Advertisement

Lichborne: Patch 5.2 loot for death knights, part 3

Daniel Whitcomb
Contributor
Updated ·6 min read
0
Lichborne Patch 52 loot for death knights, Part 3

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

This week, we'll face down the final few bosses of Throne of Thunder to see what loot they have. After that, we'll take a look at our valor point offerings and the world bosses of patch 5.2 for their loot. This will round out our look at patch 5.2's loot, and as with the last 2 weeks, the same disclaimers apply. Since this is based on PTR information, drops can change. In addition, this preview focuses on normal gear, so your gearing priorities may change if you get thunderforged gear or heroic gear.



Iron Qon

  • Qon's Flaming Scimitar has mastery and expertise, both very solid stats for a dual wielding death knight. Add to that a red socket, and if you're dual wielding, you definitely want to shoot for two of these this tier.

  • Rein-Binder's Fists feature haste and critical strike rating, making them well itemized for two handed death knights. In the end, though, you will probably want to pass these over for your tier gloves and the set bonuses they provide.

  • Pauldrons of the All-Consuming Maw have 2 gem sockets, which gives them a leg up on the competition to begin with. Add on the set bonuses, and you'll probably want these. As a bonus, the combination of mastery and expertise is great for dual wielders.

  • Shoulderguards of the All-Consuming Maw have hit and mastery, which isn't a bad combination for a tank. If all else fails, reforge that hit to parry rating. In addition, the 2 gem slot once again beat out non-set shoulders, which generally only have 1 gem slot. You'll want these guarding your shoulders while you tank.

Twin Consorts

  • Tidal Force Treads have haste and critical strike as well as a gem socket, making them a great choice for two-handed DPS death knights this tier. Even dual wield DPS will probably end up using these after a bit of reforging.

  • Gaze of the Twins is a DPS trinket with a nice chunk of strength, but the critical strike proc isn't as useful to us as it is to other classes.

  • Helmet of the All-Consuming Maw has hit and haste rating, making it solidly itemized for all DPS death knights. considering it also provides those beautiful set bonuses, you'll want it.

  • Faceguard of the All-Consuming Maw has a nice chunk of mastery, and you can always reforge the expertise. You'll probably want to grab this as a blood tank once you factor in the added set bonuses.

  • Moonjade Necklace has dodge and expertise, which is a lackluster combination for a blood tank, but it does have a socket, which helps shore up the weakness. That said, if Necklace of the Terra Cotta Vanquisher ends up dropping somewhere, it's probably going to be a better choice.

Lei Shen

  • Uroe, Harbinger of Terror, has critical strike and mastery. This means it's not well itemized for death knight DPS. Tanks might like it a bit more, though, since it does have that nice bit of mastery.

  • Doomed Crowd of Lei Shin has mastery and hit rating, making it decently itemized for both dual wield DPS and tank death knights. That said, it probably won't win out over your tier helm in the long run.

  • Legplates of Whipping Ionization have 3 gem slots as well as mastery, making them amazing for death knight tanks. The dodge is a bit of a downer, but you can always reforge it. The only other downside here is the possibility of losing set bonuses.

  • Soul Barrier has a nice chunk of stamina and an on-use damage shield, making it a solid tanking trinket, if not a very flashy one. Note that the damage shield only works on physical damage, though, so keep that in mind before using it.

Epic loot from other sources

Shado-Pan Assault

The Shado-Pan Assault is your source of valor point rewards this patch, and for the most part, the stuff it offers is not as good as what you'll pick up in the throne itself. That said, there are a few standout pieces worth mentioning.

  • Band of the Shado-Pan Assault, with haste and critical strike rating, is better itemized for two-handed death knight DPS than most. You may want to pick this up as a companion to the Band of the Scaled Tyrant.

  • Loop of the Shado-Pan Assault has mastery and dodge rating, making it better itemized for blood tanks than a lot of your drop options in Throne of Thunder.

  • Brutal Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault provides a great way to shore up on expertise if you're having trouble getting it. As a bonus, you get a massive strength proc.

Oondasta

Oondasta is one of the new world bosses in patch 5.2, and reports so far are that he's incredibly hard, to the point where a pick-up group may not be enough to kill him. That said, if you do get lucky enough to get him down, his loot is often only fair to middling anyway, if for no other reason that it generally lacks the gem slots you'll find on gear from Throne of Thunder.

  • Overcompensating Chain of the Alpha Male features haste and critical strike, which means it ends up rather well itemized for a two handed death knight DPS, lack of gem slot aside.

  • Ring of King Kangrom has expertise and critical strike rating, which pretty much puts in the middle to bottom tier for death knight DPS, itemization wise. You can get better.

  • Belt of the Tyrannotitan has haste, critical strike, and a nice red gem slot, making it a very passable belt for two handed death knight DPS. That said, the extra socket on Cloudbreaker Greatbelt is still probably going to edge it out in most cases.

  • Carnotaur Battlegloves have haste and expertise, making them well itemized for DPS, but with no gem slot and no set bonuses, tier gloves will likely beat them out in most cases.

  • Tyrant King Battleplate has hit and expertise, meaning it's a great way for any death knight DPS to shore up those stats if you're having trouble reaching the caps. That said, it has only 2 gem slots, which means your tier chestplate is ultimately going to win out.

  • Vulcanodon Gauntlets have mastery and hit rating, which makes them great for dual wield DPSing and decent for blood tanks as well. Again, though, the lack of a gem slot and set bonuses means your tier gauntlets will probably win out.

  • Voolar's Bloodied Belt has dodge and expertise, which is one of the worst possible tank gear secondary stat combinations for a blood tank. The gem slot helps a bit, but in the end, you can get better.

  • Breastplate of the Iguanocolossus also suffers from the dodge and expertise failing, as well as the lack of a 3rd gem slot. You'll want to hold out for your tier chest.

  • Lootraptor's Amulet features dodge and mastery, which is fair to middling for a blood tank. Once again, it'd help if it had a gem slot.

  • Achillobator Ring has expertise and parry, which isn't the best combination for a blood tank, but isn't the worst either. It'll actually pair up rather nicely with the Loop of the Shado-Pan Assault.