Valor Set

Overall, the Valor set has some nice pieces... but for real tanking, MANY of the Valor pieces can be beat by non-Valor pieces. After all, if you're tanking, you care a lot more about +defense (which Valor doesn't provide) than damage (so who needs the +strength of Valor? And let's not even talk about the completely worthless spirit on Valor pieces...). Still, here's the full set and where to get it.

• Helm of Valor - Like every set helm, it drops off Darkmaster Gandling, the final boss of Scholomance. Scholo is long, and the drop rate is low, so this is a huge pain to get.
• Spaulders of Valor - These are dropped off Warchief Rend Blackhand, the guy you have to get by to do UBRS anyway. These are a somewhat common drop, and since you'll probably be doing UBRS many times anyway, you shouldn't have a lot of trouble getting these.
• Breastplate of Valor - Like everyone's chestpiece, this drops off General Drakkisath, the final boss of UBRS.
• Bracers of Valor - These are BoE and a random drop off mobs in both UBRS and LBRS.
• Gauntlets of Valor - These drop off Ramstein the Gorger, the guy who comes out of the Slaughterhouse before the Baron in Stratholme. Again, since you'll probably already be on plenty of Baron runs, these are likely to drop before your pants.
• Belt of Valor - Unlike most belts, these are actually BoP, and it drops off Highlord Omokk, the first boss (the ogre) of LBRS. Omokk is close to the entrance of LBRS, so these aren't too tough to get.
• Legplates of Valor - Like everyone's pants, these drop off Baron Rivendare, the boss of Stratholme. Baron runs can be done quickly - in less than an hour and a half with a good group (assuming you're not trying to 5-man it). Still, the drop rate is low, so you may have to make many, many Baron runs to get them.
• Boots of Valor - These are dropped by Kirtonos the Herald, a named gargoyle close to the entrance of Scholomance. He's not very hard to farm at all, given how early on in Scholo he is.

Defense/Stamina Gear

Rare Helms:

• Avenguard Helm - Lots of stamina (25) is great, but where's the rest of the stats? This is a quest reward from the god Hakkar chain (from the Sunken Temple)
• Enchanted Thorium Helm - This has the same stamina as the Avenguard helm, but it also has strength, more armor, and +defense. It's a great tank helm, but very expensive to get made.
• Golem Skull Helm - This helm is a somewhat common drop off Phalanx from BRD. It has more strength than the Enchanted Thorium Helm, but less armor and stamina.
• Helm of Awareness - Probably not as much stamina or armor as you'd like, but the +2% dodge is great for tanking. It's dropped off of Zevrim Thornhoof, an easy boss to get to in Dire Maul east (this is the easiest Dire Maul instance - probably 4-mannable with a warlock). So, get this helm!

Rare Shoulders:

• Bile-etched Spaulders - These are dropped by Immol'thar, the demon dog/second-to-last boss of Dire Maul west. Not as much stamina as you'd like, but the armor is great, as is the +defense.
• Bulky Iron Spaulders - It's slightly less defense and armor than the Bile-etched Spaulders, but they have 6 more stamina. They're dropped off of Guard Mol'dar, one of the named ogre guards of Dire Maul north... the bad news is that by killing him, you won't get a full tribute at the end. The good news is that he's only a few pulls from the entrance to the instance, so he's very easy to farm.
• Stoneform Shoulders - +10 defense and a ridiculous amount of armor for shoulders. Yes, it doesn't have the stamina you'd want, but these are some impressive shoulders nonetheless. They drop off Kirtonos the Herald, the same guy in Scholomance who drops your Valor boots.

Epic Shoulders:

• Stockade Pauldrons - These are the perfect defense/stamina shoulders. They're a BoE random world drop, and they show up in the AH occasionally. If you can afford them, get them!

Rare Necklaces:

• Emberfury Talisman - Eh... 8 stamina, some fire resistance, +% chance to crit... probably better for a rogue or hunter... it's dropped off Pyroguard Emberseer fro, UBRS.
• Evil Eye Pendant - +15 agility means more dodges, +10 defense is what tanks live for. Sure you'd want stamina, but this necklace ain't too shabby. It drops off of Immol'thar, the demon dog/second-to-last boss of Dire Maul west.
• Medallion of Grand Marshal Morris - +15 defense AND stamina. This is the ideal tanking necklace - it's a random BoE world drop, so you'll see it in the AH from time-to-time.

Epic Necklace:

• Medallion of Steadfast Might - dropped off Magmadar, the second boss of the Molten Core.

Rare Cloaks:

• Cloak of Warding - 214 armor AND +7 defense - a very nice tanking cloak. It can be made by a tailor, and, aside from the 1 arcanite bar and 4 guardian stones, the ingredients aren't too tough to come by.
• Redoubt Cloak - +15 stamina and +10 defense - a great combo. It's available from the Gordok tribute at the end of Dire Maul north.
• Sergeant's Cape - As Sinvin says below, the high armor and stamina make this a great cape once you've already got the defense high enough. To get it, you need to attain PvP Honor System Rank 3 (Sergeant) - this shouldn't be very hard. Honestly, a few hours of good PvP should get you there - and it can be bought from the Quartermaster near the barracks in Stormwind.
• Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape - dropped off Stonespine, a named gargoyle in Stratholme. +14 stamina is nice, as are the plusses to strength and agility - but where's the +defense or high armor rating?
• The Emperor's New Cape - +16 stamina, +7 agility... but that's it, and frankly, it ain't enough. It's dropped off of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, the boss of BRD.

Epic Cloaks:

• Shifting Cloak - This cloak provides +17 agility (good for dodge), +8 stamina, and the important part: +1% dodge. It is BoE and craftable by Elemental Leatherworkers, however, the materials needed are insanse... most absurd is that it requires 4 Skin of Shadow - you get only ONE of these per Scholomance run, and the rogues and hunters present also need it for their epic item recipes. If this were to be sold at the AH, one would have to imagine the price would be well over 1000g.

Rare Chestpieces:

• Carapace of Anub'shiah - Oodles of stamina, and agility and strength to boot. It drops off Anub'shiah, a possible spawn in the arena of BRD. The Valor chest is better in every way.
• Deathbone Chestplate - You'd want more than +12 stamina, but the +25 defense more than makes up for it. This can by dropped by any one of the named mobs in the rooms surrounding the Headmaster's Quarters of Scholomance.
• Enchanted Thorium Breastplate - Pros: Lots of stamina, +13 defense. Cons: absurdly expensive to have made for you by an armorsmith. Not worth it.
• Kromcrush's Chestplate - Defense, strength and stamina - a very, very solid warrior chestpiece. It's dropped by Captain Kromcrush, the final named ogre before the King in Dire Maul north. Decent to get, but most DM north groups use the ogre suit to bypass fighting this guy.
• Ornate Adamantium Breastplate - +22 stamina, +15 defense, and 800+ armor. The best part is: it's a quest reward, so anyone can get it. Start by doing all the quests Tirion Fordring gives you - he's the guy in the Eastern Plaguelands, up the east bank of the river that's in the far west of the zone. Eventually he'll give you the quest chain to allow you to get this.

Rare Bracers:

• Fel Hardened Bracers - +stamina, +strength and +defense. Perfect. They're dropped from Lord Hel'nurath, who is spawned as part of the Warlock epic mount quest in Dire Maul east.
• Runed Golem Shackles - No stamina, and the strength is okay, but the +defense is the selling point. It's a BoE drop that can come from many of the mobs of BRD.
• Vigorsteel Vambraces - +17 stamina is nice... they're dropped by Darkmaster Gandling, the final boss of Scholomance.

Rare Gloves:

• Force Imbued Gauntlets - +14 stamina, +10 defense, and over 500 armor... these are the gauntlets to run out and farm for (they're not too hard to farm for, either). They're dropped by Illyanna Ravenoak, the hunter (she has a bear) who wanders on the second floor of Dire Maul west.
• Reiver Claws - The +15 stamina is good, but the +%crit make these better PvP gloves than tanking gloves.
• Stonegrip Gauntlets- +14 stamina and +15 defense. These gauntlets are a BoE drop that can come from a wide variety of places - it shows up in the AH occasionally. Get either these or the Force Imbued Gauntlets and you'll be in great shape.

Rare Belts:

• Brigam Girdle - Dropped by General Drakkisath (the final boss of UBRS), the +16 stamina alone makes this one of the best tanking belts in the game.
• Handcrafted Mastersmith Girdle - +10 stamina is nice, and the +agility is great for an improved dodge rate. Also: it has 150 more armor than the Brigam Girdle. This belt is dropped by Goraluk Anvilcrack, the Orc Blacksmith who wanders around in the room after the Rookery of UBRS.

Rare Pants:

• Direwing Legguards - These pants are a close alternative to the Valor pants. More agility, less strength makes them actually better for tanking. It's BoE, and it's a random drop off of very high level mobs.
• Eldritch Reinforced Legplates - Even not including the +%crit, these are better than the Valor Pants. They're also easier to get - they drop off Prince Tortheldrin, the final boss of Dire Maul west.
• Enchanted Thorium Leggings - Like the chestpiece, they're great - lots of stamina and defense, too. But like the chestpiece, they're very, very expensive - because the chestpiece actually has better competition, though, these are more worth trying to get.
• Legplates of the Eternal Guardian - No stamina, but lots of armor and defense - it comes from the chest that spawns after killing the seven dwarves in BRD.
• Warmaster Legguards - Stamina, strength, and +2% dodge - so these are a great tanking pair of pants. They're dropped by Warchief Rend Blackhand, from UBRS.
• Wraithplate Leggings - Stamina and +% chance to parry, they're dropped off of Jandice Barov from Scholomance. The +% parry helps to make this one of the best tank pants in the game.

Epic Pants:

• Cloudkeeper Legplates - +20 to stam, str, and agi. These are BoE and, thus, a random world drop. Truth is: for pure tanking purposes, some of the above pants are better.

Rare Boots:

• Grimy Metal Boots - No stamina, but they do increase your chance to dodge and have very high armor. They come from King Gordok, the boss of Dire Maul north.
• Master Cannoneer Boots - +21 stamina is great... but that's all they have that you want. They're dropped by Cannon Master Willey, who's on the Scarlet Side of Stratholme.
• Ribsteel Footguards - Overall, the Valor boots are probably better, but not by much. These are dropped by Urok Doomhowl - who is spawned by doing the ogre tribute pile event in LBRS right after the spiders.
• Shalehusk Boots - These have a lot less stamina than you'd like, but they do have +2% dodge, which is very nice. They're dropped by Panzor the Invincible... who is unfortunately a very rare spawn in BRD, in the room before the seven dwarves.

Rare Rings:

• Band of Flesh - +16 stamina is great, +3 agility helps with dodge rate, +6 strength is icing. It's dropped by Ramstein the Gorger, the guy who comes out of the Slaughterhouse before the Baron on the Baron side of Strat.
• Band of the Ogre King - +13 strength, +14 stamina. Nice. As the name suggests, it's dropped off King Gordok, the final boss of Dire Maul north.
• Blackstone Ring - If you're tanking level 63 mobs (Molten Destroyers, for example), you need to make sure you can hit them. +1%chance to hit is not a bad idea to have.
• Drakeclaw Band of Stamina - The named dragons in the lower level of the Sunken Temple drop Drakeclaw Bands of _______. The good news: They're all +6 defense. The bad news: you may have to do a lot of farming to get one with stamina.
• Ring of Protection - 150 armor and +9 stamina are great. This is a quest reward from the Darrowshire line, which starts with talking to a ghost in the house in Sorrow Hill.

Epic Rings:

• Heavy Dark Iron Ring - This is dropped off several of the MC bosses... this ring was made for tanks.
• Myrmidon's Signet - This BoE ring is a random world drop - and while it's great for many classes, it's ideal for a warrior.

Rare Trinkets:

• Counterattack Lodestone - It comes from the Gordok tribute at the end of Dire Maul north - +1% chance to parry is always a good thing - 'cause as Sinvin says below, hey, if you parry a 700 damage swing, that's 700 damage you just got out of.
• Force of Will - This drops off of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, the final boss of BRD, and it's a beauty for a tank - +defense and a great proc!
• Mark of Tyranny - Step 1: Kill Overlord Wyrmthalak, the final boss of LBRS, with a 5-man team. Step 2: Follow the quest chain from the letter he drops. Step 3: Kill General Drakkisath, the final boss of UBRS. Step 4: Get this excellent tank trinket.
• Royal Seal of Eldre'Thalas - The warrior version has 200 armor and +10 fire resistance. To get this trinket, do Dire Maul (any instance) a number of times until the Codex of Defense drops (actually, the book is BoE, so you may even be able to buy it). Then turn in the book at the Athaneum of Dire Maul to get this trinket.
• Vigilance Charm - Again, every attack you dodge can be 700+ damage you just got out of. This is dropped by Immol'thar, the demon dog/second-to-last boss of Dire Maul north.

Rare Shields:

• Argent Defender - Is the final reward from the Archivist quest line, which involves 5-manning both sides of Stratholme. There are better shields that will probably be less work for you to get.
• Avalanchion's Stony Hide - decent shield, dropped by Avalanchion, a rare spawn in Azshara during the Elemental Invasions.
• Barrier Shield - This is an excellent tank shield - The increased block rate is great. It comes from the Gordok tribute chest at the end of Dire Maul north.
• Darrowshire Strongguard - Good armor, some resists, and +8 stamina. This comes from the end of the long Ras Frostwhisperer quest line.
• Draconian Deflector - This is one of the best non-epic shields in the game. It's dropped by General Drakkisath and gives +15 defense.
• Husk of Nerub'enkan - Dropped by Nerub'enkan, the spider boss in front of one of the ziggurats on the Baron side of Stratholme. Eh... you can do better.
• Intricately Runed Shield - Dropped by Ras Frostwhisper from Scholomance, this shield has stamina - it's a good alternative to the Draconian Deflector and Barrier Shield
• Milli's Shield - This is the quest reward from the Shards of the Felvine quest, obtained from Rabine Saturna of Moonglade and done in Dire Maul east. It's a so-so shield.

Epic Shield:

• Skullflame Shield - It's a random BoE world drop - High armor, high block, fire resistance and a few interesting procs.

Fire Resistance Gear

To start, we must ask the question: What are you willing to give up for fire resistance? Health? Defense? Armor? Obviously, it depends on the fight. Only with very, very high end gear can you have both fire resistance and the other things you want and need (think: epic sets). Darn, you might think... if only there were some way to get fire resistance on top of everything else to begin with.

There is.

It starts with a book called the Libram of Resilience, sometimes available at the AH. This is the objective of a quest in which you must bring 1 Burning Essence (a bit annoying to get), 4 Crystal Spires and 1 Black Diamond to a guy in the Burning Steppes.

The end result: A Lesser Arcanum of Resilience, which will allow you to add 20 Fire Resistance to a leg or head slot item.

Uncommon Fire Resistance Gear:

There are a lot of random world drop BoE green items that give +Fire Resistance and not much ese - items like Emerald Breastplate of Fire Resistance. You can consider trying to get ahold of them, but in many cases, you'll be sacrificing hosts of other stats for nothing but fire resistance gear. If you get dropped green fire res plate, hold onto it. If it shows up in the AH, pick it up unless you have better.

Helms:

• Thorium Helm - This is made by Blacksmiths. Like the above helm, it has nothing but resistances. At only +10 Fire Resistance, it may not be worth giving up other stats your helm may have.

Shoulders:

• Dark Iron Shoulders - Also made by Blacksmiths, this gives you +10 stamina in addition to +10 resistance. The only problem: it requires Dark Iron to make, so it might not be so easy to find.

Chest, Bracers, Gloves, Belt, Legs, Boots:

Rare Fire Resistance Gear:

• Dark Iron Plate - +Stamina and +Fire Resistance make it perfect. Only drawback: it's a made by armosmiths and is BoP only. That means YOU have to be an armorsmith to have it.
• Elemental Plate Girdle of Fire Resistance - This comes from the Gordok tribute at the end of Dire Maul north. It has +10 Fire Resistance, +Stamina and +strength.
• Emberplate Armguards of Fire Resistance - Hahahah... riiiight. It comes from Incendius of BRD, and he drops alll sorts of Emberplate Armguards. The good news: They all have +10 fire resisance for starters. The bad news: No telling what the other stats will be. You might get stamina, strength, agility, some combination thereof... heck, you might even get fire resistance.
• Fiery Plate Gauntlets - It's made by armorsmiths, but all it really has that you'd want is +10 fire resistance. There are probably better or just as good BoE uncommon (green) items out there.
• Hydralick Armor - This gives +20 stamina, +10 fire resistance, and a couple of other stats too. This BoE random world drop is a GREAT centerpiece for a tank suit.
• Drakefire Amulet - This is the Onyxia key. +15 fire resistance and +10 staming? This is the fire suit necklace to have.
• Seal of Ascension - This is the UBRS key; nice of it to give +10 fire resistance. Bah, you can beat it with items like Perdiot Circle of Fire Resistance - random BoE world drop rings with +15-21 Fire Resistance.

Shields:

• Draconian Deflector - As mentioned above, it's dropped by General Drakkisath, it has +10 fire resistence as well as some other nice things

Shadow Resistance Gear:

As always, there are a number of green items that give plusses to certain resistances. Unfortunately, resistances are almost always ALL they give. I'm not really aware of any fights in which shadow gear is SO crucial as to be worth sacrificing the other stats you likely have from your blue armor. The only five fights I can think of off-hand where I know shadow resistance to be useful are Lord Alexai Barov, Baron Rivendare, Lucifron, Gehennas and Kazzak. I'll ask some other MC peeps of mine when they break out the shadow gear... but I do know that in general, it's good to have some on you.

• Corpselight Greaves - +22 stamina is a lot to get in boots; all the better when that is coupled with +10 shadow resistance. These are dropped off of Rattlegore in Scholomance.
• Elemental Plate Girdle of Shadow Resistance - +10 stamina and +17 strength make this a good warrior belt to begin with. +10 shadow resistance make it perfect for shadow gear. It comes from the Gordok tribute in Dire Maul north.
• Grand Crusader's Helm - The plusses to strength, stamina and spirit complement the +15 shadow resistance. This is dropped off of Balnazzar, the boss of the Scarlet side of Stratholme.
• Wailing Nightbane Pauldrons - Again you get strength, stamina, spirit and shadow resistance, here in a shoulders-piece. How do you get this? It's dropped off The Unforgiven, which is actually an interesting mob. It's a rarish spawn, but there are ways to make it more common. In Stratholme, when you attack the yellow (neutral) Spectral Citizens walking around, when they die, they afflict one of your party members with a curse called "Haunted". Someone who's haunted will occasionally spawn a very low health ghost around them - it's no big deal but chances are, you and your party cure this often. Thing is: by having someone be haunted, it creates a chance (although a low percentage one) for The Unforgiven to spawn. If you have most of your group cursed, though, the chances become somewhat decent. The other cool thing: this mob has a chance to drop a Mask of the Unforgiven, which is a great rogue headpiece.
• Fluctuating Cloak of Shadow Resistance - Prince Tortheldrin drops all kinds of Fluctuating Cloaks - they all give 3 health every 5 seconds and, more importantly, +15 to a resistance. Obviously, for your shadow suit, this is the one you'd want.
• Eidolon Talisman - This necklace gives stamina to go with +15 shadow resistance, so it's perfect for a tank's shadow gear set. It's a random BoP drop from the ghosts of Dire Maul west.
• Dimly Opalescent Ring of Shadow Resistance - The intellect is poop, but +17 shadow resistance is pretty solid. It can be dropped by any of the mini-bosses of Scholo that inhabit the rooms around Darkmaster Gandling.
• Ultra-Flash Shadow Reflector - If you happen to be an engineer, this trinket will give you +20 shadow resistance. Not too shabby, eh?

Arcane Resistance Gear:

Again, arcane resistance gear has situational uses - but when it's useful, it can be really useful. Shazzrah is all about arcane magic, and the tank will get hit by that massive Arcane Explosion very often, so having some arcane gear in your back pocket will make fighting Shazzrah MUCH easier. Again, there are a number of green items that give plus to resistances and not much else. In the case of arcane gear, there aren't many blue items that give you arcane resistance + stats, so you do actually want to hold on to any arcane resistance gear you get a hold of.

• Elemental Plate Girdle of Arcane Resistance - See the shadow resistance version of the same belt above. This also comes from the Gordok Tribute chest.
• Bloodmoon Cloak - Dropped by The Beast in UBRS, this cloak gives +17 stamina to go along with +7 arcane resistance - both great things for a Shazzrah tank to have.
• Fluctuating Cloak of Arcane Resistance - See the above Fluctuating Cloak of Shadow Resistance.
• Dimly Opalescent Ring of Arcane Resistance - See the above Dimly Opalescent Ring of Shadow Resistance.
• Mark of Tyranny - This is one of the three trinkets you can select when you complete the quest General Drakkisath's Demise - you get that quest by first killing Overlord Wyrmthalak, the boss of LBRS. He drops an envelope/document which starts a quest chain, eventually ending in this one. The Mark of Tyranny is the tank's choice out of the three rewards because of the armor. The +10 arcane resistance is the bonus.
• Naglering - This is useful for it's +1% chance to hit (great for fighting level 63 mobs) in addition to its +10 arcane resistance. It's dropped by Golem Lord Argelmach, the guy in the golem-factoryish-mechanic shop in BRD.