This is my farewell post. It is a post I started over a year ago. I believe it shows the love I had and still have for the game.

~ The 100 Rules of Warcraft ~

This is a list of hyperbolically-stated truths making fun of everything from raid progression to roleplaying, to the players behind the characters, to the various classes, to quests, to game physics, to PvP … and more!

This post was inspired by the very famous Grand List of Console Roleplaying Game Cliches.

1. Law of FedEx Conservation
A quest sending you to deliver something will make you take it to either the NPC standing right next to you, or to an NPC on the complete other side of the world/zone.

2. Bonus Racial Ability: Rabbit-Like … Reflexes?
95% of the children encountered in the game will be human.

3. The Notoriety Penalty
If it has a name, kill it.  It must drop something good.

4. The Fecal Inevitability
At one point or another, you will find yourself sifting through poop.

5. The Bubble-Hearth Housing Market
The population of any major city is listed as being in the hundreds of thousands, but you can only find 12 actual houses or homes in it.

6. The Limited Vacancy Rule
While houses do exist, no one ever appears to live in them.  Inns exist as well, but their rooms are always vacant.

7. The Limited Vacancy Exception (The Menage-a-Many Rule)
On Roleplaying servers, the beds of inns happen to be the most densely populated regions in the game.

8. I Got My Degree Online!
For 10 copper, you have the smarts to learn engineering.

9. The Clone Army Constant
No matter how many times you kill that raid boss, he will be back next week.

10. The Life Insurance Assurance
No matter how many times you die, you come right back.

11. The Continuum of the Traveling Pants
The gear will always fit.

12. The Pick-Pocketer Problem
Some creatures have pockets, and you do not want to know where.

13. The  Survival of the Fittest
You have to kill 16 zherva to find 4 hooves, 12 murlocs to find 7 eyes, 57 bears to find one with a brain.

14. The Gnomish World Enlargement Axiom
The more epic the zone, the shorter you are in relation its architecture, topology, and animal life.

15. The Sentient Machine Postulate
Zeppelins and other machines can power and run themselves.

16. The Hypocrisy of Avian Travel
The windrider will not know how to get there, unless you do, but it flies itself.

17. The Deja Vu Constant of Deja Vu
NPCs will always say the same thing, no matter how many times you speak to them.

18. The “I’m not even supposed to be here today…” Principle
The same NPC has been selling bread in Ironforge for 1,383 days straight, in back-to-back shifts, without a break.

19. The Menopausal Immunity (“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”)
The heat from lava will always damage you, but the cold of ice/snow never will.

20. The Hippie Principle of Time Dilation
You can skin an entire beast about 3 times faster than it takes you to pick up a flower from the ground.

21. It’s Made of Magnets!
No matter how little the female’s plate armor covers her body, it protects as well as the male’s.

22. World of Mesomorph-Craft
No matter which class you choose to play, all characters of that race/gender combination have the same amount of muscle mass.

23. The “I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts!” Constant
No one cares if you walk right through them.

24. The Procrastinators’ Creed
It doesn’t matter how desperately the dying child needs the medicine to live.  Unless there is a ticking clock on your screen, you can take as long as you want to get it to her.

25. The Münchhausen Rule
After giving an NPC an antidote , they remain hunched over, waiting to be saved by someone else.

26. Game Character Physiology 101 (“I Eat Danger for Breakfast“)
You will never need to eat or drink to live.

27. Game Character Physiology 102 (“I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”)
No one needs sleep to live.

28. Game Character Physiology 103 (“Killing Keeps Me Young”)
No one ever gets older.

29. The Hunter Postulate
No matter how much an animal wants to crunch your face off, if you wave your hands in front of it for 20 seconds and give it some food, it can become your best friend.

30. The Priest Postulate
No matter the race or gender of the priest, they all become a human female as a spirit (of redemption).

31. The Rogue Postulate
You could be carrying 50 pounds of weapons, be wearing gear that glows red, have a giant flag mounted on your back, and still be able to sneak around in front of someone without them hearing or seeing you.

32. The Warlock Postulate
Nobody likes Warlocks, not even Warlocks.

33. The Paladin Contradiction
In the amount of time it takes you to kill one mob, you could have killed 11 mobs faster.

34. The Casters’ Comfort Zone
Much is said about the infiniteness and vastness of magic, but casters only seem to cast the same four or five spells over and over again.

35. The Law of Critters
Bears can be any level of fierce, but cows will always be one shotable.

36. Murphy’s Law of Upgrades
You can spend countless runs finding a better weapon, only to upgrade it with badge gear a week later.

37. Smurfette’s Law
Some races must procreate by who-knows-how (no female ogres).

38. The Requisite Prerequisite
If you have to clear 20 boars to get to a questgiver, he will give you a quest to kill another 20 boars.

39. The Wile E. Coyote Rule
The platform will fall a moment before you step onto it, plummeting you to the ground.

40. The Transgender Inequality
Only 1 in 100 male characters are played by female players, but half of the female characters are played by males.

41. The Futility of Genocide
No matter how many of a species or its eggs you destroy, its overall population is never permanently affected.

42.  Social Engineering Superiority
You could make a better living by signing guild charters at level 1 than by leveling a crafting profession.

43. The Lady Prestor Rule
Most human NPCs are either really dumb or have some kind of amnesia.

44. The Fixed Brain Capacity Principle
You can learn every profession, but can only remember two at a time.

45. Size Doesn’t Matter
A small ring takes up as much space in your bag as the head of a dragon does.

46. The Ultima BFG Axiom
No matter how big the gun gets, there will always be a bigger one later.

47. Path of Greatest Resistance
An injured peasant being escorted to safety will attempt to go make friends with any hostile NPC in the area waiting to bring it harm.

48. The “I’m Pretty” Rule of RP Servers
Player-created characters will all have the same few “pretty” faces.

49. The “I’m Special” Rule of RP Servers
The majority of players who write their own RP profiles will either be: 1) Part god, 2) Part dragon, 3) Hybrid of 2 or more races that just don’t work, or 4) Royalty.  And will likely be all of the aforementioned.

50.  The “Look at Me!” Rule of RP Servers
On RP servers, everyone had a cool scar that you should ask them about.

51. Plainsrunning, My Ass!
Despite being 5x the size of gnomes, Tauren can move no faster.

52. The First Law of Raid Zerging Conservation
If you get enough people together, you can slay a god, but cannot bash in a door with a lock on it.

53. The Second Law of Raid Zerging Conservation
In order to slay a god, you can’t just bring more warriors with big swords.  You have to bring some players in stupid-looking dresses, too.

54.  The IKEA Principle
It doesn’t matter how legendary the weapon is, at least 83 other players on your server also have it.

55. Amnesiac Book Axiom
The log you keep of your quests doesn’t actually log what you have accomplished.  It will only ever tell you what you are trying to do at the moment.

56. The Universal Learner’s Permit
You use the same kind of skill to ride a raptor, as you do to ride a felstead, as you would to ride a kodo, as you do to ride a motorcycle, etc.

57. The Civil Engineers’ Dilemma (“I”m a Builder not a Fighter!”)
NPCs are able to set up towns in the most desolate of locations, but cannot fend it off from simple boars.

58. One Good Deed Deserves Twelve More
NPCs reward you for saving their life or the life of a loved one by asking you to kill another 20 boars for them, then to bring something to the other side of the world for them.  And all for just 17 silver.

59. Nesingwary’s Principle
The greener the zone, the more grinding quests there are.

60. The Bigger is Better Rule
The larger your shoulder armor, the more epic the gear.

61. The Bigger is Better Exception (The Smaller is Better Rule)
The skimpier the plate on females, more epic the armor.

62. The Economic Stimulus Theory
Shopkeepers will have unlimited means in which to buy partially digested meat and troll sweat off of you, but unsurprisingly, no one ever wants to buy their bread.

63. Law of Selective Sight (The General Drakkisath Rule)
NPCs don’t care if you noisily kill their friends a few yards away, right in front of them.

64. The First Rule of Adventuring
You can kill hundreds of thousands of beings and still be the good guy, even if half of them were dumb animals that weren’t even going to hurt you anyways.

65.  The Second Rule of Adventuring
It’s doesn’t matter how intimidating you look; friendly NPCs won’t think twice of you wandering through their town (even if your sword is unsheathed and bigger than you are).

66. The Third Rule of Adventuring
You can be out to save the world from disaster, but NPCs will still charge you full price for goods.

67. Battleground Failure 101 (“Someone Call a Medic!“)
Only about 10% of any given battleground will be specced for healing, and half of them will be out-healed by a warrior with bandages.

68. Battleground Failure 102 (Too Many Rockstars)
No matter how good the advice is, if the battleground group isn’t a premade, no one will take it.

69. Battleground Failure 103 (Less QQ, More Pew Pew!)
The people who complain the most about other people in the battleground are the ones who are working the least toward the objective.

70. The Universal Language
Despite massive cultural differences and language barriers, all races have the same currency.  Even plainstriders.

71 Just a Tickle!
The largest, toughest, and strongest bosses will still be vulnerable to weapons 1/10,000th their size.

72. The Good Guy Contradiction
The Alliance, despite their pretty faces and good-guy facades, have intentions far more sinister than the motley Horde.

73. “It’s not Easy Being Green.”
No raid boss is as fearsome or persistent as a murloc with friends.

74.The First Rule of Trade Chat
You do not talk about trade in trade chat.

75. The Second Rule of Trade Chat
You do NOT talk about trade in trade chat.

76. The Third Rule of Trade Chat
You do complain about people not talking about trade in trade chat.

77. At Least I’ve Got Chicken
The only thing worse than a pugger with no title is a pugger whose only title is “Jenkins.”

78. The “At Least I’ve Got Chicken” Corollary
The Real Leeroy doesn’t need the title “Jenkins” after his name.

79. The First Swimmer’s Irony
Swimming fatigue has nothing to do with how long you have been swimming, just how far you are from the shore.

80. The Second Swimmer’s Irony
You can swim as fast wearing full plate armor as you can naked.

81. The Third Swimmer’s Irony
Armor never rusts or becomes damaged from swimming.

82. The Fourth Swimmer’s Irony
All pets can swim and breathe underwater. Indefinitely.  Even that white kitten.  And that orphan.

83. Oops, I Did it Again!
Most of what has gone wrong in the history of Azeroth has been caused by Night Elves (worgen, Ahn’Qiraj, Illidan, the first bringing of Sargeras, etc.)

84. The Treasure Hunter’s Fallacy
Just because it is in a chest, doesn’t mean it is going to be any good.

85. Law of Beverages
The milk is always ice cold and in a glass, despite how long it has been sitting in the baking hot sun and been toted around by a raptor.

86. The Auction House Assholerly Constant
Someone will always be trying to sell one piece of linen cloth for 16,578 gold.

87. The Auction House Assholery Constant Corollary
Someone will always be trying to sell stackable items in stacks of one, flooding the auction house with dozens of pages of said single items.

88. The Columbus Conundrum
Though there are globes in game depicting a round Azeroth, you cannot travel west from Kalimdor to get to Eastern Kingdoms; you just fall off the world.  The world is, indeed, flat.

89. The Whimsy of the Babel Fish
Many NPCs can communicate in a language you understand, regardless of race, however you can only ever understand one.

90. The Bibliophile’s Nightmare
There are thousands of books in the world, but you can only read the same 20 over and over again.

91. The Law of Selective Appendage Augmentation
Haste will let you move your fingers or arms faster, but never your legs.  So you can fight, cast spells, unlock doors, and cook things quicker, but cannot run any faster.

92. The Law of Maximum Occupancy (or The Dungeon Weight Limit Rule)
For some reason, you can only get those 25 people into the raid instance before no more can get through the door, despite there being plenty of space inside.

93. The Infallibly of Time Travel
If you travel back in time and mess things up, the present won’t change.

94. The Inequity of Motion
There are hundreds upon hundreds of ways of murdering a foe, but only about twenty different dance moves.

95. The Law of Persistent Vengeance (Sisyphus’s Rule)
No matter how many times their plots are foiled, the bad dudes just keep trying the same things again and again.

96. The Law of Retroactive Tradition
New holidays will be periodically introduced to the game and will have immediate traditions, because haven’t we always celebrated them?

97. The Catastrophic Constant
Someone is always trying to take over and/or destroy the world. If that person is ever defeated, then someone else immediately takes that person’s place.

98. Something’s Fishy
There have been more patch notes about clams than there have been about all the legendary weapons combined.

99. Boredom’s Dilemma
You will never feel a stronger need to try to kill things than when you have rez sickness.

100. The Law of Infinite Entertainment
You can never win the game. That will never stop you from trying.

Got any to add?  Comment!

THERE IS A BEST HEALING GEAR LIST – CLICK HERE

Now that we got that out of the way, real life ate me for a while, but it thankfully spit me back out.  Thanks for the million and twelve e-mails.  No, I didn’t die.  No, I didn’t decide to frolic in Azeroth without you.  Real life happens sometimes.  It can’t be avoided.

I just finished making my holy priest gear list.  Next up will be a disc priest gear list, followed by an analysis of trinkets, set bonuses, gems, enchants, and other goodies.  Oh my!  Perhaps I’ll finally even update my priest guide?  One can dream!

Good times are ahead.

This is a list of the best holy priest healing gear from Wrath of the Lich King.  It includes all gear obtainable from pre-TBC, TBC, and WotLK, and gear from all sources (BoE, crafted, raided, quested, PvP’d, etc.). For simplicity’s sake, DPS gear is not listed unless it is a set piece better than its healing counterpart.  Hit gear is not listed.

The items are scored according to their stats.  The higher the score, the better.  Anything within 2.5 points of something else is more a side-grade than an upgrade.

Item procs are taken into account.  Item set bonuses are listed at the end (and not added into the rankings individually).  Best gems are considered.

More information about the list can be found at the end of the post.

Menu:

Head | Neck | Back | Shoulders | Chest | Wrist | Hands
Waist | Legs | Feet | Fingers
2H Weapon | 1H Weapon | Off-Hand | Ranged
Trinkets | Set Bonuses

More Information About This List

Head:

1. 230.66 – Hood of Rationality
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (heroic)
   
   
2. 229.28 – Cowl of Vanity
   Naxxramas – Grobbulus (heroic)
   
3. 229.06 – Valorous Crown of Faith
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (heroic)
   
4. 220.88 – Enamored Cowl
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
   
5. 209.93 – Heroes’ Crown of Faith
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
   
6. 199.32 – Cowl of Sheet Lightning
   Naxxramas – Thaddius
   
7. 192.88 – Gothik’s Cowl
   Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester
   
8. 188.86 – Deadly Gladiator’s Mooncloth Hood
   ?? Arena Points (TBD)
   
9. 188.30 – Cowl of Winged Fear
   Naxxramas – Sapphiron
   
10. 184.56 – Crown of Unbridled Magic
    The Occulus – Cache of Eregos (heroic)
    
11. 179.10 – Cowl of Innocent Delight
    Naxxramas – Loatheb (heroic)
    
12. 179.00 – Forgotten Shadow Hood
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Salramm (heroic)
    
13. 169.70 – Cowl of Light’s Purity
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’Jaeden
    
14. 169.55 – Visage Liquification Goggles
    Engineering BoP (400)
    
15. 162.48 – Powerheal 9000 Lens
    Engineering BoP (350)
    
16. 161.70 – Helm of Arcane Purity
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’jaeden
    
17. 157.02 – Savage Gladiator’s Mooncloth Hood
    12k Honor and 350 Arena Points or 45 Emblems of Heroism
    
18. 154.99 – Hood of Absolution
    Caverns of Time: Hyjal – Archimonde
    
19. 154.08 – Dark Conjuror’s Collar
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’jaeden
    
20. 148.50 – Cowl of Absolution
    Caverns of Time: Hyjal – Archimonde
    
21. 141.66 – Cowl of Benevolence
    Black Temple – Teron Gorefiend
    
22. 141.28 – Elder Headpiece
    Anh’Kahet – Elder Nadox (heroic)
    
23. 141.26 – Cowl of the Avatar
    Serpentshrine Cavern – Lady Vashj
    
24. 137.42 – Cowl of the Dire Troll
    Drak’Tharon Keep – Trollgore (heroic)
    
25. 134.44 – Powerheal 4000 Lens
    Engineering BoP (350)

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Neck:

1. 112.97 – Lifebender’s Locket
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (heroic) (from quest)
   
2. 102.72 – Torque of the Red Dragonflight
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (from quest)
   
3. 98.62 – Chains of Adoration
   Naxxramas – [Noth, Patchwerk, Grand Widow Faerlina, Instructor Razuvious, or Anub'Rekhan] (heroic)
   
4. 93.43 – Veiled Amulet of LIfe
   Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester
   
5. 92.63 – Necklace of the Glittering Chamber
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos
   
6. 92.56 – Ousted Bead Necklace
   Naxxramas – Trash Mobs (heroic)
   
7. 92.22 – Volitant Amulet
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
   
8. 89.39 – Ceaseles Pity
   Naxxramas – Sapphiron
   
9. 89.14 – Pendant of Lost Vocations
   Naxxramas – Maexxna
   
10. 87.02 – Cosmic Lights
    Naxxramas – Sapphiron (heroic)
    
11. 83.02 – Necromancer’s Amulet
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Salramm (heroic)
    
12. 81.62 – Lattice Choker of Light
    25 Emblems of Heroism
    
13. 81.58 – Deadly Gladiator’s Pendant of Deliverance
    47.4k honor points, 1600 personal and team arena rating
    
14. 79.75 – Titanium Spellshock Necklace
    Jewelcrafting BoE
    
15. 79.62 – Bone-Linked Amulet
    Naxxramas – Grobbulus
    
16. 77.64 – Dragon Prow Amulet
    BoE World Drop
    
17. 76.06 – Deadly Gladiator’s Pendant of Salvation
    47.4k honor points, 1600 personal and team arena rating
    
18. 74.36 – Deadly Gladiator’s Pendant of Subjugation
    47.4k honor points, 1600 personal and team arena rating
    
19. 69.58 – Chaotic Spiral Amulet
    Halls of Lightning – Lokan
    
20. 69.16 – Amulet of Dazzling Light
    The Nexus – Anomalus (heroic)
    
21. 69.00 – Amulet of the Crusade
    Icecrown quest
    
22. 68.81 – Amulet of Flowing Life
    Jewelcrafting BoP (350)
    
23. 67.84 – Timeless Beads of Eternos
    The Oculus – Drakos
    
24. 67.16 – Hateful Gladiator’s Pendant of Salvation
    38k honor
    
25. 66.38 – Zuarmat’s Necklace
    Violet Hold – Zuramat the Obliterator (heroic)

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Back:

1. 108.24 – Cape of the Unworthy Wizard
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (heroic)
   
2. 108.04 – Pennant Cloak
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (heroic)
   
3. 101.45 – Disguise of the Kumiho
   25 Emblems of Valor
   
4. 98.22 – Cloak of Kea Feathers
   25 Emblems of Valor
   
5. 97.49 – Shawl of the Old Maid
   Naxxramas – [Grobbulus, Heigan, Maexxna, or Gothik] (heroic)
   
6. 91.12 – Cloak of the Dying
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
   
7. 90.64 – Cloak of the Averted Crisis
   Naxxramas – [Grobbulus, Heigan, Maexxna, or Gothik] (heroic)
   
8. 86.32 – Shroud of Luminosity
   Naxxramas – [Grobbulus, Heigan, Maexxna, or Gothik] (heroic)
   
9. 86.27 – Drape of Surgery
   Naxxramas – Patchwerk
   
10. 85.62 – Reanimator’s Cloak
    BoE World Drop
    
11. 83.56 – Dark Shroud of the Scourge
    Naxxramas – Noth
    
12. 82.04 – Wispcloak
    BoE Tailoring
    
13. 79.70 – Shroud of Moorabi
    Gundrak – Moorabi (heroic)
    
14. 76.06 – Deadly Gladiator’s Cloak of Salvation
    47.4k honor points and 1750 personal and team arena rating
    
15. 75.89 – Shroud of the Citadel
    Naxxramas – Sapphiron
    
16. 74.36 – Deadly Gladiator’s Cloak of Subjugation
    47.4k honor points and 1750 personal and team arena rating
    
17. 74.20 – Subterranean Waterfall Shroud
    Ahn’Kahet – Jedoga Shadowseeker (heroic)
    
18. 71.52 – Hateful Gladiator’s Cloak of Deliverance
    38k honor
    
19. 70.24 – Tattered Cloak of Antonidas
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’Jaeden
    
20. 67.16 – Hateful Gladiator’s Cloak of Salvation
    38k honor
    
21. 66.76 – Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape
    The Oculus – Cache of Eregos (heroic)
    
22. 62.68 – Shroud of Resurrection
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof
    
23. 62.36 – Shroud of Dedicated Research
    Kirin Tor reputation – honored
    
24. 60.40 – Deathchill Cloak
    BoE Tailoring
    
25. 59.76 – Bloodbane Shroud
    Icecrown quest
    

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Shoulders:

1. 143.05 – Mantle of the Locusts
   Naxxramas – Heroic (Anub’rekhan)
   
2. 139.54 – Mantle of Dissemination
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (heroic)
   
3. 137.24 – Valorous Shoulders of Faith
   Naxxramas – Loatheb (heroic)
   
4. 122.66 – Heroes’ Shoulders of Faith
   Naxxramas – Loatheb
   
5. 118.82 – Mantle of the Extensive Mind
   Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious
   
6. 117.48 – Sympathetic Amice
   Naxxramas – Grobbulus (heroic)
   
7. 117.14 – Runecaster’s Mantle
   BoE World Drop
   
8. 113.82 – Deadly Gladiator’s Mooncloth Mantle
   ?? Arena Points (TBD)
   
9. 111.69 – Miasma Mantle
   Naxxramas – Grobbulus
   
10. 104.38 – Dark Rune Mantle
    BoE World Drop
    
11. 101.62 – Hateful Gladiator’s Mooncloth Mantle
    30 Emblems of Valor
    
12. 99.16 – Mantle of the Tribunal
    Halls of Stone – Brann Bronzebeard escort event
    
13. 98.99 – Shawl of Wonderment
    Sunwell Plateau – Twin Eredars
    
14. 98.12 – Amice of the Convoker
    Sunwell Plateau – Twin Eredars
    
15. 95.46 – Mantle of Absolution
    Black Temple – Mother Shahraz
    
16. 95.28 – Deadly Gladiator’s Satin Mantle
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
17. 93.14 – Silken Amice of the Ymirjar
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Skadi the Ruthless
    
18. 93.14 – Mantle of Electrical Charges
    Halls of Lightning – General Bjarngrin
    
19. 91.06 – Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
    40 Emblems of Heroism
    
20. 90.76 – Mantle of the Intrepid Explorer
    Halls of Stone quest
    
21. 89.82 – Savage Gladiator’s Mooncloth Mantle
    9.6k honor and 275 arena points or 30 Emblems of Heroism
    
22. 87.87 – Wings of the Avatar
    Tempest Keep: The Eye – Void Reaver
    
23. 86.07 – Duskweave Shoulders
    Tailoring BoE
    
24. 85.42 – Hateful Gladiator’s Satin Mantle
    30 Emblems of Valor
    
25. 82.64 – Mantle of the Avatar
    Tempest Keep: The Eye – Void Reaver

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Chest:

1. 201.50 – Sympathy
   Naxxramas – Sapphiron (heroic)
   
2. 201.20 – Valorous Robes of Faith
   Naxxramas – Four Horsemen (heroic)
   
3. 196.52 – The Sanctum’s Flowing Vestments
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (heroic)
   
4. 194.58 – Blanketing Robes of Snow
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (heroic)
   
5. 193.66 – Robes of Mutation
   Naxxramas – Noth (heroic)
   
6. 179.76 – Heroes’ Robes of Faith
   Naxxramas – Four Horsemen (heroic)
   
7. 169.34 – Spellweave Robe
   Tailoring BoE
   
8. 167.43 – Digested Silken Robes
   Naxxramas – Maexxna (heroic)
   
9. 161.38 – Moonshroud Robe
   Tailoring BoE
   
10. 157.12 – Robes of Hoarse Breaths (tied)
    Naxxramas – Noth
    
11. 157.12 – Robes of Crackling Flames (tied)
    Kirin Tor Reputation (exalted)
    
12. 152.74 – Deadly Gladiator’s Mooncloth Robe
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
13. 149.83 – Robes of Ghostly Hatred
    Sunwell Plateau – M’uru
    
14. 149.35 – Drakewing Raiments
    The Oculus – Drakos the Interrogator (heroic)
    
15. 147.56 – Robes of Faltered Light
    Sunwell Plateau – M’uru
    
16. 144.48 – Egg Sac Robes
    Azjol-Nerub – Hadronox (heroic)
    
17. 138.66 – Hateful Gladiator’s Mooncloth Robe
    45 Emblems of Valor
    
18. 138.16 – Robe of Eternal Light
    Tailoring BoP (350)
    
19. 135.29 – Fel Conqueror Raiments
    Sunwell Plateau – M’uru
    
20. 134.56 – Sunfire Robe
    Tailoring BoP (350)
    
21. 133.74 – Raiments of the Titans
    Halls of Lightning – Loken
    
22. 131.72 – Vestments of Absolution
    Black Temple – Illidan
    
23. 126.02 – Bauble-Woven Gown
    Utgarde Pinnacle quest
    
24. 120.58 – Arcane Flame Alter-Garb
    Gundrak – Gal’darah
    
25. 119.58 – Robes of Refrained Celebration
    Icecrown quest

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Wrist:

1. 123.78 – Unsullied Cuffs
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (heroic)
   
2. 105.43 – Punctilious Bindings
   Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina (heroic)
   
3. 104.30 – Bands of Impurity
   Naxxramas – Noth (heroic)
   
4. 99.72 – Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant
   60 Emblems of Valor
   
5. 92.35 – Cuffs of Winged Levitation
   The Oculus – Cache of Eregos (heroic)
   
6. 91.15 – Resurgent Phantom Bindings
   Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester
   
7. 88.57 – Bindings of Yearning
   BoE World Drop
   
8. 84.76 – Ancestral Sinew Wristguards
   Wyrmrest Accord reputation (revered)
   
9. 81.58 – Deadly Gladiator’s Cuffs of Salvation
   ?? Arena Points (TBD)
   
10. 81.22 – Verdisa’s Cuffs of Dreaming
    The Oculus – Drakos the Interrogator
    
11. 76.86 – Bracers of Absolution
    Sunwell Plateau – Twin Eredars
    
12. 76.16 – Cuffs of the Trussed Hall
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Svala Sorrowgrave (heroic)
    
13. 75.90 – Flame Sphere Bindings
    Ahn’Kahet – Prince Taldaram
    
14. 74.01 – Cuffs of Absolution
    Sunwell Plateau – Twin Eredars
    
15. 72.08 – Demonic Fabric Bands
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Mal’Ganis
    
16. 71.52 – Hateful Gladiator’s Cuffs of Salvation
    15.8k honor
    
17. 71.02 – Azure Cloth Bindings
    Violet Hold – Cyanigosa (heroic)
    
18. 69.22 – Savage Wound Wrap
    Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred (heroic)
    
19. 66.76 – Deadly Gladiator’s Cuffs of Dominance
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
20. 65.75 – Cuffs of Gratitude
    The Oculus quest
    
21. 64.32 – Bracers of Martyrdom
    Caverns of Time: Hyjal – Rage Winterchill
    
22. 62.90 – Rune Giant Bindings
    BoE World Drop
    
23. 62.36 – Cuffs of Devastation
    Caverns of Time: Hyjal – Rage Winterchill
    
24. 60.88 – Black Duskweave Wristwraps
    BoE Tailoring
    
25. 58.34 – Bindings of the Bastille
    BoE World Drop

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Hands:

1. 138.65 – Gloves of Token Respect
   BoE World Drop
   
2. 130.39 – Valorous Gloves of Faith
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (heroic)
   
3. 129.76 – Spellweave Gloves
   Tailoring BoE
   
4. 122.90 – Gloves of Glistening Runes
   The Nexus – Keristrasza (heroic)
   
5. 122.63 – Heroes’ Gloves of Faith
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
   
6. 122.33 – Wraps of the Persecuted
   Naxxramas – Thaddius (heroic)
   
7. 120.52 – Handgrips of Turmoil
   Naxxramas – Grobbulus
   
8. 119.58 – Overlook Handguards
   Drak’Tharon Keep – Prophet Theron’ja (heroic)
   
9. 119.52 – Moonshroud Gloves
   Tailoring BoE
   
10. 111.38 – Gloves of Distorted Time
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Chrono-Lord Epoch
    
11. 110.86 – Gloves of Tyri’s Power
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’Jaeden
    
12. 109.17 – Handguards of the Dawn
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’Jaeden
    
13. 106.42 – Deadly Gladiator’s Mooncloth Gloves
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
14. 105.86 – Sterile Flesh-Handling Gloves
    Knights of the Ebon Blade reputation (revered)
    
15. 104.82 – Traditionally Dyed Handguards
    Halls of Lightning – General Bjarngrin
    
16. 104.68 – Gloves of the Crystal Gardener
    The Nexus – Ormorok the Tree-Shaper
    
17. 102.40 – Hands of Eternal Light
    Tailoring BoE
    
18. 101.00 – Silken Bridge Handwraps
    Ahn’Kahet – Amanitar (heroic)
    
19. 95.34 – Gloves of the Azure-Lord
    The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider
    
20. 94.78 – Deadly Gladiator’s Satin Gloves
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
21. 93.88 – Gloves of the Time Guardian
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme quest
    
22. 93.14 – Muddied Crimson Gloves
    Frenzyheart Tribe reputation (revered)
    
23. 91.15 – Sunfire Handwraps
    Tailoring BoE
    
24. 90.86 – Light Blessed Mittens
    Tailoring BoE
    
25. 90.32 – Giant-Hair Woven Gloves
    Halls of Lightning – Volkhan (heroic)
    

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Waist:

1. 153.82 – Leash of Heedless Magic
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (heroic)
   
2. 143.50 – Sash of Solitude
   Naxxramas – Patchwerk (heroic)
   
3. 131.13 – Belt of False Dignity
   Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina (heroic)
   
4. 129.50 – Elegant Temple Gardens’ Girdle
   40 Emblems of Heroism
   
5. 127.60 – Sash of Jordan
   BoE World Drop
   
6. 123.30 – Agnonal Sash
   Naxxramas – Anub’rekhan
   
7. 122.53 – Sash of the Parlor
   Naxxramas – Anub’rekhan (heroic)
   
8. 112.66 – Deadly Gladiator’s Cord of Salvation
   ?? Arena Points (TBD)
   
9. 111.06 – Sash of Mortal Desire
   Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina
   
10. 104.14 – Sash of Phantasmal Images
    The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom (heroic)
    
11. 102.45 – Belt of Dark Mending
    Knights of the Ebon Blade reputation (exalted)
    
12. 100.46 – Hateful Gladiator’s Cord of Salvation
    24.8k honor points
    
13. 96.86 – Living Mojo Belt
    Gundrak – Drakkari Colossus (heroic)
    
14. 96.28 – Deadly Gladiator’s Cord of Dominance
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
15. 96.18 – Belt of Absolution
    Sunwell Plateau – Brutallus
    
16. 93.68 – Sash of the Servant
    Azjol-Nerub – Anub’arak (heroic)
    
17. 90.92 – Fishy Cinch
    The Oracles reputation (revered)
    
18. 87.84 – Belt of Divine Guidance
    Black Temple – Illidari Council
    
19. 85.01 – Shimmerthread Girdle
    BoE World Drop
    
20. 83.94 – Belt of the Long Road
    Tailoring BoE
    
21. 83.62 – Anetheron’s Noose
    Caverns of Time: Hyjal – Anetheron
    
22. 82.96 – Cord of Troll Braided Hair
    Zul’Aman timed event
    
23. 80.52 – Bridenbrad’s Sash
    Icecrown quest
    
24. 79.00 – Deep Frozen Cord
    Tailoring BoE
    
25. 78.88 – Alystros’s Plume Cinch
    Dragonblight quest

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Legs:

1. 207.09 – Leggings of Mortal Arrogance
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (heroic)
   
2. 192.70 – Valorous Leggings of Faith
   Naxxramas – Thaddius (heroic)
   
3. 186.96 – Distorted Limbs
   Naxxramas – Maexxna (heroic)
   
4. 183.07 – Leggings of Sapphiron
   Naxxramas – Sapphiron
   
5. 174.61 – Heroes’ Leggings of Faith
   Naxxramas – Thaddius
   
6. 163.74 – Leggings of the Instructor
   Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious
   
7. 156.14 – Breeches of the Caller
   Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (heroic)
   
8. 155.54 – Deadly Gladiator’s Mooncloth Leggings
   ?? Arena Points (TBD)
   
9. 148.72 – Skirt of the Old Kingdom
   Ahn’Kahet – Herald Volazj (heroic)
   
10. 144.64 – Pantaloons of Growing Strife
    Sunwell Plateau – Kalecgos
    
11. 140.86 – Hateful Gladiator’s Mooncloth Leggings
    45 Emblems of Valor
    
12. 140.38 – Opposed Stasis Leggings
    The Nexus – Commander Stoutbeard (heroic)
    
13. 140.38 – Cyanigosa’s Leggings
    The Violet Hold – Cyanigosa (heroic)
    
14. 140.03 – Pantaloons of Calming Strife
    Sunwell Plateau – Kalecgos
    
15. 133.09 – Leggings of Calamity
    Sunwell Plateau – Brutallus
    
16. 131.90 – Leggings of the Ruins Dweller
    Gundrak – Eck the Ferocious (heroic)
    
17. 126.94 – Ring-Lord’s Leggings
    BoE World Drop
    
18. 126.67 – Woven Bracae Leggings
    Halls of Lightning – Loken (heroic)
    
19. 125.79 – Sorrowgrave’s Breeches
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Svala Sorrowgrave (heroic)
    
20. 123.92 – Leggings of Eternity
    Caverns of Time: Hyjal – Archimonde
    
21. 123.70 – Savage Gladiator’s Mooncloth Leggings
    12k Honor and 350 Arena Points or 45 Emblems of Heroism
    
22. 118.78 – Leggings of Burning Gleam
    Halls of Stone – Krystallus
    
23. 115.68 – Adorned Supernal Legwraps
    100 Badges of Justice
    
24. 115.65 – Trousers of the Arakkoa
    The Violet Hold – Erekem
    
25. 114.32 – Trousers of the Astromancer
    Tempest Keep: The Eye – High Astromancer Solarian

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Feet:

1. 147.95 – Boots of Forlorn Wishes
   Naxxramas – Gluth (heroic)
   
2. 147.46 – Arcanic Tramplers
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos (heroic)
   
3. 137.23 – Slippers of the Holy Light
   40 Emblems of Valor
   
4. 134.15 – Boots of Persuasion
   Naxxramas – Patchwerk (heroic)
   
5. 123.03 – Saltarello Shoes
   Naxxramas – Heigan
   
6. 122.33 – Serene Echoes
   Naxxramas – Heigan (heroic)
   
7. 116.81 – Sandals of Crimson Fury
   Wyrmrest Accord reputation (exalted)
   
8. 116.44 – Footwraps of Teleportation
   The Violet Hold – Xevozz
   
9. 111.66 – Deadly Gladiator’s Treads of Salvation
   ?? Arena Points (TBD)
   
10. 110.32 – Sullen Cloth Boots
    Naxxramas – Patchwerk
    
11. 102.51 – Cleric’s Linen Shoes
    The Nexus – Commander Stoutbeard (heroic)
    
12. 99.46 – Hateful Gladiator’s Slippers of Salvation
    24.8k honor
    
13. 98.51 – Boots of Absolution
    Sunwell Plateau – Felmyst
    
14. 95.28 – Deadly Gladiator’s Treads of Dominance
    ?? Arena Points (TBD)
    
15. 93.14 – Aurora Slippers
    BoE Tailoring
    
16. 87.83 – Stone-Worn Footwraps
    Azjol-Nerub – Krik’thir (heroic)
    
17. 85.42 – Hateful Gladiator’s Slippers of Dominance
    24.8k honor
    
18. 84.50 – The Conjurer’s Slippers
    The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom
    
19. 83.79 – Slippers of the Seacaller
    Black Temple – High Warlord Naj’entus
    
20. 83.52 – Boots of the Divine Light
    Black Temple – trash mobs
    
21. 83.11 – Fur-lined Moccasins
    Gundrak quest
    
22. 82.08 – Soul-Strider Boots
    Serpentshrine Cavern – Fathom-Lord Karathress
    
23. 82.00 – Two-toed Sandals
    Zul’Aman – Zul’jin
    
24. 81.91 – Slithering Sandals
    Gundrak – Slad’ran (heroic)
    
25. 80.14 – Slippers of Dutiful Mending
    75 Badges of Justice

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Fingers:

1. 101.67 – Band of Channeled Magic
   25 Emblems of Valor
   
2. 100.16 – Signet of Manifested Pain
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (heroic)
   
3. 97.45 – Ring of Decaying Beauty
   Naxxramas – Sapphiron (heroic)
   
4. 97.00 – Wyrmrest Band
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
   
5. 93.40 – Lost Jewel
   Naxxramas – [Noth, Patchwerk, Anub'Rekhan, Grand Widow Faerlina, or Instructor Razuvious] (heroic)
   
6. 92.12 – Seized Beauty
   Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina (heroic)
   
7. 91.78 – Ring of Holy Cleansing
   Naxxramas – Heigan
   
8. 91.14 – Renewal of Life
   25 Emblems of Valor
   
9. 86.94 – Circle of Life
   Naxxramas – Sapphiron
   
10. 84.40 – Signet of Hopeful Light
    Argent Crusade reputation (exalted)
    
11. 84.04 – Timeworn Silken Band
    Naxxramas – Maexxna
    
12. 81.47 – Band of Neglected Pleas
    Naxxramas – Anub’rekhan
    
13. 80.08 – Spectral Seal of the Prophet
    Drak’Tharon Keep – The Prophet Tharon’ja
    
14. 78.06 – Band of Guile
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Mal’Ganis (heroic)
    
15. 77.72 – Titanium Spellshock Ring
    BoE jewelcrafting
    
16. 76.97 – Annhylde’s Ring
    Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (heroic)
    
17. 75.76 – Signet of the Kirin Tor
    8,000 gold in Dalaran
    
18. 70.95 – Ring of Temerity
    The Oculus quest
    
19. 69.94 – Band of Enchanted Growth
    The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom (heroic)
    
20. 69.88 – Ring of the Fated
    Naxxramas – Noth
    
21. 68.10 – Enchanted Wire Stitching
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Meathook
    
22. 67.99 – Solitaire of Reflecting Beams
    The Violet Hold – Moragg (heroic)
    
23. 66.37 – Ring of the Frenzied Wolvar
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof (heroic)
    
24. 65.22 – Ringlet of Repose
    Halls of Stone – Maiden of Grief
    
25. 65.06 – Newt-Eye Ring
    Icecrown quest
    
26. 62.60 – Earthshadow Ring
    Jewelcrafting BoP (325)
    
27. 62.36 – Signet of Ranulf
    Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron
    
28. 62.21 – Ring of the Traitor King
    Azjol-Nerub – Anub’arak
    
29. 61.60 – Band of Eyes
    The Violet Hold – Moragg
    
30. 61.32 – Globule Signet
    The Violet Hold – Ichoron (heroic)
    

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Two-Handed Weapons:

1. 412.08 – Staff of Restraint
   Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (heroic)
   
2. 408.99 – Spire of Sunset
   Naxxramas – Thaddius (heroic)
   
3. 379.46 – Staff of Draconic Combat
   The Oculus – Cache of Eregos (heroic)
   
4. 374.87 – Charmed Cierge
   Naxxramas – The Four Horsemen
   
5. 369.86 – Deadly Gladiator’s Energy Staff
   4.5k Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
6. 367.99 – Damnation
   Naxxramas – The Four Horsemen (heroic)
   
7. 353.71 – Deadly Gladiator’s War Staff
   4.5k Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
8. 336.71 – Deadly Gladiator’s Battle Staff
   4.5k Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
9. 327.52 – Staff of Wayward Principles
   Utgarde Pinnacle – Skadi the Ruthless (heroic)
   
10. 324.82 – Staff of Sinister Claws
    Ahn’kahet – Herald Volazj (heroic)
    
11. 299.50 – Golden Staff of the Sin’dorei
    Sunwell Plateau – Kil’Jaeden
    
12. 280.40 – Malygos’ Favor
    The Oculus – Cache of Eregos
    
13. 277.54 – Sempiternal Staff
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Chrono-Lord Epoch
    
14. 271.34 – Dignified Headmaster’s Charge
    65 Emblems of Heroism
    
15. 239.10 – Life-Staff of the Web Lair
    Azjol-Nerub – Hadronox

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One-Handed Weapons:

1. 380.06 – Torch of the Holy Fire
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (heroic)
   
2. 338.18 – Ice Spire Scepter
   Eye of Eternity – Malygos
   
3. 332.20 – The Impossible Dream
   Naxxramas – Loatheb (heroic)
   
4. 331.84 – The Soulblade
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
   
5. 326.31 – Hammer of the Astral Plane
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
   
6. 317.24 – Deadly Gladiator’s Gavel
   3,150 arena points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
7. 308.64 – Deadly Gladiator’s Spellblade
   3,150 arena points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
8. 300.06 – War Mace of Unrequited Love
   The Nexus – Keristrasza (heroic)
   
9. 298.35 – Titansteel Guardian
   Blacksmithing BoE
   
10. 297.18 – Infection Repulser
    Naxxramas – Grobbulus
    
11. 288.37 – Blade of Dormant Memories
    Naxxramas – Patchwerk
    
12. 271.88 – Devout Aurastone Hammer
    50 Emblems of Heroism
    
13. 255.82 – Netherbreath Spellblade
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Skadi the Ruthless (heroic)
    
14. 250.80 – The Blessed Hammer of Grace
    250 Stonekeeper Shards, Wintergrasp
    
15. 250.42 – Gavel of the Fleshcrafter
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Salramm the Fleshcrafter

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Off-Hand Frills:

1. 104.36 – Matriarch’s Spawn
   Naxxramas – Maexxna (heroic)
   
2. 93.07 – Accursed Spine
   Naxxramas – Noth (heroic)
   
3. 91.31 – Handbook of Obscure Remedies
   25 Emblems of Heroism
   
4. 86.43 – Urn of Lost Memories
   Naxxramas – The Four Horsemen (heroic)
   
5. 81.58 – Deadly Gladiator’s Reprieve
   1,350 Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
6. 80.04 – Prison Manifest
   BoE World Drop
   
7. 79.26 – Scepter of Murmuring Spirits
   Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious
   
8. 71.42 – Frostbridge Orb
   BoE World Drop
   
9. 69.16 – Faces of Doom
   Inscription BoP (425)
   
10. 68.24 – Temple Crystal Fragment
    Drak’Tharon Keep – Novos the Summoner (heroic)
    
11. 66.76 – Deadly Gladiator’s Endgame (tied)
    1,350 Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
    
12. 66.76 – The Witching Grimoire (tied)
    Icecrown quest
    
13. 65.60 – Seal of Valgarde
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof
    
14. 62.18 – Talisman of Scourge Command
    Ahn’kahet – Prince Taldaram
    
15. 59.10 – Tome of Salramm
    Caverns of Time: Old Stratholme – Salramm the Fleshcrafter

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Ranged Weapons:

1. 57.70 – Wand of the Archlich
   Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
   
2. 56.00 – Fading Glow
   Naxxramas – Loatheb (heroic)
   
3. 52.13 – Plague Igniter
   Naxxramas – Grobbulus (heroic)
   
4. 49.18 – Touch of Horror
   Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester (heroic)
   
5. 49.18 – Wand of the Ahnkahet
   Ahn’kahet – Herald Volazj (heroic)
   
6. 47.32 – Wand of the Cleansing Light
   Sunwell Plateau – trash mobs
   
7. 44.85 – Contortion
   Naxxramas – trash mobs
   
8. 44.64 – Deadly Gladiator’s Baton of Light
   1,200 Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
   
9. 43.08 – Wand of Sseratus
   Gundrak – Sseratus (heroic)
   
10. 41.70 – Wand of the Demonsoul
    Sunwell Plateau – trash mobs
    
11. 40.15 – Deadly Gladiator’s Touch of Defeat
    1,200 Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
    
12. 39.52 – Brazier Igniter
    Utgarde Pinnacle – Svala Sorrowgrave
    
13. 39.39 – Rod of the Fallen Monarch
    Azjol-Nerub – Anub’arak
    
14. 37.00 – Deadly Gladiator’s Piercing Touch
    1,200 Arena Points, personal and team arena rating of 2030
    
15. 35.90 – Carved Witch Doctor’s Stick
    25 Badges of Justice
    
16. 35.38 – Wand of Chilled Renewal
    Storm Peaks quest
    
17. 34.60 – Nesingwary Brush Burner
    Sholazar Basin quest
    
18. 34.50 – Charged Wand of the Cleft (tied)
    Horde Expedition reputation (revered)
    
19. 34.50 – Gnomish Magician’s Quill (tied)
    Alliance Vanguard reputation (revered)
    
20. 33.52 – Encrusted Zombie Finger
    Icecrown quest
    
21. 33.22 – Fair Touch of the Crusader
    Icecrown quest
    
22. 32.96 – Iceshrieker’s Touch
    Storm Peaks quest
    
23. 30.30 – Incessant Torch
    BoE World Drop
    
24. 29.52 – Naaru-Blessed Life Rod
    Black Temple – Essence of Souls
    
25. 27.16 – Luminescent Rod of the Naaru
    Serpentshrine Cavern – Morogrim Tidewalker

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Trinkets:

It will take me a little bit of time to properly analize the trinkets and their procs to come up woth a proper listing.  Stay tuned.  They will be listed shortly.

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Set Bonuses:

The actual list of set bonuses, like trinkets, is a work in progress as well.  Stay tuned. They will be listed shortly.

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More About This List:

This list was created using stat weight of all priest healing stats and summing them to get the item scores.  Items were then ranked according to their scores.

Here are the stat weights used:

0.74 Intellect
0.54 Spirit
0.35 Haste
0.15 Crit
1.00 MP5
0.60 Spellpower

Lootrank was used to compile much of the information.  It is a great tool.  If you want to tweak the stat weights to come up with your own list, you can start by clicking here.

Gems, especially meta gems, played a large role.  Best gemming is assumed in the gear rankings.  Just because an item is ranked highly, especially a PvP item, doesn’t mean it is better if it’s not optimally gemmed for healing.

Stamina isn’t taken into account. It doesn’t directly affect your healing.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you have enough stamina to survive the encounters.  Keep higher stamina pieces around for when you need them.  For the most part, you won’t have to go much out of your way to worry about stamina.  The Northrend gear has plenty.

This list is just a list a suggestions – a set of guidelines, if you will. A (slightly outdated) overview of the math used to come up with this list can be found in this post.  If you have a vastly different playstyle, raid composition, talent selection, gear, etc., your results may vary.  This list is aimed at the typical raiding holy priest.

Updates to this list will be here, and here only. Bookmark and come back to it to stay updated.  Please do not post this list elsewhere on the web!

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EDIT: For all you who want a download, I’ll try to make one later.  Preistiality of Sword N Board made an almost exact copy of this UI and has it available for download now, so go check that out if you want to download it (1440×900 widescreen).

My rules when setting up a UI are as follows:

• Don’t Block the Box!
  The middle section of the screen, about quarter the size of the whole, needs to remain untouched.  This box is sacred.  My philosophy is that nothing should go there; you need to see what is going on around your character.  The goal is to have an informative UI, not an obtrusive one. Combat text can go to the sides of the box, or above it.  Unit frames below.  And so on…

• Subtle Colors
  I think it is more important to keep the focus on the world around you, rather than on fluorescently colored health bars, etc.  I keep things in shades of grey mostly; it minimizes clashing colors on the screen (I’m apparently a visual person).

• Try to be Minimalist
  I’m not a minimalist at heart, but I do believe in keeping what I see as simple and clean as possible.  It is an ongoing struggle as I do run way too many addons.  I’ve taken to hiding many aspects of the screen, and only have them show when I need them to, when I mouse over them, or on keypress.

• Small on Memory
  My computer has been having seemingly random seizures lately, especially while playing Warcraft (it whines … really).  Keeping the memory used by addons small helps with some of the video lag and with loading times.

Those are just my personal rules; your UI is your own. (Feel free to share what you have in the comments; just drop me a link to a screenshot if you have one).

This is what I am currently using (please forgive the random bank alt screenshot):

Click to see full size (very large).

Here is an overview of what I’m using:

1. Buffs

• What I use: Buffalo
• Buffalo is a simple, easy addon to tweak and move you buffs, debuffs, and weapons buffs.  I currently have buffs/weapon buffs in the upper left hand corner of my screen.

2.  Quest Tracker, Achievement Tracker

• What I use: default UI quest tracker, Urban Achiever for achievements
• I haven’t found a quest tracker yet.  Many have more features than I want.  Although, in the quest frame, I do use DoubleWide to allow me to see more of the quest text in the frame.  Urban Achiever (tracker shown right)

3. Party Frames, Raid Frames

• What I use: Pitbull 3.0
• The party frames mirror what my player and target bars’ appearances.  The raid bars are simple, single bar frames sorted by class.  I only show the party frames when I’m not in a raid (and vice-versa).  Each has a clear label of the health deficit (how much healing is needed) on the right, and the player name on the left.  (Names censored in screenshot.) I sort my raid by player class, not group.

4. Chatbox

• What I use: Prat 3.0
• Prat has many features, of which I probably only use five.  The great thing about it is that you can disable the features (called modules) that you do not use.  Prat can change the look of your chatbox, help you manage your channels, give you quick shortcuts, and more.

5. Stats

• What I use: SLDataText
• SLDataText will put a clock, framerate, memory, bagspace, tracker, mail indicator, and more, on your screen. You can easily configure what you want to see, in what color, where and in what size.  This has become my psuedo-replacement FuBar.

6. Player / Target Frames

• What I use: Pitbull 3.0
• I use a version of Pitbull based off of Beska’s UI (formatting) and Metz’s UI (strong grey color scheme).  Since these screenshots were taken, I have lightened things considerably.

7. Threat Meter

• What I use: Omen 3.0
• I have configured the look of Omen to perfectly mirror the target buffs/debuffs tracked by Quartz.  Omen goes under the player frame.  Quartz under the target’s.

8. Bars

• What I use: Bartender 4 and Autobar
• Bartender allows you to move your action bars, add or remove them, change their size and shape, andother nifty features (such as simple paging).  Autobar automatically give you buttons for your mount, health potions, mana potions, food, drink, class buffs, etc.  It needs very little configuring, and will autodetect all your items for you.

9. Buff / Debuff Tracker

• What I use: Quartz
• My target’s buffs/debuffs casted by me are tracked by Quartz. This is especially helful when I play as shadow (easily see which dots are on the mob and which need to be refreshed).  Quartz also replaced by casting bar, and gave me a casting bar for my target.  (Since taking these screenshots, the color of the casting bars has been lightened.) If you are patient enough to spend 5 minutes configuring Quartz, you can really get a nice end product.

10. Combat Log

• What I use: EavesDrop
• I hate the combat log. It is large and cumbersome.  Eavesdrop gives me a super-simplified version of the combat log that you can scroll through, use to keep a history of “high scores,” and give you a combat summary at end of battle (damage in/damage out).  It can be as small and simple as you want it to be.

11. Minimap

• What I use: SimpleMiniMap
• There are literally a million and twelve minimap replacement addons out there.  SimpleMiniMap is just another good, easy to configure one.  The background of the frame is done with eePanels.  The zone text is done by SLDataText.  SLDataText removed the tracker menu and made it text based.  All minimap icons were removed, too.  I hate those little buggers.

12. Tooltips

• What I use: TipTac
• I enjoy having a little extra information in my tooltips (talents, rank in guild, etc.).  I used to use CowTip, which had so many options, but took forever and a day to configure.  TipTap comes already configured, looks great, and still gives you the option to add or remove certain items.

13. Bag Frame, Bank Frame

• What I use: Bagnon
• Baganon will show all your bags (or all your bank) as one giant bag.  It gives you options to toggle off viewing certain bags (ammo, shards).  It has a search function.  It can keep track of what you have on other characters.  And it will let you view your bank from anywhere.

14. Debuffs

• What I use: Buffalo
• Same as I use Buffalo for my buffs, I also use it for my debuffs.  In the name of keeping the more pertinent information closer to the center of the screen, the debuffs show right below the character name on the player unit frame.

15. Scrolling Combat Text

• What I use: Parrot
• I do not like the Blizzard default Scrolling Combat Text.  I use Parrot, which has many nice features.  You can easily change the font, size, color, alignment, location, and animation of any kind of alert (buffs, damage, etc.).  I have the text align over the name text on the player/target. Buffs and other alerts happen on the top center of the screen.

Other Addons not Listed:

• _Cursor – Makes your cursor leave a trail.

• BigWigs – Raid boss timers.

• ButtonFacade & ButtonFacade_DSM – Changes the borders on buff, autobar, and action bar buttons.

• eePanels – Allows you to make backgrounds (bottom bar, minimap, etc.).

• EQCompare – Gives you an item compare frame.

• Examiner – Improved character inspection frame.

• GatherMate - Remembers where nodes, herbs, etc. were on your map.

• Hat Trick – Quick toggle on character pane of hat/cloak.

• Item Rack – Easy gear swapping.

• LittleWigs – Boss timers for instances.

• Mapster – Add features to your main map (coordinates, etc.).

• OmniCC – Puts cooldown counts on your buttons.

• oRA2 – Raiding helper (lets have main tank frames, assists with ready checks, etc.).

• Postal – Mail helper addon.  Can open all your mail for you.  Keeps a list of favorites to send things to.

• Rating Buster – Shows you how an item will affect your stats.

• SellFish – Displays sell value of items in their tooltip.

• SharedMedia - Gives more options for background textures on items (such as Pitbull’s unit frames).

• Skinner – Allows you to change the look of the backgrounds of the whole UI.  I have changed all of my Blizzard default frames to be black.

• tekability – Shows durability on items on your character pane.

• tekErr – Keeps track of all your interface errors/bugs.

• tekJunkSeller – Automatically sells your grey items when at a vendor.

• tekticles – Lets you change all the default fonts.

• VendorBait – Will highlight the item with the highest sell value on quest rewards.

• XLoot – Improved loot frame.

Things I Still Need to Do:

• Simple Quest Log
  I have yet to find a quest log replacement that doesn’t have a million features that I do not want or need.

• Better Unified Elements
  Overall, I think my UI feels scattered.  I think I need to rearrange a few things (buffs, for example) to bring things together better.

• Better Buff Filtering
  I have Pitbull to show me a few buffs that people may be missing, but I would really just like an addon to tell me instead of it having to appear on their unit frames (I used to use XRS for this).

• Memorize Keybindings
  Every time I redo my UI, I find a better way to bind my abilities, and have to learn them all over again.  Once I memorize more, I can remove buttons from the bottom of the screen (there are too many!).

• Decrease Memory
  I run with about 30MiB of addon memory.  I’d like to see that smaller.

Bonus Screenshots:

In a party:

In an instance, in combat, and with a pet:

In a raid:

While installing his game, my boyfriend came up to me, card game rulebook in hands.  “You have to read the priest description, ” he said, handing the rulebook to me.

This is what the priest class description read:

Wait, did you catch that?

Melting faces: shadow priest tested; Blizzard approved.

Miss your class forum?  Elitist Jerks is there for you!

The class mechanics theorycraft section of the Elitist Jerks forum is now broken into class sub-forums.  You can now get your fix of straight priest talk at their priest class forum.

While I’m at it, I should mention that their Priest Healing Compendium has been updated for WotLK.  It’s an excellent read.

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed/commented about it.  It’s good to know it is useful. :)

But!  I know about the issue, and I’m working on fixing it.  (Heck, by the time you read this, it could already be fixed!)

On the off-chance you’ve been missing what has been going on around here, I will recap!

I wrote a patch 3.0.2 survival guide for priests, covering all the changes we had to deal with.  By very popular demand, I continued that into a separate post for surviving WotLK.  Between the two, I think I’ve answered some of the more common questions.

Do you have questions?  Well, I’ve got some answers!

WotLK Survival Guide

• New combat ratings
• New spells
• Overview of WotLK gear
• Leveling 70-80
• New zones
• New instances
• New raids
• New PvP venues
• Level 80 talent specs
• New factions

Echoes of Doom (3.0.2) Survival Guide

• Game mechanics changes
• Mana regen changes
  
• Spell changes
• Changes to talents
  
• How to heal
  
• How to DPS
• Profession Overview
• Inscription / Glyphs

Other posts of interest regarding WotLK:

• Raid stacking
• Weighing healing stats

Hopefully that is enough information to keep you busy while installing WotLK.

In case it isn’t, let me leave you with some food for thought (warning: this is a little off-topic):

I was reading the Freakonomics blog, as I often do, as it really is one of my most favorite things on the internet.  Anyways, the question was posed, “What is the most addictive thing on Earth?” Dr. Gary Becker, the 1992 Nobel laureate in economics (and leading researcher in the realm of relational addiction), shared his answer with the author of the blog.  Now, there is a whole guessing game to try to figure out what he said it was (with promises of free stuff if you are the first person to get it right!).

So, just what is the most addictive thing on Earth?

Well, four people answered World of Warcraft.

Two people answered Chuck Norris.

The post hasn’t been updated with the correct answer, making me suspect that it hasn’t been said yet.  There are over 650 answers (some duplicates), and no one has gotten the correct one?

I am inclined to think is something along the lines of: indoor heating, corrective lenses, pillows, or toilet paper.  Those have all been guessed already, though.

The suspense for the correct answer is killing me!  Hopefully someone figures it out soon.

Oh well. See you all in Northrend!

Please see the patch 3.0.2 guide for information on these other items.

This post is looooong.  Just use the menu and read the parts you’re interested in.  It is meant to give an overview of WotLK for the priest.

Menu:

• Combat Ratings
• Spells
• Gear
• Leveling 70-80
• New Zones
• New Instances
• Raiding
• PvP
• L80 Talent Specs
• New Factions

Combat Ratings

The conversions of combat ratings into percents and values change depending on your level.  Here is how they change from 70 to 80.

Hit

Rating needed to gain +1% hit:

At level 70: 12.62
At level 80: 26.23

The hit caps are still:

Equal in level to the mob: 4% hit is needed to reach the cap
Mob is 1 level higher: 5% hit needed
Mob is 2 levels higher: 6% hit needed
Mob is 3 levels higher (or a boss): 17% hit needed

Crit

Rating needed to gain +1% crit:

At level 70: 22.08
At level 80: 45.91

Intellect affects your crit value as well. At level 70, you get +1% crit for every 80 points of intellect you have (0.0125 crit for every point of intellect).  At level 80, it is increased to 166.67 intellect for +1% crit (0.006 crit for every point of int).

Haste

Rating needed to gain +1% haste:

At level 70: 15.77
At level 80: 32.79

Resilience

Resilience is primarily a PvP stat.  For every 1% resilience you have:

• The chance you will take a critical hit is decreased by 1%.
• The amount of damage you take when receiving a critical hit is reduced by 2.2%.
• The amount of damage received from DoTs is reduced by 1%.
• The amount of mana that is Mana Burned or Mana Drained from you is reduced by 2%.

Rating needed to gain +1% resilience:

Level 70: 39.42
Level 80: 81.97

Mana Regen

The basic formula for mana regen will remain as follows:

5 * BaseRegen * sqrt {Int} * Spi

The “BaseRegen” portion of the expression is a value that changes with level.

BaseRegen:

At level 70: 0.009327
At level 80: 0.005575

Spells

Every class will receive brand-spankin’-new spells in WotLK (at levels 75 and 80).  Priests get a bonus revision to a spell at level 71.  New ranks of old favorites are also available at every level from 70-80.

What’s New?

Inner Fire
This is an old spell with a new trick.  At level 71, we learn rank 8 of this spell which gives us a bonus to spellpower, in addition to its armor benefits.  After this point, it becomes okay to spec for Improved Inner Fire in the disc tree.  The talent increases the spellpower benefits of this buff.  Max rank, learned at level 77, gives us 120 spellpower.  With talents, that’s 174 spellpower.

Mind Sear
At level 75, we learn an AoE damage spell that puts Holy Nova to shame.  Mind Sear is a 5 second channeled AoE that deal damage to all mobs within 10 yards of your target.  It scales well; shadow priests become little AoE machines after gaining this spell.    There aren’t many raid encounters that rely on AoE, but it sure helps with plowing through trash and groups of easy mobs quicker.

Divine Hymn
This holy spell, learned at level 80, will incapacitate up to 10 enemies within 15 yards.  While incapacitated (and 3 seconds afterwards), those enemies take 40% less damage.  Divine Hymn also heals you group for medium amount over 6 seconds.  I know this spell seems like a mixed bag, but can be very handy in singly tackling mobs in large multi-mob pulls or as an “oh crap!” button.  It is great in PvP for getting distance on enemies.  It has a six minute cooldown and 1.5 second cast time.

Spell Mana Costs:

Base mana at level 70 is 2,620.  At level 80 it is 3,836.

Discipline	% Base Mana	L70 Mana Cost	L80 Mana Cost
Dispel Magic	14%	367	537
Divine Spirit	26%	681	997
Fear Ward	3%	79	115
Inner Fire	14%	367	537
Levitate	3%	79	115
Mana Burn	14%	367	537
Mass Dispel	33%	865	1,266
Pain Suppression	8%	210	307
Power Infusion	16%	419	614
Penance	16%	419	614
Power Word: Fortitude	27%	707	1,036
Power Word: Shield	23%	603	882
Prayer of Fortitude	69%	1,808	2,647
Prayer of Spirit	69%	1,808	2,647
Shackle Undead	9%	236	345
Holy	% Base Mana	L70 Mana Cost	L80 Mana Cost
Abolish Disease	12%	314	460
Binding Heal	27%	707	1,036
Circle of Healing	21%	550	806
Divine Hymn	20%	N/A	767
Desperate Prayer	21%	550	806
Flash Heal	18%	472	690
Greater Heal	32%	838	1,228
Holy Fire	11%	288	422
Holy Nova	25%	655	959
Hymn of Hope	0%	0	0
Lightwell	17%	445	652
Prayer of Healing	48%	1,258	1,841
Prayer of Mending	15%	393	575
Renew	17%	445	652
Resurrection	60%	1,572	2,301
Smite	15%	393	575
Shadow	% Base Mana	L70 Mana Cost	L80 Mana Cost
Devouring Plague	25%	655	959
Fade	15%	393	575
Mind Blast	17%	445	652
Mind Control	12%	314	460
Mind Flay	9%	236	345
Mind Sear	28%	N/A	1,074
Mind Soothe	6%	157	230
Mind Vision	3%	79	115
Prayer of Shadow Protection	62%	1,624	2,378
Psychic Scream	15%	393	575
Shadow Protection	31%	812	1,189
Shadow Word: Death	12%	314	460
Shadow Word: Pain	22%	576	844
Shadowfiend	6%	157	230
Shadowform	32%	838	1,228
Vampiric Touch	16%	419	614

Gear

Leveling Gear:

Here is a list of items new to Northrend to help you on your way to 80.  They are listed from best to worst.  Don’t be too eager to get rid of your old gear. If you have gear from raiding or badges it should last you a few levels.

Head:

1. Visage Liquification Goggles | Engineering BoP, level 72
2. Shroud of Temptation | Drak’Tharon Keep quest, level 75
3. Gaze of the Punishing Construct | Sholazar Basin quest, L77
4. Medic’s Hood | Zul’Drak quest, level 76
5. Duskweave Cowl | Tailoring BoE, level 75
6. Feathers of the Dragon Wastes | Dragonblight quest, level 74
7. Soothsayer’s Hood | Zul’Drak quest, level 77
8. Cowl of the Purifier | Sholazar Basin quest, level 77
9. Argent Skullcap | Icecrown quest, level 79
10. Ethereal Hood | Grizzly Hills quest, level 73

Neck:

1. Choker of Betrayal | Zul’Drak quest, level 76
2. Blood Sun Necklace | Jewelcrafting BoE, level 75
3. Pendant of Shadow Beams | Violet Hold: Zuramat, level 76
4. Raine’s Choker of Combustion | Zul’Drak: Claw of Har’koa,L76
5. Amulet of the Tranquil Mind | Utgarde Keep quest, level 71
6. Crystal Citrine Necklace | Jewelcrafting BoE, level 70
7. Choker of Binding | Sholazar Basin quest, level 77
8. Mark of the Spider | BoE World Drop
9. Amulet of Constrained Power | Utgarde Keep quest, level 71
10. Neckcharm of Mighty Mojo | Zul’Drak quest, level 77

Back:

1. Shroud of Dedicated Research | Kirin Tor: Honored Rep, L78
2. Polished Protodrake Cloak | Sholazar Basin quest, level 77
3. Cloak of Azure Lights | Nexus quest, level 71
4. Volanthius Shroud | PvP: 20k honor, 20 AB marks, level 70
5. Zoe’s Comforting Cape | BoE World Drop, level 74
6. Shroud of Akali | Gundrak: Gal’darah, level 78
7. Oil-Stained Tarp | Grizzly Hills vendor, level 74
8. Drape of Horticultural Sanitization | Grizzly Hills quest,L74
9. Mantle of Keristrasza | Nexus quest, level 71
10. Cloak of Renewed Hope | Sholazar Basin quest, level 76

Shoulders:

1. Duskweave Shoulders | Tailoring BoE, level 77
2. Mantle of the Intrepid Explorer | Halls of Stone quest,L78
3. Fur-Lined Shoulders | Storm Peaks quest, level 78
4. Mantle of Thwarted Evil | Ahn’Karet quest, level 76
5. Mantle of Echoing Bats | Ahn’Karet: Herald Volazj, L76
6. Soothsayer’s Shoulderpads | Zul’Drak quest, level 76
7. Charlotte’s Chastizing Paul. | Drak’Tharon: Bat Rider, L76
8. Furred Worgslayer Spaulders | Grizzly Hills quest,level 75
9. Spaulders of the Runeseeker | Sholazar Basin quest, L77
10. Spaulders of Foresight | Grizzly Hills quest, level 75

Chest:

1. Vestments of Dun Niffelem | Storm Peaks, level 79
2. Black Duskweave Robe | Tailoring BoE, level 78
3. Embroidered Gown of Zul’Drak | Gundrak: Slad’ran, L77
4. Robes of Novos | Drak’Tharon Keep: Novos, level 75
5. Pigment-Stained Robes | Kalu’ak honored, level 76
6. Duskweave Robe | Tailoring BoE, level 76
7. Specially-Treated Robe | Grizzly Hills quest, level 74
8. Robe of the Conquered Prophet | Zul’drak quest, L78
9. Stained Coop Warmer | Sholazar Basin quest, level 77
10. Lifewarden Raiment | Sholazar Basin quest, level 77

Wrists:

1. Shameful Cuffs | Drak’Tharon Keep quest, level 74
2. Cracklefire Wristguards | BoE World Drop, level 77
3. Rune Giant Bindings | BoE World Drop, level 77
4. Bindings of the Bastille | BoE World Drop, level 75
5. Wastewind Bracers | Dragonblight quest, level 72
6. Wraps of the Sen’layn | Utgarde Keep quest, level 71
7. Black Dustweave Wristwraps | Tailoring BoE, level 78
8. Bindings of the Forceful Vanquisher | DB quest, L73
9. Bloodbinder’s Wrist Wraps | Zul’Drak quest, level 77
10. Soothsayer’s Wristwraps | Zul’Drak quest, level 77

Hands:

1. Muddled Crimson Gloves | Revered Frenzyheart, L78
2. Light Blessed Mittens | Tailoring BoE
3. K3 Surgeon’s Gloves | Storm Peaks quest, level 78
4. Gloves of the Banished Infliction | A-N quest, L74
5. Grips of the Giant-Rider | Zul’Drak quest, L76
6. Time-Twisted Wraps | Nexus quest, level 71
7. Duskweave Gloves | Tailoring BoE, level 76
8. Soothsayer’s Handwraps | Zul’Drak quest
9. Gloves of the Blood Prince | Ahn’Karat: Prince, L76
10. Bloodbinder’s Gloves | Zul’Drak quest, level 77

Waist:

1. Shimmering Girdle | BoE World Drop, level 78
   
2. Fishy Cinch | Oracles Revered, level 78
3. Sly Mojo Sash | Gundrak quest, level 78
4. Mammoth Sinew Cinch | Storm Peaks quest, L78
5. Sash of the Wizened Wyrm | Wyrmrest honor., L78
6. Cords of Duplicity | Zul’Drak quest, level 75
7. Charmed Silken Cord | Azjol-Nerub: Anub., L75
8. Wrap of the Vigorous Destruction | DB, L73
9. Braided Bat Sinew | Zul’Drak quest, level 76
10. Forseer’s Girdle | Grizzly Hills quest, level 75

Legs:

1. Trousers of the Arakkoa | Violet Hold: Erekem,L77
2. Black Dustweave Leggings | Tailoring BoE, level 78
3. Soiled Trousers | Zul’Drak quest, level 75
4. Conferred Pantaloons | Violet Hold quest, level 77
5. Kilt of Deific Torment | Grizzly Hills quest, level 75
6. Leggings of Mending Fronds | Sholazar Basin, L77
7. Warchief’s Leggings of Wisdom | Undercity, L74
8. Stable Master’s Breeches | Drak’Tharon: Dred, 76
9. Leggings of the Icy Heart | BoE World Drop, L73
10. Leggings of the Fastidious Decapitation | ZD 76

Feet:

1. Fur-Lined Moccasins | Gundrak, level 76
2. Killix’s Silk Slippers | Azjol-Nerub quest, L74
3. Boots of the Howling Wind | StormPeaks, L78
4. Duskweave Boots | Tailoring BoE, level 77
5. Sandals of Quick Escape | Grizzly Hills, level 75
6. Sandals of Mystical Evolution | Nexus, level 71
7. Sandals of Chaos Resolution | Dragonblight, L73
8. Jormungar Galoshes | Storm Peaks, level 78
9. Nimblefoot Moccasins | Sholazar Basin, level 76
10. Soothsayer’s Sandals | Zul’Drak quest, level 77

Fingers:

1. Ring of Northern Tears | Jewelcrafting BoE, 78
2. Ringlet of Repose | Halls of Stone, level 78
3. Arcane Focal Signet | Gundrak: Moorabi, 76
4. Savage Titatnium Band | Jewelcrafting BoE, L78
5. Band of Eyes | Violet Hold: Moargg, level 77
6. Earthshadow Ring | Jewelcrafting BoE, level 73
7. Wildfire Band | Jewelcrafting BoE, level 78
8. Shadowmight Ring | Jewelcrafting BoE, L77
9. Fetid Loop | Grizzly Hills quest, level 73
10. Sun Rock Ring | Jewelcrafting BoE, level 70

Level 80 Stat Weights:

How we look at stats now for our gear has greatly changed.  Below are stat weights for various specs/situations (calculated for level 80 players).

• Disc Healing
  • Spellpower: 0.60
  • Spirit: 0.40
  • Intellect: 0.84
  • Crit: 0.08
  • Haste: 0.48
  • MP5: 1.00

• Holy Healing
  • Spellpower: 0.60
  • Spirit: 0.54
  • Intellect: 0.74
  • Crit: 0.10
  • Haste: 0.45
  • MP5: 1.00

• Shadow DPS (courtesy of shadowpriest.com)
  • Spellpower: 1.00
  • Spirit: 0.23
  • Intellect: 0.39
  • Crit: 0.77
  • Haste: 0.79
  • Hit: 1.41

• PvP:
  • Stamina: 1.5
  • Resilience: 1.0
  • All other stats will vary on your spec, venue of PvP, group composition, and playstyle.

Tier 7 Gear:

Priest T7 gear is just recolored Faith (T3) with better stats.  It drops in the entry-level raids (Naxx and Obsidian Sanctum).  The stats and color of teh gear depend on whether it dropped in a heroic (25-man) raid, or a normal raid (10-man).

Look at the image to the right.  On the right side of the image is the priest T7 set from the 10-man version of Naxx. Its items are called “Heroes’ ______ of Faith.”  The set has 5 pieces (head, shoulders, chest, gloves (not shown), and legs (also not shown)).  It is mainly red, gold, and black in color.

The left side of the image depicts priest T7 gear from the 25-man version of Naxx.  Its items are called “Valorous ______ of Faith.”  The set has 5 pieces (head, shoulders, chest, gloves, and legs (not shown)). It is mainly gold, teal, and brown.

Base images of Sean Connery in a dress priest T7 gear are courtesy of MMO Champion

Similar to other tier gear, you purchase the items with tokens that drop from bosses.  Here are where the tokens drop:

• Head: Kel’Thuzad (Naxx)
• Shoulder: Loatheb (Naxx)
• Chest: Four Horsemen (Naxx)
• Gloves: Sartharion (Ob. Sanctum)
• Legs:Thaddius (Naxx)

To further confuse issues, if you get a token, you can use it on either the “Healing” version or the “DPS” version of the items.

• Garb of Faith – DPS gear
• Regalia of Faith – Healing gear

In total, priests have 4 different version of T7 (DPS:10, DPS:25, Healing:10, Healing:25).

What’s neat is that the set bonuses will work even if you are mixing and matching 10- and 25-man gear.

Set bonuses:

• T7 Garb of Faith (DPS)
  • 2-piece: Mana cost of Mind Blast reduced by 10%
  • 4-piece: SW:D gains an extra 10% chance to crit

• T7 Regalia of Faith (healing)
  • 2-piece: Prayer of Mending jumps an additional time
  • 4-piece: Cost of Greater Heal reduced by 5%

Other Raiding Gear:

There are more interesting items that drop in raids.  For lists of the best raiding gear, I recommend the following:

• Shadowpriest.com has a list of the best raiding gear for shadow priests

I made a post not too long about how to weigh healing stats.  I don’t have gear lists up yet based off of that post (though I am working on it!). In the meantime, you can see LootRank lists of gear.

• Holy priest healing gear

• Disc priest healing gear

Leveling 70-80

General Tips:

• Gearing: Don’t go out of your way to buy new gear off the AH.  Don’t panic when you aren’t replacing your gear until mid-70s.  We are not going to see a massive gear reset like what we had in TBC.  Go to dungeons if you are eager for upgrades. (See the “Gear” section above for leveling gear new to Northrend.)

• Talents & Training: You will get new talent points and new spells every level.  Do not forget to get/use them!

• Grinding vs. Questing vs. Instancing: Quests will give you good xp, money, and faction reputation. Quest-specific mobs will be heavily fought over in the first few weeks of the expansion.  If you hold off on your quests a bit, and focus more on grinding or instancing, you’ll have more to complete at level 80, netting you more gold.

• Making Money: Focus more on selling things on the AH than hording them.  Demand will be high initially, so it is better to capitalize on the AH early on.  Sell everything!  Cloth and other profession goods will be of particularly high value.  Daily quests remain a good source of income.  Grinding Azerothian mobs that drop runecloth, mageweave, and wool is always a brainless and easy money-maker if you get burnt out competing for mobs in Northrend (people are using the cloth to get exalted with Horde/Alliance factions).

What to Do First:

• Clean out your bags, bank, and quest log
  Make room!
  

• Respec
  See below for recommended leveling specs.

• Train
  Head to your local priest trainer to learn new spells.

• Decide where to level
  There are two starter zones: Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord.
  • In Borean Tundra, you’ll encounter tuskarr, kill off crypt fiends, beat back the scourge, deal with D.E.A.H.T.A, and tour the Nexus.
  • Howling Fjord gives you the half-giant Vrykul race, an area decimated by dragons, pirates that need to be put-in-their-place, and the starter dungeon of Utgarde.
  • Which to begin with is a matter of personal preference; there really isn’t a “best.”
  • When I was in the beta, I was finding a higher number of profession resources in Howling Fjord, and as a tailor, I ultimately choose to it for the grindable humanoids and their cloth.  Howling Fjord also has a region scorched with flame, and the new flame effect is something you shouldn’t miss!  That’s just my personal preference; your results may vary.

• Travel to Northrend
  • To start in Borean Tundra, just take the zeppelin from outside Orgrimmar (horde) or the boat from Stormwind docks (alliance).
  • To get to Howling Fjord, hop a zeppelin from outside Undercity (horde), or a boat from Methenil Harbor (alliance).

• Train professions
  When arriving in your starter city in Northrend, you can learn the “Grand Master” rank of your professions from trainers in the city.  The cost is 35g each profession.

• Begin your journey!
  Pick up quests, and get going on leveling!  If you want a step-by-step instructions on how to do so, Jame’s leveing guide is a solid bet.

How to Spec for Leveling:

For leveling in WotLK, I recommend speccing holy.  The reasoning is that this has the potential to have the least downtime combined with a high single-target DPS.  Shadow is still the DPS king, yes, but much of its damage relies on DoTs which do not tick more than 2-3 times before a mob dies, and are high in mana cost (and also Mind Sear at level 75 for AoE).  Shadow does a lot better with taking down multiple mobs at once (pulling a bunch, putting DoTs on all, and burning them down).  However, during the first few weeks of the expansion, competition for mobs will be high and you will have to fight over them with other players.  Speccing for single target pulls (holy) puts you in a better position (and also allows you to heal well in instances!).

As always, you will see the best benefit when you choose the spec that makes you happiest.  Holy is just my recommendation.  Shadow is a good second contender.  Disc is a far third, in my book.  It’s damage just isn’t as strong as shadow or holy.

• Disc leveling spec:
  A slower, more controlled leveling experience.
  • At level 70, spec: 51/7/3
  • 71-73: Divine Fury
  • 74-75: Aspiration
  • 76-77: Grace
  • 78-80: Inspiration
  • End at: 55/13/3

• Holy leveling spec:
  Take mobs down in about 10 seconds, and heal well, too!
  • At 70, spec: 14/44/3
  • 71-73: Empowered Healing
  • 74-76: Serendipity
  • 77: Guardian Spirit
  • 78-80: Test of Faith
  • End at: 14/54/3

• Shadow leveling spec:
  Multi-mob killing machine.
  • At 70, spec: 10/0/51
  • 71: Twisted Faith
  • 72: Inner Focus
  • 73-75: Meditation
  • 76-77: Mind Melt
  • 78-79: Veiled Shadows
  • 80: Imp. Mind Blast
  • End at: 14/0/57

Note About Healing: While leveling in Northrend, you will be able to heal in groups with any of these specs.  Yes, really.  Even shadow.  The instances pretty mild, and appear to be tuned toward having an off-spec tank, off-spec healer, or both in your party.  Healing as holy is pretty easy, healing as disc a little more challenging while leveling, and healing while shadow the most difficult of the three, though it is still pretty straightforward.

Spell Casting Rotations (for leveling):

• Disc/Holy:
  Holy Fire -> Smite x3 -> Wand or SW:D

• Shadow:
  VT -> (VE) -> MB -> MF x2 -> Wand or SW:D

Where to Level:

Which to zone to start in is a matter of personal preference.  There really isn’t a “best.”  If one zone ends up too crowded, try the other one.  If you are aiming for the Loremaster achievement, you will need to do both zones at some point regardless.

Northrend has a staggered leveling system with a lot of overlap in zone levels.  This allows you to skip around if you don’t like something, or if a certain zone is too congested.

Level 68-72: Howling Fjord or Borean Tundra
Level 71-73: Dragonblight
Level 73-75: Grizzly Hills
Level 74-75: Crystalsong Forest
Level 75-77: Zul’Drak
Level 75-78: Sholazar Basin
Level 76-80: The Storm Peaks
Level 77-80: Icecrown

Level 74 Note: Dalaran
There is a quest (available from various members of the Kirin Tor) that takes you there at level 74, and a follow-up that allows you to come and go as you please.  You can be ported there by a mage or summoned there by a Warlock prior to level 74.

Level 77 Note: Flying Mounts
You are stuck with using just a ground mount until level 77.  At 77, you can purchase the “Cold Weather Flying” ability in Dalaran (in the flight area) for 1000g.  This allows you to use flying mounts in Northrend.  It makes leveling go much easier.

More information on zones can be found below (see “New Zones”).

Where to Instance:

There are new dungeons at every turn, and a number of quests to send you to each of them.

Level 70-72: Utgarde Keep (Howling Fjord)
Level 71-73: The Nexus (Borean Tundra)
Level 72-74: Azjol-Nerub (Dragonblight)
Level 73-75: Ahn’Kahet (Dragonblight)
Level 74-76: Drak’Tharon Keep (Grizzly Hills)
Level 75-77: The Violet Hold (Dalaran)
Level 76-78: Gundrak (Zul’Drak)
Level 77-79: Ulduar: Halls of Stone (Stormpeaks)
Level 80: Ulduar: Halls of Lightning (Stormpeaks)
Level 80: The Oculus (Borean Tundra)
Level 80: Caverns of Time: Stratholme
Level 80: Utgarde Pinnacle (Howling Fjord)

More Information on Dungeons can be found below (See “New Dungeons”).

New Zones

You can see the official interactive map of all the new zones here.

Howling Fjord

• Levels: 68-72

• Geography: Characterized by open plains, dark forests, a rocky bay.  This region is very green.

• Denizens: Large populations of Vrykul (half-giants), mainly belonging to the Dragonblight clan. Abundance of forest creatures (bears, wolves, etc.).

• Map (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • A: Valgarde – FP
    
  • A: Explorers’ League Outpost
  • A: Westguard Keep -FP
  • A: Fort Wilderevar - FP
  • H: Vengence Landing – FP
    
  • H: Ghostblade Post
  • H: New Agamand – FP
  • H: Apothecary Camp - FP
  • H: Camp Winterhoof - FP
  • N: Kamagua – FP

• Other Travel:
  • H: Vengence Landing -> Tirisfal Glades by zeppelin
  • A: Valgarde  -> Wetlands by boat
  • B: Valgarde / Vengence Landing -> Borean Tundra (by zeppelin / boat)

Borean Tundra

• Levels: 68-72

• Geography: Peninsula, with the subregion of Coldarra just off the coast.  The mainland is flat and snowcovered.

• Denizens: Tuskarr call the Borean Tundra home, as do the Taunka.  Naga, the Blue Dragonflight, and the scourge have also settled here.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • A: Valiance Keep – FP
  • A: Fizzcrank Airstrip – FP
  • H: Bor’gorok Outpost – FP
  • H: Warsong Hold – FP
  • H: Taunka’le Villiage – FP
  • N: Amber Ledge – FP
  • N: Transius Shield – FP
  • N: Unu’pe – FP
  • N: D.E.T.H.A Encampment
  • N: Kaskala
  • N: Death’s Strand

• Other Travel:
  • H: Warsong Hold -> Durotar by zeppelin
  • A: Valiance Keep -> Stormwind by boat
  • B: Warsong Hold / Valiance Keep -> Howling Fjord (by zeppelin / boat)

Dragonblight

• Levels: 71-73

• Geography: This zone is just a deep valley with a single coastline.  It is populated with small wooded areas.  Large dragon bones protrude from the ground. The air hangs thick in a subtle blue haze.

• Denizens: Large animal populations (spiders, birds, bears. etc.).  Nerubians and other agents of the scourge have settled here.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • A: Stars’ Rest – FP
  • A: Fordragon Hold – FP
  • A: 7th Legion Front
    
  • A: Wintergarde Keep – FP
  • H: Westwind Refugee Camp
  • H: Agmar’s Hammer – FP
  • H: Dragon’s Fall
  • H: Kor’kron Vanguard – FP
  • H: Venomspite – FP
  • N: Wyrmrest Temple – FP
  • N: Moa’ki Harbor – FP
  • N: Light’s Trust – FP
  • N: Dawn’s Reach

Grizzly Hills

• Levels: 73-75

• Geography: Brown hills and tall trees mark the landscape of Grizzly Hills.  Waterways whimsically cut through the zone.  There is a short coastline to its northeast and southwest.

• Denizens: An assortment of humanoids share competing interests in Grizzly Hills: Thor Modan dwarves, Ice Trolls, Grizzlemaw Furbolgs, goblins, and worgen, amongst others.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • A; Amberpine Lodge – FP
  • A: Westfall Bridgade Camp – FP
  • H: Conquest Hold – FP
  • H: Camp Oneqwah – FP
  • N: Prospector’s Point
  • N: Harkor’s Camp

Crystalsong Forest

• Levels: 74-75

• Geography: Stunning white trees made of crystal dot the purple landscape.  Crystalsong Forest is a small zone, and yet is home to the largest city in Northrend: Dalaran (in its northwest).

• Denizens: Ents, stags, crystalline golems, green dragons, and avian life.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • A: Windrunner’s Overlook – FP
  • H: Sunreaver’s Command – FP
  • N: Dalaran – FP

• Other Travel:
  • Teleport to Dalaran (if you have the “Teleport to Violet Stand Crystal“).

Zul’Drak

• Levels: 75-77

• Geography: Gundrak, the capital city of the Drakkari, lies in the northeast corner of this zone.  The ground is a hard, dense snow, and the sky is perpetually muddled with clouds.  Zul’Drak is far from being the most temperate of regions.

• Denizens: Trolls, trolls, more trolls, and even more trolls.  And did I mentione trolls?  Zul’Drak is home to the Drakkari ice trolls who are the vast majority of the population of this zone.  The scourge has infested the western borders of Zul’Drak and are making a stand there.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • N: Argent Strand
    
  • N: Light’s Breach
  • N: Ebon Watch
  • N: Zim’Torga
    

Sholazar Basin

• Levels: 75-78

• Geography: Rich, lush green tropical forest thrives in this deep basin.  High cliffs protest this zone from outside influences.  Waterfalls dot its perimeter.

• Denizens: Exotic and unusual wildlife call Sholazar Basin home.  Hunting camps compete with D.E.H.T.A (druids for the ethical and human treatment of animals) over these creatures.  Sentient races of murlocs and wolves fight against each other in a long-standing rivalry.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • N: Nesingwary Base Camp – FP
    
  • N: River’s Heart – FP
  • N: Rainspeaker Canopy
  • N: Mistwhisper Refuge
  • N: Frenzyheart Hill
  • N: Spearborn Encampment
    

The Storm Peaks

• Levels: 76-80

• Geography: The Storm Peaks is situated in the northern part of Northrend. Littered with high cliffs and narrow paths, this zone is dangerously high-elevated.  The impressive city of Ulduar is perched in the northern cliffs, carved into the mountain.  Storm Peaks is frequently dark and snowy.

• Denizens: Storm giants populate this zone.  Magnataurs and Wendigo roam freely.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Towns and Flight Points:
  • A: Frosthold – FP
  • H: Grom’arsh Crash Site – FP
  • H: Camp Tunka’lo – FP
  • N: K3 – FP
  • N: Dun Niffelem – FP
  • N: Bouldercrag’s Refuge – FP
  • N: Brann’s Base-Camp
  • N: Ulduar – FP
    

Icecrown Glacier

• Levels: 77-80

• Geography: Icecrown is seated at the very top of Northrend.  The zone is perpetually dimly lit and soaked in a blue haze.   Snow covers the ground.  Icecrown has a long coast to the north.

• Denizens: Home of the Lich King, Icecrown has a sizable population of scourge and necromancers.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Towns:
  • A: The Skybreaker
  • H: Ogrim’s Hammer
    

Dalaran

• Denizens: This is the largest city in Northrend and home to the mages of Kirin Tor. It hosts all manners of shops and vendors.

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

Wintergrasp:

• Levels: 77-80 (PvP)

• Geography: Wintergrasp is a stunning zone covered in a light snow.  Lavender trees soak up brilliant blue water from the river shores.  The sky is softly touched with an aurora effect.

• Denizens: Alliance and horde battle for control of the towers

• Map: (created by MMO-Champion.com)
  Click for full size.
  

• Flight Points?
  • Wintergrasp is only reachable by flying mount

New Dungeons

There is a new dungeon about every level.

Utgarde Keep
Level 70-72 | Howling Fjord (59, 48)

• 3 Main Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: For many people, this will be the first instance they see in Northrend.  It is populated with vrykul (half-giant warriors) of the Dragonflayer clan as well as their agents (proto-dragons, scourge).

The Nexus
Level 71-73 | Borean Tundra (26, 22)
To get up there, take the dragon ride from Amber Ledge. It’s in the middle of Coldarra.

• 4 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: Set in the reaches of Coldarra is the former home of Malygos, leader of the blue drgaons.  Filled with magic energy, you’ll encounter all manner of magical beings in The Nexus, espeically dragons.  Keristrasza, the final boss, is a huge red drgaon.

Azjol-Nerub
Level 72-74 | Dragonblight (26, 48)

• 3 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: The spider kingdom of Azjol-Nerub lies underground.  It is home to Nerubians (a race of intelligent arachnids).  The instance is also home to the Faceless Ones, bulky humanoid monsters of unknown origin. The instance of Azjol-Nerub represents the Upper (newer) Kingdom.  If you can battle your way through the arachnid horror, Crpyt Lord and former king of the Nerubians, Anub’Arak, awaits you at the end.

Ahn’Kahet: The Old Kingdom
Level 73-75 | Dragonblight (26, 48)

• 4 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map (?)

• Description: Ahn’Kahet is the Old Kingdom of the Nerubians, (and the Faceless Ones).  This fallen empire resides in an underground dungeon and is yet to be infected by the scourge.  It is considered the second part (or wing) of the Azjol-Nerub instance.

Drak’Tharon Keep
Level 74-76 | Grizzly Hills (18, 24) or Zul’Drak (31, 89)

• 4 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map (?)

• Description: Bordering Grizzly Hills and Zul’Drak, the Drak’Tharon Keep is scourge stronghold, populated by undead ice trolls called the Drakkari.   You must battle your way through an odd assortment of creatures (undead, lizardkin), to the gigantic undead windserpent, Prophet Tharon’ja.

The Violet Hold
Level 75-77 | Dalaran

• 3 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map (?)

• Description: Located in the prison sector of eastern Dalaran, the Violet Hold is an instance that will remind you a lot of the gameplay of the Black Morass.  You must defeat prison guardians of the blue dragonflight that appear from portals being opened in the hold.  After the 6th, 12th, and 18th portals, bosses will spawn. The final boss, Cyanigosa, a large blue dragon, was sent by Malygos to invade the prison, releasing dangerous prisoners.

Gundrak
Level 76-78 | Zul’Drak (80, 23)

• 4 Bosses (5 on heroic mode)
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map (?)

• Description: Gundrak is the citadel temple of the Ice Trolls, and their capital.  In the instance, You must defeat three different troll bosses, representing three different aspects.  The final boss, Gal’darah, represents the Clefthoof aspect (really!) and is the apparant leader of Gundrak. This is one of the shortest instances, with only 3 or so trash pulls between bosses.

Ulduar: Halls of Stone
Level 77-79 | Stormpeaks (42, 20)

• 3 Bosses (plus 1 boss-level escort)
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: This is the first wing of the storm giants’ stronghold.  The city has been carved into a cave in a mountainside in Stormpeaks.  It was oringally placed there by the titans.  In the Halls of Stone, you will battle through Iron Dwarves, large elemtnals, and other constructs.  You will have the opportunity to escort Brann Bronzebeard, King Magni’s brother to safety.  The final boss is Sjonnir the Ironshaper, an impressively sized storm giant.

Ulduar: Halls of Lightning
Level 80 | Stormpeaks (42, 20)

• 4 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: The Halls of Lightning is the older part of the city of Ulduar, and deeper into the Titan lore.  This is the second instance wing to the city of Ulduar.

The Oculus
Level 80 | Borean Tundra (26, 22)
Located in a tower floating high above. Enter by clicking the transport orb near the meeting stone.

• 4 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: Set in a tower constructed out of magical rings floating in the high reaches of Coldarra, The Occulus radiates an eerie, arcane beauty and is filled with many magic-dealing mobs.  The final boss in the instance is Ley-Guardian Eregos, a powerful blue dragon.

Caverns of Time: The Culling of Stratholme
Level 80 | Tanaris (64, 49)

• 4 Bosses (5 in heroic mode)
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: The Culling of Stratholme is a new addition to the Caverns of Time.  You have been charged with returning to a specific moment in time during the third war when Arthas purged the then-human city of Stratholme.  You will be tested by undead and members of the Infinite Dragonflight.  The final boss, Mal’Ganis, sent by Archimonde to spy on Arthas and to turn the city of Stratholme, flees after you defeat him.

Utgarde Pinnacle
Level 80 | Howling Fjord (59, 48)

• 5 Bosses
• Instance Strategy
• Instance Map

• Description: Utgarde Pinnacle is the second wing of the Utgarde instances (the first being Utgarde Keep, the third being the unreleased Utgarde raid).  You will be continuing your plight against the Vrykul of the Dragonblight clan.  The instace culminates in a battle against their leader, King Ymiron.

In addition to the level-specific normal dungeons listed above, each dungeon has a heroic mode tuned for level 80 players were better gear drops.

Raiding

Each raid has a 10-man version (normal) and a 25-man version (heroic).  Loot drops from heroic raids are about a tier better than gear from the corresponding normal raid. All raids are tuned for level 80 players.

Naxxramas
Floating over Wintergarde Keep in Dragonblight. Access it by flying mount

• 15 bosses
• Raid Strategy
• Raid Map

• Description: This entry-level raid has an abundance of bosses for your to work through.  You have to complete all four wings of bosses (deathknight, abomination, spider, and plague wings) before the fifth wing (frostwyrm) even opens up.  The final boss in the instance is the lich Kel’Thuzad.

Obsidian Sanctum
Located under Wyrmrest Temple in Dragonblight

• 3 minibosses, 1 boss
• Raid Strategy
• Raid Map (?)

• Description: You will fight three mini-boss dragons, then take on Sartharion the Onyx Guardian (and also a dragon).  Saratharion is of the black dragonflight.  Obsidium Sanctum is slightly easier than Naxx, though Naxx is often recommended as a first step into raiding since more pepople are already familiar with the fights, and more bosses means a greater potential for gear drops.

Vault of Archavon
Accessible by portal from Dalaran

• 1 boss
• Raid Strategy
• Raid Map (?)

• Description: This raid is only available for the four hours after your faction takes Wintergrasp.  It is slightly harder than Obsidum Sanctum.

The Nexus: Eye of Eternity
Borean Tundra (26, 22)

• 1 boss
• Raid Strategy
• Raid Map (?)

• Description: This is the final chapter of The Nexus.  Players will be able to challenge the blue dragon Malygos (the only boss for the raid). To summon Malygos in the instance, A specific item is required that drops from Sapphiron.  This encounter is sizably more difficult than Naxx/Ob. Sanctum.

Utgarde Raid

• Coming in patch 3.1

Icecrown Citadel

• Coming in patch 3.3 – This is supposed to be Wrath of the Lich King’s “final” encounter; players will have the ability to take on the Lich King himself!

PvP

Siege Warfare

In the battle for Wintergrasp you may obtain vehicles from factories under your faction’s control. When using siege vehicles, a separate set of controls should appear on your screen allowing you to take various actions while in it (like throwing explosives).

The types of siege vehicles that you are allowed to use depends on your current Wintergrasp rank (your rank increases when you kill things.  There are only three ranks).

Some seige vehicles can fly, others can be used as transport for other players.

You can use seige weapons at certain points in the Strand of the Ancients battleground (see bwlow).

New Battleground

Strand of the Ancients is a new style of battleground play.  One team is charged with defending a tower, while the other team has to try and claim it from them .  The battleground lasts 20 minutes.  Halfway through that time, the teams switch roles, and the previous defenders are now the attacking team, and vice versa.

Both the attacking team and the defending team can have access to seige weapons.

Each team has 15 players.

New Arenas

There are two new arenas being introduced with WotLK.

The first is the Dalaran Arena.  This arena is small, and has environmental hazards.  Water levels in the arena rise and fall, so at some points you may find yourself swimming.  The arena is wide open, with no places to really line-of-sight or hide besides a few crates.  However, there are spikes that move in and out of the walls/floor to further complicate things and providing occasional LoS possibilities or cover.

The second arena is the Ring of Valor.  it is a larger area than the Dalaran Arena.  Pillars will move up and down out of the floor, squishing you if you aren’t careful.  The Ring of Valor is supposed to have a stadium feel to it, and be a duplicate of the interior of the arena building in Orgrimmar.  Too bad you can’t have spectators.

Level 80 Talent Specs

See “Leveling Guide” above for how to spec while leveling. These specs are aimed at level 80 players.

• Discipline PvE Healing – 57/14/0
  The discipline priest makes a great MT healer, and specializes in damage prevention through talents like PW:S, Grace, Pain Suppression, Divine Aegis, and Inspiration.  The discipline priests focuses on keeping PW:S up and Penance used every cooldown.  Stabilization spells (Renew, Prayer of Mending) as well as chunky heals (Greater Heal, Flash Heal) are cycled in as needed.  As for utility, the discipline priest brings Pain Suppression and Power Infusion.  Points are not spent in Improved Divine Spirit as it will not stack with other, more powerful spellpower buffs in raids.

• Holy PvE Healing – 14/57/0
  The holy priest is a healer than can fill any role, and has fantastic AoE healing capabilities (for the moment, at least) with Circle of Healing and Divine Providence.  Improved Holy Concentration, Serendipity, and Meditation are each very important to the holy priest’s mana.  If the cooldown on Circle of Healing is ever implemented, it would be in our best interest to pick up the Healing Prayers talent for the mana reduction on Prayer of Mending and Prayer of Healing.

• Shadow PvE DPS – 14/0/57
  The shadow priest is middle-of-the-road DPS caster with strong AoE damage capabilities that brings raid utility in the form of Replenishment (through Vampiric Touch).  There are not any hard choices when speccing a shadow priest for PvE.  With this spec, you pick up every DPS and mana talent in the shadow tree,  then put the requisite 14 points in discipline for IF/Meditation.

• Disc PvP- 57/14/0
  Speccing for disc PvP forces you to make a number of tough choices.  Cornerstones in the discipline tree are: Penance, PW:S improving talents, Divine Aegis, Rapture, and Focused Will.  Points in the holy tree can be tailored to how much emphasis you want to put on having dispel-buffers up (Inspiration, Blessed of Recovery). You certainly can go deeper in disc if desired.

• Shadow PvP – 20/0/51
  Shadow priests will be making a PVP comeback in WotLK due to their new talents increasing their survivability and mobility (Veiled Shadows, Imp. Shadowform, Dispersion).  The points in discipline provide a solid grounding for the class: shotening stun/silence length, reducing mana cost of dispelling, allowing for a fast mana burn, and giving dispel protection.

New Factions

There are a number of factions new to Northrend.  WotLK also introduces the concept of “Championing.”  Being a Champion of a faction means you are able to gain reputation with that given faction when you do instances while wearing their tabards (tabards are available for purchase form their quartermasters at friendly reputation).

Rep gains while Championing are as follows:

• Normal mob – 5 rep
• Miniboss – 10 rep
• Boss – 30 rep

There are five major factions new to WotLK (that all allow championing).  Those are:

• Argent Crusade
  • Revered: Wand of Purifying Touch
  • Exalted: Signet of Hopeful Light

• Kirin Tor
  • Honored: Shroud of Dedicated Research
  • Revered: Head enchant – Arcanum of Burning Mysteries (30 spellpower, 20 crit)
  • Revered: Flameheart Spell Scalpel
  • Exalted: Robes of Crackling Flame

• Knights of the Ebon Blade
  • Honored: Dark Soldier Cape
  • Revered: Sterile Flesh-Handling Gloves
  • Exalted: Belt of Dark Mending

• The Sons of Hodir
  • Honored: Lesser Inscription of the Crag (shoulder enchant)
  • Honored: Lesser Inscription of the Storm (shoulder enchant)
  • Exalted: Greater Inscription of the Crag (shoulder enchant)
  • Exalted: Greater Inscription of the Storm (shoulder enchant)

• The Wyrmrest Accord
  • Honored: Sash of the Wizened Worm
  • Revered: Ancestral Sinew Wristguards
  • Revered: Arcanum of Blissful Mending (head enchant)
  • Revered: Gavel of the Brewing Storm
  • Exalted: Sandals of Crimson Fury

the factions also give profession patterns. Be sure to check your profession against their offerings to ensure you do not miss anything.

There are 20 different rare mobs in the Outlands that could be killed for the “Medium Rare” achievement:

• Netherstorm:
  • Chief Engineer Lorthander - level 69
  • Ever-Core the Punisher – level 68
  • Nuramoc – level 70

• Blade’s Edge:
  • Hemathion – level 68
  • Morcrush – level 68
  • Speaker Mar’grom – level 68

• Hellfire Peninsula:
  • Fulgorge – level 62
  • Mekthorg the Wild – level 61
  • Vorakem Doomspeaker – level 62

• Zangarmarsh:
  • Manticar – level 63
  • Bog Lurker – level 63
  • Coilfang Emissary – level 63

• Nagrand:
  • Voidhunter Yar - level 68
  • Goretooth – level 65

• Terrokar:
  • Doomsayer Jurim – level 64
  • Orkek – level 64
  • Crippler – level 65

• Shadowmoon Valley:
  • Ambassador Jerrikar – level 69
  • Collidus the Warp-Watcher – level 68
  • Kraator – level 68

Many of these mobs used to be elites only be killable by a group.  In patch 2.4, Outlands rare mobs’ hitpoints were reduced and elite status removed.  They are now all soloable.

Rare mobs in the Outlands have multiple spawn points, and will path over a fairly large distance.  This makes them very difficult to track down.

Here are the collected spawn locations of the mobs on one map:

What I had taken to doing (from a suggestion I read on the forums) is to make a macro that I can spam while flying a rough path over these dotted areas.  It will target any rare if there is one nearby.  I’ve been using the macro in conjunction with an addon called “RareFinder.”  RareFinder alerts you in your chat pane and combat text when there is a rare mob nearby.

/tar Ambassador J
/tar Bog Lurk
/tar Chief Engineer L
/tar Coilfang Em
/tar Collid
/tar Crip
/tar Doomsa
/tar Ever-C
/tar Fulgor
/tar Goretoo
/tar Hema
/tar Kraat
/tar Mekt
/tar Martic
/tar Morcr
/tar Nura
/tar Okrek
/tar Speaker
/tar Vorak
/tar Voidhunt

The names of the mobs had to be abbreviated so that it would all fit under the 255 character limit on macros.

There is a follow-up achievement to “Medium Rare” called “Bloody Rare.”  It involves killing ALL the mobs on the list.  At this point, I think I’d be lucky to just find one!

I really wish the rare kills for achievements carried over and included Azerothian mobs, too (perhaps as its own achievement).