Tier 10 and the Bear

I'd like to take an in-depth look at the stat bonuses on Tier 10 gear and the other items available with Emblems of Frost for bear tanks.  If you've read this blog at all, you probably know already that fairly soon I'll follow up with a look at the gear with respect to trees.

Bear with me, these are going to be long.  Perhaps not quite Bearwalls, but long.

I'll be comparing this gear to the Tier 9 level gear as well as trying to decide what's the best value - the most bang for your Emblem buck, if you will.  Of course, this will depend on the gear you're currently wearing.  If I say a particular piece is the best upgrade, but you're wearing an item from ToGC in that slot and still using blues elsewhere, replace the blues first.

The Tier 9 level I'll be using is the base level - for those of us that did some 25-man ToC (or heroic ToC at all) and may have picked up trophies or heroic versions of gear, remember that your mileage will vary, because your Tier 9 gear is a little better than what I'm putting forth here.  Also note that I'm not examining accessories (back, neck, rings, and trinkets) yet.  If I can work up the courage I might tackle that later.

If you are confused as to any abbreviations, please see the end for a glossary.

Without further ado, let me begin.

Head

Tier 9: Malfurion's Headguard of Conquest
Stats: 485 a, 104 Agi, 120 Sta, M/Y sockets, 80 crit, 64 exp., 129 AP
Cost: 50 Emblem of Triumph

Triumph Emblems: Hood of Lethal Intent
Stats: 506 a, 120 Agi, 136 Sta, M/Y sockets, 82 hit, 165 AP, 64 ArP
Cost: 75 Emblem of Triumph

Tier 10: Lasherweave Headguard
Stats: 517 a, 144 Agi, 144 Sta, M/R sockets, 88 crit, 143 AP, 80 ArP
Cost: 95 Emblem of Frost

Frost Emblems: None available.

I'm going to go ahead and mention something here at the top that I've noticed across the board.  Take a look at the Tier 9 vs. Hood of Lethal Intent.  I didn't put the iLevel of the items in my summary.  Hood is an iLevel 245, while the Tier 9 is a 232.  Something they did with the purchasable gear is that the individual items are generally better than the tier pieces in-slot if you don't raid enough to get the Trophies (or Marks of Sanctification for Tier 10).  The 2nd level non-heroic tier gear is approximately on par with the pieces you can buy without having to raid.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, but that's what you see here.  The only reason to stay with the T9 gear is if you desperately need the expertise...

It is also good to note that the Hood is a bit more DPS-centric, with hit vs. crit and ArP vs. expertise.  The major stats win out though, and you should take the Hood unless you feel that the Tier bonus is worth the stat drop and you can't afford to lose another piece.

You lose expertise for ArP in the step up to Tier 10 from Tier 9, or hit for crit coming from the Hood.  I'm not excited by the loss either way, but the nice step up in base stats - +40 or 24 Agi, +24 or 8 Sta - far outweighs the loss.  If this pulls you off your hit or expertise caps, try to shift your gems or enchants to compensate.  The downside is that it costs you 95 Frost Emblems to do this step - that's a fairly huge cost.  Let's see how that pans out as we go forward.

Shoulder

Tier 9: Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Conquest
Stats: 447 a, 81 Agi, 89 Sta, Y socket, 60 haste, 119 AP, 52 ArP
Cost: 30 Emblem of Triumph

Triumph Emblems: Duskstalker Shoulderpads
Stats: 467 a, 93 Agi, 101 Sta, Y socket, 67 crit, 135 AP, 59 ArP
Cost: 45 Emblem of Triumph

Tier 10: Lasherweave Shoulderpads
Stats: 477 a, 107 Agi, 107 Sta, R socket, 71 crit, 126 AP, 63 ArP
Cost: 60 Emblem of Frost

Frost Emblems: None available.

Here we see again the disparity in items available with Triumph Emblems...  And again, unless you want the set bonus, take the Duskstalker piece instead of the Tier-9.

The step up to Tier 10 nets you +26 or +14 Agi, and +18 or +6 Sta.  It has the same secondary stat set as the Duskstalker piece, which loses haste for crit, an acceptable change as a bear.  It also has a red socket instead of yellow, which I consider a plus for a bear - yellow gives us crit or hit, red gives us Agi or dodge.

To compare spending 95 Frost for the head vs. 60 Frost for the shoulders...  Comparatively, 35 badges gets you 10 to 14 Agi and 2 to 6 Sta (depending on which piece you're coming from for each choice.)  That doesn't seem like a lot, but it's more stats per Emblem used to spend the 95 Frost, provided you're making the same jump (T9 to T10 or Emblem piece to T10).  Not by much, and I'd probably go ahead and spend the badges early anyway to get the boost while I rebuild to the bigger number.

Chest

Tier 9: Malfurion's Raiments of Conquest
Stats: 596 a, 104 Agi, 120 Sta, R/Y sockets, 74 crit, 70 haste, 161 AP
Cost: 50 Emblem of Triumph

Triumph Emblems: None available.

Tier 10: Lasherweave Raiment
Stats: 636 a, 144 Agi, 144 Sta, R/Y sockets, 96 crit, 159 AP, 80 ArP
Cost: 95 Emblem of Frost

Frost Emblems: Shadow Seeker's Tunic
Stats: 665 a, 162 Agi, 162 Sta, R/Y/B sockets, 108 crit, 92 exp, 184 AP
Cost: 95 Emblem of Frost

There's a solid upgrade here no matter which way you go, but the Shadow Seeker's Tunic is clearly a MUCH better upgrade than the T10 piece.  +40 or +58 Agi, +24 or +42 Sta, AND an additional blue socket (which equals +30 Sta).

Continuing to examine against the previous most-efficient use of Emblems... I'm taking this over the head item or the shoulders.  It's definitely more efficient than the head, and enough of a boost over the shoulders that it is worth it to me to wait for 95 badges.

I'd also like to point out that I think the secondary stats are better for bears on the Tunic rather than the T10 Raiment.  I want the 4-piece T10 set bonus.  This very well might be the only piece I don't pick up.

Wrist

None.  Oddly enough, the highest wrist purchasable with Emblems require only Emblems of Valor.  I'm moving on...

Hands

Tier 9: Malfurion's Handgrips of Conquest
Stats:  373 a, 81 Agi, 89 Sta, Y socket, 52 hit, 60 crit, 119 AP
Cost:  30 Emblem of Triumph

Triumph Emblems:  None Available

Tier 10: Lasherweave Handgrips
Stats: 398 a, 107 Agi, 107 Sta, R socket, 63 haste, 126 AP, 71 ArP
Cost: 60 Emblem of Frost

Frost Emblems: Cat Burglar's Grips
Stats: 416 a, 120 Agi, 120 Sta, Y/Y sockets, 80 crit, 129 AP, 64 ArP
Cost: 60 Emblem of Frost

I see an interesting dilemma here.  Multiple sockets and 13 better each Agi and Sta, as well as crit vs. haste in secondary stats.  I like the red socket better - I'll use it for an Agi or Agi + Sta gem - but multiple sockets may outweigh it.  It won't outweigh the set bonus in my mind, though, and this isn't enough of an upgrade to make me choose the Cat Burglar's Grips over the T10 piece.

It's also not enough of a bonus to make me spend my hard-won, precious Emblems of Frost here before spending them on the Tunic either, though.  Still going for the chest.

Waist

There are no Tier pieces here, and nothing is available from Triumph Emblems either.  There is a Frost Emblem item, and for comparisons of Emblem spending here it is...

Frost Emblems: Vengeful Noose
Stats: 374 a, 120 Agi, 120 Sta, R/Y sockets, 64 haste, 129 AP, 80 ArP
Cost: 60 Emblem of Frost

For me, and the item I'm coming from, this provides a boost of nearly 50 Agi and 25 Sta, as well as another socket.  That's about the same boost as I'd get out of my chest item with 35 less badges.  We have a new front-runner.

Legs

Tier 9: Malfurion's Legguards of Conquest
Stats: 522 a, 102 Agi, 120 Sta, R/B sockets, 64 hit, 80 crit, 129 AP
Cost: 50 Emblem of Triumph

Triumph Emblems: None available.

Tier 10: Lasherweave Legguards
Stats: 577 a, 144 Agi, 144 Sta, R/Y sockets, 80 exp, 159 AP, 96 ArP
Cost: 95 Emblem of Frost

Frost Emblems: None available.

Here we get it easy, a straight Tier 9 to Tier 10 comparison.  Solid statistical upgrade in Agi and Sta.  I like the expertise on the T10 item, but I like the blue socket on the T9.  38 Agi and 24 Sta for 95 Emblems is not as strong as either the Tunic or the Vengeful Noose.  This might be the 3rd or 4th upgrade I target from among this group of items.

Feet

There are no Tier items for feet, and nothing is available for Emblems of Triumph or Frost.

So, among these items, I'll be targeting the Vengeful Noose first, followed by the Shadow Seeker's Tunic next.  I'll have to examine my secondary stat layout at the time to determine the next upgrade from among the hands, legs, head, and shoulder items.  At that point, I will likely buy them from the cheapest to the most expensive, because there isn't particularly a huge difference in cost to benefit ratio.

Look back soon for the Tree version... or perhaps the Accessories!  Thanks for reading!

Abbreviations Glossary:

a: armor
AP: Attack Power
ArP: Armor Penetration
exp: expertise

Stat Abbreviations:
Agi: Agility
Sta: Stamina
Str: Strength

Socket Abbreviations:
B: Blue
M: Meta
R: Red
Y: Yellow

A Look at Tier 10 Set Bonuses for Trees

Following up on the T10 set bonus for bears post, another short one to cover trees...

Thanks to the kind folks over at the Daily Druid for the current T10 set bonuses from the PTR...  For reference here are all of them:

Druid T10 Restoration

• 2P Bonus – The healing granted by your Wild Growth spell reduces 0% less over time.
• 4P Bonus (Rejuvenation) – Each time your Rejuvenation spell heals a target, it has a 2% chance to jump to a new target at full duration.

Druid T10 Balance

• 2P Bonus – When you gain Clearcasting from your Omen of Clarity talent, you deal 10% additional Nature and Arcane damage for 6 sec.
• 4P Bonus – Reduces the cooldown on your Eclipse talent by 6 seconds.

Druid T10 Feral

• 2P Bonus – Your Swipe (Bear) and Lacerate abilities deal 20% additional damage and the cost of your Rip ability is reduced by 10 energy.
• 4P Bonus – Your Enrage ability no longer decreases your armor and instead decreases all damage taken by 12%, and the periodic damage done by your Rake ability can now be a critical strike.

I really like the 2-piece bonus... I think.  I'll get to that.  If you've taken a look at the start of my primer on tree healing, you know I'm a big fan of Wild Growth.  One of its quirks - its actually more of an upside, in my opinion, than a downside - is that it applies a lot of its healing early, then tapers off over time.  If I'm reading this correctly, this bonus actually increases the healing done by Wild Growth by making it stay at its maximum healing amount.  That's a pretty solid upgrade to this already amazing spell.  If this is wrong - if it just evens out the healing done by Wild Growth - I think it actually weakens the spell, if not by much.  So, I like this bonus... I think.

I also like the 4-piece bonus, but I'm not really sure how great it will be.  Certainly, in 25-man raids it will have the greatest strength, as you'll be throwing more Rejuvenations out there.  With 6 ticks for a properly talented Rejuvenation, it will take roughly 8 full duration Rejuvs to get a jump, on average.  That's a lot of investment for a free Rejuvenation.  Then again, with all the healing that flies around in raids, maybe you'll get more than you realize, and I'm always a proponent of more random free healing.  If it's a smart jump - it jumps to people needing heals more, or only to people that don't already have Rejuv ticking on them - this gets better, but I don't have enough information yet to rule clearly on how powerful I think this is.  Free healing is always good, and shouldn't be overlooked.

Tune in soon for more on bears, trees, and everything Druidic!

A Look at Tier 10 Set Bonuses for Bears

Fairly short post today...

Thanks to the kind folks over at the Daily Druid for the current T10 set bonuses from the PTR...  For reference here are all of them:

Druid T10 Restoration

• 2P Bonus – The healing granted by your Wild Growth spell reduces 0% less over time.
• 4P Bonus (Rejuvenation) – Each time your Rejuvenation spell heals a target, it has a 2% chance to jump to a new target at full duration.

Druid T10 Balance

• 2P Bonus – When you gain Clearcasting from your Omen of Clarity talent, you deal 10% additional Nature and Arcane damage for 6 sec.
• 4P Bonus – Reduces the cooldown on your Eclipse talent by 6 seconds.

Druid T10 Feral

• 2P Bonus – Your Swipe (Bear) and Lacerate abilities deal 20% additional damage and the cost of your Rip ability is reduced by 10 energy.
• 4P Bonus – Your Enrage ability no longer decreases your armor and instead decreases all damage taken by 12%, and the periodic damage done by your Rake ability can now be a critical strike.

For now I'll just take a gander at the feral bonuses from a bear perspective.  Later I'll throw some thoughts out there on the Restoration set.

The 2-piece bonus seems pretty solid.  The damage bonus to Swipe should enable us to have an easier time maintaining AOE aggro.  Adding damage to Lacerate helps a little bit on single-target aggro.  We shouldn't have had problems already, but this will help ease any tensions if we have to stop our threat rotation (i.e. if someone pulls a secondary mob off us....)  All in all, I think it's a nice little 2-piece bonus, but nothing to write home about.

When I first saw the 4-piece bonus, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.  After some further thought, I'm not quite as stoked about it as I was, but I'm still excited.  The first half is rather innocuous - removing the armor penalty from Enrage just means we can use it without fear of overwhelming our healers.  But since we shouldn't be having rage issues anyway (unless our silly healers are shielding us too often), that's not really all that big a deal, in my eyes.  The second part, however, means that we'll use enrage pretty much as often as we can.  Free rage plus damage reduction... where can I sign up?

It makes Enrage useful in a number of ways that it couldn't dream about before.  If I get to the point that I have this bonus, Enrage will get added to the list of abilities macro'd into my emergency button.  Rather than being a rage generator with a drawback, it's an actively good ability with rage generation tacked on for free.  I already use Barkskin at semi-regular intervals during most fights.  While not quite as effective as Barkskin, the new and improved Enrage will give you a similar effect.  I will probably be using Enrage as often as possible during fights, and instead of stacking Barkskin on top of it, I will use Barkskin once the Enrage bonus has ended and it's on cooldown.

I like it, and I think it's a solid bonus to look at as an upgrade from the T9 sets.

Tune in soon for some thoughts on fandom by the WoW developers, and my primer for the OTHER role I play as a druid - tree!