Hit Rating and Expertise are important stats for Feral Druids to keep tabs on. Unfortunately, they can also be rather confusing. To help take some of the mystery out of these stats, I have put together a brief guide laying out everything you need to know about these stats and your performance as a Feral DPS or Feral tank. Read on after the bump to find the answers you have been looking for.
Showing posts with label Gear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gear. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Reforging for Feral Tanks in Cataclysm
Cataclysm introduced a new form of item customization called Reforging. Through Reforging, a player can take a certain percentage of an items secondary stats, such as Mastery, Haste, or Crit, and trade them for another. The system is still new, however, so many players are left confused as to which stats should be Reforged out of and into. For Feral Tanks, read on after the bump to find out how you should Reforge your gear to get the most our of every piece of equipment.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Druid Digest Mailbag: Archeology Digging and Gearscore Rigging
Happy holidays everyone! I get a lot of questions from readers via email and respond to every one. The other day, however, I was thinking that other readers might have the same questions and might just not have taken the time to ask. Towards that end, I have decided to start a new segment on the blog called the Druid Digest Mailbag.
Your questions will be the stars of these posts, so please submit any questions you might have to me at DruidPathis@gmail.com. Put "Druid Digest Mailbag" in the subject line and I will do my best to work your question into my next post. Check out our first group of reader submitted questions after the bump.
Your questions will be the stars of these posts, so please submit any questions you might have to me at DruidPathis@gmail.com. Put "Druid Digest Mailbag" in the subject line and I will do my best to work your question into my next post. Check out our first group of reader submitted questions after the bump.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Cataclysm Faction Rewards for Balance Druids
World of Warcraft Cataclysm introduced a number of new Factions that players can improve their standing with through questing and/or wearing special reputation tabards while running level 85 instances. The other day I presented a list of all the Cataclysm Faction Rewards for Feral Druids. Today I will be giving Balance Druids the same treatment. Find out what faction gear every Moonkin will want to get their hands on after the bump.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Cataclysm Druid Armor Set Bonuses
I am a big fan of armor set bonuses. They present Blizzard with the opportunity to gift new and interesting class mechanics upon dedicated raiders. When we review the List of Druid Set Bonuses, we see that the developers have frequently taken advantage of the chance to flex their creative muscles. The transformation of Enrage into a defensive cooldown in tier ten, the instant cast Starfires in tier eight, and critical Rejuvenation ticks in tier nine; each succeeded in changing the way a particular spec played.
The problem with tier bonuses, however, is that each new one must be bigger and better than the last. An inferior set bonus can easily turn a new raid set into a total dud. With Cataclysm on the horizon, Blizzard once again has the challenge of crafting a new set of mechanical goodies to accompany the expansion's first raid set.
Unfortunately, no word has yet been released on what Cataclysm's tier set bonuses will be. Nevertheless, what's to stop us from coming up with our own tier bonus ideas. Seeing as this is Druid Digest, I thought it might be fun to come up with some hypothetical Druid set bonuses for as of yet unreleased tier eleven. Check out my ideas after the bump and feel free to leave yours in the comments.
The problem with tier bonuses, however, is that each new one must be bigger and better than the last. An inferior set bonus can easily turn a new raid set into a total dud. With Cataclysm on the horizon, Blizzard once again has the challenge of crafting a new set of mechanical goodies to accompany the expansion's first raid set.
Unfortunately, no word has yet been released on what Cataclysm's tier set bonuses will be. Nevertheless, what's to stop us from coming up with our own tier bonus ideas. Seeing as this is Druid Digest, I thought it might be fun to come up with some hypothetical Druid set bonuses for as of yet unreleased tier eleven. Check out my ideas after the bump and feel free to leave yours in the comments.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Heirlooms Will Work in Cataclysm
Blue Poster Lylirra announced yesterday that the current heirloom items will continue to function in World of Warcraft Cataclysm. However, the equipment will provide extra experience only up to level 80. At that point, you will need to get your hand on Cataclysms new heirlooms which will likely be available through both the guild perks system and another system similar to what is in place now.
Obviously, this announcement is great news for players interested in leveling up a Worgen or Goblin when Cataclysm arrives as they will be able to do so up to 25% faster. I am curious to see how/if the new heirlooms will be superior to the old ones beyond the ability to provide experience all the way through level 85. How would you improve them? Let me know in the comments.
Obviously, this announcement is great news for players interested in leveling up a Worgen or Goblin when Cataclysm arrives as they will be able to do so up to 25% faster. I am curious to see how/if the new heirlooms will be superior to the old ones beyond the ability to provide experience all the way through level 85. How would you improve them? Let me know in the comments.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Guide to Gear Score
Love it or hate it, the concept of Gear Score has become a persistent part of life in Azeroth. It often plays a roll in determining what groups you can get into, what guilds you can apply to, and generally how other players perceive you and your character. Despite these facts, many players do not understand exactly what a "Gear Score" is, let alone how it works. Thankfully, I intend to clear that all up below.
What is Gear Score?
Generally speaking, a Gear Score is a numerical value assigned to a character based on the quality of the gear that player has equipped. There are many different programs and websites which can tell you your "Gear Score," but the number scale and value associated with each piece of gear can vary greatly from one source to the next. When referred to in game, however, players are generally referring to the number generated by the GearScore addon available on Curse Gaming and if someone in game asks you what your Gear Score is, they likely want to know what number the add on assigns to you.
What is My Gear Score?
There are two ways to find out your Gear Score. The first is to simply ask someone with the GearScore add on to tell you what it is in game. Generally a "Can someone whisper me my Gear Score" posted in Trade Chat will generate some quick responses. Keep in mind that the Gear Score you get from other players might be out of date as your number is only updated for other players when they actually encounter you in game.
The other, better way to learn your Gear Score is by installing the add on yourself. You can download the GearScore addon from Curse.com. You can then follow the install instructions listed under the "Install" tab to activate the add on. The next time you log into World of Warcraft, GearScore will be running and your Gear Score will be posted on your character page. Additionally, over time, you will start seeing the Gear Scores of other players whenever you mouse over them. Welcome to the future!
How is Gear Score Calculated?
GearScore looks at each and every item a player has equipped and assigns it a numerical value. The number is affected by both the items quality (Blue, Epic, etc.) and the stats on the item. Generally speaking, items with a higher Blizzard assigned "ilevel" will also have a higher Gear Score. The add on then adds the numbers for all a player's items together and viola: Gear Score.
How Can I Raise My Gear Score?
The simple answer is get better gear, but there are some tricks you can use to quickly or artificially inflate your Gear Score. First, go all Epics as soon as you can. Gearscore severely penalizes items that are not purple so even a single holdout blue item can drop your Gear Score by hundreds of points.
Second, get some PvP gear. One of GearScore's biggest weaknesses is that it does not differentiate between PvP and PvE gear. That means that even though your ilevel 232 PvE boots may be better for your performance, ilevel 252 PvP boots will net you a significantly higher Gear Score. Cashing in a handful of Honor Tokens is a fast easy way to boost your Gear Score, especially if you only have those pesky blue quest boots holding you back from full Epics.
Third, you can plan your upgrades around your Gear Score. The GearScore add on will not only show you players' composite Gear Scores, but will also show the Gear Score point value associated with each piece of armor in the game. Once you install the add on, you will be able to tell which pieces of equipment are holding your Gear Score back. By replacing these items first, your can push up your Gear Score as quickly as you can.
Lastly, as you can use PvP items to inflate your Gear Score, you can also use powerful items that are not particularly helpful for your character. Whether it is a high ilevel off-spec item or a random greed roll purple you picked up in a heroic, GearScore does not care if you need or want an item. GearScore only cares how powerful an item itself is. A melee swapping out his green Attack Power Trinket for an Epic Spellpower one can easily fool GearScore and get you in groups your "real" trinket might bar you from.
Isn't Gear Score Unfair?
Some would say it is, others would say it isn't. Really, the add on itself is just a tool that players can use in fair ways and unfair ways. Aside from the tricks above, GearScore is relatively successful at giving a raid leader a snapshot of the quality of a player's gear. However, as any good World of Warcraft player knows, gear is only part of the equation. There are plenty of heroes wandering Azeroth that have amazing gear, but little skill. Likewise, there are tons of green laden alts and noobs out there who know every raid encounter and their class like the back of their hands.
With some discretion, a reasonable Gear Score requirement for a particular raid or guild is not a bad thing in and of itself. It is when the requirements become unreasonable or all discretion goes out the window that the GearScore add on starts to get a bad rap. Fair or unfair though, Gear Score is something that will affect how you play World of Warcraft, so it is best to understand it.
What is Gear Score?
Generally speaking, a Gear Score is a numerical value assigned to a character based on the quality of the gear that player has equipped. There are many different programs and websites which can tell you your "Gear Score," but the number scale and value associated with each piece of gear can vary greatly from one source to the next. When referred to in game, however, players are generally referring to the number generated by the GearScore addon available on Curse Gaming and if someone in game asks you what your Gear Score is, they likely want to know what number the add on assigns to you.
What is My Gear Score?
There are two ways to find out your Gear Score. The first is to simply ask someone with the GearScore add on to tell you what it is in game. Generally a "Can someone whisper me my Gear Score" posted in Trade Chat will generate some quick responses. Keep in mind that the Gear Score you get from other players might be out of date as your number is only updated for other players when they actually encounter you in game.
The other, better way to learn your Gear Score is by installing the add on yourself. You can download the GearScore addon from Curse.com. You can then follow the install instructions listed under the "Install" tab to activate the add on. The next time you log into World of Warcraft, GearScore will be running and your Gear Score will be posted on your character page. Additionally, over time, you will start seeing the Gear Scores of other players whenever you mouse over them. Welcome to the future!
How is Gear Score Calculated?
GearScore looks at each and every item a player has equipped and assigns it a numerical value. The number is affected by both the items quality (Blue, Epic, etc.) and the stats on the item. Generally speaking, items with a higher Blizzard assigned "ilevel" will also have a higher Gear Score. The add on then adds the numbers for all a player's items together and viola: Gear Score.
How Can I Raise My Gear Score?
The simple answer is get better gear, but there are some tricks you can use to quickly or artificially inflate your Gear Score. First, go all Epics as soon as you can. Gearscore severely penalizes items that are not purple so even a single holdout blue item can drop your Gear Score by hundreds of points.
Second, get some PvP gear. One of GearScore's biggest weaknesses is that it does not differentiate between PvP and PvE gear. That means that even though your ilevel 232 PvE boots may be better for your performance, ilevel 252 PvP boots will net you a significantly higher Gear Score. Cashing in a handful of Honor Tokens is a fast easy way to boost your Gear Score, especially if you only have those pesky blue quest boots holding you back from full Epics.
Third, you can plan your upgrades around your Gear Score. The GearScore add on will not only show you players' composite Gear Scores, but will also show the Gear Score point value associated with each piece of armor in the game. Once you install the add on, you will be able to tell which pieces of equipment are holding your Gear Score back. By replacing these items first, your can push up your Gear Score as quickly as you can.
Lastly, as you can use PvP items to inflate your Gear Score, you can also use powerful items that are not particularly helpful for your character. Whether it is a high ilevel off-spec item or a random greed roll purple you picked up in a heroic, GearScore does not care if you need or want an item. GearScore only cares how powerful an item itself is. A melee swapping out his green Attack Power Trinket for an Epic Spellpower one can easily fool GearScore and get you in groups your "real" trinket might bar you from.
Isn't Gear Score Unfair?
Some would say it is, others would say it isn't. Really, the add on itself is just a tool that players can use in fair ways and unfair ways. Aside from the tricks above, GearScore is relatively successful at giving a raid leader a snapshot of the quality of a player's gear. However, as any good World of Warcraft player knows, gear is only part of the equation. There are plenty of heroes wandering Azeroth that have amazing gear, but little skill. Likewise, there are tons of green laden alts and noobs out there who know every raid encounter and their class like the back of their hands.
With some discretion, a reasonable Gear Score requirement for a particular raid or guild is not a bad thing in and of itself. It is when the requirements become unreasonable or all discretion goes out the window that the GearScore add on starts to get a bad rap. Fair or unfair though, Gear Score is something that will affect how you play World of Warcraft, so it is best to understand it.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Expertise for Feral Tanks
Recently, I have begun to wonder if Blizzard forgot entirely about Bear Tank itemization when crafting the gear made available in Patch 3.3. Sure, there is tons of Stamina and Agility to be had, but the striking absence of two pivotal Druid tanking stats on a vast majority of our class specific gear is incredibly disheartening. Those stats are Hit and Expertise. To answer your Feral Hit Rating Questions, check out our Guide to Feral Hit Rating Gear and our Bear Form and Hit Rating guide. Below I will explore the Expertise side of the Bear threat equation and explain why Blizzard has created a problem for Bear tanks tackling ICC.
What is the Bear Form Expertise Cap?
The soft cap for Bear Form Expertise is 26 Expertise or 132 Expertise Rating (the stat which appears on your gear). This level of Expertise will completely eliminate dodges from your enemies' defense tables. To eliminate parry from your enemies table you would need 443 Expertise, but I don't need to tell you how impractical and unnecessary that would be. Just shoot for 132 Expertise Rating and consider anything over that a less significant bonus.
Why is Expertise Important for Bears?
There is a common misconception amongst all tanks that Hit and Expertise are exclusively dps stats. The truth is, they are also vital threat stats because an attack which misses or is avoided generates zero threat. A lack of Hit or Expertise leaves your dps one unlucky string of failed attacks away from getting splattered by the target you were supposed to hold and all the Stamina and Avoidance in the world won't save you from their anger at the coming wipe.
Aside from the short term consequences of occasionally generating zero aggro, a lack of expertise severely harms your threat generated per second. Point for point, until you reach 132 Expertise Rating, Expertise gives you more threat per point than any other stat. You heard right, ANY OTHER STAT. That includes our precious Agility, Crit, Attack Power, Haste, and even Hit. Until you reach the hard cap of 132, Expertise nets nearly double the threat, point for point, of any other ability. If I have not convinced you by now that the stat is important, I do not think I will be able to.
Where Can Bears Find Expertise?
There are currently only three gear slots where Bears can find endgame leather with Expertise on it. Those slots are chest, feet, and legs. To reach your 132 target, you will need to equip an Expertise item in at least two out of the three. Unfortunately, you only have one random drop possibility (and it is BoE), so to get the Expertise you need you will need to part with either a significant number of badges or a significant amount of gold. Here are your options:
Chest:
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE drop off Gunship in ICC 25)
Shadow Seeker's Tunic (95 Emblems of Frost)
Legs:
Lasherweave Legguards (95 Emblems of Frost)
Feet:
Footpads of Impending Death (Crafted BoE)
There are also a handful of rings and necks which provide Expertise, but they do not pair that Expertise with any other tanking oriented stats. Lastly, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Battered Hilt, the Lightborn Spire could help solve your Expertise woes.
Good luck in your hunt for this ever elusive stat. Hopefully, Blizzard will make things easier for us in the future.
What is the Bear Form Expertise Cap?
The soft cap for Bear Form Expertise is 26 Expertise or 132 Expertise Rating (the stat which appears on your gear). This level of Expertise will completely eliminate dodges from your enemies' defense tables. To eliminate parry from your enemies table you would need 443 Expertise, but I don't need to tell you how impractical and unnecessary that would be. Just shoot for 132 Expertise Rating and consider anything over that a less significant bonus.
Why is Expertise Important for Bears?
There is a common misconception amongst all tanks that Hit and Expertise are exclusively dps stats. The truth is, they are also vital threat stats because an attack which misses or is avoided generates zero threat. A lack of Hit or Expertise leaves your dps one unlucky string of failed attacks away from getting splattered by the target you were supposed to hold and all the Stamina and Avoidance in the world won't save you from their anger at the coming wipe.
Aside from the short term consequences of occasionally generating zero aggro, a lack of expertise severely harms your threat generated per second. Point for point, until you reach 132 Expertise Rating, Expertise gives you more threat per point than any other stat. You heard right, ANY OTHER STAT. That includes our precious Agility, Crit, Attack Power, Haste, and even Hit. Until you reach the hard cap of 132, Expertise nets nearly double the threat, point for point, of any other ability. If I have not convinced you by now that the stat is important, I do not think I will be able to.
Where Can Bears Find Expertise?
There are currently only three gear slots where Bears can find endgame leather with Expertise on it. Those slots are chest, feet, and legs. To reach your 132 target, you will need to equip an Expertise item in at least two out of the three. Unfortunately, you only have one random drop possibility (and it is BoE), so to get the Expertise you need you will need to part with either a significant number of badges or a significant amount of gold. Here are your options:
Chest:
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE drop off Gunship in ICC 25)
Shadow Seeker's Tunic (95 Emblems of Frost)
Legs:
Lasherweave Legguards (95 Emblems of Frost)
Feet:
Footpads of Impending Death (Crafted BoE)
There are also a handful of rings and necks which provide Expertise, but they do not pair that Expertise with any other tanking oriented stats. Lastly, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Battered Hilt, the Lightborn Spire could help solve your Expertise woes.
Good luck in your hunt for this ever elusive stat. Hopefully, Blizzard will make things easier for us in the future.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Guide to Feral Druid Hit Rating Gear
On the heals of my comprehensive hit rating analysis and advice in Bear Form and Hit Rating it is now time to review some of the gear that is available to pull you out of your Feral hit rating slump. Below is a slot by slot breakdown of some of the best Feral hit rating gear currently available. For information on the Feral Hit cap and ways to work around it, check out Bear Form and Hit Rating.
Head
Mask of Lethal Intent/Hood of Lethal Intent - 75 Emblems of Triumph
Geistlord's Punishment Sack - Blood Princes (ICC 25)
Shoulders
Spaulders of Black Betrayal - Falric (H Halls of Reflection)
Shoulderpads of the Intruder - Assembly of Iron (Ulduar 25)
Back
Tank:
Platinum Mesh Cloak - 25 Emblems of Valor
Cloak of the Makers - Auriaya (Ulduar 25)
Titanskin Cloak - Mimiron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Royal Crimson Cloak - Blood Princes (ICC 25)
DPS:
Drape of the Lithe - Iron Council (Ulduar 25)
Accursed Crawling Cape - Devourer of Souls (H Forge of Souls)
Shawl of Nerubian Silk - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 10)
Might/Strength of the Nerub - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Drape of Icy Intent - Hordir (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Chest
Choking Hauberk - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Knightbane Carapace - Crafted Leatherworking
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE) - Gunship Battle (ICC 25) and in Sack of Frosty Treasures
Wrists
Chewed Leather Wristguards - Ick (H Pit of Saron)
Bracers/Armbands of Dark Determination - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Hands
Malfurion's/Runetotem's Handguards of Triumph - 25 Emblems of Triumph
Legs
Malfurion's/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Legwraps/Leggings of the Broken Beast - Northrend Beasts (ToC 25)
Gangrenous Leggings - Festergut (ICC 25)
Boots
Acidmaw Boots/Treads - Northrend Beasts (ToC 10)
Treads of the Icewalker/Icewalker Treads - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Rings
Tank:
Abomination's Bloody Ring - Gunship Battle (ICC 10)
Ashen Band of Courage - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Harbringer's Bone Band (BoE) - ICC Random Drop
DPS:
Planestalker Band/Planestalker Signet - Lord Jaraxxus (ToC 10)
Ashen Band of Vengeance - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Band of the Bone Colossus - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 25)
Trinkets
Mark of Supremecy - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Battlemaster's Precision - 34,100 Honor Points
Tiny Abomination in a Jar - Professor Putricide (ICC 25)
Weapons
Orca-Hunter's Harpoon - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Tortured Earth - General Vezax (Ulduar 10 Hard Mode)
Twisted Visage - XT-002 Deconstructor (Ulduar 25)
Dark Edge of Depravity - Yogg-Saron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Hersir's Greatspear - Blood Princes (ICC 10)
Shaft of Glacial Ice - Rotface (ICC 10)
Cryptmaker - Blood Princes (ICC 25)
Head
Mask of Lethal Intent/Hood of Lethal Intent - 75 Emblems of Triumph
Geistlord's Punishment Sack - Blood Princes (ICC 25)
Shoulders
Spaulders of Black Betrayal - Falric (H Halls of Reflection)
Shoulderpads of the Intruder - Assembly of Iron (Ulduar 25)
Back
Tank:
Platinum Mesh Cloak - 25 Emblems of Valor
Cloak of the Makers - Auriaya (Ulduar 25)
Titanskin Cloak - Mimiron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Royal Crimson Cloak - Blood Princes (ICC 25)
DPS:
Drape of the Lithe - Iron Council (Ulduar 25)
Accursed Crawling Cape - Devourer of Souls (H Forge of Souls)
Shawl of Nerubian Silk - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 10)
Might/Strength of the Nerub - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Drape of Icy Intent - Hordir (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Chest
Choking Hauberk - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Knightbane Carapace - Crafted Leatherworking
Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder (BoE) - Gunship Battle (ICC 25) and in Sack of Frosty Treasures
Wrists
Chewed Leather Wristguards - Ick (H Pit of Saron)
Bracers/Armbands of Dark Determination - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Hands
Malfurion's/Runetotem's Handguards of Triumph - 25 Emblems of Triumph
Legs
Malfurion's/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Legwraps/Leggings of the Broken Beast - Northrend Beasts (ToC 25)
Gangrenous Leggings - Festergut (ICC 25)
Boots
Acidmaw Boots/Treads - Northrend Beasts (ToC 10)
Treads of the Icewalker/Icewalker Treads - Anub'Arak (ToC 25)
Rings
Tank:
Abomination's Bloody Ring - Gunship Battle (ICC 10)
Ashen Band of Courage - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Harbringer's Bone Band (BoE) - ICC Random Drop
DPS:
Planestalker Band/Planestalker Signet - Lord Jaraxxus (ToC 10)
Ashen Band of Vengeance - Ashen Verdict Friendly Reputation Reward
Band of the Bone Colossus - Lord Marrowgar (ICC 25)
Trinkets
Mark of Supremecy - 50 Emblems of Triumph
Battlemaster's Precision - 34,100 Honor Points
Tiny Abomination in a Jar - Professor Putricide (ICC 25)
Weapons
Orca-Hunter's Harpoon - Marwyn (H Halls of Reflection)
Tortured Earth - General Vezax (Ulduar 10 Hard Mode)
Twisted Visage - XT-002 Deconstructor (Ulduar 25)
Dark Edge of Depravity - Yogg-Saron (Ulduar 25 Hard Mode)
Hersir's Greatspear - Blood Princes (ICC 10)
Shaft of Glacial Ice - Rotface (ICC 10)
Cryptmaker - Blood Princes (ICC 25)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Bear Form and Hit Rating
For all but World of Warcraft's healers, Hit Rating is a necessary evil. Bear Form tanking Druids are no exception. Below I will attempt to answer some of the common questions about Bear Form and Hit Rating as well as provide tips on how Druid tanks should deal with the stat.
What is the Bear Form Hit Cap?
For all classes, the "hit cap" is the amount of hit rating a particular character needs to never have an attack miss an endgame raid boss. This number is important to know not only because it gives you a target to reach to avoid losing threat because of misses, but also because picking up any hit rating beyond the cap is a complete waste.
For a Bear Form Druid, the Hit Cap is 263. Once you have reached 263 you should no longer see "Miss" pop up when you are attacking your enemies. To maximize your threat, you should try to clear this number. Also, keep in mind that if your hit rating is well above 263, you are not seeing an appreciable return on that stat and should see if you can change your gear around to bring your rating down to as close to 263 as possible.
What about Growl's Chance to Hit?
Growl is the exception to the Bear Form 263 Hit Cap. Currently, World of Warcraft characterizes Growl as a Spell rather than a physical ability like all of the other Bear Form powers. Where a physical attack only has an 8% chance to miss a raid boss, a spell has a 17% chance to miss. To remove the chance for a spell to miss requires a hit rating of 446. Removing Growl's chance to miss through hit rating would then require you to build an extra 183 hit into your gear. I am sure that I don't even need to tell you how impractical that is.
Spell hit rating is also calculated slightly differently than physical hit rating. I will not bore you with the numbers, but it works out to where 263 hit rating will leave your Growl with a 7% chance of missing. With regard to Growl, a Bear Form tank then has two options. First, they can simply tolerate the fact that Growl will miss 7% of the time (or slightly less if you are over the hit cap). Second, there is Glyph of Growl which, if you are at the 263 cap, will more than eliminate the chances that Growl will miss.
Does a Druid Bear Form Tank Need to Be Hit Capped?
The short answer is no. A Bear Form Druid can still be a capable tank while below the hit cap. However, a Druid tank needs to keep in mind that every miss generates zero threat and, depending on how far under the hit cap you are, misses can severely compromise your ability to maintain aggro.
Most Druid tanks make an effort to reach the hit cap. It increases your dps, helps your threat generation, and generally improves the quality of your tanking. So although you do not need to have 263 hit rating, you should if at all possible.
What if I have a Draenei in My Party?
The Draenei racial ability Heroic Presence generates a party wide buff that increases physical and spell hit chance by 1%. For Bear tanking purposes, this buff equates to 32.79 static hit rating. If you can always count on having a Draenei in your party, a bear tank would then theoretically need only 231 hit rating to be capped rather than 263. Keep in mind, however, the Draenei must be in your particular party, not just in the same raid.
What if I am Under the Hit Cap?
Obviously, the first line of defense for avoiding hit rating issues involves gear selection. Unfortunately, however, sometimes your ideal armor configuration will leave you a bit light on hit rating. Thankfully, there are several options for upping your hit chance beyond getting new gear.
The first option is through buff food. You can pick up 40 hit and 40 stamina by eating Worg Tartar or Snapper Extreme. If you take this route, keep in mind that you will be sacrificing the 40 agility you could have gotten from Blackened Dragonfin.
Your second option is to use an elixir, namely Elixir of Accuracy. This will give you 45 hit rating and you can pair it with either an Elixir of Mighty Defense or an Elixir of Mighty Fortitude to get full bang for your consumable buck. The sacrifice here is either the 1300 health you would otherwise get from a Flask of Stone Blood, or the 45 Agility from an Elixir of Mighty Agility should you usually choose to go the elixir route.
Your third option is to gem for hit. Rigid King's Amber grants 20 hit rating. If you choose this path, you would be missing out on the 30 stamina from a Solid Majestic Zircon or the 20 agility from a Delicate Cardinal Ruby. Again, the sacrifice is a point for point loss of agility. However, if you gem for hit, you might be able to counter some of that agility loss by picking up otherwise ignored gem color bonuses. Unfortunately, there is also the added cost of swapping in and out these expensive gems as your gear based hit rating fluctuates over time.
There are also a couple of item enhancements which can boost your hit. Enchant Gloves - Precision will boost your hit rating by 20, but you will miss out on the 20 agility from Enchant Gloves - Major Agility. You could also go with Enchant Boots - Icewalker for 12 hit rating and 12 crit, but at the cost of 16 agility from Enchant Boots - Superior Agility.
When considering these options, keep in mind that you do not need to push things too far. Obviously, clearing 263 should be your goal, but do not sacrifice your health, avoidance, or mitigation too much to get there. It is a delicate balancing act and you will need to figure out how far you want to push your hit.
What Bear Gear is there with Hit On It?
Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait for the answer to this one! Check back for my Guide to Feral Druid Hit Rating Gear which is coming soon.
What is the Bear Form Hit Cap?
For all classes, the "hit cap" is the amount of hit rating a particular character needs to never have an attack miss an endgame raid boss. This number is important to know not only because it gives you a target to reach to avoid losing threat because of misses, but also because picking up any hit rating beyond the cap is a complete waste.
For a Bear Form Druid, the Hit Cap is 263. Once you have reached 263 you should no longer see "Miss" pop up when you are attacking your enemies. To maximize your threat, you should try to clear this number. Also, keep in mind that if your hit rating is well above 263, you are not seeing an appreciable return on that stat and should see if you can change your gear around to bring your rating down to as close to 263 as possible.
What about Growl's Chance to Hit?
Growl is the exception to the Bear Form 263 Hit Cap. Currently, World of Warcraft characterizes Growl as a Spell rather than a physical ability like all of the other Bear Form powers. Where a physical attack only has an 8% chance to miss a raid boss, a spell has a 17% chance to miss. To remove the chance for a spell to miss requires a hit rating of 446. Removing Growl's chance to miss through hit rating would then require you to build an extra 183 hit into your gear. I am sure that I don't even need to tell you how impractical that is.
Spell hit rating is also calculated slightly differently than physical hit rating. I will not bore you with the numbers, but it works out to where 263 hit rating will leave your Growl with a 7% chance of missing. With regard to Growl, a Bear Form tank then has two options. First, they can simply tolerate the fact that Growl will miss 7% of the time (or slightly less if you are over the hit cap). Second, there is Glyph of Growl which, if you are at the 263 cap, will more than eliminate the chances that Growl will miss.
Does a Druid Bear Form Tank Need to Be Hit Capped?
The short answer is no. A Bear Form Druid can still be a capable tank while below the hit cap. However, a Druid tank needs to keep in mind that every miss generates zero threat and, depending on how far under the hit cap you are, misses can severely compromise your ability to maintain aggro.
Most Druid tanks make an effort to reach the hit cap. It increases your dps, helps your threat generation, and generally improves the quality of your tanking. So although you do not need to have 263 hit rating, you should if at all possible.
What if I have a Draenei in My Party?
The Draenei racial ability Heroic Presence generates a party wide buff that increases physical and spell hit chance by 1%. For Bear tanking purposes, this buff equates to 32.79 static hit rating. If you can always count on having a Draenei in your party, a bear tank would then theoretically need only 231 hit rating to be capped rather than 263. Keep in mind, however, the Draenei must be in your particular party, not just in the same raid.
What if I am Under the Hit Cap?
Obviously, the first line of defense for avoiding hit rating issues involves gear selection. Unfortunately, however, sometimes your ideal armor configuration will leave you a bit light on hit rating. Thankfully, there are several options for upping your hit chance beyond getting new gear.
The first option is through buff food. You can pick up 40 hit and 40 stamina by eating Worg Tartar or Snapper Extreme. If you take this route, keep in mind that you will be sacrificing the 40 agility you could have gotten from Blackened Dragonfin.
Your second option is to use an elixir, namely Elixir of Accuracy. This will give you 45 hit rating and you can pair it with either an Elixir of Mighty Defense or an Elixir of Mighty Fortitude to get full bang for your consumable buck. The sacrifice here is either the 1300 health you would otherwise get from a Flask of Stone Blood, or the 45 Agility from an Elixir of Mighty Agility should you usually choose to go the elixir route.
Your third option is to gem for hit. Rigid King's Amber grants 20 hit rating. If you choose this path, you would be missing out on the 30 stamina from a Solid Majestic Zircon or the 20 agility from a Delicate Cardinal Ruby. Again, the sacrifice is a point for point loss of agility. However, if you gem for hit, you might be able to counter some of that agility loss by picking up otherwise ignored gem color bonuses. Unfortunately, there is also the added cost of swapping in and out these expensive gems as your gear based hit rating fluctuates over time.
There are also a couple of item enhancements which can boost your hit. Enchant Gloves - Precision will boost your hit rating by 20, but you will miss out on the 20 agility from Enchant Gloves - Major Agility. You could also go with Enchant Boots - Icewalker for 12 hit rating and 12 crit, but at the cost of 16 agility from Enchant Boots - Superior Agility.
When considering these options, keep in mind that you do not need to push things too far. Obviously, clearing 263 should be your goal, but do not sacrifice your health, avoidance, or mitigation too much to get there. It is a delicate balancing act and you will need to figure out how far you want to push your hit.
What Bear Gear is there with Hit On It?
Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait for the answer to this one! Check back for my Guide to Feral Druid Hit Rating Gear which is coming soon.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Things that Make You Go OOM
For Restoration Druids, mana management is rarely an issue. The combination of efficient spells and unparalleled mana regeneration means a Druid's blue bar is rarely an adversary. Occasionally, however, a Druid finds them self frequently running low on sweet, sweet heal juice and cannot figure out why. If that is you, below are some quick tips which should help get you back on the right track.
1. Talent for Regeneration
A lot of the Restoration Druid specs you can pull off the internet are designed for endgame raiding and assume top of the line gear. In cutting edge content and hard modes, making heals as large as possible tends to be priority one, so mana regeneration talents are often set aside for bigger heals. Many Druids make the mistake of forgoing the regeneration talents before they have the gear to back it up.
If you find yourself short on mana, make sure your spec has enough of these talents: Moonglow (Balance), Intensity, Omen of Clarity, Tranquil Spirit, Living Spirit, and Revitalize. Just remember, the biggest heals in the world will not do you any good if you do not have the mana to cast them.
The biggest gear mistake new Restoration Druids make is neglecting Spirit. Many casters favor Intellect over Spirit and with good reason. A well though out Restoration spec will convert your Spirit into both spell power and an almost unbelievable amount of mana regeneration. Though it is likely not necessary to seek out huge Spirit numbers, the stat should be present on nearly all your major gear pieces. If it is not, odds are you are using gear that is not itemized for healing and are wasting delicious item points.
3. Tweak Your Spell Choice
When a Restoration Druid runs out of mana, it is generally because they are not leaning on their heal over time spells hard enough. Rejuvenation is your bread and butter heal. It is also an exceptionally efficient spell when you can avoid losing ticks to over-healing. Do not Nourish or Swiftmend that dps when simply waiting for a handful of Rejuvenation ticks will do the job just as well.
There are also certain spells in your arsenal which will quickly drain your mana if overused. Regrowth is a great spell to keep up on your group's main tank. Its long HoT is a great "set it and forget it" healing option and the spells efficiency is not terrible if the entirety of the healing lands. You do not, however, want to be spamming Regrowth on your raid. The spell is simply too expensive for that. Use Rejuvenation and the occasional Nourish instead.
Lifebloom is another spell which has a place in tank healing, but should generally be limited to that. Lifebloom has lost a great deal of its efficiency since the days of Burning Crusade. Unfortunately, it is now simply too pricey a spell to splash around your raid. Pairing it up with an Omen of Clarity proc, however, can net you some free mana if you are really in the mood to micromanage. Even with tank healing, be sure you let the spell "bloom" and fall off after three stacks to avoid tons of wasted mana.
Lastly, do not forget to Innervate. Blizzard gave you the spell for a reason and unless you have no mana issues, you should not be using it to top off a nearby Hunter's mana supply. Use the spell the second your mana is low enough to benefit from its full effect and hopefully it will be back off cooldown before your bar empties a second time.
4. Check Your Glyphs
Glyph of Innervate is often overlooked, but can appreciably help your mana management. Not only does the glyph provide mana when you cast Innervate on others, but it also boosts the mana received when you cast it on yourself. Though this glyph will not entirely fix your mana issues, it will certainly help.
Also, if you are having mana issues, stay away from the Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation. The glyph makes your Rejuvenations tick faster due to haste and therefore do more healing in a shorter amount of time. However, this means you will need to cast Rejuvenation more frequently to keep it up on your targets. When you get to the point of trying to maximize your healing power, you can revisit this glyph, but while mana is an issue, you would be well advised to stay away.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Bear Form Threat Guide
For some time now, Feral Druid tanks have been a viable option for even the most challenging of World of Warcraft's encounters. When designing a new Bear tank, most players put a great deal of thought into survivability, tweaking gear, gems, glyphs, and enchants to generate huge health pools and a hearty dodge percentage. That is all well and good, but absorbing damage is only half of a good Druid tank's job. Aggro management, or holding your targets' attention, is the other piece of the tanking puzzle and is just as important.
For a fresh level eighty Feral Druid, maintaining threat can be a huge problem. In heroics and introductory raids, you will frequently find yourself fighting alongside veteran damage dealers. Aside from generating well over 3k dps with little effort, these players are likely accustomed to an AoE burn play-style that pays little attention to threat management. As a result, any Feral Tank who neglects threat maximization will quickly find them self surrounded by the corpses of soon to be former group members. To help you avoid this terrible fate, I have laid out some Bear Form threat tips below that should help your targets stick to you like glue.
1. Bear Form Rotation
Using the right abilities in the right order is key to maintaining threat.
For Single Targets:
Generally speaking, you should always open a pull with Feral Faerie Fire because it is ranged, super high threat, and free. If you cast this while closing on your target or Charging, your global cool down should be up by the time you reach it meaning you can immediately follow up with Mangle. Then, it is time to start stacking Lacerates up to five. To maximize your initial threat, interrupt your Lacerate stacking whenever Mangle or Feral Faerie Fire is available. Once you hit five stacks of Lacerate, use Swipe in its place making sure to Lacerate only enough to keep the debuff rolling at five stacks.
It is also important that you Maul on every single melee attack. Maul generates huge amounts of threat and a missed Maul can spell disaster for your party. Obviously you must make concessions if your rage is limited, but you will want to cut your post five stack Swipes rather than your Mauls. They are just that important.
In summary, for single target Bear threat:
Keep Maul up throughout, open with Feral Faerie Fire, Mangle, stack Lacerate to five interrupting to Mangle or Feral Faerie Fire whenever possible, and then Swipe whenever Faerie Fire and Mangle is on cool down except where Lacerate is needed to prevent the debuff falling off
For Multiple Targets:
For large pulls, simply spam Swipe and Maul while cycling targets. Use the Infected Wounds debuff to track which targets have yet to feel the wrath of your Maul and keep them targeted until they get the debuff. As long as you are spreading around your Mauls and pounding mercilessly on your Swipe key, you should be able to hold on. If trouble strikes, use Challenging Roar to lock down the group while you catch back up to the dps.
For smaller multiple target pulls, Berserk and Mangle/Maul spam can quickly lock down your targets. If Berserk is unavailable, Maul and Swipe while target cycling just like with the larger pulls. If a particular target is threatening to pull away, hit it with Mangle. This will not only generate a quick burst of threat, but will enhance Maul damage on the target for the duration of the debuff increasing your chances of holding it for the long run. Just be sure not to neglect too many Swipes as you may lose track of your other targets.
2. Glyph for Threat
Unless there is a very specific reason to the contrary, every Bear Druid should have Glyph of Maul equipped. Hitting two targets at once with this threat hammer is key to holding the attention of more than one mob at a time. Bear Tanks with serious threat problems may also want to swap out Glyph of Frenzied Regeneration or Glyph of Survival Instincts for Glyph of Growl to increase the chances of recovering from dropped threat.
3. Gear for Threat
Particularly in a raid setting, when a Bear Tank has threat problems it is often due to not enough of a Druid's attacks connecting. This problem is easily remedied through increasing Expertise. Though you should not gem for Expertise, working it into your gear will appreciably help your threat by reducing the percentage of your attacks which are dodged or parried. Push your Expertise Rating to 213 then feel free to start mixing in Hit Rating to further increase your threat generation. A Druid tank will stop seeing any benefit for Expertise at a 492 rating and for Hit at 262.
There are also threat boosting glove enchants available in the form of Enchant Gloves - Threat and Enchant Gloves - Armsman, but you should try to stay away from these as you would be better served by Stamina boosting Heavy Borean Armor Kits. If you are going to get one of these enchants anyway, may as well go with Threat as it will likely be cheaper and Bears do not benefit from Armsman's parry boost.
4. Prepare for Pulls
Going into a pull with a healthy amount of Rage and targets marked will make maintaining threat infinity easier. As for Rage, shift in and out until your Furor procs and then pop Enrage. If your threat is exceptionally weak, let Enrage run its full course before charging in. If you have a little wiggle room, simply take the initial Rage dump for the ability, cancel the debuff (so as to avoid the damage reduction) and head in swinging.
For the exceptionally lazy Bear you can auto mark the primary attack target with Faerie Fire by using the following macro:
#showtooltip Faerie Fire
/cast Faerie Fire (Feral)
/script SetRaidTarget("target",8)
/startattack
5. Macro for Threat
As mentioned in the rotation section, to maximize your threat, you will want to Maul on every single white attack. Firing up all those Mauls manually can be exhausting, distracting, and can easily lead to mistakes. As a result, automating your Mauls can not only make your life much easier, but can also help increase your threat output.
Thankfully, automating your Mauls is as simple as creating Macros for all your key abilities (Faerie Fire, Lacerate, Swipe, and Mangle) which causes them to also trigger Maul. Use the template below to generate your Macros replacing ABILITY with Swipe, Lacerate, etc.
#showtooltip
/cast ABILITY
/cast !Maul
6. When All Else Fails
Sometimes your dps will out gear you to such an extent that even despite following all the tips above, aggro will still be an issue. At that point, it is time to turn to your group mates for help. A Hunter's Misdirection or a Rogue's Tricks of the Trade can really help you lock down a target, especially if used as many times as their cooldowns allow. Additionally, many dps classes have threat reducing or dropping abilities and you would be wise to caution them to watch their threat and use those abilities as needed.
Also, do not forget your Growl and be quick to use it whenever a target turns away. Increased hit rating will help your Growls land more consistently. Also, immediately follow up your Growls with a high threat ability like Mangle or Faerie Fire to lock your target back in place. If Growl fails Challenging Roar is your go to backup. If both fail or are unavailable, Berserk driven Mangle spam will give you the best chance of reclaiming aggro. Good luck and happy tanking!
For a fresh level eighty Feral Druid, maintaining threat can be a huge problem. In heroics and introductory raids, you will frequently find yourself fighting alongside veteran damage dealers. Aside from generating well over 3k dps with little effort, these players are likely accustomed to an AoE burn play-style that pays little attention to threat management. As a result, any Feral Tank who neglects threat maximization will quickly find them self surrounded by the corpses of soon to be former group members. To help you avoid this terrible fate, I have laid out some Bear Form threat tips below that should help your targets stick to you like glue.
1. Bear Form Rotation
Using the right abilities in the right order is key to maintaining threat.
For Single Targets:
Generally speaking, you should always open a pull with Feral Faerie Fire because it is ranged, super high threat, and free. If you cast this while closing on your target or Charging, your global cool down should be up by the time you reach it meaning you can immediately follow up with Mangle. Then, it is time to start stacking Lacerates up to five. To maximize your initial threat, interrupt your Lacerate stacking whenever Mangle or Feral Faerie Fire is available. Once you hit five stacks of Lacerate, use Swipe in its place making sure to Lacerate only enough to keep the debuff rolling at five stacks.
It is also important that you Maul on every single melee attack. Maul generates huge amounts of threat and a missed Maul can spell disaster for your party. Obviously you must make concessions if your rage is limited, but you will want to cut your post five stack Swipes rather than your Mauls. They are just that important.
In summary, for single target Bear threat:
Keep Maul up throughout, open with Feral Faerie Fire, Mangle, stack Lacerate to five interrupting to Mangle or Feral Faerie Fire whenever possible, and then Swipe whenever Faerie Fire and Mangle is on cool down except where Lacerate is needed to prevent the debuff falling off
For Multiple Targets:
For large pulls, simply spam Swipe and Maul while cycling targets. Use the Infected Wounds debuff to track which targets have yet to feel the wrath of your Maul and keep them targeted until they get the debuff. As long as you are spreading around your Mauls and pounding mercilessly on your Swipe key, you should be able to hold on. If trouble strikes, use Challenging Roar to lock down the group while you catch back up to the dps.
For smaller multiple target pulls, Berserk and Mangle/Maul spam can quickly lock down your targets. If Berserk is unavailable, Maul and Swipe while target cycling just like with the larger pulls. If a particular target is threatening to pull away, hit it with Mangle. This will not only generate a quick burst of threat, but will enhance Maul damage on the target for the duration of the debuff increasing your chances of holding it for the long run. Just be sure not to neglect too many Swipes as you may lose track of your other targets.
2. Glyph for Threat
Unless there is a very specific reason to the contrary, every Bear Druid should have Glyph of Maul equipped. Hitting two targets at once with this threat hammer is key to holding the attention of more than one mob at a time. Bear Tanks with serious threat problems may also want to swap out Glyph of Frenzied Regeneration or Glyph of Survival Instincts for Glyph of Growl to increase the chances of recovering from dropped threat.
3. Gear for Threat
Particularly in a raid setting, when a Bear Tank has threat problems it is often due to not enough of a Druid's attacks connecting. This problem is easily remedied through increasing Expertise. Though you should not gem for Expertise, working it into your gear will appreciably help your threat by reducing the percentage of your attacks which are dodged or parried. Push your Expertise Rating to 213 then feel free to start mixing in Hit Rating to further increase your threat generation. A Druid tank will stop seeing any benefit for Expertise at a 492 rating and for Hit at 262.
There are also threat boosting glove enchants available in the form of Enchant Gloves - Threat and Enchant Gloves - Armsman, but you should try to stay away from these as you would be better served by Stamina boosting Heavy Borean Armor Kits. If you are going to get one of these enchants anyway, may as well go with Threat as it will likely be cheaper and Bears do not benefit from Armsman's parry boost.
4. Prepare for Pulls
Going into a pull with a healthy amount of Rage and targets marked will make maintaining threat infinity easier. As for Rage, shift in and out until your Furor procs and then pop Enrage. If your threat is exceptionally weak, let Enrage run its full course before charging in. If you have a little wiggle room, simply take the initial Rage dump for the ability, cancel the debuff (so as to avoid the damage reduction) and head in swinging.
For the exceptionally lazy Bear you can auto mark the primary attack target with Faerie Fire by using the following macro:
#showtooltip Faerie Fire
/cast Faerie Fire (Feral)
/script SetRaidTarget("
/startattack
5. Macro for Threat
As mentioned in the rotation section, to maximize your threat, you will want to
Thankfully, automating your Mauls is as simple as creating Macros for all your key abilities (Faerie Fire, Lacerate, Swipe, and Mangle) which causes them to also trigger Maul. Use the template below to generate your Macros replacing ABILITY with Swipe, Lacerate, etc.
#showtooltip
/cast ABILITY
/cast !Maul
6. When All Else Fails
Sometimes your dps will out gear you to such an extent that even despite following all the tips above, aggro will still be an issue. At that point, it is time to turn to your group mates for help. A Hunter's Misdirection or a Rogue's Tricks of the Trade can really help you lock down a target, especially if used as many times as their cooldowns allow. Additionally, many dps classes have threat reducing or dropping abilities and you would be wise to caution them to watch their threat and use those abilities as needed.
Also, do not forget your Growl and be quick to use it whenever a target turns away. Increased hit rating will help your Growls land more consistently. Also, immediately follow up your Growls with a high threat ability like Mangle or Faerie Fire to lock your target back in place. If Growl fails Challenging Roar is your go to backup. If both fail or are unavailable, Berserk driven Mangle spam will give you the best chance of reclaiming aggro. Good luck and happy tanking!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Druid Set Bonus Guide
In World of Warcraft, everyone would love to get their hands on the latest armor set. The bonuses which accompany collecting the pieces of these sets provide powerful benefits which generally cannot be otherwise gained. As a result, when gearing up your Druid, it is important to keep these set bonuses in mind. To help you, I have broken down the set bonuses for all the level 80 Druid Armor sets below. Use this information to target those bonuses which would most benefit your character.
Druid Tier Seven Armor Set: Dreamwalker
Found in Naxxramas, on Sartharion and Archavon, and purchased with Emblems of Valor
Restoration: Dreamwalker Regalia
2/5 Bonus: The Cost of Your Lifebloom is Reduced by 5%
4/5 Bonus: Your Nourish heals for an additional 5% for each of your heal over time effects present on the target
Balance: Dreamwalker Garb
2/5 Bonus: Your Insect Swarm deals an additional 10% damage
4/5 Bonus: Your Wrath and Starfire Spells gain an additional 5% critical strike chance
Feral: Dreamwalker Battlegear
2/5 Bonus: Your Rip lasts for an additional 4 seconds and your Lacerate deals an additional 5% damage
4/5 Bonus: Increases the duration of Barkskin by 3 seconds and decreases the cooldown of Tiger's Fury by 3 seconds
Druid Tier Eight Armor Set: Nightsong
Found in Ulduar, on Emalon, and purchased with Emblems of Conquest
Restoration: Nightsong Regalia
2/5 Bonus: Increases the healing done by your Swiftmend spell by 10%
4/5 Bonus: Your Rejuvenation spell also provides an instant heal for your target
Balance: Nightsong Garb
2/5 Bonus: Increases the bonus granted by Eclipse for Starfire and Wrath by 15%
4/5 Bonus: Each time your Insect Swarm deals damage, it has a chance to make your next Starfire cast within 10 seconds instant cast
Feral: Nightsong Battlegear
2/5 Bonus: The periodic damage dealt by your Rake, Rip, and Lacerate abilities has a chance to cause you to enter a Clearcasting state
4/5 Bonus: Increases the duration of Savage Roar and Survival Instincts by 8 seconds
Druid Tier Nine Armor Set: Malfurion's/Runetotem's
Found in Trial of the Champion, on Koralon, and purchased with Emblems of Triumph
Restoration: Malfurion's/Runetotem's Garb
2/5 Bonus: Increases the critical strike chance of your Nourish spell by 5%
4/5 Bonus: You Rejuvenation ability now has a chance for its healing to be critical strikes
Balance: Malfurion's/Runetotem's Regalia
2/5 Bonus: Your Moonfire now has a chance for its periodic damage to be critical strikes
4/5 Bonus: Increases the damage done by your Starfire and Wrath spells by 4%
Feral: Malfurion's/Runetotem's Battlegear
2/5 Bonus: Decreases the cooldown on your Growl ability by 2 seconds, increases the periodic damage done by your Lacerate ability by 5%, and increases the duration of your Rake by 3 seconds
4/5 Bonus: Reduces the cooldown on Barkskin by 12 seconds and increases the critical strike chance of Rip and Ferocious Bite by 5%
Druid Tier Ten Armor Set: Name Unknown
Likely found in Icecrown Citadel raids and purchased with the new Emblems of Frost in Patch 3.3 (Bonuses not yet set in stone)
Restoration: Name Unknown
2/5 Bonus: The healing granted by your Wild Growth spell reduces 30% less over time
4/5 Bonus: Each time your Rejuvenation spell heals a target, it has a 2% chance to jump to a new target at full duration
Balance: Name Unknown
2/5 Bonus: When you gain Clearcasting from your Omen of Clarity talent, you deal 15% additional Nature and Arcane damage for 6 seconds
4/5 Bonus: Your critical strikes from Starfire and Wrath cause your target to languish for an additional 5% of your spell's damage over 4 seconds
Feral: Name Unknown
2/5 Bonus: Your Swipe (Bear) and Lacerate abilities deal 20% additional damage and the cost of your Rip ability is reduced 10 energy
4/5 Bonus: Your Enrage no longer decreases armor and instead decreases all damage taken by 12%, and the periodic damage of your Rake ability can now be a critical strike
Druid Tier Seven Armor Set: Dreamwalker
Found in Naxxramas, on Sartharion and Archavon, and purchased with Emblems of Valor
Restoration: Dreamwalker Regalia
2/5 Bonus: The Cost of Your Lifebloom is Reduced by 5%
4/5 Bonus: Your Nourish heals for an additional 5% for each of your heal over time effects present on the target
Balance: Dreamwalker Garb
2/5 Bonus: Your Insect Swarm deals an additional 10% damage
4/5 Bonus: Your Wrath and Starfire Spells gain an additional 5% critical strike chance
Feral: Dreamwalker Battlegear
2/5 Bonus: Your Rip lasts for an additional 4 seconds and your Lacerate deals an additional 5% damage
4/5 Bonus: Increases the duration of Barkskin by 3 seconds and decreases the cooldown of Tiger's Fury by 3 seconds
Druid Tier Eight Armor Set: Nightsong
Found in Ulduar, on Emalon, and purchased with Emblems of Conquest
Restoration: Nightsong Regalia
2/5 Bonus: Increases the healing done by your Swiftmend spell by 10%
4/5 Bonus: Your Rejuvenation spell also provides an instant heal for your target
Balance: Nightsong Garb
2/5 Bonus: Increases the bonus granted by Eclipse for Starfire and Wrath by 15%
4/5 Bonus: Each time your Insect Swarm deals damage, it has a chance to make your next Starfire cast within 10 seconds instant cast
Feral: Nightsong Battlegear
2/5 Bonus: The periodic damage dealt by your Rake, Rip, and Lacerate abilities has a chance to cause you to enter a Clearcasting state
4/5 Bonus: Increases the duration of Savage Roar and Survival Instincts by 8 seconds
Druid Tier Nine Armor Set: Malfurion's/Runetotem's
Found in Trial of the Champion, on Koralon, and purchased with Emblems of Triumph
Restoration: Malfurion's/Runetotem's Garb
2/5 Bonus: Increases the critical strike chance of your Nourish spell by 5%
4/5 Bonus: You Rejuvenation ability now has a chance for its healing to be critical strikes
Balance: Malfurion's/Runetotem's Regalia
2/5 Bonus: Your Moonfire now has a chance for its periodic damage to be critical strikes
4/5 Bonus: Increases the damage done by your Starfire and Wrath spells by 4%
Feral: Malfurion's/Runetotem's Battlegear
2/5 Bonus: Decreases the cooldown on your Growl ability by 2 seconds, increases the periodic damage done by your Lacerate ability by 5%, and increases the duration of your Rake by 3 seconds
4/5 Bonus: Reduces the cooldown on Barkskin by 12 seconds and increases the critical strike chance of Rip and Ferocious Bite by 5%
Druid Tier Ten Armor Set: Name Unknown
Likely found in Icecrown Citadel raids and purchased with the new Emblems of Frost in Patch 3.3 (Bonuses not yet set in stone)
Restoration: Name Unknown
2/5 Bonus: The healing granted by your Wild Growth spell reduces 30% less over time
4/5 Bonus: Each time your Rejuvenation spell heals a target, it has a 2% chance to jump to a new target at full duration
Balance: Name Unknown
2/5 Bonus: When you gain Clearcasting from your Omen of Clarity talent, you deal 15% additional Nature and Arcane damage for 6 seconds
4/5 Bonus: Your critical strikes from Starfire and Wrath cause your target to languish for an additional 5% of your spell's damage over 4 seconds
Feral: Name Unknown
2/5 Bonus: Your Swipe (Bear) and Lacerate abilities deal 20% additional damage and the cost of your Rip ability is reduced 10 energy
4/5 Bonus: Your Enrage no longer decreases armor and instead decreases all damage taken by 12%, and the periodic damage of your Rake ability can now be a critical strike
Thursday, October 8, 2009
World of Warcraft Tier 10 Armor Preview
Blizzard has created a page for unveiling the new Tier 10 armor sets to be released in World of Warcraft Patch 3.3. They intend to reveal them slowly, building up towards the patch. Feel free to click over to the World of Warcraft official website to check out the official tier 10 sneak previews.
Odds are all of the new models will be data-mined well before Blizzard roles them out officially, so if you are really interested in catching a first glimpse I would look to other websites like MMO Champion. Happy hunting.
Odds are all of the new models will be data-mined well before Blizzard roles them out officially, so if you are really interested in catching a first glimpse I would look to other websites like MMO Champion. Happy hunting.
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