Crit or Vers for Prot pallys

[Deathyield 0]

So the two stat priorities basically either favor Versatility/Haste(for the survivability spec) Or Crit/haste (for the damage build). Im conflicted with what is more beneficial in heroic/mythic raid content. Especially since most trinkets/gear in EN/Nighthold have crit on them. Does anyone know if its more beneficial to start leaning more toward the dps build as you progress through higher level content, or to just keep sticking with being a brick wall with the Survivability build (haste/Vers).

When I compare the two as far as raw survivability totally taking dps weights out of the equation, the vers/haste build of course gives you a constant damage taken reduction, though im not sure if the versatility has any baring on how much Hand of the Protector (the % based heal) heals for

Where as the Crit build You dont have that raw survivbility from that versatility, however you do get parry which totally negates physical attacks, and also making the Hand of the Protector heal for more if it crits. Only drawback i see is the fact that now you simply take more damage, but at the same time if you are doing higher tier content shouldnt the healers be able to pick up that slack?

TL;DR Is the crit build more viable for higher tier content as opposed to the Versatility build due to your raw damage output/parry chance, Or is the Versatility build more viable then the Crit one due to the raw damage taken reduction you get from it.

[Teiuaros 0]

Versatility is all around our best stat.  I don't think Hand of the Protector can even crit (if it can I'm just stupid, then) and vers affects how much HotP heals you for, which does stack with Scatter the Shadows.

Crit is if you want to do more DPS - if you plan on doing high-level M+ keystones and/or raids, then don't get crit, get vers.  You don't have to rely on RNG for vers, and it reduces all damage taken, whereas parry relies on a % chance that only affects physical attacks, not magic.

It's not all about YOUR damage numbers.  It's about being a demi-god of survivability.  Leave the damage to the DPS-ers in your group.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Teiuaros

[donaging 0]

I've tried a Crit - vers - maestry - haste build...

but i'm not sure if it's functional

Edited October 11, 2016 by donaging
less slang

[AndyP 2]

At lower item level (probably 860 or bellow) I would say all round, Versatility is your best option. Good all-round damage reduction and not too bad DPS wise. However, when you start to get higher item level Mastery becomes a better defensive option - as your haste increases you will be able to keep shield of the righteous (SotR) up a lot more, which increases the value of Mastery.

Damage is important as a tank, when it comes to DPS check bosses (for instance, Mythic Ursoc) any damage you can bring to the table will really help take the pressure off the DPS characters. Providing you are using the mitigation of the class optimally you should be able to survive prety much anything the game can throw at you.

Overall, I'd say the best stat priority is:

         (Str) > Haste > Mastery=Versa > Crit > (Stamina)

I would highly recommend avoiding stamina trinkets (or any that boost your HP) since it provides practically nothing in terms of survivability, you shouldn't get 1hit unless you're not using mitigation abilities optimally, which means having a high health pool is useless.

Aim for haste on every item, with a combination of mastery and versatility and a little bit of crit wont hurt, providing there is a good chunk of haste on the item as well :)