gnomeDK – Your Pink Haired Guide to All Things Death Knight

With just one instance run and 24 [Cobalt Bar] you can get a tank set within hours of hitting Northrend. What’s more this set is just under the defense cap for level 70 (though it is worth noting that by level 80 the value of your defense ratings will have lost more than half their value).

Gear

• [Cobalt Helm]
• [Tundra Pauldrons]
• [Cobalt Chestpiece]
• [Cobalt Bracers]
• [Gauntlets of the Disturbed Giant]
• [Cobalt Belt]
• [Cobalt Legplates]
• [Boots of the Unbowed Protector]

The cobalt gear is all crafted. Any blacksmith who has 375 skill and has visited a Grand Master trainer can make them for you. The mats are only 24 Cobalt Bars. That can be a little pricy if you are going by current AH prices, but worth the effort to always have a tank available when you want to run an instance.

The rest of the gear are quest rewards from the Nexus instance, which can all be done in a single run: Have They No Shame? (there is a Horde version with matching loot), Postponing the Inevitable, and Quickening.

There, done. Less than a day in Northrend, coming in with nothing but the death knight starter gear on your back, and you have a full tank set that’ll make any healer go, “Oh, you have gear? Okay then.” Of course this doesn’t mean you have to stop DPSing in a group, however being prepared and willing to tank can and will make the difference between running an instance or not at times. There is a tank shortage, after all, and you are a tank-DPS hybrid.

If you’re feeling ambitious you can also do a Utgarde Keep run, complete the quest Disarmament, and pick up [Woven Steel Necklace] for Alliance or [Tiled-Stone Pendant] for Horde.