Beyond a shadow of Redoubt

Through the course of playing World of Warcraft, most folks will find that there are a few pieces of equipment that catch your fancy, as they are the end-all, be-all item that your particular class needs to do its job. As I have said before, warriors are the most gear-dependent class in the game, so there are a number of drops that you happen to run across when you see someone of your same occupation in the Auction House, etc, and you inspect them. /Cast JawOnFloor (Rank 6). Growing up as a young warrior, the Draconian Deflector was one of these items. This shield eluded me for the longest time on Varice, somewhat out of a spate of bad luck, and otherwise as a function of trying to run Upper Blackrock Spire in Pickup Groups (PUGs), as my guild prospects were slim at the time. (The guildies I had were great, but there weren't enough of us to do our own 15-man runs to get ourselves geared up :( ).

I had the discernment to cast my lot with The Pod People, eleven months ago, and save 3-4 shaky weeks last spring, it has been the best career move I could've possibly made. Other than a run on Kazzak that was terribly successful, and getting snookered into helping some people that were "LF Tank for World Dragons," (Attn. folks- Test of Skulls are NOT "World Dragons." Just sayin'), I've been spared the indignity of having to endure PUGs since I rolled Echuta. The night Roxilox and I dinged 60, in June, we were in UBRS with the Pod, and I was fortunate enough to have the Draconian and my Breastplate of Valor drop on the same run. It was quite an evening. As I've eluded to in previous posts, however, you will be hard-pressed to find a single piece of tank gear that has the word "Valor" in it. That being said, the prudent warrior must tirelessly research his options, and chart a course through many of the dungeons in the attempt to have himself properly geared as to avoid giving his healers an aneurism.

In keeping with my habit of making sure I identify some of the more elusive pieces of armor, I have tirelessly ventured into Dire Maul North in an attempt to secure the Redoubt Cloak, considered by most to be the best blue tanking cape in the game. Here's the lowdown for those not familiar. As it were, if this drop eludes you after many Tribute runs, there is an excellent alternative in the meantime, but you'll have to chase down a tailor that's been doing that same Tribute run. Cloak of Warding can be crafted from a tailor pattern that is in a chest when you free the goblin that is chained up beside the freeze trap that captures Guard Slip'kik. (Alevica on Whisperwind made mine. She's the bomb). The item that frees him is the Gordok Shackle Key, and it is pretty much a random drop from any ogre in DM. Sadness. At any rate, the loot that comes from the Tribute chest at the end of the event is some of the best in the game that you will have access to, prior to heading into Molten Core. After about half a dozen aborted attempts at Tribute runs, and 4-5 successful ones, I finally landed that blasted cape. One more check off the list. Subsequent runs will likely be for the Fire Resistance flavor of Elemental Plate Girdle, but I was able to land the Shadow Resistance version yesterday. That'll still be handy in the fights against Lucifron and Gehennas.