Do DK tanks use shields?

As a long-time WoW player and mythic+ tank main, I get a lot of questions from readers and gaming buddies about which tank classes use shields as part of their arsenal and which rely on other defensive tools instead. So let‘s settle it – do Death Knight tanks use shields to mitigate damage?

The Short Answer

No. Unlike protection warriors and paladins, Death Knight tanks playing the Blood spec do not utilize shields as part of their tanking kit. Blood DKs wear plate armor and rely heavily on their self-healing abilities, damage reduction cooldowns, and bone shield charges to survive hits.

Now let‘s unpack the Death Knight tanking style and how it differs from other WoW tank classes when it comes to mitigation…

Understanding the Death Knight Tanking Toolkit

Death Knights originally rolled out in Wrath of the Lich King as a hero class that could perform three roles:

• Blood – Tank
• Frost – Melee DPS
• Unholy – Melee DPS

Over time, Blood solidified as the dedicated tanking tree as Blizzard reinforced its survivability tools and self-sustain.

Here‘s a quick overview of the key abilities in the Blood tanking toolkit:

Strong Self Healing

Blood DKs heal themselves via abilities like Death Strike and Vampiric Blood. Proper timing of these skills is crucial to smooth incoming damage. They also heal the lowest health group members through Vampiric Aura.

Damage Reduction Cooldowns

Talents like Will of the Necropolis and baseline skills like Icebound Fortitude temporarily boost the DK‘s damage reduction against big hits. Used correctly, these cooldowns make a Blood DK very tough to kill.

Bone Shield Absorbs

Blood DKs use Marrowrend to generate bone shield charges that each provide an absorption shield. Savvy DK tanks plan rotations to ensure bone shield is up for predictable spikes.

You‘ll notice something missing here – shields and blocking! So how do they compare to other tanks?

Blood DK Mitigation vs. Other WoW Tanks

Not all tank classes follow the same formula when it comes to mitigating damage. Let‘s analyze how Blood DKs stack up to others in terms of playstyle:

Warriors & Paladins – Block Tanks

These two plate wearers make up the "block tanks" thanks to abilities like Shield Block and Shield of the Righteous to outright negate hits with their shield. They also sport strong damage reduction cooldowns.

But their self-healing tends to be lower unless talented into. They rely more on healers or health pots.

Guardian Druids – Health & Armor Tanks

Leather-clad bear druids are similar to DKs without shields. However, instead of self-healing they focus heavily on health pool size and armor boosts to absorb blows. Savage Defense gives periodic 12% dodge too.

They have lower natural damage reduction compared to DKs and plate tanks though.

Brewmaster Monks – Avoidance Tanks

The wildest tanks when it comes to mitigation, monks purposely take spiky damage…but avoid a lot thanks to Elusive Brawler or purify it quickly with Stagger. They wear leather too so can‘t take many direct back-to-back hits.

While monks avoid rather than soak damage, their style is high risk and healing intensive – the anti-Death Knight.

So in summary, Blood DKs differentiate themselves from other tanks through exceptional vampire-esque self-healing. Let‘s see how that owes out by the numbers…

Blood DK Tank Performance Statistics

According to WarcraftLogs statistics on mythic Castle Nathria parses in Season 4, Blood DKs had:

• The highest self-healing done per second out of all tank specs
• Middle-of-the-pack damage taken metrics
• Top 3-4 damage dealers in terms of DPS among tanks

This aligns with the earlier analysis that Blood DKs invest heavily into self-healing tools rather than avoidance/block compared to other tanks.

In terms of DPS, they aren‘t too far behind locks and mages!

Do Blood DK Tanks Need Shields To Succeed?

Given the above, we can firmly conclude Death Knight tanks do NOT need shields to execute their role effectively. In fact, stacking self-healing and using damage reduction cooldowns appropriately is completely viable through all forms of PvE content.

That said, there are still pros and cons to the DK tanking approach:

Pros

• Very self-reliant – less dependent on healers
• Strong utility like Death Grip and battle rez
• Deceptively hard to kill when played well

Cons

• Spikier damage intake compared to block tanks
• Requires timing Death Strike well or you die
• Gear dependent for enough Haste & Versatility

So while Blood DKs might not fit the stereotypical tank mold, their sustain-focused playstyle allows them to thrive just as well even without a shield to cower behind!

TL;DR on DK Tanks & Shields

• Death Knights tanks playing Blood do NOT use shields for mitigation
• They depend on self-healing, damage reduction cooldowns, and bone shield charges instead to stay alive
• This sets them apart from block-focused tanks like Warriors & Paladins
• While spikier at times, mastering their survival rotation allows Blood DKs to tank all content

So there you have it – the insider perspective on the DK tanking toolkit. Let me know in the comments if you have any other WoW tanking questions! I‘m always happy to share mythic+ tanking pro strats.