Hello guys, i’m a prot main but lately I’ve been enjoying retribution a bit too.
I’ve been dropping so many trinkets lately in M+ that I decided to ask what you guys think I should use! If you guys think there are even better ones tell me so I can have a look. I’m still trying to drop the DPS trinket from Mekka.
At the moment I have for tank:
410 Lingering Sporepods (+86 leech)
400 Bwonsamdi Bargain
410 Diamond-Laced Refracting Prism
400 Rezan’s Gleaming Eye (90 avoidance)
For DPS:
400 Jes’ Howler
405 Gore-Crusted Butcher Block
400 Razdunk’ Big Red Button (socket)
Nice to see people being lucky on this loot casino we have nowadays!
On topic though. Your best bet is to sim for yourself. Looting is so weird in BfA that a lower ilvl item may sim way better than a higher one. Trinkets in particularly are a weird place in this expansion with many raid trinkets being way behind even from crafted ones. Also different trinkets are better in different situations (AoE, ST, High movement…). So, TL;DR, sim yourself!!!
Raidbots has also added a mythic+ option but mind you it is still in BETA.
If you are unsure of how to sim, there are some YouTube videos especially for ret paladins, I suggest you go and take a look.
As above, I tend to resort to guides to get a general idea but if I want to see for myself hands-down, I grab a simulator - if not online then an in-game addon that will account for my actual gear (which sites often can’t unless you’ve followed it to the letter).
For Prot I think of it very simply. I want Haste. All of it. Doesn’t have any? Then I’ll settle for a standard Mastery or STR trinket. Doesn’t have any? Then pick whatever of the alternatives you like. Got lots of them? Simulate with each one to see what is legitimately giving you the result you want.
Thanks for all your answers! For prot I also like the haste but Rezan’s Gleaming Eye can have an awfull uptime sometimes… That’s why I wonder if I should use small sustain stuff like prism or sporepods. For raid I usually use Bwonsamdi’s Bargain for the effect, making us have 2 life lines along Ardent Defender. Do you guys think the Eternal Alchemy Stone could be good for prot pala? I see loads of tanks use it but i’m still not convinced.
I’m not that big on sims, they are a good indication but more times than not they’re far off real conditions resulting in a worse performance.
The difference is how you want to tank, what boss you’re facing and how your group is made.
If you have great healers, it may be better going with dps trinkt, extra dmg is always good. You have a lot of melee aroung? Go with Jes to buff them. All casters? Go with rezan.
You’re healer sucks? Better go with extra defensive.
The boss just hit hard or has a crushing ability? If it’s like mekka that hit hard but no crushing blows, the prism is a better option. For grong or king that have crushing abilities may be better bownsamndi.
This applies to any and all outside information that doesn’t involve you compiling it hands-on. The difference between a generic gearing guide vs a simulation is that said sims at least account for your current gear, whereas guides can only tell you what to aim for or what those pieces can do for you.
The inaccuracies come from it assuming you are performing at its highest potential - as such, it shows you how far you can reach, but obviously doesn’t represent reality (things impeding that peak performance).
They are still the best alternative to hands-on testing as you can see (in a fake ‘optimal’ environment) which provides the biggest (potential) bonus. So, as said, I resort to guides for general ideas but simulate when I really want to test pieces.
Despite that, sometimes you will still always (personally) feel better with X rather than Y no matter how many sites, guides or sims say Y is better. That’s just how it is. None of them really account for personal taste or preference.