Spiritual Guidance: Patch 4.3 raid gear for holy and discipline priests
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore covers the healing side of things for discipline and holy priests. She also writes for LearnToRaid.com and produces the Circle of Healing Podcast.
I've always hated patch day, and not for the reasons you'd think. The servers' being down doesn't bother me, and neither do broken addons or occasional lag. What bothers me is that after spending a few straight months piecing together a good-looking outfit, I'm suddenly forced into a situation where all my gear will inevitably start to mismatch as I acquire upgrades.
That's why this upcoming patch is so amazing ... Transmogrification means I can transmogrify my new gear to match what I'm wearing until I have enough pieces to swap over to a new outfit. I know that's not as exciting as transmogrifying all my gear into a cool RP outfit, but after thinking about it for a while, I think I'd prefer to keep all my RP gear in my bags for special occasions. That way they're always special, since people will only see them once in a while.
Anyway, a new patch is right around the corner, which means shiny new priest gear is on its way too! In preparation for this, I've made a gear list for priests to reference as we progress into the newest content in the coming months.
If you haven't heard yet, Blizzard has tweaked the system we've been using for the past couple of years and will now only allow players to acquire tier gear from raiding. Valor points will still be employed to purchase certain pieces of gear, but those unique set bonuses will be reserved only for players who actually enter raid dungeons. Derevka over at Tales of a Priest explains some of the details in a pretty concise way, if you'd like some extra reading for the week.
ilevel 384, 397 and 410 gear
The following is gear available from Dragon Soul or the valor quartermasters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind. All drop gear is available in three different item levels for normal, heroic and Raid Finder difficulty.
Helm
Crown of the Corrupted Conqueror Dragon Soul, Warmaster Blackhorn (used for Cowl of Dying Light)
Soulgaze Cowl Valor Quartermaster (2,200 valor points)
Neck
Petrified Fungal Heart Dragon Soul, Morchok
Threadlinked Chain Valor Quartermaster (1,250 valor points)
Shoulders
Mosswrought Shoulderguards Dragon Soul, Morchok
Shoulders of the Corrupted Conqueror Dragon Soul, Hagara the Stormbinder (used for Mantle of Dying Light)
Back
Woundlicker Cover Valor Quartermaster (1,250 valor points)
Chest
Robe of Glowing Stone Dragon Soul, Morchok
Chest of the Corrupted Conqueror Dragon Soul, Ultraxion (used for Robes of Dying Light)
Lightwarper Vestments Valor Quartermaster (2,200 valor points)
Wrists
Bracers of the Banished Dragon Soul, Hagara the Stormbinder
Bracers of the Black Dream Valor Quartermaster (1,250 valor points)
Dreamwraps of the Light Tailoring (4 Essence of Destruction, 8 Dreamcloth)
Bracers of Unconquered Power Tailoring (4 Essence of Destruction, 8 Dreamcloth)
Hands
Gauntlets of the Corrupted Conqueror Dragon Soul, Warlord Zon'ozz (used for Handwraps of Dying Light)
Handwraps of Dying Light Baradin Hold, Alizabal
The Hands of Gilly Valor Quartermaster (1,650 valor points)
Gloves of Liquid Smoke Dragon Soul, Spine of Deathwing
Waist
Cord of the Slain Champion Dragon Soul, Warlord Zon'ozz
Tentacular Belt Valor Quartermaster (1,650 valor points)
Vestal's Irrepressible Girdle Valor Quartermaster (1,650 valor points)
Legs
Leggings of the Corrupted Conqueror Dragon Soul, Yor'sahj the Unsleeping (used for Legwraps of Dying Light)
Legwraps of Dying Light Baradin Hold, Alizabal
World Mender's Pants Tailoring (8 Essence of Destruction, 8 Dreamcloth)
Finger
Ring of the Riven Dragon Soul, Hagara the Stormbinder
Signet of Suturing Dragon Soul, All bosses but Deathwing
Band of Reconstruction Valor Quartermaster (1,250 valor points)
Infinite Loop Dragon Soul, All bosses but Deathwing (see note about hit, below)
Trinket
Seal of the Seven Signs Dragon Soul, Warlord Zon'ozz
Heart of Unliving Dragon Soul, Spine of Deathwing
Windward Heart Dragon Soul, All bosses but Deathwing
Bottled Wishes Valor Quartemaster (1,650 valor points)
Reflection of Light Valor Quartemaster (1,650 valor points)
Feet
Janglespur Jackboots Dragon Soul, Warmaster Blackhorn
Splinterfoot Sandals Valor Quartermaster (1,650 valor points)
Main-hand weapon
Vagaries of Time Dragon Soul, Morchok
Scalpel of Unrelenting Agony Dragon Soul, Yor'sahj the Unsleeping
Maw of the Dragonlord Dragon Soul, Madness of Deathwing
Rathrak, the Poisonous Mind Dragon Soul, Madness of Deathwing (see note about hit, below)
Off-hand weapon
Ledger of Revolting Rituals Dragon Soul, Ultraxion
Staff
Lightning Rod Dragon Soul, Hagara the Stormbinder (see note about hit, below)
Visage of the Destroyer Dragon Soul, Warmaster Blackhorn
Ti'tahk, the Steps of Time Dragon Soul, Madness of Deathwing
Wand
Finger of Zon'ozz Dragon Soul, Warlord Zon'ozz
Scintillating Rods Valor Quartermaster (700 valor points)
The old ilevel 378 valor gear that appeared at the start of patch 4.2 is also still available for purchase at the quartermasters, if you're in desperate need of some missing piece you can't get else where.
l 378 5-man dungeon gear
If you're behind the gear curve and looking to catch up or if you're just trying to piece together a new alt, the latest 5-man dungeons being introduced in patch 4.3 will be a great help at getting you closer to raiding. The three new dungeons drop ilevel 378 gear, which is the same item level as the gear you'd receive from bosses on normal mode in the Firelands.
Helm
Cowl of Highborne Sorcerers Well of Eternity, Mannoroth and Varo'then
Shoulders
Mantle of Time End Time, Murozond
Mantle of False Virtue Hour of Twilight, Archbishop Benedictus (see note about hit, below)
Back
Cloak of Subtle Light Hour of Twilight, Asira Dawnslayer
Chest
Whisperwind Robes End Time, Echo of Tyrande
Robes of Fate End Time, Murozond (see note about hit, below)
Waist
Chillbane Belt Hour of Twilight, Arcurion (see note about hit, below)
Legs
Time Traveler's Leggings End Time, Echo bosses
Fingers
Horned Band Well of Eternity, Peroth'arn
Trinket
Foul Gift of the Demon Lord Well of Eternity, Mannoroth and Varo'then
Feet
Slippers of Wizardry Well of Eternity, Queen Azshara (see note about hit, below)
Main-hand weapon
Scepter of Azshara Well of Eternity, Queen Azshara
Fanged Tentacle Hour of Twilight, Archbishop Benedictus (see note about hit, below)
Staff
Jaina's Staff End Time, Echo of Jaina
Stalk of Corruption Hour of Twilight, Archbishop Benedictus
Off-hand weapon
Orb of the First Satyrs Well of Eternity, Peroth'arn (see note about hit, below)
A note about hit I have not listed any valor gear with hit on it, since I assume healers will choose the most optimized gear they can when given a choice. My reason for listing drop items with hit (or damage effects) is so healing priests can keep potential upgrades in mind when RNG dishes out extra DPS weapons or cloth gear that your raid doesn't need. In the event a DPS caster needs these particular items, you should give them priority.
If you need some input on what gear is best for holy or discipline, I'd recommend checking out my stat priority posts for holy and discipline priests. The gear you want will definitely vary depending on the type of role you take on in your group, so you'll want to use that noggin of yours to decide what is best.
Finally, I have no doubt this list is incomplete, so if I missed a piece of gear, let me know in the comments. Since the patch hasn't hit yet, it's hard to use a single database to accumulate all the available gear. I'll add anything I miss as I find it, but I appreciate any help you guys can offer until then.
Spiritual Guidance has the inside line on pre-raid, valor point and raid gear for patch 4.2, as well as priest healing guides for the early and final bosses of The Firelands. Newcomer to the priest class? Look into leveling a healing priest, plus our guides to Discipline Priest 101 and Holy Priest 101.