item-scaling
Latest
Check your scaling for Challenge Modes and Proving Grounds with Wowhead
Challenge modes have been in the game for some time now, but patch 5.4 added another type of content where gear is scaled down, and that's proving grounds. Proving grounds, unlike challenge modes, are already being used to gauge the quality of players, with groups asking for certain ranks or achievements in order to join them. So how best do you arm yourself for this content? Gear scaling is certainly one hurdle to overcome, and it's a tricky one, as it's not easy for the average player to work out just how their stats are going to be scaled with the reduction to ilvl 463. And you can't always carry every potentially viable piece of gear with you to the Temple of the White Tiger to see what works. And that's where Wowhead's gear scaling checkbox comes into play. While it's far from perfect, it's certainly helpful. As you can see above, we're looking at a tank trinket that drops off Garrosh. It's not ilvl 463. In fact it's ilvl 553, in this example at least, but by checking the "Challenge Mode" box, it's downscaled to 463, as it would be in-game. You can see what works, what the numbers will be, what the procs will look like and so on. Go forth and prove yourself!
Heirloom items are Bind to Account, scale with character level
I've a few alts. Actually, I have enough alts that my Guildmaster has chided me for trying to be a one-man Guild. I often create the alts to help friends level, but there's only so many hours in the day -- I can't really make sure every single alt has valid gear for their level. I'd like to be more effective on level-appropriate runs, but usually these guys are just tramping along on whatever quest gear happens to be available. The new Binds to Account gear is going to be incredibly helpful with that issue. You purchase these items with dungeon tokens (like Badges of Justice), but you can pass them around between characters even after use. (You just can't give them to other account-holders, they're only good for your characters.) Tigole calls these Heirloom items. The really cool thing about them, however, is that they scale with level. You can pick up the Dignified Headmaster's Charge, and use it at level 80. At that level, it gives you 93 Stamina. When your 80 gets an upgrade, pass the Charge down to your level 1 Warlock. For that guy, it'll give only 2 Stamina. The other neat factor about these Heirloom items is that their models are based off beloved old world items. The Dignified Headmaster's Charge, for example, is an item model familiar to those who farmed Darkmaster Gandling. So, we get to see some of the cooler looking items back in play again. Yeah, I'm pretty excited about this. [Via MMO-Champion]
