Monday, January 4, 2010

[Druid] Icecrown gear list for bears

As promised...err...last week, this is the bear list for drops in Icecrown. Arthas' loot table is still unknown but other than that, it should be good. As I stated before it's likely that Arthas drops a weapon, a neck and a cloak type of item given what we have of the loot tables. So not a lot will change.

From last week, this is the weapon weighing. You can find out more about why these weights changed here.

Similarly, the weighings have changed for the armor slot. You can find them here, or in the sidebar. Some explanations:

  • hit and expertise, both being somewhat rare, get some fairly hefty values. This is mostly due to the value of threat at higher levels.
  • Armor remains at what it was on the gear; this is simply to emphasize higher values of ilvl on gear more and to emphasize armor on nonleather slots more
  • armor pen is given a ranking, albeit a low one
  • Feral AP and AP are increased in value, as is strength (again because of threat)

On tier items: the
2p bonus is very good for threat, especially multimob threat. Note that at higher levels this will actually discourage using lacerate for maximum threat (but will still be fine for damage). The 4p bonus is amazing for bears. On average this adds 2% less damage over time (so it's twice as good as the 4pT7 and 4pT9 bonus) but the primary benefit this adds is that it gives bears effectively either the ability to have a cooldown as good as shield wall, except that it's on a 1-minute CD. What this means in practice is that it should be your highest priority to get those 4 pieces, even if others rank higher per slot. Nothing is going to beat the 4 pieces.

And because of the itemization, as stated before - the best bet for you as a bear is to go for 4p + the sack of awesome due to the high expertise and hit rating on it (or the heroic version). You can get other pieces in the meantime, but don't spend those frost emblems on anything other than tier pieces; you want to get them as soon as you humanly can. Nothing else is going to remotely make as big a difference as a 12% CD every minute, and I can guarantee you that it will matter when you try hard modes in a month's time.

For your T10 purchase order: it very much depends on what you have already, but in general try and get the earliest upgrades that you'll actually use at the Lasherweave (base) level. Since there were no 258-level upgrades to gloves, head and shoulders in ToGC for bears outside of the T9 tokens, chances are that most people only have 245-level gear there. For most people that will mean either the shoulders (about a 5 point difference between them and the 245 T9) and the head (same). Since the shoulders cost the least, I'd go with them first, then perhaps the hands to get a quick 2-piece, then the legs or head depending on where you sit on expertise. After your 4PT10, the next purchase should almost certainly be the cloak; only the cloak from heroic Arthas is likely to beat it.

In the meantime - rankings!

Back:

  1. Sentinel's Winter Cloak - 50 emblems of Frost. 66.49
  2. Royal Crimson Cloak - heroic (25) Blood Princes. 61.84.
  3. Shadowvault Slayer's Cloak - heroic (25) Gunship. 57.30
  4. Royal Crimson Cloak - normal (25) Blood Princes. 55.47
  5. Vereesa's Dexterity/Sylvanas' Cunning - from Tribute (25) chest. 54.75
  6. Magni's Resolution/Cairne's Endurance - from Tribute (25) chest. 53.33
  7. Pride of the Eredar/Pride of the Demon Lord - heroic(25) Jaraxxus. 52.35
  8. Recovered Scarlet Onslaught Cape - 50 emblems of frost. 52.34
  9. Shawl of Nerubian Silk - heroic (10) Marrowgar. 51.90
  10. Shadowvault Slayer's Cloak - normal (25) Gunship. 51.55
  11. Cloak of Many Skins - heroic (10) Festergut. 49.56
  12. Cloak of the Silver Covenant/Cloak of Serrated Blades - Tribute (10) chest. 48.98
  13. Drape of the untamed Predator/Cloak of the untamed predator - heroic(25) Icehowl. 48.30
  14. Cloak of the Unmoving Guardian/Cloak of the Unflinching Guardian - Tribute (10) chest. 47.59
  15. Shawl of Nerubian Silk - normal (10) Marrowgar. 47.35
  16. Pride of the Eredar/Pride of the Demon Lord - normal (25) Jaraxxus. 45.04
  17. Titanskin Cloak - 25-man Mimiron (hard) - 42.79
  18. Drape of Icy Intent - 25-man Hodir (hard) - 42.59
  19. Cloak of Many Skins - normal (10) Festergut. 41.56
  20. Cloak of the Shadowed Sun - 25-man Maexxna (among others). 40.87
  21. Drape of the Faceless General - 25-man General Vezax (hard).40.25.
  22. Drape of the Untamed Predator/Cloak of the Untamed Predator - normal (25) Jaraxxus. 39.76
  23. Platinum Mesh Cloak - Dalaran Vendors. 34.11
I know, I know - it's hugely tempting to get the Sentinel's cloak. It's a great cloak and will likely only be superceded by an Arthas heroic drop. And you should get it...eventually. Just not before your 4pT10. For me, that's going to be my first purchase I do for tank gear after taking care of my cat stuff.

Chest:
  1. Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder - heroic (25) Gunship. 121.14
  2. Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder - normal (25) Gunship. 114.86
  3. Shadow Seeker's Tunic - 95 emblems of frost. 113.99
  4. Sanctified Lasherweave Raiment - heroic (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 113.84
  5. Sanctified Lasherweave Raiment - normal (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas).103.36
  6. Cuirass of Calamitous Fate/Vest of Calamitous Fate - Heroic (25) Jaraxxus. 100.68
  7. Malfurion's Rainments of Triumph/Runetotem's Rainments of Triumph - Regalia of the Grand Vanquisher (heroic 25). 95.81
  8. Lasherweave Raiment - 95 emblems of frost. 94.24
  9. Knightbane Carapace - BoE Leatherworking via Crusader Orbs. 93.95
  10. Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Robes - arena rating, points, Koralon. 92.91
  11. Chestguard of the Frigid Noose - heroic (10) Lady Deathwhisper. 91.97
  12. Chestguard of the Frigid Noose - normal (10) Lady Deathwhisper. 89.05
  13. Armor of Shifting Shadows/Vest of Shifting Shadows - heroic (10) Valkyr. 88.12
  14. Embrace of the Gladiator - 25-man Thorim (hard). 88.01

  15. Malfurion's Rainments of Triumph/Runetotem's Rainments of Triumph - 75 emblems of triumph + 1 trophy of the crusade. 87.11
  16. Cuirass of Calamitous Fate/Vest of Calamitous Fate - normal (25) Jaraxxus. 86.85
  17. Conqueror's Nightsong Rainments - 58 emblems of Conquest. 79.64
  18. Armor of Shifting Shadows/Vest of Shifting Shadows - normal (10) Valkyr. 79.24
  19. Malfurion's Rainments of Conquest/Runetotem's Rainments of Conquest - 50 emblems of triumph. 79.01
  20. Choking Hauberk - heroic Marwyn, Halls of Reflection. 75.84
Yep, that's right - the sack of wonder is so awesome that even the normal version is better than the heroic T10. That's also to do with the fact that the T10 piece is itemized weirdly; having fewer sockets than the Sack at normal level hurts. Just a huge gulf here. It's a pity more of the pieces aren't itemized like this; bears would be in love.

Feet:

  1. Footpads of Impending Death - BoE craftable from Primordial Saronite. 82.77
  2. Frostbitten Fur Boots - heroic (25) Lord Marrowgar. 82.74
  3. Icewalker Treads/Treads of the Icewalker - Heroic (25) Faction Champions. 75.11
  4. Frostbitten Fur Boots - normal (25) Lord Marrowgar. 74.85
  5. Taldaram's Soft Slippers - heroic (10) Blood Princes. 72.58
  6. Acidmaw Boots/Acidmaw Treads - Heroic (10) Beasts. 70.13
  7. Taldaram's Soft Slippers - normal (10) Blood Princes. 66.17
  8. Icewalker Treads/Treads of the Icewalker - Normal(25) Faction Champions. 64.99
  9. Relentless Gladiator's Boots of Triumph - arena rating, Koralon. 62.81
  10. Acidmaw Boots/Acidmaw Treads - Normal (10) Beasts. 60.38
  11. Runed Ironhide Boots - 25-man Iron Council (normal). 58.76
  12. Footpads of Silence - BoE craftable from Runed Orbs. 56.86
  13. Blighted Leather Footpads - heroic Halls of Reflection ending. 49.14
Interesting that the crafted boots are so close to the heroics. That's something to watch out for; if you need more EH, the heroics are better - but if you want more expertise or threat, the crafted boots are better. Otherwise not a lot of surprises here; the itemization from last tier is better for bears than it is now, so things like Icewalker's show up higher here (with the proviso that you need the hit).

Finger:

  1. Devium's Eternally Cold Ring - heroic (25) Valithria Dreamwalker. 71.00
  2. Devium's Eternally Cold Ring - normal (25) Valithria Dreamwalker. 63.30
  3. Band of the Twin Val'kyr/Loop of the Twin Val'kyr - Heroic(10) Valkyr. 55.66
  4. Seal of Many Mouths - heroic (25) Rotface. 55.11
  5. Band of the Bone Colossus - heroic (25) Marrowgar. 54.79
  6. Ashen Band of Endless Courage - exalted with Ashen Verdict. 52.16
  7. Frostbrood Sapphire Ring - heroic (25) Valithria Dreamwalker. 51.85
  8. Clutch of Fortification - 35 emblems of triumph. 51.34
  9. Abomination's Bloody Ring - heroic (10) Gunship. 50.80
  10. Signified Ring of Binding - 25-man Onyxia. 50.60
  11. Harbinger's Bone Band - 25-man ICC trash. 50.41
  12. Seal of Many Mouths - normal (25) Rotface. 49.18
  13. Juggernaut Band - heroic (25) Lady Deathwhisper. 49.15
  14. Band of the Bone Colossus - normal (25) Marrowgar. 48.91
  15. Ashen Band of Endless Vengeance - exalted with Ashen Verdict. 47.91
  16. Frostbrood Sapphire Ring - normal (25) Valithria Dreamwalker. 46.35
  17. Abomination's Bloody Ring - normal (10) Gunship. 46.25
  18. Band of the Twin Val'kyr/Loop of the Twin Val'kyr - Normal(10) Valkyr. 44.96
  19. Juggernaut Band - normal (25) Lady Deathwhisper. 44.58
  20. Runed Ring of Binding - 10-man Onyxia. 44.41
  21. Band of Callous Aggression/Ring of Callous Aggression - Heroic (25) Faction Champions. 43.28
  22. Band of the Traitor King/Signet of the Traitor King - Heroic (25) Anub'arak. 42.35
  23. The Leviathan's Coil - 25-man Flame Leviathan (easy). 41.99
  24. Planestalker Signet/Planestalker Band - Heroic (10) Jaraxxus. 41.04
  25. Fate's Clutch - 25-man Thorim (hard). 40.28
  26. Signet of Winter - 10-man Hodir (easy). 38.29
  27. Gatekeeper - 25-man Sapphiron. 38.04
  28. Keystone Great-Ring - heroic Drak'tharon Keep. 36.86
  29. Dexterous Brightstone Ring - 35 emblems of Triumph. 35.14
  30. Mark of the Relentless - Heroic Trial of the Champion (first boss). 31.12
What's surprising to me is how good the Twin Valkyr hard mode ring is. Maybe I should run that some more. :) Otherwise, not a lot of surprises here; the armor ring from Dreamwalker comes in hugely for first and second, and nothing else really compares. It's interesting that with the emphasis on threat, some of the agility rings actually come into play here. But unless the fights are very different on heroic, you should likely have armor rings.

Hands:
  1. Aldriana's Gloves of Secrecy - heroic (25) Rotface. 83.54
  2. Sanctified Lasherweave Handgrips - heroic (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 80.89
  3. Cat Burglar's Grips - 60 emblems of frost. 76.96
  4. Aldriana's Gloves of Secrecy - normal (25) Rotface. 75.66
  5. Sanctified Lasherweave Handgrips - normal (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 73.02
  6. Scourge Stranglers - heroic (10) Saurfang. 71.34
  7. Malfurion's Handgrips of Triumph/Runetotem's Handgrips of Triumph - Regalia of the Grand Vanquisher (heroic 25). 70.23
  8. Lasherweave Handgrips - 60 emblems of frost. 66.45
  9. Scourge Stranglers - normal (10) Saurfang. 65.32
  10. Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves - arena rating, points, Koralon. 64.84
  11. Malfurion's Handgrips of Triumph/Runetotem's Handgrips of Triumph - 45 emblems of triumph + 1 trophy of the crusade (normal 25, heroic 25, heroic 10). 63.37
  12. Gloves of the Silver Assassin/Sunreaver Assassin's Gloves - Heroic (10) Faction Champions. 60.24
  13. Malfurion's Handgrips of conquest/Runetotem's Handgrips of Conquest - 30 emblems of triumph. 57.13
  14. Gloves of the Endless Dark - 10-man Algalon. 56.61
  15. Conqueror's Nightsong Handgrips - 25-man Mimiron (easy). 56.26
  16. Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves - honor and arena points, 50 emblems of triumph. 55.87.
Since you can buy the cheap T9 gloves, I've not expanded the list much more than that. Those are now a fairly decent piece, all told. Aldriana's are good, but they're not so much better than the next selection that you want to off-piece it here unless you get unlucky with drops from the Gunship.

Head:

  1. Sanctified Lasherweave Headguard - heroic (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 111.70
  2. Geistlord's Punishment Sack - heroic (25) Blood Princes. 109.36
  3. Sanctified Lasherweave Headguard - normal (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 101.37
  4. Geistlord's Punishment Sack - normal (25) Blood Princes. 98.43
  5. Malfurion's Headguard of Triumph/Runetotem's Headguard of Triumph - Regalia of the Grand Vanquisher (heroic 25). 97.13
  6. Lasherweave Headguard - 95 emblems of frost. 92.42
  7. Discarded Bag of Entrails - heroic (10) Putricide. 90.24
  8. Stormrage Coverlet - 25-man Onyxia. 89.51
  9. Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Helm - arena rating, points. 89.16
  10. Malfurion's Headguard of Triumph/Runetotem's Headguard of Triumph - 75 emblems of triumph + 1 trophy of the crusade (normal 25, heroic 10). 87.98
  11. Hood of Lethal Intent/Mask of Lethal Intent - 75 emblems of triumph. 87.79
  12. Discarded Bag of Entrails - normal (10) Putricide. 81.90
  13. Malfurion's Headguard of Conquest/Runetotem's Headguard of Conquest -50 emblems of triumph. 79.52
Again, I've dropped most items that are below the triumph piece; there's no need to worry about how good your Ulduar gear is if you can pick this up for 50 emblems of triumph. For most bears this is going to be their first T10 piece that they buy (or the shoulders) simply because it's going to more often than not be a bigger upgrade. And while the Geistlord has a ton of hit, it doesn't have a ton of agi. The T10 is pretty decently itemized for bears here.

Legs:

  1. Sanctified Lasherweave Legguards - heroic (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 117.47
  2. Gangrenous Leggings - heroic (25) Festergut. 111.90
  3. Sanctified Lasherweave Legguards - normal (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 106.28
  4. Bladeborn Leggings - BoE Leatherworking from Primordial Saronite. 106.22
  5. Leggings of the Broken Beast/Legwraps of the Broken Beast - heroic (25) Beasts. 102.23
  6. Gangrenous Leggings - normal (25) Festergut. 101.65
  7. Plague-Soaked Leather Leggings - heroic (10) Festergut. 100.90
  8. Malfurion's Legguards of Triumph/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph - Regalia of the Grand Vanquisher (heroic 25). 97.51
  9. Lasherweave Legguards - 95 emblems of frost. 96.59
  10. Ivory-Inlaid Leggings - heroic (10) Blood Queen Lana'thel. 92.26
  11. Plague-Soaked Leather Leggings - normal (10) Festergut. 92.25
  12. Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Legguards - arena rating/points, Koralon. 91.08
  13. Leggings of the Broken Beast/Legwraps of the Broken Beast - normal(25) Beasts. 89.92
  14. Malfurion's Legguards of Triumph/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph - 75 emblems of triumph + 1 trophy of the crusade (normal 25, heroic 10). 88.45
  15. Legguards of Cunning Deception - 25-man Yogg (hard). 85.63
  16. Ivory-Inlaid Leggings - normal (10) Blood Queen Lana'thel. 83.60
  17. Titan-Forged Leather Legguards of Triumph - 40 wintergrasp marks of honor. 81.83
  18. Malfurion's Legguards of Conquest/Runetotem's Legguards of Conquest - 50 emblems of triumph. 80.05
The T10 is also really great here, especially with all that expertise - but from my experience a lot of people have heroic beasts, and thus have access to the 258 legs. It still should be an early priority; I personally would go for this as my first piece and then replace the head, so that I'm not too low on expertise.

Neck:

  1. Bile-Encrusted Medallion - heroic (25) Rotface. 71.00
  2. Bile-Encrusted Medallion - normal (25) Rotface. 63.30
  3. Legionnaire's Gorget/Arbiter's Muse - heroic (25) Valkyr. 59.95
  4. Noose of Malachite - heroic (25) Valithria Dreamwalker. 55.69
  5. Sindragosa's Cruel Claw - heroic (25) Sindragosa. 52.13
  6. Legionnaire's Gorget/Arbiter's Muse - normal (25) Valkyr. 50.94
  7. Noose of Malachite - normal (25) Valithria Dreamwalker. 49.56
  8. Wodin's Lucky Necklace - 25-man ICC trash. 47.86
  9. Sindragosa's Cruel Claw - normal (25) Sindragosa. 46.60
  10. Fortitude of the Infernal/Endurance of the Infernal - heroic (10) Jaraxxus. 45.35
  11. Precious's Putrid Collar - heroic (10) Festergut. 44.77
  12. Rimetooth Pendant - heroic (10) Sindragosa. 44.52
  13. Marrowgar's Scratching Choker - heroic (10) Marrowgar. 44.19
  14. Charge of the Demon Lord/Charge of the Eredar - heroic (25) Jaraxxus. 42.98
  15. Precious's Putrid Collar - normal (10) Festergut. 40.66
  16. Marrowgar's Scratching Choker - normal (10) Marrowgar. 40.34
  17. Eskhandar's Links - 25-man Onyxia. 40.30
  18. Rimetooth Pendant - normal (10) Sindragosa. 40.06
  19. Mark of the Unyielding - 10-man Kologarn. 39.28
  20. Collar of Unending Torment/Collar of Ceaseless Torment - heroic (10) Beasts. 37.76
  21. Pendulum of Infinity - 25-man General Vezax (hard). 36.95
  22. Boundless Ambition - 25-man Kel'Thuzad. 36.61
  23. Fortitude of the Infernal/Endurance of the Infernal - normal (10) Jaraxxus. 36.26
  24. Eskhandar's Choker - 10-man Onyxia. 35.74
  25. Lana'thel's Chain of Flagellation - heroic (25) Blood Queen Lana'thel. 35.37
  26. Bronze Pendant of the Vanir - 25-man Freya (hard). 35.22
  27. Charge of the Demon Lord/Charge of the Eredar - normal(25) Jaraxxus. 34.96
  28. Titanium Earthguard Chain - Jewelcrafting BoE. 33.82
  29. Shard of the Crystal Forest - 19 emblems of Conquest. 33.52
As stated in the cat guide, there's not a lot of options at the top tier for tanks - which makes me think that there's going to be a drop from Arthas at the 10 or 25 level. Otherwise it's a very boring loot table; Rotface has it going on, and that's about it.

Shoulder:

  1. Cultist's Bloodsoaked Spaulders - heroic (25) Lady Deathwhisper - 85.81
  2. Sanctified Lasherweave Shoulderpads - heroic (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 82.97
  3. Cultist's Bloodsoaked Spaulders - normal (25) Lady Deathwhisper. 77.85
  4. Sanctified Lasherweave Shoulderpads - normal (25) token drop (Saurfang, Putricide, Lana'thel, Sindragosa, Arthas). 75.03
  5. Skinned Whelp Shoulders - heroic (10) Valithria Dreamwalker. 71.46
  6. Shoulderpads of the Intruder - 25-man Iron Council (hard). 71.42
  7. Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Triumph/Runetotem's Shoulderpads of Triumph - Regalia of the Grand Vanquisher (heroic 25). 70.02
  8. Lasherweave Shoulderpads - 60 emblems of frost. 68.39
  9. Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders - arena points/rating. 67.04
  10. Skinned Whelp Shoulders - normal (10) Valithria Dreamwalker. 65.14
  11. Spaulders of the Snow Bandit/Shoulderpads of the Snow Bandit - heroic(10) Anub'arak . 64.09
  12. Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Triumph/Runetotem's Shoulderpads of Triumph - 45 emblems of triumph + 1 trophy of the crusade. 63.39
  13. Duskstalker Pauldrons/Duskstalker Shoulderpads - 45 emblems of Triumph. 63.07
  14. Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders - arena points/honor, 50 emblems of triumph. 58.10
  15. Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Conquest/Runetotem's Shoulderpads of Conquest - 30 emblems of triumph. 57.30
Another case where the offtier is better than the T10 - but not enough to make a difference And it's almost entirely because of gem slots. One big surprise was the shoulderpads of the intruder - those shot up because of the added value of expertise.

Trinket:

  1. Sindragosa's Flawless Fang - heroic (25) Sindragosa.
  2. Sindragosa's Flawless Fang - normal (25) Sindragosa.
  3. Unidentifiable Organ - heroic (10) Putricide.
  4. Unidentifiable Organ - normal (10) Putricide.
  5. Corroded Skeleton Key - 60 emblems of frost.
  6. Satrina's Impending Scarab/Juggernaut's Vitality - heroic (25) Faction Champions.
  7. Satrina's Impending Scarab/Juggernaut's Vitality - normal(25) Faction Champions.
  8. Glyph of Indominability - 50 emblems of triumph.
  9. The Black Heart - the Black Night (normal 5-man).
  10. Darkmoon Card:Greatness - BoE inscription.
  11. Heart of Iron - 25-man Ignis.
  12. Corpse Tongue Coin - heroic (25) Gunship Armory.
  13. Royal Seal of King Llane - 10-man Yogg (easy).
  14. Corpse Tongue Coin - normal (25) Gunship Armory.
  15. Defender's Code - 25-man Naxxramas.
  16. Figurine - Monarch Crab - BoP Jewelcrafting.
  17. Essence of Gossamer - heroic Azjol-Nerub.
  18. Eitrigg's Oath/Fervor of the Frostborn - heroic (10) Faction Champions.
  19. Eitrigg's Oath/Fervor of the Frostborn - normal(10) Faction Champions.

Something interesting here is that I'm not ranking trinkets any more by score other than with my personal view on which you should try and get. As a tank, you never pass on a trinket - but some are better than others. Heck, Rawr ranks
Death's Choice as one of the better trinkets due to the proc. Trinkets always have uses.

That being said - Unidentifiable Organ is stellar in fights that don't require swapping. Sindragosa's Fang is a great piece in general, and the special ability is going to allow wacky shenanigans in fights. If you had both, I'd likely use both as the standard one-two punch trinkets for all encounters.

Waist:

  1. Astrylian's Sutured Cinch - heroic (25) Putricide. 80.28
  2. Vengeful Noose - 60 emblems of frost. 76.10
  3. Belt of the Merciless Killer/Belt of the Pitiless Killer - heroic (25) Valkyr. 72.64
  4. Astrylian's Sutured Cinch - normal (25) Putricide. 72.48
  5. Soulthief's Braided Belt - heroic (10) Lady Deathwhisper. 70.08
  6. Soulthief's Braided Belt - normal (10) Lady Deathwhisper. 63.66
  7. Belt of the Merciless Killer/Belt of the Pitiless Killer - normal (25) Valkyr. 62.57
  8. Relentless Gladiator's Belt of Triumph - arena rating, Koralon. 61.53
  9. Soul-Devouring Cinch - 10-man Yogg (hard). 58.73
  10. Death-Warmed Belt - BoE leatherworking from Runed Orbs. 55.87
  11. Belt of the Twilight Assassin - 28 emblems of conquest. 53.57
The belt slot is typically kinda boring - but this time it's a bit new. The ToGC belt beats anything that drops in ICC normal mode (which is to say, the ONE belt) and is competitive with the frost emblem belt (which you shouldn't buy!). The Belt of the X killer is a nice way to get some hit without sacrificing too much, at least until Astrylian's belt drops for you in heroic mode.


Wrist:
  1. Toskk's Maximized Wristguards - heroic (25) Saurfang. 60.53
  2. Armbands of Dark Determination/Bracers of Dark Determination - heroic(25) Anub'arak. 56.96
  3. Toskk's Maximized Wristguards - normal (25) Saurfang. 54.66
  4. Vambraces of the Frost Wyrm Queen - heroic (10) Sindragosa. 52.94
  5. Vambraces of the Frost Wyrm Queen - normal (10) Sindragosa. 48.10
  6. Bracers of Swift Death - Leatherworking BoE via Crusader Orbs. 47.18
  7. Solar Bindings - 25-man Algalon. 44.82
  8. Armbands of Dark Determination/Bracers of Dark Determination - normal(25) Anub'arak. 44.81
  9. Relentless Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph - arena rating, Koralon. 43.22
  10. Fluxing Energy Coils - 10-man XT (hard). 41.84
  11. Chewed Leather Wristguards - heroic Ick, Pit of Saron. 37.64
  12. Furious Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph - honor, emalon. 37.08
  13. Titan-Forged Armwraps of Triumph - 15 wintergrasp marks of honor. 37.02
  14. Mechanist's Bindings - 25-man Flame Leviathan (easy). 36.45
  15. Armbands of the Wary Lookout - heroic Eadric in Trial of Champion. 33.93
  16. Wristwraps of the Cutthroat - 60 emblems of valor. 29.28
The Bracers of Swift Death are what you should go for if you're not doing raids. If you are doing raids...heroic Anub's bracers are best in slot until we do heroic ICC. That extra socket and the hit rating are what puts them over the top.

Weapons:

  1. Bloodfall - heroic (25) Blood Queen Lana'thel. 166.83
  2. Distant Land - heroic (25) Festergut. 157.41
  3. Bloodfall - normal (25) Blood Queen Lana'thel. 150.69
  4. Shaft of Glacial Ice - heroic (10) Rotface. 148.43
  5. Relentless Gladiator's Greatstaff - arena rating/points. 147.46
  6. Distant Land - normal (25) Festergut. 144.44
  7. Archon Glaive/Hellion Glaive - heroic (25) Anub'arak. 139.26
  8. Lupine Longstaff/Twin's Pact - heroic (25) Valkyr. 138.98
  9. Cryptmaker - heroic (25) Blood Princes. 137.53
  10. Hersir's Greatspear - heroic (10) Blood Princes. 134.10
  11. Relentless Gladiator's Staff - arena rating/points. 132.24
  12. Shaft of Glacial Ice - normal (10) Rotface. 129.26
  13. Lightborn Spire - Quel'delar Questline. 129.13
  14. Fordragon Blades/Anguish - heroic (10) tribute chest. 126.72
  15. Furious Gladiator's Greatstaff - arena rating/points (old). 125.03
  16. Cryptmaker - normal (25) Blood Princes. 123.60
  17. Oxheart - heroic (10) Valithria Dreamwalker. 123.41
  18. Attrition/Paragon's Breadth - heroic (10) tribute chest. 122.83
  19. Lupine Longstaff/Twin's Pact - normal(25) Valkyr. 122.40
  20. Dark Edge of Depravity - 25-man Yogg(hard). 122.08
  21. Hersir's Greatspear - normal (10) Blood Princes. 121.41
  22. Archon Glaive/Hellion Glaive - normal (25) Anub'arak. 120.91
  23. Catastrophe/Grievance - heroic (25) tribute chest. 118.31
  24. Reinforced Thunderstrike - 25-man Onyxia. 118.00
  25. Furious Gladiator's Staff - arena rating/points (old). 117.83
  26. Dreambinder - 25-man Freya (hard). 114.28
  27. Tortured Earth - 10-man Vezax (hard). 111.86
  28. Oxheart - normal (10) Valithria Dreamwalker. 111.01
  29. Fordragon Blades/Anguish - normal(10) Anub'arak. 104.30
  30. Orca-Hunter's harpoon - heroic Marwyn, Halls of Reflection. 107.30
  31. Twisted Visage - 25-man XT(normal). 107.14
  32. Origin of Nightmares - 25-man Naxxramas. 104.57
  33. Reclaimed Thunderstrike - 10-man Onyxia. 103.80
  34. Lotrafen, Spear of the Damned - 25-man Vezax (easy). 101.38
  35. Marrowstrike - Heroic Paletress in Trial of Champion.96.37
  36. Hammer of Crushing Whispers - 10-man Yogg (hard). 94.07
  37. Silvery Sylvan Stave/Staff of Feral Furies - 50 champion's seals. 90.44
This list will inevitably change with the new release of the PvP items - more than the other lists by a lot. Even so, Bloodfall will remain fairly good; the high haste makes it a very good threat weapon for bears, and the high general stats helps quite a bit. For pure EH, it's hard to beat Cryptmaker.

33 comments:

Darksend Mercenare said...

HEY HEY!!!!!

thanks for confirming everything I wrote in my last post, it's nice to know I can actually get some things right O.o

That said I am 99.9% sure they fixed it this time around. Since you can only kill a boss on normal or heroic for a given week (unlike with trials 2 full versions of the instance) the rings and trinkets are unique across the heroic and normal modes, so no wearing 2 deviums or 2 sindragosa's

Darksend Mercenare said...

also I missed what you said about the mace until after I posted that first comment.

175 agi worth of armor is almost 400 armor. 400 armor vs 26 stam, kind of narrows the EH advantage of the mace.

Nandieb said...

Thanks for the gear list Kalon.

I however, have a conundrum. Knowing that I won't be able to upgrade my T10 to the Sanctified versions (as I don't run 25s), would you still recommend getting the ilvl 251 versions over the non-set ilvl 264 emblem pieces, (given that they cost the same number of frost emblems)?

For example I could get the T10 gloves or the Cat burglar's grips for my 60 emblems.

Thanks
Nandieb

Copey said...

I, like Nandieb am also wondering this. It was great in T9 to just not worry about the set bonus and go for the 245 gear. Now, I'm wondering just how much I want that bonus.

If say, a guy was pretty sure in 10s his guild would go all the way to Arthas, but also pretty sure they wouldn't be doing heroic modes or 25s very much or at all what then? Bonus or higher level gear?

Right now I'm thinking go set just in case some time I do pug into a 25 and win a sanctified dealy to upgrade it. I wonder though if this is hurting me and my guild by putting me at a lower tier of armor.

Kalon said...

Darksend - it doesn't really matter if you can't use both Deviums or Sindragosa's trinkets at the same time; they're still going to rank that high, and they're still going to be awesome. Though you're right that Cryptmaker isn't going to be exactly the winner in EH that you might think, it certainly will win in MEH and with the bear multiplier you're basically comparing 400 health to 400 armor, which usually is in favor of the health.

Nandieb and Copey - in general I'd still go for the set bonuses. As Copey points out you could always get lucky on a token drop from a PuG, and my guess is that the tokens will drop from heroic 10-mans as well (similar to how the trophies came from Anub on heroic 10 man).

That being said, it's a lot of ifs - and if you're doing 10-mans only, chances are that it'll be hard to get your hand on a Ikfirus sack of awesome anyway. The gloves are an 8-point upgrade over the 251 gloves, so it's probably okay for you to go for that for now depending on your gear.

And check the AH for the sack of wonder, since it's a BoE :)

In general I'd advocate getting the set bonuses anyway; they're really really strong and will help quite a bit on heroic modes when we get there.

Darksend Mercenare said...

Yea I realize not everyone will have access to the heroic ones and the non heroic will still rate that high, just kind of a "this might be worth mentioning so people dont blow dkp on something they might not be able to use in 2 months" kinda thing.

Lifeforce said...

WTB podcast of Kalon and Darksend sitting around talking for a couple hours, then taking calls.

Darksend Mercenare said...

I could say we have never talked about that, but that would be a lie

Anonymous said...

The T9 gloves have hit, the T10 does not. I myself am not keen on getting the gloves early until I can compensate for the hit loss. My order is
- Sack as early as possible
- T10 shoulders
- T10 helm
(wait for Sack)
- T10 gloves/legs

Acornbrain/Scilla

Kalon said...

I guess, Darksend - but I'd hardly consider spending DKP on an unidentifiable organ or Fang as blowing it. It's going to be good for a while, at least as long as you're not doing heroics.

And yeah, lifeforce - we've talked about it before. Not sure whatever came of it.

Anon - I'm not really that big on hit, but if you're losing the T9 helm you're losing a boatload of expertise. If hit's a really big concern I'd keep the boots and belt from ToGC. I guess if you're really worried you can not go with the gloves first, but you're going to have to grab them at some point.

Unknown said...

Hey Kalon,

I noticed that rings and amulets with armour are still placed very high on the lists.

Do you reckon it is worthwhile to forfeit the large chunks of stamina for the armour boosts especially seeing how several fights in ICC appear to have lots of elemental damage flying around.

Thanks in advance.

wakantanka said...

Hi kalon and thanks for the ranking.

I have a question. When I calculate the hit which is on the BIS, I find a very little hit score (155).

But for threat it is so mportant to get the cap.

So do you think that the piece with a ton of armor is still better than the piece with hit ? I think especially to ring and neck.

ps : english is not my native langage, sorry for the mistakes.

Frick said...

Hi Kalon,
Thanks so much for updating this. It's my new Bear Bible!

I was wondering, where would you prioritize emblem of frost Idol? Is the 226 Idol of the Corruptor still the best for tanking?

Thanks again for all your hard work!

Karalynn said...

I may not be Kalon but I'll dish out a couple opinions on the BiS set.

Wakantanka - I will be using the Royal Crimson Cloak over the Sentinel's Winter Cloak as well as the Ashen Band of Endless Courage over Band/Loop of the Twin Val'kyr so that I am able to make the hit cap because I am a threat monster.

Frick - From what I've seen so far the Idol of the Crying Moon is much better for tanking than the Idol of the Corruptor for almost every fight because you can generally keep Lacerate applied throughout the fight. I wouldn't spend any Emblems of Frost on it until after you get 4pc T10 though.

- Karalynn of VANQUISH

Kalon said...

bananator - in general, yes I do; I favor a more balanced set than a rawrstamina set, and armor is part of that. But it gives me an idea for a post, so I'll save it for that.

wakantanka - 155 is enough hit + glyph of growl + misery to give growl no chance to miss, so I'm okay with that. If you really want higher hit (because of threat) you'll have to look to other jewelry pieces, I think. I'd rather do that on jewelry than on the cloak mostly because I think it'll be easier to obtain different pieces, but that's just me.

I would definitely NOT use the Ashen Band; the DPS version is a very good ring for cats, but the tanking version's proc is utterly horrible. Try to get more hit via the neck instead.

Also I personally favor going for more expertise than hit when I get a choice, primarily because it has a side effect of reducing my damage intake much of the time.

Frick - I knew I forgot something. I'll add it in a bit. The Idol of the Crying Moon is situationally excellent; it's a 60+ agility gain over the Corruptor idol, which is great. The issue is simply whether or not you can keep a lacerate stack up on the boss. It does take a few seconds to build, and that can be not as great. For example on Marrowgar, it's not nearly as good; by the time you've built the stack up he's almost ready to do a bone storm. Same with the Gunship. But on Deathwhisper or Saurfang, while you're not directly tanking him you can keep it up, so it should rock. Same goes for Festergut and Rotface. For me personally I'll be getting it after I get 4pT10 (or 5 for bear & cat, most like) and one of the cloaks.

Karalynn said...

I guess I should've stated that I MT so I almost never DPS hence the reason why I decided to use the Ashen ring for tanking, even though I think the proc is absolutely terrible due to the ICD it has. I should also state that I do not try to hit cap unless I can have a MINIMUM 40 Expertise =)

Mind you I did overlook Band of the Bone Colossus as a potential ring to use for hit...my bad.

- Karalynn of VANQUISH

wakantanka said...

I'm happy because you confirm what I tought :)

I reroll bear tank a few month ago and reading your blog is very helpful.

Thanks again for your great work.

Cainman said...

A lot of the ToGC gear holds up really well even compared to the ICC stuff. That will be nice in that as I upgrade my cat gear, my old cat gear will serve as upgrades to my bear set.

Unknown said...

To anyone still following this, new BiS weapon... http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=50735

Based on his point values it edges heroic Bloodfall out slightly. Not on wowhead yet.

God I miss checking this daily.

Maxivik said...

I was wondering where the new Wrathful gear would stack up?

Unknown said...

Apply Kalon's numbers to the Wrathful gear you get:

Chest: 106.11 (#5)
Feet: 72.61 (#5)
Hands: 75.01 (#5)
Head: 102.84 (#3)
Legs: 104.84 (#5)
Shoulder: 77.38 (#4)
Waist: 71.19 (#5)
Wrist: 50.53 (#5)

The jewelry isn't even worth the comparison. It looks like the pvp gear slightly edges out the normal tier piece for piece, but the 4pc bonus is solid and the offtier chest blows everything else out of the water.

Maxivik said...

Thanks very much for taking the time to figure that out for me. Nice to see the comparison.

Anonymous said...

Hit and Expertise should be higher than defense!

Normally bears are defense capped through talents and while defense does give us some dodge and miss, expertise and hit are more important for threat and stopping bosses from dodging your hits and parrying.

Since most bears will never be expertise capped its always more valued than hit, and while hit may not be as valuable to cat's its essential to bears.

Simple put t10 doesn't have enough hit on it for the 9% that we need, you end up with around 7% depending on gear you grab.

As a tank used to having 9+% I can tell you it does make a big difference when its below the mark, especially with taunt fights.

Again threat is a big issue now while tanking these bosses with people who are higher gear level than you the extra threat you get from these stats makes it easier overall.

Stamina wise best skills for a bear tank are LW + Enchanting - 102 on bracers + 40 +40 on rings = 182. (LW + JW = 165 from what I can tell) I am sure you can find a JW trinket that will give a ton of stam but most people are using drops from bosses.

So you guys need to point that out.

Unknown said...

They both really shouldn't be.

Expertise soft cap is easy to hit with the availability of the helm+BoE chest. After soft cap, expertise is worth on average roughly 50% of dodge rating in terms of speed of attacks avoided from parries over the course of a fight, based on the available bosses swing timer. For example paladins it would be a much higher (~80% on average)comparison, but for druids its a non issue: expertise is pretty properly valued.

The hit cap is 8% (263), not 9%. The only time threat is sensitive is in the initial pull, which is offset with tricks/mds. Threat modifiers are so high right now that you don't need to be anywhere near the hit cap to hold threat on competitive dps. For fights where a taunt cannot miss, you should be switching to glyph of growl (coincidentally, glyph of maul will likely get you in trouble on one of those tank switch fights, and do little good on the others).

The relative value of hit doesn't increase simply because it isn't available on tier... it's a value relative to our baseline: Agility. Case in point: if you get more than 263 hit, each point after is wasted itemization. Hit food and a vivid gem or two are more than enough to cover any discrepancies in the current content.

Stamina wise, Enchanting is 30 per ring, not 40.
LW+JC = 102+(34-20)x3=165
LW+En = 102+30x2=162

Anonymous said...

In the same time LW 102-40= 62 gain so they r all preaty much per par + - a very little bit and the question is:
Does a gain of 60 stamina justifies the investment in lvling a new profession...?

On the expertize fact if you get the sack of wanders and the boots will preaty much cover it all that you need and if you want more there is 10exp15stam for a + agility socket bonus and some food.

On the hit part the bracers from anub heroic r preaty sweet and Cryptmaker is a very decent weapon that will preaty much hit cap you.

Bottom line is all is a taste matter as how you want your intemization to be hit capped or not expertize is preaty nailed in and not much that you can do about it while hit has options...

Anyways thats the way i see things.

Kind regards Atu.

Anonymous said...

FOr the orther of changin T10 Pieces Its better to left Hands and Legs at last as they are dropped from VOA. And if you go VOA 25 you can get the Heroic version of the T10. I got 264 legs and gloves that way

Unknown said...

Why do you rate the Clutch of Fortification over the Harbringers?(BOE ICC drop)

danny devito said...

he ranked ckutch of forticication higher b/c of armor contribution off of it

danny devito said...

HEY! i know this is all in the players play style but me being the stamjunkie i and i yous my stats accordingly i use +30 stam in every socket because i failed at leveling JC the for my meta i used 32stam and the 2% armor increse b/c i vote armor is 2nd best stat next to stam for a druid the third stat i stack is a agility because agility accounts for so much as a druid it is a close third it is the gem i use to allow my socket bonus to work. i hope this helped some of you

Ben said...

How do the new items now available from Ruby Sanctum in 3.3.5. affect this BiS list? Anyone run the numbers yet?

Anonymous said...

im a bear tank with full 264 gear i gem agility and stam pretty equally. is that a good way to go now? a few people have been telling me that geming agility is retarded.. WTF am i missing something here?

Anonymous said...

With the buff in icc stam is the way to go unless you need 1 gem to make the meta turn on. Stam scales very well beating out every other stat.

Anonymous said...

Since the 4.0.1 patch, how does the gear stack up now with the stat changes. I've not come across a website yet that goes into depth like you guys do.