Protection Pally T10 4pc Q

[Zeyn]

No, no, no. I said, and I quote:

When deciding if you want to get 4 piece tier sets, you have to ask yourself two questions. First, are the stats on each individual piece better than other gear I could use in that slot? Second, is the set bonus good for my play style, and is it enough to offset any stats I'm losing by not getting other gear? For most pallies, the answer to both is NO.

I want people to decide if its worth it for them. I took a hard stance against four piece, both because I don't think its worth it and because a lot of people think they HAVE to get the full set just because its a set. I hope that people take my reasons and opinions and make their own intelligent decisions. But if you have been playing the same game as I do, you know that might be too much to ask.

Posters have been saying that paladin tanks in top guilds use 4pc. That doesn't mean much, I'm sure they have access to heroic 25 man gear. When you upgrade tier 10 to ilevel 277, it becomes close to BiS in its own right. But when you are unable to upgrade past 264, it becomes much less attractive verses other options.

There is also the fact that the OP didn't realized the significant difference between dodge and damage reduction.

[Fredzilla]

The slight difference in stats between 2pc+offset and 4pc won't really matter unless you're doing serious end-content raiding like H LK 25, in which case you'll probably have access to 277 t10 and the choice won't matter. If you're not working that far ahead, it still won't matter because it won't make a noticeable difference, especially with the buff. It mattered more before, but that was before.

[underdogba]

The 4-piece set bonus is not compelling, because it's pure avoidance and not guaranteed damage reduction. I would not go four piece unless you have access to 277 tier pieces (in which case a number of the pieces become BiS). If you want a small extra cooldown, use your 3 floater points in the prot tree to pick up Divine Sacrifice and the followup, and create a cancelaura macro so you're just left with the short 20% damage reduction.

At the 264 level, I'd recommend going with the headpiece, and one other piece that isn't the legs. That way, you will get the two piece bonus, and only lose 1 socket compared to offset gear (as the headpiece is not a liability compared to offset pieces). Go with the crafted legs because they are unequivocally BiS. It also may be difficult to hit the expertise softcap (unless you have the 264 boots from Blood Princes on 25), so you might want to use the Frost Badge offset piece in lieu of the T10 chest. If you're using a weapon other than the mace from Marrowgar 10 and/or are using a ring other than the 264 BoE, you may want to consider making your second T10 piece the gloves to keep a nice amount of hit. If not, use the Frost badge gloves which have the same amount of bonus armor. Otherwise, the shoulders are a good slot to use tier (as the non-set alternative has the same kind of stats), unless you have access to the 277 version from Heroic Gunship.

[Lumidar]

Head and Shoulders are the only 2 peices of tier that I have and will ever have. i don't see a benefit in having the 4pc. since it requires a global cooldown to activate.

i also have 277 Chest and Pants of non tier peices which there's no way i'd get 277 tier gear any time soon (blizzard hates giving our guild Conq. tokens).