Challenge modes 101: Shopping list
This is the second in a series on getting challenge modes done before the Warlords of Draenor content patch. You will find all the articles in the series here.
Gear in challenge modes is scaled down to ilevel 463, so it's crucial to bring buffs to maximize your group's performance. You will need:
Extra helm if needed Legendary meta gems do not work in CMs. If your regular helm has one equipped, pick up an ilevel 463+ helm somewhere and equip it with an ordinary meta gem.
Restorative Amber Healers may find this useful as it will regenerate mana substantially faster than ordinary drinking. On the down side, it requires honored with the Klaxxi to buy and it's expensive. I don't use it while healing, but many do.
Invisibility Potions: Plan on using one of these in every dungeon with the exception of Gate, Stormstout, and possibly Mogu'shan and Siege. Rogues can eliminate the group's need for these altogether with Shroud of Concealment. Mages can use Invisibility instead and continue to use their potion cooldowns for DPS. You can also use Lesser Invisibility Potions, but I find the 18-second version easier to farm. We'll talk more about these tomorrow.
Flasks: DPS should use their respective strength, agility, or intellect flasks. Healers should use intellect rather than spirit flasks; there'll be small pockets in the dungeon where you can drink, so throughput is more important than regen. Tanks can use either DPS or stamina flasks. More DPS is always a good thing; more health gives you a greater margin for error on dangerous pulls. Talk to your healer about it.
DPS and/or mana potions: Potions of Mogu Power for strength users, Virmen's Bite for agility users, and Potion of the Jade Serpent for intellect users. I brought Potion of the Mountains and healing potions while tanking, but almost never used them.
Food Ideally each person will use the best food available to his/her class and spec, but we also used Pandaren Banquets without issue.
Scrolls/pets for buffs your group doesn't have: As an example, we used Runescrolls of Fortitude III from a scribe when we didn't have a priest, warlock, or warrior.
Battle Horn An infrequent drop from the Valley of the Four Winds rare mob Blackhoof or Timeless Isle's Ordon Candlekeeper. It's invaluable for pulling massive packs of mobs all at once, and it shines in Scholomance on Rattlegore trash.
Rod of Ambershaping An infrequent drop from the Kun-Lai Summit rare mob Ski'thik. Useful as an emergency CC option, though mostly in Gate (where you'll CC and run past a pack to get to the second boss).
Addons/macros: It's helpful to use a mod like RSA to announce when you've interrupted a mob or (as a tank) when you've blown a big cooldown. BarovHelper is extremely useful for Scholomance. Cooldown mods/timers so you know exactly what you have up and when are invaluable. Deadly Boss Mods is a no-brainer.
Voice chat Close to being an absolute necessity.
