I feel I have to make this post as much as to satisfy my slight OCD but also to put some things into perspective. Plus a little something for the reader ,with the insatiable appetite, who went through my BiS 4.3 Resto Shaman Shopping List and at the end thought. WTF??? And was left wanting for more. In this post I m hoping to cover most of the combinations that would otherwise leave you wondering more time than what you’re willing to spend . Because some people would rather go to the movies rather than browse internetland for small pieces of info that when you bind together, final picture starts to make sense. Although going to the movies is overrated. While on a first date. Best spend it in bed people. And no I don’t mean alone. Have the first date in bed. And blame it to being lazy. Yeah…Moving on.
There was one thing I had to say when I first read the blue post on MMO Champion about how the not so secret stash of valor points vendors wouldn’t include tier set pieces. FINALLY!!!! How many people came into the new patch sporting 359 heads? Raise your hands don’t be shy. My finest example is my drood friend ( the one I continuously try to tarnish in this blog ) who after numerous raggy kills in the hunt for the head token and what was more than 30 Beth’Tilac kills for Cowl of the Clicking Menace ended up getting the middle finger from ingame RNG. Cant understand how people keep complaining of lack of sex while playing WoW since blizzard seems to continuously consummate its subscribers relationship. I want an annulment Blizz. Gief a better designed drop algorithm. However the more lewt on the table , the more we’re left wondering of how to distribute our VP most efficiently and even further down the road, how to take advantage of every little nook in order to maximize our healing throughput.
The Story so far down the loot path of Tier 13
This time around Blizzard made it very clear that some dps items would stay in the dps spectrum thus infusing them with Hit Rating as one of their secondary’s stats.So no confusion there, you simply cant choose to equip Opal of the Secret Order, Seal of the Grand Architect, Nanoprecise Cape .
- Back and Relic :
There are 2 items in the entire patch as of now you can safely spend your first VP on and that’s Woundlicker Cover and Lightning Spirit in a Bottle. So start from there. No boss drops any cloaks or relics for you , neither is a word out for a heroic version of them. Feel free to buy them, enchant them and epic gem them as well if you can afford it.
- Tier Pieces :
Probably you’ll be playing with Blizzards newest toy , LFR. Although somewhat iffy still when it comes to loot rules ( where an ench shaman can and will probably need on Timepiece of the Bronze Flight though if you do just know you’re being dicks ) , I’d suggest you’d try and get your 4 set pc bonus through there. Casual raiders or not, its worth it. When you get to upgrade your LFR items with normal versions and later heroic ones, keep in mind that mix and matching will still retain your 2 or 4 pc item set bonus. ( Of course at this point any upgrade you get will be good unless you re already equipped with 391 heroic versions from Firelands. )
- Wrists and Feet :
When it comes to our own BOE extravaganza , there are a set of bracers and a set of boots you can buy either in AH or using your alts or leeching of your friends. I wouldn’t suggest you waste your own VP for Bracers of the Spectral Wolf as they are very poorly itemised hence you’d have to change them as soon as possible. Try to get them if you desperately need the upgrade either with gold or using an alt. So either grab Grotesquely Writhing Bracers that drops from Zon’ozz or if you can afford it go for what is BiS for this slot Thundering Deathscale Wristguards from leatherworking Pattern: Thundering Deathscale Wristguards. The Sabatons of the Graceful Spirit are good for starters for you as are Mindstrainer Treads that drop from Yor’sahj.
- Waist :
For your waist slot you can certainly start from Belt of Ghostly Graces that randomly drops from trash in Dragon Soul. Another BoE , get that from the auction house if you can afford it. However you’ll want to change that as soon as possible with either Girdle of Shamanic Fury that you can buy from the VP vendor, or Girdle of Shattered Stone that drops from Morchok or what is BiS for you in this tier Belt of Shattered Elementium that drops from Spine of Deathwing.
- Neck :
Jelewry! For the neck slot I’d definitely suggest for you to wait for Morchoc to drop your BiS Petrified Fungal Heart since any pug group can one shot him even if you’re not in a raid group. If you find yourselves after weeks lacking this specific slot use your last VP to buy Threadlinked Chain.
- Rings :
Moving on to the rings. You can start from Band of Reconstruction if you feel like spending VP points there. However feel free to equip best in slot Ring of the Riven from Hagara and double BiS Signet of Suturing shared boss loot.
- Main Hand Weapon :
For your main hand there is no VP option. Simply wait for LFR drops and upgrade them as soon as possible with the Normal and Heroic versions. Definitely go for Maw of the Dragonlord from Madness of Deathwing especially for the fights were you stack its proc like it’s a gift from Santa. However Vagaries of Time is also great for you and so is Scalpel of Unrelenting Agony. I wouldn’t recommend using a staff no matter how good it may look on paper comparing to your say Ko’gun, Hammer of the Firelord.
How do those weapons fair up against each other though? The following list should provide with an easy solution for quick reference.
Weapon / Main Hand |
iLvL |
HEP |
|
1 |
416 |
8,619.5 |
|
2 |
410 |
7,679.5 |
|
3 |
403 |
7,660.0 |
|
4 |
410 |
7,559.7 |
|
5 |
397 |
6,809.9 |
|
6 |
390 |
6,796.5 |
|
7 |
397 |
6,784.8 |
|
8 |
397 |
6,683.6 |
|
9 |
384 |
6,046.1 |
|
10 |
384 |
5,914.7 |
However be careful of how you utilize this list. Just because one weapon seems to give you more HEP than the other it doesn’t mean that you should just go and disenchant the one you already have. On my WoL logs I can clearly see that in Ultraxion lets say, where all my raid is stacked in front of me, my Maw of the Dragonlord is owning every single other weapon on this list. Its proc is simply devine. It will fair up from 10% to 15% of your healing depending which version you own so lets say you have Vagaries of Time normal versus the Maw of the Dragonlord RF , for Ultraxion you should go for the Maw even though its lower in the list , hands down. So check your WoL or healing Skada meters for specifics of what weapon to use and when. ( I’ve added in the list Ko’gun, Hammer of the Firelord HC for comparison to previous tier )
Off Hand :
Since there is only one shield Timepiece of the Bronze Flight dropping from Warmaster Blackhorn , whenever it drops for you go for it. I m not recommending Ledger of Revolting Rituals for you , you’ll be stripped from half your armor and in Dragon soul where there is so much physical damage incoming its almost next to an absolute must have.
- Trinkets :
Lastly the trinket section. Vixsin from LiG5 has a great post explaining this Dragon Soul: The Final Trinket Showdown . All I have to add here is that there are 2 valor point trinkets you may equip also Bottled Wishes and Reflection of the Light if you absolutely need to replace some of yours. I wouldn’t suggest Reflection of the Light since you’ll have plenty of spirit to go already so opt for Bottled Wishes if you want to reach your second haste soft cap of 2005. But for the love of everything that is fluffy replace that with your BiS Heart of Unliving that drops from Spine of Deathwing and Windward Heart shared boss loot.
Final Conclusions :
As a final note. When it comes to replacing your 384 LFR tier pieces with 397 ones or 410 ones I’d suggest you go for Spiritwalker’s Faceguard, Spiritwalker’s Tunic, Spiritwalker’s Mantle and Spiritwalker’s Gloves .Yes its the elemental tier Hands. I know its weird. But our Spiritwalker’s Handwraps suck big time. Best if you go for Gloves of Ghostly Dreams that you can buy from the VP vendor. If you get a Imperfect Specimens 27 and 28 shoulder drop and you feel that you must, then go for our Resto hands. But…I wouldn’t. Use the LFR ones till you can make the change. Its just a waste of a token imo. Your 4pc bonus is worth it so use the LFR ones till you feel safe to make the change trying different combinations. (If you re missing pieces go for the VP ones although I wont personally. The Ghostworld Chestguard is so bad for both specs . But as always should you find yourselves sporting a 378 for a long long time, by all means feel free to exchange that )
This concludes the preliminary quick gearing list for resto shaman, so now we can immerge ourselves into the possibilities that lie ahead while progressing in Dragon Soul.
CharDev Table Analysis :
(Talents and glyphs included )
If you’ve followed my guide ( or dressed up on your own in a similar way ) then possibly you’re looking like this
- Shaman Combo 1 (Thats just one of possible early combinations).