prot warri pal that he is absolutely wrong.

[Leih]

Unless your raid group needs you to maximise your DPS to beat the boss (in which case, yes, use it all the time!) it can depend somewhat on the fight. On some encounters, like when learning to tank Kardris on the dark shamans encounter, I would rarely use shield block because her melee attacks are quite light and it's usually smoother to save as much rage as possible for dealing with those heavy hitting frostbolts and all the other damage flying around, as well as giving you a safety net for dealing with the oozes in case you fuck up. Whereas, on a fight like Blackfuse you pretty much definitely want to use it because his melee attacks are hard and fast, and you just need to save a big barrier for the Charges instead.

It can depend on your healers a bit as well. If you have a heavy absorb setup (like disc priest and holy paladin in a 10-man) they will absorb a lot of the melee attacks you don't parry anyway, so going barrier heavy can make your health look smoother since you barely take any damage at all (assuming you have the vengeance), whereas blocked attacks still cause you -some- damage and they'll whine about their absorbs being eaten. More reactive healers like druids and shamans will tend to feel your health is MUCH smoother with shield block.

In general though, it doesn't really make THAT big a difference. As long as you're spending rage on something. Some people exaggerate the difference a bit, but most of the time your healers won't notice a huge difference in standard boss fights whether you keep shield block up or spend all your rage on barrier. But as people pointed out, shield block will give you less overall damage taken in most fights, and if you have extra mastery you can't get rid of, even more so! Definitely worth using.