They both imply the same thing ( avoid being hit ), but I can't find a clear explanation. For a tank, is one more important than the other?

 

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the only time one is more important than the other is if you have a skill that activates on a parry or dodge. in that case you obviously want more of one than the other so your skill goes off more. i think a parry also slightly reduces the swing timer for the next attack too but i'm not sure on that and its prolly not a big enough thing to go for alot more parry than dodge unless were talking about pvp and your using a two handed weapon.

 

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My understanding is you want to have some of both. With diminishing returns, you get less out of stacking one of these than you would if you put some into both.

 

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It is just a stat to help balance out the stats available on gear. You wan't to get as close to 100% avoidance without gimping anything. So something like 50% block 20% dodge and 20% parry the extra 10% made up in buffs and abilities.

From Wowwiki;

Targets of melee attacks can have a chance to parry each incoming frontal attack. A successful parry nullifies the attack (for the attacker it is like a miss) and reduces the swing timer of the defender. It is a passive ability which does not require any action to be used.
Note: When a warrior's special attack is parried, he does not lose the rage cost associated with that spell (even though the spell fails). Miss, dodge, or block events will consume the full rage cost when the spell fails.

Dodge is a form of melee mitigation where the entire melee swing is avoided. Dodge is a passive ability possessed by all players for all classes and races. However this stat is the most important to players fulfilling a tanking role. Only close range melee attacks can be dodged; a ranged attack or a spell cannot be dodged. Players can only dodge attacks if they are facing their opponent, however a mob can dodge attacks that are from behind. Incapacitated targets (stunned for example) cannot dodge.

 

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"A successful parry nullifies the attack (for the attacker it is like a miss)"
versus
"Dodge is a form of melee mitigation where the entire melee swing is avoided"

Still confusing. Also, parry reduces the swing timer of the defender -- meaning a successful parry reduces my next swing at the attacker ( reducing my dps ). So maybe its better to dodge or even take the hit.

 

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Ever hear the term "parry gibbed" ? It is when the Tank gets slaughtered because retarded Melee DPS fights from the front of the boss, activating parry's and thus increasing the damage the Tank takes.

 

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Uh, no. If YOU parry an attack, YOUR next swing will come faster. Meaning a DPS increase. Parry and Dodge take the same rating to percentage increase now, before Parry took a crapload more per rating than dodge. They are even now. Stack both.

 

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Parry is a dodge with an attack bonus, for the most part. Think of a swordsman parrying a tank and then counterattacking immediately. Bosses with high parry rates can be wicked, hence why tanks like to stack some Expertise to keep from getting "parry gibbed" as Mithan puts it.

Parry is harder to find on gear, and I believe is a much steeper curve. Tanks tend to stack way more dodge than parry due to these reasons.

 

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when i was talking about expertise in trade chat a couple of months ago I talked about parry thrash and I got several awesome responses about "how i was an idiot for not knowing they took that out ages ago."

 

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