[Druid] Cat item list and rep list for Pre-naxx

Naturally a couple days after I compile the big-ass list for bears, they announce the change to how gearing works for bears. Expect them to make huge changes to cats - possibly requiring cats to all use spellpower or something - shortly after you read this. The phrase "barring some last-minute surprises" is especially amusing.

At least cats shouldn't be so surprising, right? RIGHT? Sure.

While I'd like to do a list of gear with and without hit/expertise rating and how they're valued, the truth is that at level 80, pre-naxx you're likely not going to be at either cap, and the differences between the gear pieces are fairly minor. I've put the overall gear ranking in to allow you to judge how much better something is than something else, but keep in mind that the gear values for you, specifically, are going to vary as you get closer to the hit/expertise cap. For dealing with this most optimally I recommend using Rawr when it gets done with a cat model for Wrath.

The hit cap is 296 at level 80. The Expertise cap is 214 rating without primal precision, 148 with it.

The same rules for gear for bears apply to cats too:

1. If it costs arena points, list only the best of the arena points
2. If it costs honor, list only the best of the honor
3. List the best heroic drop
4. List the best non-heroic drop
5. List the best craftable
6. List the best quest reward
7. List the best BoE
8. List the best and often second-best item from BC

I've listed pre-Wrath items in Italics.

The basic rankings for values are centered around agility, and take heavily from Toskk's research on the druid wiki and Nightcrowler's values on EJ:

Hit: 1.1 effective Agility points before cap, 0 after
Expertise: 1.1 effective agility points before cap, 0 after
Strength: 1.05 EAP
Agility: 1.00 EAP (duh)
Crit: .9 EAP
AP. .45 EAP
Haste: .65 EAP
ArPen: .2 EAP

Onto the rankings!

Shoulder Enchants:

1. Greater Inscription of the Axe - Exalted with Sons of Hodir
2. Greater Inscription of the Blade - Exalted with Scryer
3. Lesser Inscription of the Axe - Honored with Sons of Hodir
   
4. Greater Inscription of Vengeance - Exalted with Aldor

-if I can impress on you one thing, it's to start as early as you can grinding rep with Sons of Hodir. They start at hated and it's a similar questline and grind to Netherwing dailies.

Head Enchants

1. Arcanum of Torment - Revered with Knights of the Ebon Blade
2. Arcanum of Ferocity - Revered with Cenarion Expedition

-This isn't nearly as important to grind rep with, as CE gives hit rating and is perfectly acceptable if you're below the cap.

Weapons:

1. Staff of Trickery -146.92. Heroic Violet Hold
   
2. Lightning Giant Staff - 129.59. Heroic Halls of Lightning.
3. Stave of Shrouded Mysteries - 112.86. Revered with Kirin Tor
4. Hewn Sparring Quarterstaff - 111.64. Normal Halls of Lightning
5. Staff of the Sorrowful Chieftain - 95.67. Quest in Zul'drak.
6. Stanchion of Primal Instinct - 93.70. Sunwell Plateau
7. Staff of the Forest Lord - 85.31. 150 Badges
   

- No surprises or odd rankings here. If you were lucky enough to get the Stanchion or the Brutal Gladiator staff, you won't find a meaningful upgrade for it until Halls of Lightning.

Idols:

1. Idol of Worship - Naxx-25 badges
2. Idol of the Ravenous Beast - 15 Emblems of heroism.
   
3. Deadly Gladiator's Idol of Resolve - Arena points, arena ranking
4. Savage Gladiator's Idol of Resolve - honor
5. Idol of the Wastes - Quest in Dragonblight
6. Idol of Terror - 15 Badges

- yeah, I know. No ranking values and even gear that you can only get from Naxx. There just really isn't that much to get here. Idol of the Wastes is likely fairly good though I've not tested the proc rate. Same goes for the Idol of Resolves. The real big winner is the Idol of Worship, which thanks to the smaller frequency of shreds, the buffing of armor on bosses and the improvement of rip time should be the winner.

Ring:

1. Surge Needle Ring - 24.13. Raid BoE
2. Hemmoraging Circle - 19.02. Heroic Gundrak
   
3. Band of the Kirin Tor - 18.57. 8000 gold, Dalaran
4. Ring of Scarlet Shadows - 16.69. Jewelcrafting BoE.
5. Mobius Band - 15.94. Heroic CoT Strat
   
6. Titanium Impact Band - 14.10. Jewelcrafting BoE.
7. Signet of Edward the Odd - 13.50. Raid BoE
8. Deadly Gladiator's Band of Victory - 13.46. Arena points, arena rating.
   
9. Bjarngrim Family Signet - 13.04. Normal Halls of Lightning
10. Signet of Bridenbrad - 12.91. Quest in Icecrown
11. Hard Khorium Band - 10.64. Jewelcrafting BoE (from Sunwell)

-you'll definitely be upgrading your rings soon; armor penetration really isn't all that strong, and there are a lot of great rings out there. The Surge Needle ring is not only the best you can get pre-Naxx, it's the best you can get post-Naxx; I'd be shocked to see it on the AH. But maybe you'll be lucky. Otherwise, start saving that 8k gold...

Amulet:

1. Pendant of the Outcast Hero - 18.13. 25 emblems of heroism.
2. Necklace of Arcane Spheres - 15.40 . Heroic Violet Hold
3. Titanium Impact Choker - 14.13. Jewelcrafting BoE.
4. Necklace of the Chrono-Lord - 13.78. Normal CoT Stratholme
5. The Severed Noose of Westwind - 13.64. Quest in Icecrown
6. Hateful Gladiator's Pendant of Victory - 12.03. Arena rating, Honor
7. Choker of Endless Nightmares - 11.65. Black Temple
8. Draconic Choker of Ferocity - 10.93. World BoE.

-the Violet Hold neck is pretty sweet, but it takes a lot of luck to get the right boss. The emblem of heroism neck is the biggest upgrade from non-badge gear to badge gear you can get for a cat, so it should be a high priority to spend if you're so inclined.

Trinket:

1. Mirror of Truth - 40 emblems of heroism.
   
2. Darkmoon Card: Greatness. From Darkmoon Nobles deck
3. Meteorite Whetstone. Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.
   
4. Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood. Heroic Nexus.
   
5. Oracle Talisman of Ablution - Exalted with the Oracles.
6. Incisor Fragment - Heroic Drak'tharon Keep
7. Vestige of Haldor - normal Utgarde Pinnacle.
8. Fezzik's Pocketwatch - Quest in Icecrown.
9. Chuchu's Tiny Box of Horrors - Quest in Icecrown

- This is, honestly, the hardest one for me to evaluate; without ideas on what the proc rates, internal cooldowns and values are, it's hard for me to stack-rank these. That being said, I think the Darkmoon Card: Greatness is going to turn out to be exceptionally strong for a class that likes strength and agility so much, and keep in mind you can get a +90 strength version of the trinket as well, and the uptime of it seems to be about 33% - meaning you'd have about +190 of a stat over time. That's pretty incredible. Mirror of Truth is a great crit/AP trinket similar to BC trinkets, and should scale well. Meteorite Whetstone appears to be another DST-like ability. Sphere of Red dragon's blood is just amazing for the hit rating, but otherwise meh. Vestige of Haldor could be really, really fun if it procs on per hit instead of per swing. More testing is required. :)

Cloak:

1. Cloak of the Gushing Wound - 14.51. Heroic Violet Hold
   
2. Embrace of Sorrow - 14.22. Normal Halls of Stone
3. Ice Striker's Cloak - 13.58. Leatherworking BoE
4. Hateful Gladiator's Cloak of Victory - 11.94. Arena rating, honor
5. Cloak of Unforgivable Sin - 11.58. Sunwell Plateau
6. Bloodbane Cloak - 10.75. Quest in Icecrown.
7. Shadowmoon Destroyer's Drape - 10.54. Black Temple

-I totally forgot about the back slot! Oops. Heh. The Ice Striker's cloak is good enough to get most people by before heading to Naxx.

Chest:

1. Heroes' Dreamwalker Rainments - 37.33. 80 emblems of heroism
   
2. Custodian's Chestpiece - 35.77 - Heroic Azjol-Nerub
3. Carapace of Sun and Shadow - 29.87. BoP Leatherworking in Sunwell
4. Hateful Gladiator's Dragonhide Robes. 27.49 Arena points, arena ranking
5. Bladed Chaos Tunic - 26.71. Sunwell Plateau
6. Darkheart Chestguard - 26.66. Exalted with Knights of the Ebon Blade
7. Savage Gladiator's Dragonhide Robes - 24.04. Honor
8. Exotic Leather Tunic -22.48. Quest in Utgarde Pinnacle

- Because of the gem slots, the Carapace of Sun and Shadow gets very good. Same with the PvP gear. Midnight Chestguard and Nether Shadow Tunic are both quite strong too. I would recommend against buying the badge chest until you've gotten everything else; the expense is very high.

Feet:

1. Boots of the Neverending Path - 26.06. Exalted with Argent Crusade
2. Boots of the Whirling Mist - 22.19. Heroic Halls of Stone
   
3. Hateful Gladiator's Boots of Triumph - 20.10. Arena ranking, honor.
4. Slag Footguards - 19.68. Heroic Halls of Lightning
5. The Darkspeaker's Treads -18.10. Quest in Icecrown
6. Thunderheart Treads - 17.38. Sunwell Plateau
7. Jormscale Footpads - 17.37. Leatherworking BoE.
8. Nyn'jah's Tabi Boots - 16.85. 60 badges

- While they're #1, I'd not recommend grinding rep for the Boots of the Neverending Path; the big reason they're #1 is because of that huge hit rating.

Hands:

1. Gloves of Fast Reactions - 28.71. Raid BoE.
   
2. Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets - 26.28. Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle
3. Heroes' Dreamwalker Handgrips- 25.24. 60 emblems of heroism.
   
4. Handwraps of Preserved History - 22.92. Quest in CoT Stratholme
5. Gloves of Immortal Dusk - 19.37. Leatherworking BoE (from Sunwell)
6. Shadowed Gauntlets of Paroxysm - 19.14. Sunwell Plateau
7. Hateful Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves - 18.92. Arena points, arena ranking.
8. Sidestepping Handguards - 17.12. Normal Oculus
9. Eviscerator's Gauntlets - 16.38. Leatherworking BoE

- The high hit on the Gilt-Edged Gauntlets are what puts them over the top (and make them arguably better than the Naxx-10 gear). The Handwraps of Preserved History are already the best pre-Naxx piece for bears; they'll do really well for cats too. The badge hands are not that strong either. Save the badges for bigger upgrades.

Head:

1. Weakness Spectralizers - 31.88. Engineering BoE, Engineering rating
2. Mask of the Watcher - 30.26. Heroic Oculus
3. Duplicitous Guise - 28.20. Sunwell Plateau
4. Cursed Vision of Sargeras - 27.01. Black Temple
5. Hateful Gladiator's Dragonhide Helm - 26.10. Arena points, Arena rating
6. Headguard of Retaliation - 24.39. Quest in Utgarde Pinnacle
7. Savage Gladiator's Dragonhide Helm - 22.66. Honor
8. Eviscerator's Facemask - 22.16. Leatherworking BoE
   

- while the best is the engineering helm (and it's better than Naxx-10) I can't recommend engineering; the item is just too easily replacable and the overall benefits aren't there compared to the other professions. I really, truly want to find where Mask of the Watcher drops.

Legs:

1. Gored Hide Legguards - 33.17. Heroic Gun'Drak.
2. Mind-Expanding Leggings - 31.14. Revered with Kirin Tor
3. Hateful Gladiator's Dragonhide Legguards - 27.49. Arena points, arena rating.
4. Azure Strappy Pants - 27.36. Revered with Frenzyheart Tribe
5. Leggings of the Immortal Night - 26.98. Sunwell Plateau
   
6. Leggings of Visceral Strikes - 25.58. Leatherworking BoE
7. Savage Gladiator's Dragonhide Legguards - 24.04. Honor
8. Trousers of the Scryer's Retainer - 23.06. 100 badges

-The Gored Hide Legguards are going to be this expansion's version of Midnight Legguards. I put in a second rep reward because I want every druid out there to be wearing strappy pants. STRAPPY PANTS. There really aren't any good quest rewards compared to this stuff.

Shoulders:

1. Spaulders of Egotism - 27.88. Raid BoE.
   
2. Trollwoven Spaulders - 22.50. Leatherworking BoE
3. Spaulders of the Careless Thief - 21.85. Heroic Nexus
4. Hateful Gladiator's Dragonhide Shoulders - 20.10. Arena rating, arena points
5. Demontooth Shoulderpads - 19.75. Sunwell Plateau
6. Savage Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders - 17.62. Honor
7. Charred Leather Shoulderguards - 17.07. Quest in Halls of Lightning.
8. Thunderheart Pauldrons - 16.96. Black Temple

-As usual, the shoulders are the most ostentatious and the least actually useful piece of gear you can get. The difference between T6 and wrath is very small. This time there's a treat though - the best pre-Naxx shoulders you can get are crafted and BoE, and shouldn't be too insane to make.

Waist:

1. Jorach's Crocolisk Skin Belt - 28.18. 40 Emblems of heroism
   
2. Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt - 24.71. Heroic Utgarde Keep.
3. Trollwoven Girdle - 24.41. Leatherworking BoE.
4. Hateful Gladiator's Belt of Triumph - 20.10. Arena rating, honor.
5. Ley-Whelphide Belt - 19.09. Normal Oculus
6. Belt of One-Hundred Deaths - 18.25. Serpentshrine Cavern
7. Thunderheart Waistguard - 18.08. Sunwell Plateau
8. Belt of Deep Shadow - 17.04. Leatherworking BoE
9. Belt of Njorndar - 15.96. Quest in Icecrown.

- The Trollwoven Girdle is almost the best in slot here, but is beaten out by the gem power in the Sharp-Barbed piece. The only other surprise is how good the BC gear is. If you're still wanting to keep a 2pT6 bonus this is not a bad candidate, though the boots and (surprisingly) the shoulders might be better. The emblem of heroism belt is a clear #1 as well, though I'd get the neck before getting this.

Wrists:

1. Dragonfriend Bracers - 18.71. Exalted with Wyrmrest Accord.
2. Drake-Champion's Bracers - 16.58. BoE from Heroic Oculus
   
3. Wristwraps of the Cutthroat - 16.50. Raid BoE
   
4. Advanced Tooled-Leather Bands - 16.32. Heroic Halls of Lightning
5. Hateful Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph - 14.92. Arena rating, honor.
6. King's Square Bracers - 14.23. BoE drop from Stratholme
7. Eviscerator's Bindings - 12.39. Leatherworking BoE
8. Insidious Bands - 12.39. Black Temple
9. Shackles of Dark Whispers - 12.20. Quest in Drak'Tharon Keep.
10. Thunderheart Wristguards - 11.10. Sunwell Plateau

-I wouldn't grind to get exalted for the dragonfriend bracers either, though that's a lot of nice crit and are really good if you're hit-capped already. I was pretty surprised at how poor the T6 bracers are here. The Drake-Champion's Bracers are a great BoE surprise; see if you can find 'em on the AH or get lucky running Oculus.