Finkum

That would be because spirit is pretty much useless for all specs other than arcane, and even there its worth in comparison to 25 crit rating is dubious.

Additionally, the fact that the Scalpel purchased from a vendor at a very reasonable reputation level (especially for mages) is a minor note in its favour, as everyone has their story about [item x] that never drops despite [y] runs of [instance z].

 

Inoko

Also, this is supposed to be the best pre-raid mage gear. Not the list of everything under the sun that looks like it might maybe go together if you do things just right to be roughly equivalent to the traditional way...

Obviously having say, two choices (with hit and without) for those trying to work around the hit cap, or even a third choice that's obtainable without luck (boss drops being luck, for the most part. Say quest rewards for non-luck alternative). But having sixteen different gloves does no one any good, because only two of them are really going to be the best (hit and no hit).

Just saying.

 

Hoffski

[Sash of the Servant] drops of last boss in heroic Azjol-Nerub. IMO pretty much the best dps belt available outside 25 mans unless you desperately need hit rating.

 

Naheb

can anyone please rate the new darkmoon card: greatness with int (http://static.mmo-champion.com/mmoc/...lkdarkmoon.jpg)

especialy for an arcane build this seams for me to be quite good ...

 

renegadeofunk

The Band of Channeled Magic requires 25 emblems of valor, not heroism, which you'd need to raid to get.

Edit: I would add the Visage Liquification Goggles for engineers, as well.

 

Thegoodman

If we are including profession bop items [Mercurial Alchemist Stone] should be added to the trinket list.

 

Rustyshrapnel

To the earlier question about which Heroic badge gear to go for first, I would say in terms of bang for your buck:

[Plush Sash of Guzbah]
[Sundial of the Exiled]
[Ward of the Violet Citadel]
[Heroes' Frostfire Gloves]

The necks are nice but only marginally moreso than dungeon drops and the JC craftable neck trumps them IMO. The belt and the trinket are the best-in-slot items you can get short of stuff that drops out of 25-man instances, plus you can add a socket to the belt for even more oomph. The offhand is extremely versatile and nice for when you're starting out raiding and your hit may be low. The gloves are arguable; I went for them after the offhand because I needed the hit and I wanted the Frostfire 2pc bonus as soon as I possibly could. Your mileage may vary depending on what gear you're currently sporting...but your first two choices in my opinion should always be the belt or the trinket.

 

Ivorthemage

My only caveat to the best in slot badge recommendations, from what I have experienced gearing up over the past couple of weeks, is that it is really, really easy to get hit-capped. 6% from frostfire EP bug, 1% draenai, and 3% from misery or improved faerie fire, and you only need 7% from gear, which is cake. I hit 11%, while still having a crappy second trinket (The VH hit trinket refuses to drop for me), bracers, and lollygagging on the badge belt.

Then there is the spell food. Hit spell food is the best dps spellfood if you aren't hit capped, so you can knock your hit percent down to 5.5% and make the remainder on spellfood for boss fights.

This makes gearing decisions more difficult, as items high in hit are great dps when short of the hit cap, but gimped once over the hit cap. My overall recommendation right now is to not priorize items that drop substantially in dps once hit capped. Take the hit items as they come, prioritize items with hit that are still solid even when hit capped (the badge belt), and supplement with gemming and spell food as necessary.

For instance, while I agree that the neck isn't a ton better than the competition, I chose it over the offhand because by the time I was ready to buy the offhand, which was initially a priority item, I was already hit capped. So I went with the neck instead. (I chose the neck over the belt as it was a better dps increase per badge, was available sooner, and wouldn't require using a crappy green gem to keep my meta).

Yes, the EP double dip is being fixed, but that will likely take at least a month, given Blizzard's patchy history, and odds are your upgrade priorities will be different at that time anyway. Squirrel away any high hit items that drop in case you need them later.

 

Jonny_Monroe

Flow of Knowledge is exactly the same as Sundial of the Exiled. It is available next patch for 25 Wintergrasp commendations and both can be used together. If you're looking for pre-raid trinkets, look no further.

OMNOMNOM.

 

Nemantopia

1) Frostfirebolt's douple dipping is being handled by an Elemental Precision change: 3% to all spells. Non-school, just spells. No more double dip soon.

2) Flow of Knowledge will LIKELY be changed to resilience. I intend to pick it up as a PvP item regardless, but don't expect this to be a match for Sundial in raiding long...or rather, at least prepare to use it until the possible change. And who knows, maybe we'll get lucky!

 

Gaiwyn

Wowbrief: Level 80 Pre-Raid Caster Gear

This is a link to my own pre-raid caster gear list. I ordered everything according to acquisition rather than slot. It is divided into BoE (including crafted), heroic drops, badge rewards, and reputation rewards.

Gaiwyn

 

Twoflower

These require you to be exalted. Has been stated in the thread, but i didnt see you change it in the initial post so far.

 

Nemantopia

I generally agree with this order, but a Mage is shooting for Kirin Tor [and Wyrmrest] reputation as a priority, and hitting Revered with KT for the blade is not that hard. In that case, Ward becomes the best-in-slot short of 25-man drops, and unless you're lucky enough to have Keristraza's blue offhand it is a pretty significant upgrade over other options. Depending on your rate of badge accquisition and reptuation levels, Sundial and Sash are definitely top picks [I'd say over anything from the Frostfire set], with shooting for 2pc set bonus being next priority.

 

solbergb

Belt: [Sash of the Servant] AN Heroic
Feet: [Stone-Worn Footwraps] AN Heroic - these aren't quite as good as nexus boots but are close

 

renegadeofunk

Rune of Infinite Power should be added to the list.

 

Nemantopia

Only as:
1) Stepping stone to Mark of the War Prisoner
or
2) Second hit trinket when needing hit

I'm working on an Excel sheet to try and replicate the first post of this thread in a manner that shows the best in slot pre-raiding, period, then does a stepping stone demonstration with recommendations, including how to gather materials for crafted recipes with minimal gold incidentally. Sort of a walkthrough from TBC to pre-raiding best in slot, I guess. It'll take a bit since I'll be including information included throughout the thread for the stepping stone process, but I hope to keep it updated once finished and have it out shortly after X-mas [busy at work and visiting family...fun but time consuming].

 

Adesworth

There's a very interesting (if green) shoulder piece from a quest: [Fur-Lined Shoulder Warmers]
The lack of white stats lets them have pretty nice ratings.

 

Licity

[Rune of Infinite Power] has a lot of hit, and takes about 5 minutes to attain. There are better things to go in the trinket slots, but if you desperately need hit...

 

jak3676

After reading through it looks like it may be better to break this into 2 lists - one that's "easy" to pick up as soon as hitting 80 and a 2nd that lists the "best" non-raid drop gear. The 2nd list should include instance drops and alternatives for the best gear that doesn't require Heroic farming. I thing the "best" non-raid gear has been beat to death, but in cases where it relies on a lucky drop from heroics it's worthwhile to metion what the best gear is that can be picked up in cases where you just aren't that lucky. So here's what I belive to be the "base" gear and the best soloable gear that doesn't invlove running any specific instance.



Base level 80 Mage gear:
This is all gear that can/should be picked up by every mage when they hit 80. This does not include any items that require intances or items from instances (i.e. Frozen Orbs). It also does not require more than 1 piece of multi-day cool down cloth (ebonweave, spellweave, etc.) and it doesn't require any reputation above honored. So you should be able to obtain everything here within a few hours of hitting 80. It does require a ton of frostweave cloth though/.

Head:
[Hat of Wintry Doom], tailoring

Neck:
[Choker of Betrayal], quest reward in Zul’Drak

Shoulders:
[Frostsavage Shoulders], tailoring

Back:
[Polished Protodrake Cloak], quest reward in Sholazar Basin
[Shroud of Dedicated Research], Kirin Tor quartermaster – Honored
[Dark Soldier Cape], Knights of the Ebon Blade quartermaster – Honored

Chest:
[Black Duskweave Robe], tailoring

Wrist:
[Black Duskweave Wristwraps], tailoring (combine with legs below for 2 piece bonus)

Hands:
[Frostsavage Gloves], tailoring

Waist:
[Sash of the Wizened Wyrm], Wyrmrest Accord quartermaster – Honored
[Deep Frozen Cord], tailoring

Legs:
[Black Duskweave Leggings], tailoring (combine with bracers above for 2 piece bonus)

Feet:
[Frostsavage Boots], tailoring
[Silky Iceshard Boots], tailoring

Rings (2):
[Ring of Northern Tears], jewelcrafting
[Ring of Temerity], quest reward from the Occulus

Alts include:
[Amberglow Signet], [Ring of the Northern Winds], [Brunnhildar Runed Ring] quest rewards in storm peaks, or [Windfire Band] or [Dream Signet of restoration/foreseer/invoker/necromancer/sorcerer], jewelcrafting

Trinkets (2):
[Cannoneer's Fuselighter], quest reward in Icecrown
[Rune of Infinite Power], quest reward in Dragonsblight

Alternative (when you don’t need the hit) is [Badge of the Infiltrator], quest reward in Zul’Drak. Keep the rune of infinite power around to swap in for raid bosses when you need the hit rating.

One Hand Weapon:
[Saronite Spellblade], blacksmithing (The Kirin Tor 1H below is much better – get to revered ASAP)

Off Hand:
[Frostbridge Orb], BOE – check AH
[Prison Manifest], BOE – check AH
[Bonecaster's Endgame], 5-man group quest in Icecrown

Two Hand Weapon: (The one hand + off hand weapons are better, but these may be easier to get)
[Chilly Slobberknocker], 5-man group chain quest in Zul’Drak (Amphitheater)
[Stave of Youthful Sorrow], quest reward in Icecrown

Wand:
[Gwyneth's Runed Dragonwand], BOE – check AH
[Iceshrieker's Touch], quest reward in Storm Peaks
[Wand of Blinding Light], quest reward from The Cleansing Of Jintha'kalar in Dragonblight


For beginning raids, the base gear list above is a good start, but if you’ve already earned a few badges or emblems and have some gold burning a hole in your pocket – here’s the list of upgrades that still easy to get solo. For the gear that is dependant on getting lucky drops in Heroic instances, the best gear not tied to a specific instance is listed (except for wands - all the "best" options are tied to instances). Every other piece of gear then falls either between the base and the best non-instance gear or between the best non-raid gear and the non-instance gear.

Obtaining about 1/2 the items here will easily get you into 10-man raid content. Completing this list should allow you to top the DPS charts in 10-mans and contributing nicely to 25-man raids. To upgrade any further will require winning drops in heroic instances and raids.


Entry Raid Mage Gear:

Head:
[Hat of Wintry Doom], tailoring (make sure you socket a [Chaotic Skyflare Diamond] too)

Neck:
[Titanium Spellshock Necklace], jewelcrafting
[Encircling Burnished Gold Chains] 25 Emblem of Heroism (unless you can use the +spirit, stick to the JC necklace)

Shoulders:
[Dark Runic Mantle] BoE drop from Halls of Stone – check the AH periodically

Back:
[Deathchill Cloak], tailoring - requires Loremaster of Northrend to craft

Chest:
[Ebonweave Robe], tailoring
[Heroes' Frostfire Robe], 80 Badge of Heroism (only if you don’t need the +hit; combine with at least 1 other T7 piece to get 2 piece set bonus)

Wrist:
[Azure Cloth Bindings] From Heroic Violet Hold (Cyanigosa) are best but require specific instance runs
[Black Duskweave Wristwraps], tailoring (combine with legs below for 2 piece bonus)

Hands:
[Ebonweave Gloves], tailoring
[Heroes' Frostfire Gloves], 60 Badge of Heroism (only if you don’t need the +hit; combine with at least 1 other T7 piece to get 2 piece set bonus)

Waist:
[Plush Sash of Guzbah], 40 Emblem of Heroism

Legs:
[Woven Bracae Leggings] From Heroic Halls Of Lightning (Loken) are best but require specific instance runs
[Black Duskweave Leggings], tailoring (combine with bracers above for 2 piece bonus) are good easy to obtain alternatives

Feet:
[Sandals of Crimson Fury], Wyrmrest Accord quartermaster – Exalted
[Xintor's Expeditionary Boots], 40 Badge of Heroism (unless you can use the +spirit, stick to the Wyrmrest boots)

Rings (2):
[Titanium Spellshock Ring], jewelcrafting
[Signet of the Kirin Tor], Dalaran jewelry vendor (8500g down to 6800g depending on rep)
[Signet of Hopeful Light], Argent Crusade – Exalted

Trinkets (2):
[Sundial of the Exiled], 40 Emblem of Heroism
[Frenzyheart Insignia of Fury], Frenzyheart quartermaster (exalted) in Sholazar Basin
[Oracle Talisman of Ablution], Oracle quartermaster (exalted) in Sholazar Basin

If you find yourself grinding instances for the rep – these are great alternatives to the Frenzyheart/Oracle trinkets:
[Forge Ember] From Heroic Halls of Stone (Sjonnir The Ironshaper)
[Mark of the War Prisoner] From Heroic Violet Hold (Cyanigosa). Great piece of +hit gear that you may want to keep through end-game so you can stop at +11% hit rating (assuming 3% shadow priest or boomkin in raid) and swap this in if you don’t have the raid boost.

One Hand Weapon:
[Flameheart Spell Scalpel] Kirin Tor quartermaster (Revered)

Off Hand:
[Ward of the Violet Citadel], 25 Emblem of Heroism

Two Hand: there are no great 2H weapons, even the good heroic drops are not as good as the Kirin Tor spell scalpel + BOE/quest off hand.

Wand: there are no solable upgrade beyond the “base gear” wands, so you’re stuck grinding instances for a lucky drop, sorry.
[Ancient Measuring Rod] Loken, Halls of Lightning (Normal)
[Wand of the San'layn] Prince Keleseth, Utgarde Keep (Heroic)
[Rod of the Fallen Monarch] Anub'arak, Azjol-Nerub (Heroic)


Notes:

Reputation:
Kirin Tor rep gets you a solid cloak at honored, then an excellent one-hand, and the head enchant at revered. It is therefore an excellent idea for all mages to prioritize grinding KT rep up to revered by wearing the tabard in 5-man runs, netting you three solid upgrades very quickly. This should be an early priority. Wyrmrest is probably next priority for Heroic tabard runs all the way to exalted for the boots. Beyond that you can champion for Knights of the Argent Crusade for the ring (if you can’t afford the JC ring + Kirin Tor 8k gold one). Ebon Blade can also be championed, but there isn’t any “required” gear from them.

As for grinding daily quests - you will eventually want exalted with Sons of Hodir for the shoulder enhancement (only available by grinding dailies and turn in quests) so that probably takes priority over the frenzyhearts/oracles who only really grant trinkets that will quickly be replaced by instance drops. All other factions only provide recipes or frill items and can be safely ignored.

Badges: Priority for badges should be Belt > Off Hand > Trinket assuming you start with the base gear above. After that, start saving for the 60 token gloves to combine with one other T7 piece when you start raiding. Only spend badges on necklace or boots if you have badges to spare, you have a use for +spirit on your gear, or you aren’t yet exalted with Wyrmrest.

Gems:
Make sure you socket a [Chaotic Skyflare Diamond] in your head slot – nothing else compares. Past that, socket as many [Runed Scarlet Ruby]’s as possible while making sure you get 2 blue gems from [Glowing Twilight Opal], or [Royal Twilight Opal]. For yellow slots, use [Veiled Monarch Topaz], [Luminous Monarch Topaz], [Potent Monarch Topaz], or [Reckless Monarch Topaz],

I was going to include a note on enchanting your gear and seperate notes for the various professions, but haven't gotten there yet. (scribes, JC's, engineers, blacksmiths and alchamists all have some BOP gear that may be better than what's above)

 

Nemantopia

A great listing and breakdown.

Just a minor note: for those who have to save gold, buying green gems simply to fill the slot is better than leaving them empty while trying to fill up with Scarlet Rubies. Especially when not worried about matching slots, just fill out slots with Runed Bloodstones [perfect if you can find them]. To my understanding of gem availability on servers and AH costs, you can completly fill up with the Bloodstones then work on gradually upgrading them to Perfect/Runed-Scarlet later at the cost of about a SINGLE Scarlet O-o. With a difference of +5 spellpower per slot, you'll notice some loss, but Perfects are only 3 away and then you are free to hit with the major gems, keeping in mind that that's over 100g for 5 spellpower. To meet the meta-gem required, I similarly advise the cost saving method of Shadow Crystals using Glowing for Stamina or Purified if you can use the Spirit [...ha!].

As for professions:
-Inscription gets the best shoulder-slot self-enchant, period. If you're not Inscription, you get the best based on your reputation with Sons of Hordir, otherwise you use Mater's Inscription of the Storm [one Snowfall ink] and never look back.
-Tailoring gets access to pant embroideries as well as their cloaks. Although Lightweave is comprable to the Haste cloak enchant, you may want to save the Moonshroud until your Deathchill. As for pants, it's more cost saving than anything, but also provides access to the tailor before reputation Spellthreads. Non-tailors should shoot for Azure, tailors should give themselves Master's.

I know those because they are my professions, but haven't been keeping up with the others. To my understanding Leatherworkers [...srsly] should use their linings over base enchants, Engineering self-enchants are rather like Tailoring embroideries [alternate, not better], and Blacksmithing provides two additional gem slots [the entire reason to take it, should be used at all gear levels we're talking about]. JC is at the moment access to gems easier and providing the BoE gear while Enchanting is as Enchanting does [additional slots for self enchants].

 

Megarea

I'm very surprised that [Frostsavage Shoulders] hasn't yet made in onto the "best of" list. They are crafted (Tailoring) and have comparable stats to the HoS BoE you have listed - and you don't have to farm for them.

 

solbergb

The frostsavage shoulders are a whole red socket behind the BOE item suggested.

Using it is about the equivalent of using 4 "green quality" gems instead of 4 "blue quality" gems. As it sells for about 300gp vs 30gp for frostsavage, your proposal is a similar idea to using lower quality gems but the BOE shoulders are a better investment than the more expensive gems unless the AH price on your server is > 500 or so (assuming runed scarlet rubies are selling for 125+)

 

bombdigie

New Fireball Spec has 0% hit talents.
Frostfire Spec has 3% hit talents.

Is making sure you have full hit more important than the 4 piece T7 set bonus?

 

Docjowles

The 4 piece bonus has been shown to be horrible (something like 50 DPS in full Naxx gear). So yes, I'd argue that capped hit is more valuable by a long ways. Refer to the first post of http://elitistjerks.com/f75/t30655-w..._0_8_part_two/.

As usual, this is something you could probably check for yourself in Rawr with a little set up.

 

Azrayne

I've been screwing around trying to put together an optimal 10 man setup for my mage, anybody have any suggestions on it?

Head: Heroes Frostfire Circlet (Arcanum of Burning Mysteries, Chaotic Skyflare Diamond, Runed Scarlet Ruby)

Neck: Chain of the Ancient Wyrm (Runed Dragon's Eye)

Shoulders: Heroes Frostfire Shoulderpads (Runed Dragon's Eye)

Back: Deathchill Cloak (Greater Speed)

Chest: Gown of the Spell-Weaver (Super Stats, Veiled Monarch Topaz)

Wrist: Azure Cloth Bindings (Greater Spellpower)

Hands: Heroes Frostfire Gloves (Exceptional Spellpower, Runed Scarlet Ruby)

Waist: Girdle of Bane (buckle with Veiled Monarch Topaz)

Legs: Heroes Frostfire Leggings (Sapphire Spellthread, Runed Scarlet Ruby, Veiled Monarch Topaz)

Feet: Sandals of Crimson Fury (Icewalker, Runed Dragon's Eye)


Finger1: Ring of the Fated (Greater Spellpower)

Finger2: Titanium Spellshock Ring (Greater Spellpower, Runed Monarch Topaz)

Trinket1: Embrace of the Spider

Trinket2: Sundial of the Exiled


Weapon: Blade of Dormant Memories (Exceptional Spellpower)

Offhand: Ward of the Violet Citadel

Ranged: Rod of the Fallen Monarch


Stamina: 772
Intellect: 848
Spirit: 280
Armor: 1992
Health: 14503
Mana: 15708
Crit Rate: 19.70%
629 Crit Rating

Hit Rate: 11.17%
293 Hit Rating

Spell Penetration: 0
Casting Speed: 1.099001
323 Haste Rating

Arcane Damage: 1917
Fire Damage: 1917
Frost Damage: 1917

Open to suggestions on how to squeeze some more out of the available loot, since I like my guild too much to want to leave for a 25 man guild.