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[Feral Bear] Pre-Raid Gear Guide

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Jan
03

Introduction
After recently coming back to the game after nearly a years break, I struggled finding gear for my Druid Tank. My aim here is to draw from my ‘eventful’ experiance and hopefully make it easier for you to reach Mid to End Game Raids. Currently my Druid has a gearscore of 2571, based on Wow-Heroes, which puts him in range of ICC10. To start this guide off, I will assume that you have recently hit 80, and therefore split it into 4 parts:

I should note here that there are 3 possible gems you could use for sockets;

To Come:
Possible Raid Upgrades.


Table Of Contents



Basic Heroic Gear


Aim to have iLevel 187 gear to start tanking Heroics, you could always go as DPS rather than tank, but this takes a bit longer to get groups. Alot of this gear can be crafted by leatherworkers, which is explained in the last section of this guide, including a couple of great epics that you wont really need to replace for a while.


Head

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Neck

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Shoulder

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Back

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Chest

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Wrist

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Hands

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Waist

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Legs

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Feet

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Rings
Don’t worry too much about these, as they will get replaced pretty fast.

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Trinkets
Like the rings, don’t worry too much about these, not a massive leap in stats just yet.

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Weapon

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Idol

Again, don’t worry about this as we will be aiming for a better one soon enough.
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Raid Ready Gear


This is a fairly simple task, farm, farm, farm heroics for Emblems of Triumph, and make sure you do the daily Random Heroic and Weekly Raids for the Emblems of Frost.

Theres only a few Drops that we actually need from dungeons;

The rest will be aimed at full T9 – Rank 1 (iLevel 232) here which will set you back 210 Emblems of Triumph

*I should note here that for an extra 20 Emblems of Triumph, you can pick up TWO iLevel 245 items from the Triumph Vendor in Dalaran:

Both of these Items have a Horde equivalent.

For our rings, we are going to get iLevel 245 by spending another 70 Emblems of Triumph.

We also need 25 Emblems of Valor for our Idol: Idol of Mutilation These can be gained by exchanging your Emblems at the money trader near the Sewer Inn in Dalaran.

Now we can Tank in practically all the Raids. This is the exact gear I currently have on my Druid, Shiggsy.

I’ll point out here, that if you have all the top gear I’ve outlined in this guide you should be 2 items away from the EPIC achievement. Back and Trinket. You can upgrade your back to Platinum Mesh Cloak for 25 Emblems of Valor. (I’ll be purchasing this in the next couple of days)

So, what am I planning on using Emblems of Frost for? Well, the first 60 I collect (at time of writing currently have 53) will be used to replace The Black Heart with Corroded Skeleton Key

You could also save up another 50 Emblems of Frost and purchase Sentinel’s Winter Cloak.
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Crafted Gear


Eviscerator Set [8] – iLevel 187
This first set I used as my starting point to start tanking Heroics, each pattern costs 3 Heavy Borean Leather [24 for all 8 patterns] to buy from the Fur Trader in Dalaran, located just outside the Leatherworking Shop, with Leatherworking skill of 425. Luckily my Leatherworker had them all already. The set contains the following items:

Total Cost – Heavy Borean Leather x84, Eternal Air x8

Raid Ready Gear – iLevel 200+
The following items will take you right up until your ready to raid, with the Trollwoven Girdle being the first to replace, the final item is an ultimate Crafted item which I brought on my Server (Emerald Dream – Alliance) for about 2200g. Both Factions have their own version with identical stats and materials required, and with an iLevel at 245 you won’t find any better for a while.

  • Trollwoven GirdleHeavy Borean Leather x10, Eternal Fire x5, Eternal Shadow x5, Frozen Orb x1
  • Trollwoven SpauldersHeavy Borean Leather x10, Eternal Fire x6, Eternal Shadow x6, Frozen Orb x1
  • Durable Nerubhide CapeArctic Fur x2, Nerubian Chitin x40, Frozen Orb x1
  • Polar BootsHeavy Borean Leather x8, Eternal Fire x2, Eternal Water x2, Nerubian Chitin x4, Frozen Orb x1
  • Polar VestHeavy Borean Leather x10, Eternal Fire x3, Eternal Water x3, Nerubian Chitin x8, Frozen Orb x1
  • Titanium Earthguard RingTitanium Bar x2, Dragons Eye x4, Eternal Earth x4, Eternal Life x4, Frozen Orb x1
  • Bracers of Swift DeathHeavy Borean Leather x20, Eternal Shadow x12, Arctic Fur x6, Crusader Orb x4

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Enchants / Enhancemets


Now you have all your gear, you can think about making it even better with Enchants / Enhancements.
The following list is what I have on my Druid, and in my opinion is a good combination.

  • Head: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector – Argent Crusade – Revered
  • Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Gladiator – 10,000 Honor*NOTE – If like me your not a fan of PVP, you can turn in 150x Stonekeeper Shards to buy 5x Wintergrasp Commendation at the vendor in Wintergrasp. These are even tradeable between your characters, which is great if you don’t have that many Stonekeeper Shards on one character.
  • Chest: Powerful StatsDream Shard x4, Abyss Crystal x4
  • Waist: Eternal Belt BuckleBlacksmith: Saronite Bar x4, Eternal Earth x1, Eternal Water x1, Eternal Shadow x1
  • Legs: Frosthide Leg ArmorLeatherworking: Arctic Fur x2, Nerubian Chitin x2, Frozen Orb x1
  • Feet: Superior AgilityInfinite Dust x16, Greater Cosmic Essence x4
  • Wrist: Major StaminaGreater Cosmic Essence x4, Abyss Crystal x1
  • Hands: Major AgilityGreater Cosmic Essence x4, Dream Shard x1
  • Back: Major AgilityGreater Cosmic Essence x2, Infinite Dust x8, Dream Shard x2
  • Weapon: (2H) Major AgilityGreater Planar Essence x6, Large Prismatic Shard x8, Arcane Dust x20If your Druid is an Enchanter, you will also be able to do your Rings:
  • Rings: StaminaGreater Cosmic Essence x1, Infinite Dust x8 x2

Your shopping list for these Enchants / Enhancements will look something like this:

  • Arctic Fur x2
  • Nerubian Chitin x2
  • Frozen Orb x1
  • Saronite Bar x4
  • Eternal Earth x1
  • Eternal Water x1
  • Eternal Shadow x1
  • Abyss Crystal x5
  • Dream Shard x7
  • Greater Cosmic Essence x14
  • Infinite Dust x24
  • Large Prismatic Shard x8
  • Greater Planar Essence x6
  • Arcane Dust x20If you will be doing your Rings, then you will also need:
  • Greater Cosmic Essence x2
  • Infinite Dust x16

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Hopefully this guide will have helped find gear for tanking, and how to improve the gear with Enchants / Enhancements. You will probably find most upgrades for this gear in Trial of the Crusader 25. Happy Hunting!

*NOTE If your Alliance on the Emerald Dream Server, my Druid ‘Shiggsy’ can do all the above Enchantments, my hunter can even make you the Leg Armor just bring the mats 🙂

 

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    Jan 31, 2011 @ 14:55 pm

    UpdateIt’s been a while since I was last on here, as  I havn’t been playing WoW lately (Sister took over my account for a while), however, just getting back into it, and will be updating / rewritting at some point.

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    Oct 20, 2010 @ 11:27 am

    Needs an updateThis guide could use an update, but it’s still useful as-is so it will be left up. If anyone would like to adopt this guide, please leave a comment. This guide will be moved to the archive section when Cataclysm is released.

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    Apr 16, 2010 @ 13:13 pm

    Great GuideHey man, this is a solid guide and I hope to use it on my druid when he hits 80.

    If you still haven’t gotten the achievement Epic yet, you can substitute the Trinket 1 (in this case Ick’s Rotting Thumb) with Trinket 2 (Black heart) and get the achievement off of that.

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    Mar 9, 2010 @ 0:35 am

    Possibly, I’m not too surePossibly, I’m not too sure on the exact stat ratio’s, so I’m going to say it’s a matter of personal opinion until I see definitive evidence either way. Regardless, there’s only 1 needed so it shouldn’t matter too much which one you decide to use. 🙂

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    Misanthropos
    Feb 27, 2010 @ 0:59 am

    One little suggestionI am new to druid tanking but mate i believe your red gem suggestion is wrong. I believe its better to use [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40112]Delicate Cardinal Ruby[/url]

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    Jan 6, 2010 @ 21:34 pm

    No problem Interesting isNo problem 🙂 Interesting is my middle name.

    But you are right, raiding as a main tank, the Crying Moon Idol will take preference over Mutilation. Chances are you won’t be jumping straight to Main tanking in Raids, so that gives you a little bit of time to get it. I’m planning on having it after I get my new cloak, as I don’t raid much and definitely not as Main tank 🙂

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    Jan 6, 2010 @ 21:06 pm

    I definitely see where ourI definitely see where our differences on the idol come in now. I agree, for gearing up, off tanking, and heroics, swipe is good and Mutilation seems like the best choice.

    For raiding, as a main tank, and on bosses specifically, I think Idol of the Crying Moon would be superior. You are always going to want to have a 5 stack of Lacerate up on a raid boss, which means the idol should be proccing fairly regularly. Again, tank is not my main spec, this is just the impression I get from the main tank in my guild and from my simulator. But, based on gearing up, I understand why you are recommending Idol of Mutilation.

    Thanks for the interesting discussion! 🙂

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    Jan 4, 2010 @ 11:33 am

    ThanksThanks for your feedback, I may have a few things slightly different / wrong, but that’s due to it being based on my current gear, what I had before, and a couple of things I want from Frost (haven’t actually looked through all the new Frost gear yet, or completed any raids).

    I’ve just looked at [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=45509]Idol of the Corrupter[/url] and compared it with [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=47668]Idol of Mutilation[/url] and in my opinion Mutilation wins hands down, as Swipe is the main attack you will be using against multiple mobs, whereas Mangle is primarily based on a single mob. Therefore with Mutilation, the Buff should be kicking in a lot more often than with the Corrupter. Also, with [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=50456]Idol of the Crying Moon[/url] I feel the same rule applies, that it’s more of a single mob Idol and therefore won’t kick in as much unless you constantly use Lacerate. This may or may not suit your style of tanking, i know it doesn’t suit mine.

    Regarding the rings, you are totally correct, I can’t believe I missed that one. Looks like I need that Ring too 🙂 and I will update it soon. Also with [url=http://www.wowhead.com/?item=47735]Glyph of Indomitability[/url] I find it dependant on your gear and tanking style, I don’t like to use Cool Downs, and rarely even use the 3 my Talents give me, and as I’m already at 65% damage reduction from my Armour, more Armour isn’t a priority just yet.

    On a final note, this is aimed at being a guide to get you into raiding, so I didn’t want to speculate too much on what you should be aiming for gear wise once you get there. Even I’m not too sure about it as I don’t raid much.

    ~ Oh forgot to mention, I will be adding an Enchantment section onto this, I just wanted to get it out there as soon as possible 🙂

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    Jan 4, 2010 @ 3:02 am

    To addOne thing you might want to go over is what enchants and enhancements (leg armors, arcanums, etc) that a new tank should get.

    Also for gems, you might want to remind people that they do need one red gem to keep their meta active! I know its a simple thing but it’s something that might get overlooked in the rapid gearing up new tanks go through.

    Again, great job on the guide, don’t worry too much about all these little suggestions – just trying to make a good thing even better! 🙂

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    Jan 4, 2010 @ 0:57 am

    Good Guide!Hi Gmachine!

    This is a pretty good guide – simple, easy to read, and to the point. Since I just geared up my tanking spec for my druid, I was interested when I first saw this. However, I’m going to have to disagree with you on a few things.

    First off, I definitely think you should be going for the idol as your first purchase from frost badges, NOT the trinket. According to the simulator I use, RAWR, the Corroded Skeleton Key is actually WORSE than the Black Heart for my bear. It may be better for others, but I doubt it’s a huge upgrade compared to the idol. The idol, on the other hand, is about TWICE as good as the Idol of the Corruptor (which is, from what I understand, BETTER than the Idol of Mutilation you have recommended above). While I don’t necessarily trust myself on this, being somewhat new to bear tanking, my guild’s main tank is a bear and he definitely thinks the idol is a big upgrade, it’s his second purchase after the cloak (he was really needing a new cloak though).

    For rings, I definitely recommend the Dexterous Brightstone Ring above the Bloodshed Band. I picked it up originally because I also go cat spec often. However, RAWR is definitely recommending it higher for my bear spec. Again, I’m not sure on all this, and it’s based on my bear’s gear – could be different depending on your gear.

    Also I may have simply missed it, but you don’t mention the triumph trinket, Glyph of Indomitability, here that I see. It’s a great trinket adding another cooldown. While additional cooldown management may be harder than basic stat boosts for new tanks, it’s a great trinket that is easy to obtain and shouldn’t be overlooked.

    All that said, this is a great beginner’s guide to tank gearing and I’m excited to see it posted here 🙂 thanks for all your hard work!

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