Javaed posted on November 18, 2009
Well, we're finally getting details on 3.3 gear drops, and much of it looks very nice. It's a bit early yet, and stats on items *may* change, but I figured I'd do a quick write-up on gear to start picking up when the patch hits. This will be especially helpful for new members of the priesthood, but hopefully this will help those of you who've had rotten luck on a couple gear slots (like I have).
Tier 10 - Ten Man Version
If the past has been any indication, this will be the easiest tier set for people to gather. The great thing is, for once it's actually well itemized! We have one bad socket, but we can grab 4 pieces of the set easily without really sacrificing anything. Here's a quick run-down on the set:
Crimson Acolyte Cowl Look at those stats! Our helmet is loaded with tons of Haste, Spell Power and Crit. The Blue Socket would be disappointing except for that nice +9 Spell Power bonus! Toss a Purified Dreadstone in there, and we've got 26 Spell Power with the Spirit conversion.
Crimson Acolyte Handwraps This may be the tier piece most of us wind up passing on. It has 63 Hit it, or about 2.4% Hit Rating. Odds are you're experiencing the same frustration most cloth DPS has right now, how impossible it is to avoid the extreme over-abundance of Hit. Toss in a disapointing socket bonus, a blue socket, and extra Crit instead of Haste, this should be the last item you get, if you grab it all.
Crimson Acolyte Mantle Our shoulders are a nice set of gear, definately worth picking up. Great stats, and a toss a Haste gem in that Yellow Socket.
Crimson Acolyte Pants Ouch... 80 Hit Rating on these suckers, and even more on the 25 man versions. Still, they have a ton of Spell Power, and the socket bonus makes up for the blue socket. An Intricate Eye of Zul and a Quick Kings Amber adds 30 Haste to the pants, which makes them a bit better. I'd still grab these over the gloves though, and try to shed excess hit elsewhere.
Crimson Acolyte Raiments These are some great robes, and now I'm glad I didn't spend the cash on those Merlin's Robes. Stat wise, the two items are pretty close to each other, but our Tier 10 Robes make up for it once we start getting our Set Bonuses. YOu can't go wrong with a Red and a Yellow socket either. I'm going for these first, and socketing em with a nice Quick Kings Amber and a Reckless Amertrine for a bonus of 30 Haste and 19 Spell Power. I'm really wanting those super-fast DoTs rolling out!
Quest Rewards
Ice Crown Citadel is bringing back fun instance related quests. First off, we're going to have a new faction to gain reputation with, the Ashen Verdict. At Friendly, we can grab either the Ashen Band of Desctruction or the . The best thing about these rings is that it looks like we'll be upgrading them as we gain rep, so even if we don't use them right away the upgraded versions may be worthwhile.
The 5-man instances are also going to have a long quest chain, with the final reward begin your choice of a weapon. Well, the mace available to us is just amazing: Hammer of Purified Flame. 657 Spell Power, 49 Haste and 54 Crit. You're going to have to be clearing 25 ToC Hard Modes to get something better than that.