Gearing up for Season 5
Arena Season 5 is here, a completely different season from all the ones before it because of three critical things. First, there are ten new levels. Even though rated Arena play will still be available at Level 70, the real PvP endgame is at Level 80, with new spell ranks, new abilities, and ten more sweet talent points for wonderful PvP tricks. Second, there's an entirely new class to throw a monkeywrench into the equation. How does the Death Knight fit into new team comps? Will they be enough to curb Druid dominance in 2s and 3s? The metagame changes drastically with one more variable. Third, unlike previous seasons, there will be three tiers of Arena gear. Furthermore, there will be numerous sources of Season 5 gear, and not just Arena play. It will be quite possible for players to get entire sets of Gladiator gear without having to PvP at all!
But if you would like to dive into this mini-game called Arenas, you'd have to be somewhat prepared. As with The Burning Crusade, the PvP stat in Wrath of the Lich King is still Resilience. Therefore, in order to be best prepared for Arenas and Wrath PvP, it's important to stack on Resilience. Even as many players get gear from heroic instances and raids, the name of the game is still survivability. The good news is that it is extremely easy to gear up in Wrath, and that includes PvP gear.
CLOTH
Blizzard had the foresight to include craftable PvP sets available from trainers, making it easy to get geared for Season 5. For Warlocks, Mages, and Priests, there's the Frostsavage non-set. I call it a non-set because even though they all share the same nomenclature, having many or all of the pieces confer no bonuses. The great thing about this set is that it's extremely easy to make. The materials aren't too expensive, and it's even better if you're a tailor yourself.
Frostsavage Cowl
Frostsavage Shoulders
Frostsavage Robe
Frostsavage Belt
Frostsavage Leggings
Frostsavage Boots
Frostsavage Bracers
Frostsavage Gloves
The entire set confers about 300 Resilience and 450 Stamina, which should be passable but should be complemented by other items with Resilience and/or Stamina. The total materials needed are 27 Bolts of Imbued Frostweave (A little over 20 stacks of Frostweave Cloth and almost three stacks of Infinite Dust), 33 each of Crystallized Fire and Earth, and 16 Eternium Thread, which you can buy from vendors.
LEATHER MELEE
Leatherworkers can craft four different non-sets of gear, two of which are leather. The one for Rogues and Feral Druids is called the Eviscerator's armor, which grants generous Agility and Critical Strike Rating. The materials required are incredibly straightforward -- Heavy Borean Leather and Eternal Air. The only difficulty in this is finding a Letherworker who knows the recipes. Unlike Tailoring's Frostsavage non-set, all Leatherworking PvP pieces are learned from patterns bought from trainers.
Eviscerator's Facemask
Eviscerator's Shoulderpads
Eviscerator's Chestguard
Eviscerator's Waisguard
Eviscerator's Legguards
Eviscerator's Treads
Eviscerator's Bindings
Eviscerator's Gauntlets
The good news is, the patterns cost a mere three pieces of Heavy Borean Leather, so it's highly likely that any Rogue or Druid with Leatherworking 420 and above would have them. The entire set confers 300 Resilience, 450 Agility, 449 Stamina, and 229 Critical Strike Rating. It will take a total of 84 Heavy Borean Leather and eight Eternal Airs to craft.
LEATHER CASTER
Restoration and Balance Druids can go for the Overcast non-set, which is also crafted by Leatherworkers and has nearly identical material requirements as the melee set, except that it needs Eternal Water instead of Air. This set is also learned through patterns sold for three Heavy Borean Leather.
Overcast Headguard
Overcast Spaulders
Overcast Chestguard
Overcast Belt
Overcast Leggings
Overcast Boots
Overcast Bracers
Overcast Handwraps
Similar to the melee set, wearing all pieces of the Overcast gear will confer 300 Resilience, 300 Intellect, 450 Stamina, 299 Spirit, and 527 Spell Power. All of the craftable PvP sets necessitate complementary Resilience and Stamina pieces to make it more viable for Arena play. It will take 84 Heavy Borean Leather and eight Eternal Waters to craft the entire non-set.
MAIL PHYSICAL
The new Enhancement Shaman itemization allows them to share gear with Hunters, so even if the Mail Physical DPS non-set is called Swiftarrow, it's pretty good for both classes. The total material requirements for these pieces is identical to the Leather melee items, and just like all Leatherworking PvP items, the pattern is bought from a vendor in Dalaran.
Swiftarrow Helm
Swiftarrow Shoulderguards
Swiftarrow Hauberk
Swiftarrow Belt
Swiftarrow Leggings
Swiftarrow Boots
Swiftarrow Bracers
Swiftarrow Gauntlets
Wearing all eight pieces will confer a total of 300 Agility, 450 Stamina, 299 Intellect, 598 Attack Power, 297 Critical Strike Rating, and 299 Resilience. Players will need 84 Heavy Borean Leather and eight Eternal Airs to craft the entire set. Alternatively, players can opt to pursue Kirin-Tor reputation to get the Spaulders of Grounded Lightning, available at Honored reputation. This is the only piece of Reputation gear with Resilience.
MAIL CASTER
The PvP mail caster non-set, dubbed Stormhide, is a pretty good set for Restoration Shamans but an awful set for Elemental owing to the lack of Critical Strike Rating. But beggars can't be choosers, so Elemental Shamans looking to wade into Arena PvP might have to bite the proverbial bullet and simply pad Critical Strike elsewhere. Resilience is going to be hard to come by through PvE, so take a few Stormhide pieces to jack it up.
Stormhide Crown
Stormhide Shoulders
Stormhide Hauberk
Stormhide Belt
Stormhide Legguards
Stormhide Stompers
Stormhide Wristguards
Stormhide Grips
The materials required to craft this set are identical to the materials needed for the Leather caster set, 84 Heavy Borean Leather and eight Eternal Waters. Wearing all pieces will confer a total of 448 Stamina, 300 Resilience Rating, 300 Intellect, 526 Spell Power, and 120 MP5 which is great for Restoration Shamans but for Elemental Shamans who can and will Thunderstorm almost every time it's up, where's the Critical Strike?
Are you excited about Season 5?
No? Well, that's alright, we're covering it anyway. If there's anything you need to know about Arenas or the newest Season, we'll try to deliver on everything we can scrape up right here, starting with an FAQ.
