Thursday, January 22, 2009

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Main Hand

Main-Handed Maces
  • Titansteel Guardian - This is a crafted item. The mats are somehow expensive considering the cool downs of Titansteel bars. Generally the estimated auction price is 2500g. This mace will be nerfed to reflect only 457 + spell power on the upcomming 3.0.8 patch matching the appropriate level.
  • War Mace of Unrequited Love - This is a (H) The Nexus drop. The dragon queen wishes Keristrasza to be freed from her captor Malygos. Apparently the poor thing went mad during the process and must be confonted. A very good healing mace and can be easily farmed (19% chance to drop).
  • Gavel of the Brewing Storm - Haste, critical strike and spell power rolled into one. This is one of the maces used for good healing. This can be purchased through the Wyrmrest Accord's quartermaster in Dragonblight at revered status.
  • Totemic Purification Rod - This can be purchased when you are revered with The Kalu'ak. Great spell haste early on. And this can be used at level 78 as specified on the description.
Mace comparison is found here.

Dagger
  • Blade of Dormant Memories - This is a drop from Patchwerk in Normal Naxxaramas. This is definitely not a pre-Naxx since, you have to have these from Naxx. That boss is a gear check boss so if your raiding group has downed him then you must have the majority of the pre-raid items already equipped.
  • Netherbreath Spellblade - This is a good starter dagger if you are running (H) Utgarde Pinnacle on a regular basis. This is more of a priest dagger though as indicated by the spirit attribute. The spell power and critical strike are matching those of the mace counterparts at the same level 200 item level. This drops from Skadi the Ruthless.
Together with the daggers, the comparison would look something like this.

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Shield and Totem

Shield
  • Zom's Crackling Bulwark - This is a world drop and I got mine from AH bought it at 1000g. The actual estimated price is about 1500g. It focuses on mp5 and this is especially good if you have a slot that solely focuses on haste or critical strike rating.
  • Tor's Crest - Drops only on (N) Utgarde Pinnacle from the last boss King Ymiron. Pretty much easier in normal mode as compared on the heroic run.
Comparison between the shields can be found here.

Totem
  • Totem of Forest Growth - This one costs only 15 Emblems of Heroism. Can farmed easily at earlier runs. What it does is that the higher the haste rating (Bloodlust or Berserking) the more mp5's it will save.
  • Totem of the Bay - This is one alternative to healing with chain heals. This in fact reduces number of casts as the spell power of each chain heal is increased. This is only good if there are enough mp5's to spare. This currently costs 30 Venture Coins.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Trinket

Trinket

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Finger

Finger
  • Signet of Hopeful Light - Needs to be exalted with The Argent Crusade. Dailies are found in Zul'drak. A lot of the quests are found in Icecrown.
  • Titanium Spellshock Ring - The only craftable level 200 epic ring for resto shamans. It has a red socket to get + spell power with. The mats are pretty expensive as the Dragon's Eye is only available at the AH by the Jewelcrafters (JC's). The estimated buyout price for this ring is known to be 2000g.
  • Band of Enchanted Growth - The only pre-raiding ring with mp5 on it. Essentially making this ring a very good one to have especially if other slots are intended for + critical strike or haste ratings. This one drops from Mage-Lord Urom, of (H) The Oculus.
  • Ring of the Traitor King - Slightly different than the ring above. Most of these rings are unique-equipped thus no two rings should be alike and equipped at a given time. If you badly needed + crit rating then you could equip these two rings for a boost in spell critical strike rating. This ring drops on (H) Azjol-Nerub from the last boss Anub'arak.
Comparison between the rings are shown here.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Waist

Waist
  • Slad'ran's Coiled Cord - Great mp5 rating for a blue item. This level 200 item is a recommended restoration belt. Unless epics are available, one may have to use this one. Drops on Heroic Gundrak from the boss who got its name Slad'ran.
  • Nightshock Girdle - The only craftable belt available for pre-raiding. This may be used specially if the mp5 is already great commulative on other slots . It has an approcimate buyout price of 30g. The mats are easily obtainable, some of your friends may even volunteer to create you one as they are levelling their skills.
Comparison of the items above are found here.

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Wrist

Wrist
  • Bands of the Sky Ring - Fairly easy to get. It is a zone drop out of The Oculus on heroic mode. Usual buyout price (depending on realm) is 75g.
  • Dragonflayer Seer's Bindings - Being a level 187 item, this is as easy to get as the previous item. Multiple Utgarde Pinnacle runs on normal mod should get you the item. Estimated buyout price is at 15g.
For comparison click here.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Back

Back
  • Wispcloak - Fairly easy to craft or have some friend craft for you. With 20 mp5 this is going to be a valuable cloak in the healing arsenal. Getting the mats is quite fun as you would have to give those little murlocs 100 clams for the Siren's tear.
  • Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape - If you fall short of haste then this is the cloak for you. It has a fairly good haste rating for those 'almost-saved-but-not-quite' situations. You have to be running Heroic The Oculus until the last boss (Ley-Guardian Eregos) several times for this to drop. By the way, it only has 14% chance of dropping.
  • Reanimator's Cloak - While I normally do not include + spirit as a stat, this is one of those exception to the rule. This cloak is fairly easy to get. It is sold in AH for about 150g (depending on the realm) or one could run through heroic Drak'Tharon Keep for this to drop. It is a zone drop and I would like to indicate that at one time we had 2 drops of this cloak at one run. Not to mention how I liked red sockets as you already probably know by now (+ spell power gem).
  • Shroud of Dedicated Research - One would probably wonder what are those daily cooking quests for? Its for the Kirin Tor reputation. If you happen to start it out early, probably ghetto ported at Dalaran early on, getting to honored rep with this faction is not at all a problem. This cloak can be purchased at the Kirin Tor quartermaster, Violet Citadel.
Comparison is found here.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Neck

Here are some of the items that you may want to consider when gearing up as restoration shaman. Previous post discussed mainly the basic armor. Now we are going to evaluate other items slots as well.

Neck
  • Lattice Choker of Light - For 25 Emblems of Heroism this amulet can be easily acquired. Just a few heroic runs and this should not be a problem. Unless you prioritize Totem slot or the 2 T7 tokens then this should be easily accomplished.
  • Titanium Spellshock Necklace - A fairly great crafted item. Mats are quite expensive but the results are tremendously awesome. The red socket could be enhanced by getting more spell power to boost healing. Usual buyout price (depending on realm) is fairly at 1800g.
For item comparison click here.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Pre-Raid Resto Shaman Guide

Here are some of your options when you are gearing up as a restoration shaman.

Head
  • Helm of the Lightning Halls - This is my first choice for selecting helms. This can be easily bought at the Auction House. Usual buyout price (may vary depending on the realm economy) is an affordable 45g.
  • Battle Mender's Helm - If you already have stacked a good amount of mp5, then this may be a good option for you. You only need to be revered with the Argent Crusade for you to have this. This is bought at their quartermaster located at Argent Vanguard camp, Icecrown.
  • Brood Plague Helmet - Now this one is quite difficult to acquire and will be the least of your priorities. This is found dropping from Elder Nadox in Heroic Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom. The druid equivalent is much more appealing: Battlemap Hide Helm.
For WoWHead comparison, click here.

Shoulder
  • Spaulders of the Violet Hold - This is my priority shoulder, since haste is already necessary for healing. Besides, the socket would greatly enhance the shoulder slot. This however is not a good option if you have a relatively low mp5. This drops from Cyanigosa on Heroic The Violet Hold.
  • Epaulets of Market Row - Now this pad is much used being a good mp5 booster. This is only level 187 but it actually is comparable to level 200 stats. This can be bought at the Auction House for 35g (may vary from realm to realm).
  • Mantle of Discarded Ways - This is an alternate pad as mp5 is much of a priority as that of + critical strike. This can be farmed from King Ymiron on Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle runs.
The comparison can be found here.

Chest
  • Revenant's Breastplate - This can be easily crafted and a very good pre-Naxx chest. It has one of the highest + spell power mail chest in the game (as of 3.0.3). The buyout price for this is quite expensive (around 750g) but the mats are easily farmed.
  • Heroes' Earthshatter Tunic - This can be an alternate solution if you prioritize mp5 for this slot. It has a fairly good haste rating and will eventually get a set bonus when you get the gloves. Requires 80 Emblem of Heroism to get the token to purchase the chest.
  • Dalronn's Jerkin - A very good mp5 boost and a red socket for enhancement. This is a great mail for a blue item and can be farmed through Skarvald the Constructor Heroic Utgarde Keep (one of the easiest instance in the game).
  • Moragg's Chestguard - It has two sockets for enhancement. The red socket could be a Runed Scarlet Ruby to augment spell power matching those of the other chest options. This is farmed through Moragg on Heroic The Violet Hold (VH). Quite difficult to drop though as VH has random boss combinations.
For item comparison, click here.

Hands
  • Grips of Fierce Pronouncements - Getting exalted to The Wymrest Accord is not that hard since you are exposed to some early questing and even dailies for that faction (check out Coldarra quests and dailies). Combined with a few good heroic runs should get you exalted in no time. This costs around 28g at their faction quartermaster in Dragonblight.
  • Fiery Obelisk Handguards - Priorizing + crit for this slot will make this a very good pre-Naxx gear. It has the highest + crit rating in the game so far for this slot. Couple this with the + 28 spell power enchantment and this should be good to go.
  • Lightning-Charged Gloves - A good mp5 boost and a relatively nice + spell power early on, this will make raiding a breeze as you wont have to worry about drinking water every now and then. Can be farmed on Heroic Halls of Stone and drops from Maiden of Grief. This instance needs to be studied carefully though as it is a relatively hard dungeon.
I would have to mention 2 pre-heroic gloves as most of the gamers haven't have the luxury of getting those items above with ease.
For comparison, click here.

Legs
  • Kilt of Dark Mercy - One of my favorite pre-Naxx gears. It has substantially huge amount of mp5 to boost. With all the dailies at Icecrown and with the tabard system, getting exalted with the Knights of the Ebon Blade should not be that difficult.
  • Legguards of Nature's Power - Critical strike rating may be an option for this slot. Essentially this item has a huge + critical strike rating. This is a chest drop after defeating Mal'ganis in Heroic The Culling of Stratholme.
  • Kilt of Molten Golems - Volkhan drops this kilt on Normal mode Halls of Lightning. It is a level 187 item but will greatly boost mp5 if you are up against long raid fights.
  • Scavenged Feathery Leggings - This is gained through rep grinds with the Frenzyheart tribe. This only requires revered status. It's a good leggings for haste and spell power for a 187 item.
The item comparison can be found here.

Feet
  • Revenant's Treads - Considered a pre-Naxx gear. There is only one other level 200 item and it is blue and it has a low drop rate while they have almost the same effect in terms of haste rating.
  • Sabatons of the Ages - Slightly lower in stats as that of the Revenant's Treads. I would recommend having to craft that treads instead of running the instance though as this only has 12% chance to drop on that boss.
Item comparison is shown here.