Shifting Perspectives: Firelands gear for the feral cat
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Shifting Perspectives for cat , bear , restoration and balance druids. Welcome to our feral cat edition, brought to you by Chase Hasbrouck, aka Alaron of The Fluid Druid blog. Let the face clawing begin!
Gear, gear, everybody wants gear! Happily, we get our first piece of visible progression gear in, well, forever. A flaming kitty is a raiding kitty ... awesome.
This update to my gear list focuses on items from new 4.2 content and bottoms out with ZA gear. If you're just starting out, the list compiled a few months ago is still quite good.
A few notes before we get to the items:
One of my most common questions is "Which secondary stat is best?" Well, the small Rip nerf, plus the eventual loss of the two-piece T11 bonus once you upgrade into tier 12, knocks mastery down a peg. The buff to Savage Roar boosts haste up a peg. Unfortunately, this means our secondary stats are pretty much even. I've tested this extensively, and at the 359 to 378 gear levels, reforging to different stats affects simulated DPS by less than 1%. Personally, I'd recommend sticking with mastery until you break two-piece T11, then try a hit/expertise cap setup; see how it works for you. As always, any fight with little to no off-boss time will favor haste, while fights with large interruptions in DPS time will favor mastery.
PVP gear and offsets
Thankfully, the leveling out of secondary stats makes rough gear comparisons quite easy. You can generally consider 1 agility to be worth about three points of secondary stats. Looking at PVP gear, then, I'd say a PVP piece is roughly equal to a PVE piece that's 1.5 tiers lower (about 20 points in ilevel). An ilvl 371 Vicious item, for example, will work about as well as a 353 item from ZA. This is not considering the PVP set bonuses; add half a tier to each PVP item in terms of estimation if you have the two-piece set bonus, or a full tier for two-piece and four-piece.
Finally, if you're planning which item to use as an offset going into T12, I'd recommend the hands or legs, due to superior socket coloration. Definitely try to stick with two-piece T11 as long as you can, though; the two-piece T11/two-piece T12 combination is very strong and only a tiny bit behind full four-piece T12 in terms of DPS.
Weapons
Fandral's Flamescythe, Staghelm
Ranseur of Hatred, Firelands trash drop
Malevolence, heroic Halfus
Witch-Hunter's Harvester, blacksmithing BOE
Malevolence, Halfus
Mobus's Dripping Halberd, Vash'jir world boss
Jin'do's Verdict, Zul'Gurub
Let the hunters get the Ranseur, and you get Fandral's. K? K. The Witch-Hunter's Harvester is one of the new unlockable craftables from the Molten Front -- don't expect to see these for a while, but as the base materials aren't overly expensive, they should come down in price pretty quickly.
Head
Obsidian Arborweave Headpiece, Firelands token (probably Staghelm or Baleroc)
Hood of Rampant Disdain, Lord Rhyolith
Stormrider's Headpiece, heroic Nefarian
Membrane of C'Thun, heroic Cho'gall
Tsanga's Helm, Bastion of Twilight BOE
Agile Bio-Optic Killshades, engineering-only BOP
Stormrider's Headpiece, Nefarian
Membrane of C'Thun, Cho'gall
For what it's worth, I really dislike the look of the T12 headpiece; yay for Hide Helm.
Legs
Obsidian Arborweave Legguards, Occu'thar/2,200 VP (assumed)
Cinderweb Leggings, Beth'tilac
Stormrider's Legguards, heroic Maloriak
Wind Stalker Leggings, heroic Al'Akir
Aberration's Leggings, heroic Maloriak
Stormrider's Legguards, Argaloth/2,200 JP
Wind Stalker Leggings, Al'Akir
Aberration's Leggings, Maloriak
Leggings of Dancing Blades, Zul'Aman
And the BH slot machine starts up again! Note that Occu'thar drops and VP costs for T12 gear are still unknown.
Chest
Obsidian Arborweave Raiment, 2,200 VP (assumed)
Breastplate of the Incendiary Soul, Baleroc
Sark of the Unwatched, heroic Atramedes
Stormrider's Raiment, heroic Halfus
Morrie's Waywalker Wrap, world drop
Sark of the Unwatched, Atramedes
Stormrider's Raiment, 2,200 JP
Assassin's Chestplate, leatherworking BOE
Shadowtooth Trollskin Breastplate, Zul'Aman
I suspect quite a few raiders have the heroic Stormrider's piece (heroic Halfus is the easiest, after all), so this will probably be a lower priority spot for VP.
Trinkets
Matrix Restabilizer, Ragnaros
The Hungerer, Staghelm
Ancient Petrified Seed, Avengers of Hyjal, revered
Prestor's Talisman of Machination, heroic Nefarian
Essence of the Cyclone, heroic Halfus
Fluid Death, 1,650 JP
Unheeded Warning, Bastion of Twilight trash drop
Prestor's Talisman of Machination, Nefarian
Essence of the Cyclone, Halfus
Unsolvable Riddle, Baradin Hold, revered
Just my personal opinions on these: Many could use more testing. UW, in particular, sims really well, but I'm not convinced of its actual value. I'm also holding off on ranking Ricket's Magnetic Fireball until I get some more info on the proc.
Hands
Obsidian Arborweave Grips, 1,650 VP (assumed)
Gloves of Dissolving Smoke, Shannox
Clutches of Evil, leatherworking BOE
Double Attack Handguards, heroic Chimaeron
Stormrider's Grips, heroic Magmaw
Aviana's Grips, Molten Front dailies
Double Attack Handguards, Chimaeron
Liar's Handwraps/Stormbolt Gloves, Dragonmaw/Wildhammer, exalted
Stormrider's Grips, 1,650 JP
Knotted Handwraps, Zul'Aman
A good choice for (eventually) using off set, due to the blue socket on tier. I believe the recipe for the LW BoE drops in Firelands, though that's unconfirmed.
Shoulders
Obsidian Arborweave Spaulders, Firelands token (probably Ragnaros)
Shoulderpads of the Forgotten Gate, Baleroc
Poison Protocol Pauldrons, heroic Omnitron Council
Stormrider's Spaulders, heroic Cho'gall
Poison Protocol Pauldrons, Omnotron Council
Stormrider's Spaulders, Cho'gall
Tusked Shoulderpads, Zul'Aman
Unlike the helm, I like the T12 shoulders.
Waist
Belt of the Fallen Brood, Sinestra
Flamebinding Girdle, Avengers of Hyjal, honored
Riplimb's Lost Collar, Shannox
Dispersing Belt, heroic Twilight Council
Wind Stalker Belt, heroic Council of Wind
Dispersing Belt, Twilight Council
Wind Stalker Belt, Council of Wind
Belt of Nefarious Whispers, leatherworking BOE
Belt of Slithering Serpents, Zul'Gurub
Belt of a Thousand Gaping Mouths, Akma'hat (rare Uldum mob)
Congratulations! If you were one of the very few guilds that successfully defeated Sinestra in 4.0/4.1, you have a belt that's a tiny bit better than a 4.2 honored rep belt. Don't you feel accomplished?
Feet
Sandals of Leaping Coals, Staghelm
Treads of the Craft, leatherworking BOE
Storm Rider's Boots, heroic Halfus
Storm Rider's Boots, Halfus
Treads of Fleeting Joy, 1,650 VP
Fasc's Preserved Boots, Zul'Gurub
Yay, an offset that isn't named the same as the set! As with the gloves, I expect the Treads to be a Firelands drop recipe.
Neck
Choker of the Vanquished Lord, Ragnaros
Necklace of Smoke Signals, 1,250 VP (assumed)
Necklace of Strife, heroic Valiona
Necklace of Strife, Valiona
Don Rodrigo's Fabulous Necklace, world drop
Amulet of the Watcher, Zul'Gurub
Boring neck slot, as always. The Rag gear is a half-tier higher, which is nice, I suppose.
Rings
Viridian Signet of the Avengers, Avengers of Hyjal, exalted
Widow's Kiss, Beth'tilac
Splintered Brimstone Seal, 1,250 VP
Lightning Conductor Band, heroic Omnotron
Mistral Circle, heroic Council of Wind
Matoclaw's Band, Molten Front dailies
Band of Glittering Lights, Molten Front dailies
Band of Ghoulish Glee, Hallow's End (HH)
Signet of the Elder Council, Earthen Ring, exalted
Hornet-Sting Band, 1,250 JP
Mistral Circle, Council of Wind
Lightning Conductor Band, Omnotron
Gilnean Ring of Ruination, world drop
Arlokk's Signet, Zul'Gurub
Quickfinger Ring, Zul'Aman BOE
Well, time to work on Ashen ... no, Earthen ... no, Avengers rep for a nice ring. If you can hold off until Halloween, there looks to be a new Headless Horseman one also.
Back
Dreadfire Drape, Lord Rhyolith
Sleek Flamewrath Cloak, Avengers of Hyjal, friendly
Mantle of Doubt, Elemental Bonds quest reward
Cloak of Biting Chill, heroic Maloriak
Cloak of Biting Chill, Maloriak
Dory's Finery, world drop
Viewless Wings, 1,250 JP
Recovered Cloak of Frostheim, Zul'Aman
The Frost Lord's War Cloak, Midsummer Festival (Ahune)
I believe the developers are overcompensating for the lack of cloaks in Wrath. You'll get your good cloak just by following the Elemental Bonds quest line. A better one is shortly to follow via Avengers rep, though.
Wrists
Flamebinder Bracers, Firelands trash drop BOE
Parasitic Bands, heroic Magmaw
Parasitic Bands, Magmaw
Amani'shi Bracers, Zul'Aman
The boring slot. At least it's a BOE this time, so you can buy/sell as you need. Hopefully, it has a reasonable drop rate.
Relic
Covenant of the Flame, 700 VP
Relic of Elune's Shadow, Molten Front dailies
Relic of Golganneth, 700 JP
Still the last place to put VPs.
The best for now
That wraps up the gear. I haven't included heroic Firelands items, for space reasons; obviously, if you have a heroic Firelands item, it'll likely be best in slot (except for the Avengers exalted ring). Have fun in the Firelands, and remember: Friends don't let hunters roll on feral weapons!
Looking for the latest and greatest in feral cat druid guides? Shifting Perspectives has the answers! Check out our cat 101 for Cataclysm. Also don't miss gearing your cat for Cataclysm raiding, addons for cat druids and raiding strats for feral cats.