If you want to skip my waffle, my mage gear-plan for 5.2 is at the bottom of the page.
Back in October, I listed my gear plan to get me into heroics. That worked out very well, and once in heroics, enough ilvl 463 gear showered down on me to get me into Mogu'shan Vaults (LFR edition); and in turn enough gear rained down on me to get me into the other LFR raids. What with that and the VP spent with various vendors, by the end of 5.1, I was geared like this:
Back in October, I listed my gear plan to get me into heroics. That worked out very well, and once in heroics, enough ilvl 463 gear showered down on me to get me into Mogu'shan Vaults (LFR edition); and in turn enough gear rained down on me to get me into the other LFR raids. What with that and the VP spent with various vendors, by the end of 5.1, I was geared like this:
Head:
Hood of Focused Energy (ilvl 476) from an LFR drop. That and Firecracker Corona (ilvl 489, 1125VP) seem to be very popular.
Neck:
Wire of the Wakener (ilvl 489) from the Klaxxi, 625 VP. Also popular is Amulet of Seven Curses (ilvl 476 LFR drop)
Shoulders:
Mantle of the Golden Sun (ilvl 489) from the Golden Lotus, 875 VP. Other mages are also wearing Mantle of the Burning Scroll (ilvl 483) or Shoulderpads of Twisted Fate (ilvl 483), both LFR drops
Chest:
I should have been wearing a crafted Robe of Eternal Rule (ilvl 496), but I couldn't bring myself to buy a cloth garment that I hadn't tailored, myself; and the pattern never dropped for me. Instead, I'm wearing Imperial Ghostbinder's Robes, which I got at ilvl 483 from MSV normal, but which is also available from LFR at ilvl 476. Other mages are sporting Vestments of Thundering Skies (ilvl 489, from the Golden Lotus for 1125 VP).
Cloak:
Cloak of Snow Blossoms (ilvl 489) from the Shado-Pan. I see other spellcasters wearing a bunch of fairly similar cloaks from ilvl 476-483 from various LFR drops.
Wrists:
Twisting Wind Bracers (ilvl 483) from Blade-Lord Ta'yak in the LFR version of the Heart of Fear. Minh's Beaten Bracers (ilvl 489 from the August Celestials, 625VP) is more popular.
Hands:
Gloves of the Burning Scroll (ilvl 483). The Burning Scroll regalia comes from tokens dropped by tier 14 raid bosses (tier 14 being the pre-5.2 raids: MSV, HoF, TES). The tokens are called "XXXX of the Shadowy Vanquisher" for mages, and can be handed in to Commander Oxheart for a piece of gear. The tokens dropped in LFR raids are all ilvl 483. Other mages are also wearing Spelltwister's Gloves (ilvl 476, crafted).
Waist:
Belt of Malleable Amber (ilvl 483)dropped for me from Aber Shaper Un'sok. For VP you can buy the Klaxxi Lash of the Orator (ilvl 489, 875VP from the Klaxxi) or Bon-iy's Unbreakable Cord (ilvl 496, 1312 VP from Operation Shieldwall)
Legs:
Leggings of the Burning Scroll (ilvl 483, more Shadowy Vanquisher gear)
Feet:Sandals of Oiled Silk (ilvl 496). These hush-puppies come from Operation: Shieldwall for 1312VP, and are a great boost for anyone wanting to get into the tier 15 LFR raids in the Throne of Thunder (you need an average ilvl of 480 for that). If you haven't yet got them, you should seriously consider them. I upgraded mine to ilvl 504 for another 1500 VP at the tail-end of 5.1, while the upgrade vendor was still around
Fingers:Band of the Shieldwall (ilvl 496), also from Operation: Shieldwall, a mere 937VP, and Simple Harmonius Ring (ilvl 489), 625VP from the Golden Lotus
Trinkets:Relic of Yulon (ilvl 476) is a must. This comes from the Darkmoon Fair Serpent Desk, crafted by scribes. I upgraded mine to ilvl 484 while I still could.Blossom of Pure Snow (ilvl 489), 875VP from the Shado-Pan.
Staff/Main Hand + Off hand:If you're serious about following the Wrathion quest line, you'll have got your "legendary" weapon (by which I mean a weapon capable of holding a legendary sha-touched gem). That's also how come you have so many VP to spend on gear! The Test of Valor quest has some beneficial side-effects. The weapon I got is Loshan, Terror Incarnate (ilvl 483), an LFR drop from Tsulong in the TES.
For off-hand, only this will do:
Inscribed Jade Fan (ilvl 476) made by scribes.
An alternative would be to get Jin'ya, Orb of the Waterspeaker, which is a "legendary" staff dropped by Lei Shi in the TES.
(VP prices are 5.2 prices, not 5.1. The price has dropped since 5.2 arrived):
So, that was how I was geared at the end of 5.1. Since my average ilvl was above 480, I was able to get into LFR throne of Thunder as soon as it opened. If yours isn't, buy the Operation Shieldwall gear, Band of the Shieldwall and Sandals of Oiled Silk. What next? Well, the first thing is to check out the new factions: the Shado-Pan Assault and the Kirin Tor Offensive. The Shado-Pan Assault has the better gear, but the Kirin-Tor Offensive is the easier to get gear from.
The most important thing here is that the Shado-Pan Assault already have one item that they'll sell to you when you're neutral to them: the necklace Destroyer's Battletags (ilvl 522, 1250VP). You can get to be neutral with them just by finding the Shado-Pan Assault Quartermaster, Teng! This should be your first VP purchase. Once you get to friendly with these guys, you can also get Troll Burner Bracers and Signet of the Shado-Pan Assault. The key here is that you can't get reputation with these guys by doing dailies for them. They require you to go into the Throne of Thunder and kill their enemies there!
The Kirin Tor Offensive, on the other hand, has an immense pile of dailies for you to do on the Isle of Thunder, and it isn't hard to get rep fast with them. You can buy an ilvl 476 belt from them for a few gold if you haven't anything more decent. At revered, you can buy a Static-Collecting Cloak (ilvl 496, 937 VP), and at exalted you can buy the Restored Hexxer's Signet (ilvl 496, 937VP).
So between the Battletags, the Kirin-Tor Offensive and Operation Shieldwall, you should have no trouble getting enough gear to get into the Throne of Thunder, and start earning rep with the Shado-Pan Assault.
The Shado-Pan assault is the key to gearing up in patch 5.2. Once you're friendly with them, you can buy the Signet of the Shado-Pan Assault (ilvl 522, 1250 VP), Volatile Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault (ilvl 522 trinket, 1750 VP) and Troll-Burner Bracers (ilvl 522, 1250 VP). At honored, you may buy Charfire Leggings (ilvl 522, 2250 VP), Flameweaver Handwraps (ilvl 522, 1750 VP) and Shadowspike Cloak (ilvl 522, 1250 VP). At revered, you can choose a Firestrike Cord (ilvl 522, 1750 VP) and Fire Support Robes (ilvl 522, 2250 VP), and at exalted, you can get either Shoulders of Demonic Dreams or Frost-Kissed Shoulderwraps for 1000G (not VP).
Crafting produces a couple of ilvl 522 items, at great expense. The head-piece, Falling Blossom Cowl, is a must -there is really nothing equal to in ToT LFR, and most of the better pieces are heroic raid drops. It will be horrendously expensive. The same is true of the footwear, Falling Blossom Treads. I will be spending a fortune on these.
By their weapons shall ye know them. This is ultimately what sets raiders apart from non-raiders. Outside of raids, there are no epic weapons available, even for ready money. Well, actually, there are two for mages. You can get an ilvl 476 Inscribed Serpent Staff if you have a scribe in your pay. Outside of LFR, you can also get Darkmaster Gandling's drop, Headmaster's Will, in Scholomance. But really, you've come this far, you need to have the "ledge", either Loshan or Jin'ya. And that means you just have to keep running the Terrace of Endless Spring until one of them drops.
So, this is my gear plan for 5.2:
| Head: | Falling Blossom Cowl | tailoring |
| Neck: | Destroyer's Battletags | Shadow-Pan Assault neutral |
| Shoulders: | Shoulders of Demonic Dreams | Shadow-Pan Assault exalted |
| Chest: | Fire Support Robes | Shadow-Pan Assault revered |
| Cloak: | Shadowspike Cloak | Shadow-Pan Assault honored |
| Wrists: | Troll-Burner Bracers | Shadow-Pan Assault friendly |
| Hands: | Flameweaver Handraps | Shadow-Pan Assault honored |
| Waist: | Firestrike Cord | Shadow-Pan Assault revered |
| Legs: | Charfire Leggings | Shadow-Pan Assault honored |
| Feet: | Falling Blossom Treads | tailoring |
| Finger 1: | Signet of the Shado-Pan Assault | Shadow-Pan Assault friendly |
| Finger 2: | Eye of Oondasta (ilvl 522) | It dropped for me last week when killing Oondasta. If you don't have such luck, you can use Restored Hexxer's Signet instead. |
| Trinket 1: | Volatile Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault | Shadow-Pan Assault friendly |
| Trinker 2: | Wushoolay's Final Choice (ilvl 502) | A lucky ToT LFR drop last week. Apart from praying for lucky drops, best choice is the Shock-Charger Medaillon from Operation Shieldwall |
| Main Hand: | Loshan, Terror Incarnate | Tsu-Long in TES |
| Off Hand: | Inscribed Jade Fan | Inscription |
| or Staff: | Jin'ya, Orb of the Waterspeaker | Lei-Shi in TES |
As you can see, this isn't cheap. There's about four months' worth of VP in there, for a start. I'm hoping for lucky drops!
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Even though the tier pieces that drop in LFR ToT have a lower item level than the Shadow-Pan Assault gear, wouldn't the set bonuses make up for that?
ReplyDeleteYou're quite correct, Xico, and I'm hoping to get drops from LFR ToT. This list is just of gear that I am guaranteed to be able to get, and ignores stuff that might or might not drop for me. Wushoolay's Final Choice and Eye of Oondasta are only included because they have already dropped for me (it's a gear plan for me!), and I noted in both cases what you can use if you don't get lucky with drops.
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