Friday, September 5, 2008

Karazhan Loot Watch List

Even though Wrath is only a few months away, those of us still running KZ for fun and profit will likely be able to continue using our epics into the first few levels of Northrend, making raiding as worthwhile as ever. So better late than never, below is a list of Karazhan loot to watch for as an Enhancement Shaman!

Disclaimer
A few months ago I would have left out the "hunter loot," but with upcoming changes to how we get our attack power, having Intellect will no longer be as worthless as it is today. Also your mileage will vary depending on what you already have and have access to - for example, some crafted and PvP epics will definitely outrank items listed below. Use EP and RatingBuster to determine what works for you!


Now on to the list!

Trash Mobs
  • Grips of Deftness and Zierhut's Lost Treads - normally we like leather because it often comes with stuff like hit/crit, but these gloves and boots have decent raw stats and may be an upgrade for whatever you're currently wearing.
  • Belt of the Tracker - pass on this for hunters in your group, but take it in lieu of disenchanting and bank it. Depending on what gear you have when Wrath hits, you may gain some attack power from Intellect.
Attumen
Moroes
  • Edgewalker Longboots - nice stats, sockets, hit rating, a definite upgrade from Zierhut's.
  • Royal Cloak of Arathi Kings - seems tailor-made for Burning Crusade-era Enhancement Shaman. Strength, Stamina, hit rating = win. Slap on an agility enchant.
  • Formula: Mongoose - this drop gets special mention because dual-Mongoose on your weapons are considered best until super high-end raiding (T6/Sunwell).
Maiden
Opera
  • Big Bad Wolf's Paw - ugliest weapon in the game, but decent stats and nice slow speed will tide you over until you can get a PvP or badge weapon.
  • Romulo's Poison Vial - there are way better trinkets for us, but if everyone passes, take it - especially if you're low on hit rating as it may improve DPS on boss fights.
  • Beastmaw Pauldrons - more hunter loot, but take it if it's an upgrade.
Curator
Illhoof
  • Fool's Bane - PvP and badge weapons are better, but this is very decent if you have neither.
  • Girdle of the Prowler - sigh, more hunter loot, maybe take it for Wrath.
Aran
Chess
  • Bladed Shoulderpads of the Merciless - argh, been waiting for these to drop for a while! AP, crit, hit, sockets, it's all good. And they're rated above the T4 shoulders for us enhancers.
  • Girdle of Treachery - kinda kitty or rogue, but may be an upgrade - at least the two red sockets (which should always be filled with pure strength gems) will get you the agility bonus.
  • Fiend Slayer Boots - huntery, but not terrible with the two gem slots.
  • Mithril Chain of Heroism - raw stats FTW. Maybe slightly better than the SSO neck if you aren't Exalted with Aldorks yet.
Netherspite
Prince
  • The Decapitator - still a very nice weapon, but has since been out-itemized by S2 PvP and badge weapons.
  • Farstrider Wildercloak - there are likely far better blue-quality cloaks out there, but if it drops, no one wants it and it's an upgrade, I guess /roll on it. Totally meh.
  • Ring of a Thousand Marks - another very nice compliment to you Violet Eye ring, has all the good stuff on it.
  • Helm of the Fallen Champion -> Cyclone Helm - grats on your next piece of T4! The 2-piece set bonus grants an additional 12 strength from your totem - not great, but not terrible.
Nightbane
  • Chestguard of the Conniver - looks to be a fairly decent piece, if you can wrestle it away from rogues and cat druids. Even better though, is the Shadowprowler's Chestguard with it's 3 slots, another LW pattern available at the Violet Eye quartermaster.
  • Ferocious Swift-Kickers - decent boots given the two gem slots, and they visually match the rest of our T4 stuff.
  • Scaled Breastplate of Carnage - healthy does of Int makes this a hunter piece (do I sound like a broken record yet?) but may come in handy in preparation for Wrath.
That's it for now, happy hunting!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uhhh.... weird :) I made a post today on my blog that is almost IDENTICAL to yours, but for hunters (so still, a lot of the same gear).

After I posted, I started sifting through today's RSS feed and Boom! Same formatting and everything!

Funny. Oh well, you know what they say about great minds!

Unknown said...

There's a great mod called Pawn that lets you put in your own stat weights and compare items in game.