Respec and which talents and stats (leveling tank)

[Rextab]

I am a level 25 bear and plan on it being a tanking build. Since I am learning the game I just tossed one point into all the skills to try them out. i have figured out by reading and trial and error which abilities are for tanking and I was wondering if it would be worth it at this point to respec to a more tanking focused style. right now i am pretty happy with my abilities, but i did sink some points into non tanking abilities early on.

also if i respec which abilities would be recommended to max out first?
right now i have hellscream and stomp maxed out.
i figured i will have 24 points to play with in a respec so i was thinking
5 stomp, 5 hellscream, 5 ironblood, 5 evasion, 1 taunt, 1 sms, 1 beckon, 1 rage
i figure that would be a good basis to build from.
what should be next? i was thinking rage for damage output, then taunt, then beckon, then sms.

also in my abilities i have tried to put mostly strength, with just a bit in dex to keep my hit % up. i believe i am at about 91% hit right now. has anyone noticed at what time it is most benefitial to start worrying about dex? should i just load up on str to a certain level and then start? ive seen the numbers thrown around the boards, so i know what to shoot for at max level, but this is more of a question from a leveling standpoint.

[BeardedBear]

I would go with these first, for lvl 25.

5 Rage
5 Evade
5 Iron Blood
5 Stomp
4 Beckon or SMS

At lvl 45, you need this build.

5 Rage
5 Evade
5 Iron Blood
5 Stomp
5 SMS
5 Beckon
5 Hellscream
5 Crushing Blow or sub for Crippling Slash (good for rooting ranged targets that kite, PvE, or PvP)
4 Taunt

You really don't need restore or vengeful slash. I threw in Vengeful slash with a twink build I use, but that's a very particular build.

[Royce]

I agree with bearded's summary, except that I only keep 1 point in Crippling Slash, and max out taunt. Then buy crushing blow with the remaining points, or if you are doing PvE mainly, maybe consider restore (it's incredibly weak, but I don't find crushing blow all that useful in PvE). And at level 25 I would definitely get beckon rather than SMS. Both are excellent skills but beckon is far more useful, and it's sort of a skill that improves with practice, the more you use it, the better you will get with it.

Edit: I think you should also put 1 point in Taunt at 25.

[Rextab]

thanks for the assistance. i just want to be the best bear tank i can be. im a wow vet that basically played tank most of the time...all 4 varieties. it's what i enjoy.
why skip out on Hellscream early on? it seems to be a great damage reduction talent for not just me, but everyone else in the group.
or is it just to go with rage so i am not totally gimped on damage output?
yeah definitely think there should be 1 point in taunt even at this level.
yeah i was gonna pass up on restore. it seemed pretty weak.
beckon seems fun. basically like a Death Knight's Death Grip.
i think i'd have one point in crippling slash at max level , just to keep casters and ranged from running. i do like crushing blow for boss battles. at least from what i have seen it seems to be the only place it really seems to help.

what about stats?

just another basic tanking question. what does the bear use to hold aggro? it seems their only real way to generate damage effectively through a group is Stomp, but that knocks everyone away from me. Taunt will grab them, but it's on a pretty lengthy cool down. they don't seem to have a whole lot of ways to keep aggro on multiple targets, especially when casters or going all out aoe crazy.
i've noticed a few people have said that later on in the game the group mechanics change to be more of a conventional mmo style where the tank is a must and you focus fire.
right now i just basically have to pop my damage reducers and just try and keep everything stunned and debuffed as much as possible.

[BeardedBear]

You most certainly want Rage, asap. While Hellscream is one the best warrior skills, there are other skills that are more helpful earlier on. And yeah, Beckon is my favorite skill in game. Once you master it, you can pretty much throw your target around like a rag doll, as well as trap in corners/wall with Stomp and SMS. Just to mention Crippling Slash again...I mentioned push it to level 5 because I think Beckon/Stomp/SMS, is PLENTY to hold your target in place, while he or she tries to run, without even bringing Crippling Slash into the picture. So if you are going to get it, max it out for maximum damage output.

Regarding stats - you want the minimum str needed to hold your gear, and the rest dex. At lvl 45, you only need 142 str, I'm not sure with lvl 25. This can be debated, but through testing, I've found this much better than to get just enough dex for 100% hit ratio, and majority str.

Taunt, IMO, is the best way to agrro mobs, however it doesn't last for more than a few seconds. It doesn't cost mana however, which can be nice when you have mana regen issues earlier on in game. Typically attacking a target aggros, so like you said, Stomp can be used for this as well. Hellscream and Beckon seem to work as well. So 4 AOE aggro skills! People say Evasion causes you to be provoked too, though I'm not too certain on this.

[Xviperr]

sorry to question, but it seems like beckon does the same at level 4 and 5?
cause mine is now 4 and the next level description is the same