moonkin
Latest
Shifting Perspectives: Gearing your Balance Druid at 80
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we start to wonder where the hell all the +hit from "Burning Crusade" went.Greetings, fellow Druids, and welcome to another installment on Wrath gear at 80, and this week it's the boomkins' turn. Next week I'm going to tackle Bear gear at 80; Dan O'Halloran will take care of our Cat colleagues. As a number of people have observed, it's tougher to get +hit-capped pre-raid in leather as opposed to cloth, so you're going to find an awful lot of cloth on the list. I realize this represents a new and exciting development in the history of moonkin itemization. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. That's French for "We're screwed."Supplementary reading: Elitist Jerks' threads on Balance trinkets, Moonkin DPS spreadsheet, general issues, and Balance talents and specs. Gray Matter on necessary stats at 80 and raiding moonkin gear. As a note here concerning the recent news on Improved Faerie Fire (in a nutshell, you'll get the 3% crit no matter whose FF is up on a target, even a feral's), Gray Matter on why the talent's worth taking, and Macbook on the raid circumstances in which it might not be. As with our previous entry on pre-raid Restoration gear at 80, these guides assume that you do not presently have access to either 10-man or 25-man raids.
The Queue: That's a lot of J names
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Last time on The Queue, I answered a question about potential hero classes. Zoidberg asked about Archdruids, but there wasn't a whole lot to say. It's a rumor, and a rumor without much weight behind it, just an interview comment taken out of context as the WoW community (yes, even WoW Insider sometimes) likes to do. Since answering that question, I've been thinking about it a little myself.Do I, personally, think Archdruids will be the next hero class? Nah, I don't think so. Just the name is the big issue for me. Archdruid suggest Druid+ or Druid 2.0 and that's just not cool. You can differentiate them from Druids as much as you want, Archdruid still suggests that it's a better Druid. That's pretty awful. Even if the new hero class (if there is a new hero class) has all of the features we'd expect from an Archdruid, it'll probably be called something else. Maybe a Keeper or something like that.
Shifting Perspectives: Patch 3.0.8 for Druids
Every Tuesday, or sometimes Friday when the writer's internet has gone AWOL between Sunday evening and Thursday afternoon, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we take a look at the upcoming patch 3.0.8. while penning an angry letter to our ISP.Greetings, folks. Patch 3.0.8 is coming, bringing a few significant changes for the Druid class. Feral attack power is disappearing from the game entirely alongside bonus armor contribution from non-leather items. Restoration is receiving a nerf in the form of a 6-second cooldown to Wild Growth but is otherwise getting some buffs. Balance is also getting a few buffs, including one that will make a big difference to PvP combat versus Rogues and Hunters. But I think, dear readers, we are overlooking the most important part of patch 3.0.8:Fixed a bug with a Wild Mustard plant that was under the ground in Dalaran. Oh, thank God. That drove me nuts.(Really).(I'd also love to see them do something about the underground Tiger Lily spawn in Sholazar).(It's just south of River's Heart).(Really annoying).(Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?).
Shifting Perspectives: The Druid of 2008
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week, our author is completely spaced out on cold medication, and is somewhat concerned that her raid performance has improved under the circumstances.The time has come (the Allie said)To talk of many things.Of Roots and Bash and Travel Form,And Strength (which scales with Kings).Why Tauren cat form sucks so hard,And whether trees have wings!And, yes, before anyone asks, I'm tripping on too much cough syrup and ibuprofen after receiving a belated viral Christmas gift from a relative. So I'll just put this out there right now; this column's probably on the weird side. I took a long look at all three Druid specs over 2008 and saw a few sad things, a few happy things, a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants, and now I'm channeling the famous Mary Tyler Moore episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust," and that has to stop because I do not believe Mary Tyler Moore ever played a Druid.If you're completely uninterested in reading an account of any spec that's not your own -- although that would make me weep into my little cup of generic label cough syrup -- here's a set of quick links to each: Balance Feral Resto
World of WarCrafts: Crochet Boomkin
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.Almina of <Sisters of Mercy>, an alliance guild member on the Gurabashi server and a fellow Texan, has created an epic crochet replica of the awesomest druid form in the game.Almina created a Crochet Boomkin for her father who happens to live out of state, but stays connected with his daughter by way of Azeroth. She didn't have a pattern to work from but managed to produce this impressive specimen nonetheless. Check out the in-progress and final product pictures here.
Shifting Perspectives: Let my kitties go!
Every Tuesday/Wednesday/some sort of day occurring midweek, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week Allison Robert yanks John Patricelli's column again, hoping to make good on a threat previously made concerning her "dissatisfaction" with Tauren cat form. And by dissatisfaction she might mean something else.I'll level with you; we have a huge Druid post in the pipeline that's going to round up the changes to the class in Wrath, new talents, new skills, new everything, and frankly I'm sick to death about reading or writing anything having to do with the expansion. So, just to buck the overwhelming trend that threatens to drive us all to the nuthouse, I'm going to turn to a topic that's plagued Druids for a while.By this I mean the perennial form issue, something that my Druid colleagues on the blog have previously termed the Same Old Animal Posterior, or SOAP. But it's one that we've been given reason to believe will change in...Wrath. Well, that didn't last long. You'll note that David's article was written in October 2007, more than a year ago, but the same thing could have been posted in 2006 as well. Druid forms haven't changed since launch*, and while they were never really at the cutting edge of Blizzard's art direction as a result**, they look more and more shabby in relation to the higher-polygon models and landscapes. As everything around you gets better and better -- more evocative lighting, more intricate details, fantastic animation -- it's hard not to feel a strange sense of displacement as you shift into a 2004 form within a 2008 game.But at long last we may see Druid form customization, an overhaul to the default forms themselves, or possibly (hopefully?) both.
WoW Moviewatch: An Unusual Night
You have good nights, bad nights, and then you have dang weird nights. In An Unusual Night, FireboltPro documents a dang weird night for his gnomish protagonist. He wakes up, the mood is dark and gloomy. And then, he begins suffering a rapid succession of Halloween cliches, most seemingly bent on squishing the little fella. This was an entry into the Halloween contest at WarcraftMovies.com. Some of the encounters worked for me, others didn't. The giant monster made me laugh, though I'm not sure how that particular critter has become the token Halloween comedic appearance. As a commenter on the Myndflame site mentions, the movie was a little dark (probably due to compression), and that took away from some of the details that help get the short's tension across. The ending was slightly predictable, entirely due to an ironic piece of dialogue. Still, if you're a gnome-hater, you'll find that ending satisfying. Overall, I enjoyed "An Unusual Night", and look forward to more from FireboltPro. [Via Myndflame]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Shifting Perspectives: State of the class, part 1 - Balance
Every Tuesday, or possibly Thursday when the writer votes on Tuesday and spends Wednesday screaming and beating her laptop over formatting errors, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week Allison Robert steals John Patricelli's column once again, secure in the knowledge that she will never be forced to atone for her crime as long as she writes something nice about ferals and keeps a respectful distance from Dan O'Halloran's whip.I hate Tauren cat form.Good. I got that out of my system and can write something productive. Although, believe me, if I could get away with it, an entire Shifting Perspectives would be devoted to just how much I hate Tauren cat form. I mean, just look at it! Look at the angle on the horns! The cat can't bite anything! Christ, I just -- hi, Dan. Yes, I'm totally writing the column! Look at me go!This week, mindful as always of American election-year politicking, I'm going to borrow a page from presidential duties and write a little something I like to call "State of the Class." Druids have undergone a number of changes in the transition to Wrath of the Lich King, and will acquire even more as they level to 80. We are one of Blizzard's primary targets for both gear and role consolidation, which raises a few questions over how comfortably we're going to scale in relation to pure classes and what we can realistically expect on the march to a new level cap.The TL:DR version of this article -- I believe our future is generally bright, the Druid community continues to have a few concerns over certain aspects of the class, our focus in PvP seems to be changing the most, and I hate Tauren cat form. This is a three-part post, so let's get started with balance. However, if you want to jump ahead to feral, you'll find that here; and the third part, restoration, is here.
A plea on behalf of frustrated tanks everywhere
Several classes and specs have gotten "knockback" abilities as part of patch 3.02 and the game's transition to Wrath of the Lich King, and I've had fun watching these skills be deployed in battlegrounds to extensive and quite possibly evil use. It's pretty funny watching an elemental Shaman defend AB's lumber mill now, and the AV bridge? Even funnier. And yet...as I laughed, I started to cry inside, because I knew that these skills would also be deployed in 5-man groups and raids to much less amusing effect. And man, it's a real burden being right so often.
Shifting Perspectives: Moonkin in 3.02 and beyond
Every Tuesday, or possibly Thursday when the writer realizes that nobody writing about moonkin DPS on the internet agrees with each other, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week Allison Robert, having Hibernated John Patricelli and run away as fast as her laser-chicken legs will carry her, examines the new moonkin talents and glyphs in 3.02 and Wrath. I do apologize about the wait here, folks. There's been a lot of contradictory information from both the beta and an array of Druid bloggers on how moonkin are shaping up for Wrath. While a lot of this is just the normal ebb and flow of changes in the alpha and beta, most of it is fueled by a few new talents and the set of glyphs that will become available. All of these have the potential to seriously impact your gameplay and rotation choices, so Balance DPS is going to be (at least, from current appearances) a lot twitchier and more proc-dependent than its counterpart in the feral tree. In addition, you'll probably have to make a few hard choices that will be affected by what your raid's going to need from you (although there is a truly amazing talent deep in the balance tree that, no matter what else you pick, is going to be a significant raid DPS contribution). As Balance is the only spec that I haven't gotten to raid on, I didn't want to go live with this until trying to figure out which pieces of information were accurate and which ones weren't. Bear in mind that Blizzard is still tinkering with Balance as I write this. For the guide to feral in 3.02, head here; for the guide to resto in 3.02, head here. You'll probably want to be familiar with the resto changes, as balance has traditionally depended on a few key talents in that tree, some of which have changed. Otherwise, read on for a comprehensive look at balance's new talents, updated skills, and glyphs!
Skill Mastery: Survival Instincts
Survival Instincts is one of the surviving (har!) aspects of the now-defunct 51-point Berserk talent in the feral tree (the other is the new version of Berserk, which we discussed here). It's fairly straightforward; for 11 points in the feral tree and a 5-minute cooldown, you get 30% of your maximum health in bear or cat form for 20 seconds. Essentially it's Last Stand for Druids, albeit a Last Stand with a significantly shorter cooldown. During 5-mans in the beta while tanking, I saw an HP boost into the 26-27K range from a health pool of 19-20K. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at and it's situationally useful, although it'll probably find better and more consistent application under the same circumstances in which Last Stand's typically popped, i.e. progression raid content and/or "Oh S**T!" moments. The latter is particularly welcome as Druids have often complained about bear form's worrying lack of options in the event of an emergency. As many Warriors will tell you, proper use of the ability involves letting your healers know both when you've popped the ability and when it ends. Mods like OptiTaunt can relay this information automatically, but you can also macro it if need be.
Ask a Beta Tester: Exotic weapons, furbolgs, and more
Hi there, and welcome back to Ask a Beta Tester after its little Sunday break! If you're new to the column, then just 'welcome' instead of 'welcome back' and if that's the case allow me to explain! Have a question about the Wrath beta? We have an answer! Probably. Just ask in the comments section below, and we'll try to answer you in a future episode. Now, let's get started!CactusHam asked... I noticed on the Description of the Shaman's Maelstrom Weapon (and maybe its in other places as well, but this is where I saw it) that in addition to requiring axes, maces, staves and daggers it also requires "One handed Exotics, Two Handed Exotics" as well as "miscellaneous". I'm curious about what seems to be a new weapon type? Is this a new weapon type? If so, what classes can use "exotics"? And what exactly is an "exotic?" Exotic weapons are unique NPC items. If you've ever used something like WoW Modelviewer, the Exotic category contains things such as Maiev's huge chakram thingy or whatever it is. It's not something players will ever get their hands on. It's sort of like the armor sets you see on Wowhead and Thottbot that have the listing of which races can wear it, and races such as Fel Orc and Naga are listed. That doesn't mean we'll get playable Fel Orcs and Naga, it means if they're putting together an NPC that uses those racial models they can use that armor to play dress up with. Fel Orc did technically come into play at the Netherwing Ledge, but meh. Yeah, that's right. Meh.
Typhoon bug dominates the Wrath beta
Remember a few content patches ago, the PTR had a fun little bug where Warlocks had the spell effect of Seed of Corruption castable rather than the spell itself? So Warlocks had an infinite range, no cooldown, no global cooldown, mana free, instant Seed of Corruption? Remember the chaos that caused? Well, guess what? It happened again!No, no, it wasn't Seed of Corruption this time. It happened with the new Druid spell Typhoon. Specifically Typhoon Rank 5. It's already been hotfixed, so don't bother trying it now- you missed out. If you want to see exactly what people were doing with this spell, just check out the video above.I had a chance to experience a little of this firsthand, and it was impressive, to say the least. A Moonkin rolling up to an enemy faction's town and laying waste is just hilarious to see, though not so much after the tenth time. Remember, this thing didn't even trigger the Global Cooldown. Druids were running around with macros that cast this spell ten or twenty times simultaneously. Nothing could even hope to survive, especially when you got a bunch of them together. Five or six Moonkin in Naxx-25 was just absurd.If you want to see more of the bug, the tipster that supplied the above video has a whole bunch of them. Balance Druids, I hope as many of you got in on this as possible. Everyone gets a turn to be horribly, hideously overpowered. That was yours.[ Thanks, Bular! ]
Moonkins aiming to get DPS and group utility
Paladins weren't the only ones to get some attention from the crab last night. The Balance Druid post wasn't an especially information-filled post, but mostly served as a reminder that even though the devs may not respond to your threads, they are paying attention. Ghostcrawler explains that whlie she may be focusing more heavily on Feral Druids, that doesn't mean she isn't aware of Balance's needs. She clarifies their role in a raid (caster, duh), and states a Moonkin's needs to meet that role. She lists the following: Competitive dps. Mages and warlocks just tend to get a lot of attention, maybe because there are more of them, or more races of them, or they are more archetypal classes (in the familiarity sense). Good AoE utility. Encounters and dungeons tend to get designed with the assumption that the ranged DPS can do AoE. Hurricane is phenomenal now. I healed a run today and did really competitive dps with Hurricane on the ranged pulls. And I wasn't even Balance! I love Starfall. It's a rare spell because it feels new -- it isn't single target and it isn't classical Hurricane-style AoE either.
Druid changes in 8885
The latest beta push, build 8885, had changes for pretty much every class. Druids, of course, were no exception. Balance received the bulk of the changes, though it's mostly on the level of small tweaks. A few talents were moved around in the talent tree. Notably, Insect Swarm has been pushed down two tiers and correspondingly buffed up to 5% reduced chance to hit. The really interesting part of the Balance tree changes is some great synergy for Resto druids. For instance: New Talent Nature's Splendor (Tier 3): Increases the duration of your Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Rejuvenation, Regrowth, Lifebloom and Flourish spells by 10/20/30%. New Talent Genesis (Tier 1): Increases the damage and healing done by your periodic spells by 1/2/3/4/5%. Focused Starlight renamed Nature's Majesty and now affects Nourish and Healing Touch as well. Looks like yet another step in the new quest to open up the talent trees and give us more options. Oh, and the Moonkin Aura now hits any raid member within 45 yards. Edit: Nature's Grasp now trainable, 100% chance to hit.
Furor buffed for 3.0.2
Do you guys remember yesterday, when I wrote about how the Druid talent Furor was altered to prevent powershifting? Well, if not, that's OK. Furor has just been rewritten again, and this time it has all I asked for and then some. The new Furor reads as follows (with 5/5 talent points in it): Gives you 100% chance to gain 10 Rage when you shapeshift into Bear and Dire Bear Form, and you keep up to 100 of your Energy when you shapeshift into Cat Form, and increases your total Intellect while in Moonkin form by 10%. Holy sweet monkeys, Druid fans. Not only is there now no penalty whatsoever for switching in and out of cat form, we get some added Moonkin utility for this already excellent talent. This is one of those days where I just want to hug the devs, all of them. In case anyone is unclear about how this latest iteration of Furor works, here's a quick rundown (as I understand it). The game will now track your energy regeneration even when not in cat form, like it tracks your mana regen in feral forms now. When you shift back into cat, you'll have whatever amount of energy you would have had if you had just stayed in cat in the first place. Shift out to heal at 80 energy? You'll have 100 when you pop back in, 2 seconds later. Arrive at your destination and switch from flight into cat form? 100 energy to go mangle some faces. Powershifting is still out, but this is way better for the soloing Druid, not to mention the Moonkin perks. There is some concern that this may be overpowered in PvP: what's to stop you from DPSing in cat till you're at 0 energy, then shifting to bear for 10 seconds to DPS that way, then back to cat? Well, nothing, as far as I know. However, keep in mind that this is still beta, and if ferals end up hideously overpowered in arenas, I'm sure they'll make changes as necessary.
Wrath Beta patch notes: Balance Druids
Now that the Wrath of the Lich King Beta is live, and the patch notes are up, we have some solid information on Druid talents as they're being tested. Here is what the patch revealed:Balance treeIf you were to invest three points into your Brambles tier three talent, you will not only have the current 75% boost to damage caused by Thorns and Entangling Roots, but your Treants will have their damage boosted by 15%. In addition, all damage caused by Treants, and any attacks done to you while Barkskin is active, have a 15% chance of dazing the target for three seconds. Actually, Force of Nature, which summons your Treants, is having its cooldown reduced from three minutes to two. This will be a nifty talent for Moonkin in battlegrounds and arena, although it won't be enough to convert all of those Restoration druids to the ways of the Giant Chicken.
Shifting Perspectives: Gearing your Moonkin for Kara Part 2
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week John Patricelli, the Big Bear Butt Blogger, brings the second part of our Moonkin gear guide with Nasirah, the Moonkin master, the driving force behind A Tale of Two Druids until her terminal altitis took over. Now, she writes Alts Ahoy, but she danced like a Moonkin once more to share her wisdom for this guide. This week we complete our two part Moonkin gear guide for preparing for Karazhan. In part one, we covered most of the basics about gear choices, and the reader comments that followed offered excellent additional advice. This week, since we are covering Belt slots through Weapons and Idols, there are just a few more notes to cover before we begin. A few notes about weapons:If your guild already has Kara on farm and you're just getting your character ready to join in, you may expect to get upgrades fairly quickly. The Staff of Inifinite Mysteries drops from Curator and the Nathrezim Mindblade drops from Prince, so some of the epic weapons listed here may not be worth the effort to attain. However, to the character whose entire guild is now getting ready to start Kara, or simply someone who has the time/gold to spare and wants the best gear they can get, the options are certainly there.Also worth mentioning, is that while the majority of Season 2 PvP gear is worth looking at for any equipment slot you feel weak in, the weapons available from Season 2 really shine. Even the Season 1 weapons blew most pre-Kara options away, and now that Season 2 is available for honor, it's really no contest. But, if you don't enjoy PvP, these other avenues for gear are perfectly acceptable; these are the weapons that people were "meant" to be using when going into Kara for the first time.And of course, when upgrading from a 1H/off-hand to a staff, be sure to hold onto those two items. You never know when you might get a really awesome 1H weapon or off-hand that will make the combo better than your staff. And now, let's get on to the gear!
Shifting Perspectives: Preparing your Moonkin for Karazhan Part 1
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week John Patricelli, the Big Bear Butt Blogger, finally brings some death chicken love with Nasirah, the Moonkin master, the driving force behind A Tale of Two Druids until her terminal altitis took over. Now, she writes Alts Ahoy, but she donned the feathery mantle of Moonkin once more to share her wisdom for this guide. According to Nasirah, knowing when you are ready for Kara is much easier for tanks and healers. Tanks have certain stats they need to strive for in order to not get killed. Healers have certain stats they need to strive for in order to not let their tanks die. As a damage caster, however, you personally need a certain amount of stamina to survive splash damage, but the group as a whole needs to have the DPS to beat an encounter within a given time frame (either an enrage timer built into the encounter, or simply before the healers' mana runs dry). This means that people just entering Karazhan for the first time will probably be on the low end of damage output, while veterans who just need a couple more drops or are running for badges will be on the high end. It's a team effort, and you should talk to your raid leader if you want to know how you're contributing.But you still need to have some idea of what goal you should be aiming for to help you know when you're ready to 'bring the goods'. Continue on for more on what to look for, what goals to set and a list of gear to hunt!
Brutal Gladiator's Wildhide
The Brutal Gladiator's Wildhide is the armor set for Balance Druids. It is a wyrmhide, or leather armor usable only by Druids and is usually matched with Guardian's Wyrmhide armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall. Brutal Gladiator's Wyrmhide Gloves The Brutal Gladiator armor piece for the hands are the cheapest and easiest Season 4 Arena gear to obtain. With no personal rating requirements, most players will be able to purchase this piece and is the Arena gear likely to be most widespread as soon as the season begins. The PvP-oriented bonus of Cyclone cast time reduction is the same for the Brutal Gladiator's Kodohide Gloves. The gloves have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent): 354 Armor (+25)+47 Stamina (+4)+28 Intellect (+4)+16 Spell Critical (+4) +22 Resilience (+0) +49 Spell Damage / Healing (+6)6 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Reduces the cast time of Cyclone by .1 secs.Classes: Druid WoW Insider says: These gloves are low-cost and have no rating requirements, and the high Stamina and good +Healing make it making it one of the best Season 4 purchases, specially for starting Arena players. Brutal Gladiator's Wyrmhide LegguardsThe leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, even for Moonkin Druids. While not as accessible as the gloves, the leg armor is highly visible on a character and is also likely to be a popular purchase, even at 1875 Arena points. The legguards have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):492 Armor (+35)+65 Stamina (+7)+40 Intellect (+5)+27 Spell Critical (+5) +31 Resilience (+0) +67 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: DruidWoW Insider says: The lack of sockets mean that the only customization that can be done will be through Tailoring or Leatherworkingenchants. Even then, the low ratings requirement for these legguards make it very appealing for all the stats it gives, including a 1.72% spell crit from the +Intellect and +Spell Crit Rating.Brutal Gladiator's Wyrmhide TunicWith three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece, and is the next best purchase after the gloves. In PvE, the chest armor is traditionally a drop from the final boss in a series (Magtheridon drops Tier 4 chest token, Kael'thas drops Tier 5 chest token, Illidan drops Tier 6 chest token, etc.). Arenas are different in this regard, but the item level of the chest is identical to PvE chest pieces. Sunwell Plateau breaks from tradition in that the final boss, Kil'jaeden, does not drop chest tokens or armor. However, the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is equivalent in item level to the drops from Entropius and is the best combination of cost and restriction among all the armor pieces. The tunic has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):541 Armor (+40)+62 Stamina (+7)+33 Intellect (+5)+18 Spell Critical (+5) +27 Resilience (+0)+59 Spell Damage / Healing (+6)7 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5) Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience Rating Classes: DruidWoW Insider says: Although 1600 personal rating might be restrictive to some beginning Moonkin Druids, the chest piece is worth the grind because it's a decent upgrade over its Season 3 counterpart. Because of its PvE equivalent, obtaining the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is almost like killing Entropius in Sunwell Plateau. Well, ok not really, but if you don't raid, that's about as close to a raid drop as you're going to get.Brutal Gladiator's Wyrmhide HelmThe helm is very likely the last Brutal Gladiator armor piece that many players will obtain. With the shoulders at an extremely prohibitive 2200, most players will only manage 4/5 of Season 4. Moonkin Druids, although not very popular in Arenas, can manage 1700 for this helm, which costs the same as the chest and leg armor pieces. With a personal rating attached to it, the Brutal Gladiator helm might be one helm graphic that players would like to leave on. It is also identical in model to the pieces that drop off Kil'jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. The helm has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):447 Armor (+32)+65 Stamina (+7)+35 Intellect (+6)+22 Spell Critical +28 Resilience (+0)+59 Spell Damage / Healing (+13 / +5)8 Mana / 5 Secs (+3 / 5)Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience RatingClasses: DruidWoW Insider says: The spell crit on this helm isn't quite as good as on the legguards, but Meta and Yellow Sockets give enough options for customization to make it a worthy purchase. Brutal Gladiator's Wyrmhide Spaulders The 2200 personal ratings requirement for the shoulders are almost Gladiator-level for most Battlegroups, and will likely be a very rare sight in most realms. It's not certain we'll see many Moonkin Druids sport these. It is the cheapest item after the gloves, but it is also the most difficult to get. Blizzard's reasoning for this is that the shoulders are the most "visually impacting" armor piece, confirming Blizzard's opinion that PvP achievements should be on display. The spaulders has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):416 Armor (+30)+49 Stamina (+6) +24 Intellect (+4)+13 Spell Critical (+8)+22 Resilience (+0)+41 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)5 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience RatingClasses: DruidWoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator Shoulders are peacock gear. The stats for the Wyrmhide shoulders are so minimal to even warrant a 2200 personal ratings tag outside of showing off. Guardian's Wyrmhide Belt Because it is a visual match for the Brutal Gladiator's Wildhide, and because it comes with no personal ratings requirement, the belt is most likely to be the most widely distributed Season 4 gear. It is purchasable with Honor points, so even players who do not participate in Arena PvP can obtain it. The belt has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):322 Armor (+22)+49 Stamina (+6)+35 Intellect (+5) +26 Resilience (+0) +44 Spell Damage / Healing (+4)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: Rogue, DruidWoW Insider says: Even though it has no spell crit, this belt has a low Honor cost and is ratings-free. It's a must have item for all aspiring Moonkins, definitely the best Season 4 purchase even for players who have no intention of stepping into Arenas.Guardian's Wyrmhide BracersThe only other Guardian piece with a socket is the amulet, which doesn't have a personal rating requirement. Coupled with the fact that bracers are visually insignificant, being hidden under gloves or robes, most players feel that there's little urgency to get them. A 1575 personal ratings requirement also requires decent performance in Arenas. The bracers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):253 (+17)+35 Stamina (+4)+23 Intellect (+3)+18 Resilience (+0) +27 Spell Damage / Healing (+4)8 Mana / 5 Secs (+1 / 5)Socket Bonus: +2 Resilience RatingClasses: Rogue, DruidWoW Insider says: The great thing about these bracers are the Red Socket as opposed to the typical Yellow Socket for bracers, although the upgrade from last season's version is very moderate. If a Moonkin can manage 1575 and spare the dirt cheap 11,794 Honor, why not? Guardian's Wyrmhide BootsThe most visually important match of all Guardian items -- although it won't be seen on Tauren feet, the boots are a big jump from a 1575 personal ratings requirement and is as demanding to get as the head piece at 1700 personal ratings. It is also as expensive to purchase as the belt, which has no ratings requirement. The slippers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):385 Armor (+28)+49 Stamina (+6)+35 Intellect (+5) +26 Resilience (+0) +44 Spell Damage / Healing(+4)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: Rogue, DruidWoW Insider says: 1700 is the highest personal ratings requirement outside of the weapons and shoulders, and might be a challenge for Moonkins only starting to do Arenas. A decent item, to be sure, but players looking for more spell crit for more burst should look at better raid drops if they can manage it. %Gallery-25440% Looking for more Season 4 info? We've rounded up everything you need to know about the Brutal Gladiator season right here.
