Players who want to try their hand at tanking with their new death knights during the WotLK Classic pre-patch or the early stages of Northrend leveling should consider having some tanking gear for them at level 70. The general consensus is that a full tank set, or even a dedicated tank build, isn’t necessary for tanking normal dungeons during leveling. But a death knight with level 70 tank gear will have an easier time staying alive and will be less dependent on having a strong healer along.
The items listed below are mostly crafted BoE items, with some fill-ins from my planned Death Knight Level 70 Pre-Raid DPS Gear. There is of course better gear found in heroic dungeons and Outland raids, but this list is designed to avoid the random drop chance element.
The death knight level 70 tank gear list goes from best to worst. You can check your own realm’s prices with NexusHub, in most cases you’re better off buying mats and asking a guild friend to craft the gear for you.
More Death Knight Prep Guides:
DK Prep Shopping List | DK Two-handed Leveling Weapons | DK Level 70 Pre-Raid DPS Gear
Death Knight Level 70 Tank Gear Armor
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- Regal Nightseye and Solid Star of Elune x2 recommended
- You’ll only get the set bonus if you’re also a blacksmith, but the bonus doesn’t make or break the set
- BoE crafted with jewelcrafting
- Regal Nightseye x2 recommended
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- Solid Star of Elune x3 recommended
- Enchant Chest – Exceptional Health is also recommended
- This piece doubles as a good leveling item
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- Solid Star of Elune x2 recommended
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- Solid Star of Elune x3 recommended
- Clefthide Leg Armor is also recommended, but DO NOT apply it without your death knight as it will soulbound the leggings
- BoE crafted with leatherworking
- Solid Star of Elune x2 recommended
- Enchant Boots – Fortitude is also recommended
- If you insist on only wearing plate armor then look at Enchanted Adamantite Boots, but it has much worse stats
- BoE crafted with jewelcrafting, but in many cases is cheaper to buy the ring than the mats
- BoE crafted with alchemy
- In WotLK Classic this becomes a trinket with good stamina and hit rating, and should be in your leveling kit alrSome slots canDPS Armor
Supplementing DPS Gear For Your Tank Set
There are slots that can be filled nicely with BoE gear I already have planned for my level 70 DPS set. While these pieces focus on DPS they still beat out any tank-focused alternatives easily obtainable by a fresh death knight.
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- BoE crafted with leatherworking
- ~330 gold in crafting cost
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- ~300 gold crafting cost
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- ~300 gold crafting cost
- BoE crafted with jewelcrafting
- ~1600 gold crafting cost
- If you already planned to get this ring or were on the fence about it, know it’ll work great for both tanking and DPS. But obviously, it is quite expensive and will be replaced in Northrend.
Two-handed Weapons
The recommend tanking builds all use two-handed weapons, so we’ll focus on those here.
- Vendor purchase if Exalted with the Cenarion Expedition
- If you buy enough Unidentified Plant Parts to reach honored you can expect to hit Revered with questing
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- ~820 gold crafting cost
- BoE crafted with blacksmithing
- ~800 gold crafting cost
- This will be my weapon of choice, as it is the best DPS option and good enough for tanking
- BoE world drop
- ~14 gold
- You’ll need to skill up two-handed maces from 1
