First!
Why, you ask? Well, the armory is great, but provides absolutely zero historical perspective on anything. I suppose it makes sense in a way… time is a nebulous concept when it comes to the hard-core WoW player, right? :o The idea here is to keep a diary of sorts… significant loots, spec changes, play style insights, game mechanics / engine exploration, my lame attempts at what people refer to as ‘theorycrafting’, and even records of notable social events.
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I got some Armory-style tooltips working on this blog (wordpress) using the excellent instructions over at thebronzekettle.
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Let’s start out with my current spec and gear sets. This will also be an opportunity to showcase the differences between various gear sets, focusing on which stats are useful for which occasions. For each of my named gear sets, I will list all items in the set. Â You’ll see that there is a large amount of crossover between sets. This should be obvious, but I’ll go ahead and state that in no way do I assert that my gear choices are ‘the best’ for anyone. I pick gear that suits my particular play style, but more on that later. I’ll first briefly describe each gear set, then list all the items for each slot.
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MP5:Â This is the set I usually wear for boss fights, or any other time that mp5 is paramount (e.g. stuck trying to take stormpike graveyard in AV).
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Heal: Maximum +healing bonus. Used mostly for trinketed HOTs.
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Instance: Â Instance trash pulls. Ready to take damage, balanced between healing throughput and sustainability.
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DPS: For soloing / farming. Focus on spell damage, specifically nature damage, and spell crit.
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PvP: Â Arena, and most battlegrounds situations. Basically any time I think I’m going to get attacked by another player. Focused on stam and resilience.
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There are a few others that are more special-case (e.g. riding, specific farming spots), so I’ll skip them. On to the items!
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| Slot | MP5 | Heal | Instance | DPS | PvP |
| Head | [item]Cyclone Headdress[/item] | [item]Cyclone Headdress[/item] | [item]Cyclone Headdress[/item] | [item]Lightning Crown[/item] | [item]Cyclone Headdress[/item] |
| Neck | [item]Emberspur Talisman[/item] | [item]Emberspur Talisman[/item] | [item]33068[/item] | [item]33065[/item] | [item]33068[/item] |
| Shoulders | [item]32033[/item] | [item]32033[/item] | [item]32033[/item] | [item]32033[/item] | [item]32033[/item] |
| Back | [item]Stainless Cloak of the Pure Hearted[/item] | [item]Stainless Cloak of the Pure Hearted[/item] | [item]28378[/item] | [item]28378[/item] | [item]33333[/item] |
| Chest | [item]32029[/item] | [item]32029[/item] | [item]32029[/item] | [item]Tidefury Chestpiece[/item] | [item]32029[/item] |
| Wrists | [item]Whirlwind Bracers[/item] | [item]Whirlwind Bracers[/item] | [item]32997[/item] | [item]32817[/item] | [item]32997[/item] |
| Hands | [item]Cyclone Gloves[/item] | [item]Cyclone Gloves[/item] | [item]Cyclone Gloves[/item] | [item]Tidefury Gauntlets[/item] | [item]Cyclone Gloves[/item] |
| Waist | [item]Belt of Gale Force[/item] | [item]32998[/item] | [item]32998[/item] | [item]32804[/item] | [item]32998[/item] |
| Legs | [item]Heart-Flame Leggings[/item] | [item]Heart-Flame Leggings[/item] | [item]Heart-Flame Leggings[/item] | [item]Stormsong Kilt[/item] | [item]Heart-Flame Leggings[/item] |
| Feet | [item]32999[/item] | [item]32999[/item] | [item]32999[/item] | [item]32792[/item] | [item]32999[/item] |
| Ring | [item]Jade Ring of the Everliving[/item] | [item]Jade Ring of the Everliving[/item] | [item]Jade Ring of the Everliving[/item] | [item]Ring of Unrelenting Storms[/item] | [item]Violet Signet of the Grand Restorer[/item] |
| Ring | [item]33064[/item] | [item]33064[/item] | [item]33064[/item] | [item]34073[/item] | [item]33064[/item] |
| Trinket | [item]Lower City Prayerbook[/item] | [item]29179[/item] | [item]Lower City Prayerbook[/item] | [item]29179[/item] | [item]Talisman of the Horde[/item] |
| Trinket | [item]13503[/item] | [item]Essence of the Martyr[/item] | [item]Scarab of the Infinite Cycle[/item] | [item]29132[/item] | [item]Medallion of the Horde[/item] |
| Main Hand | [item]Shard of the Virtuous[/item] | [item]Shard of the Virtuous[/item] | [item]Shard of the Virtuous[/item] | [item]Gavel of Unearthed Secrets[/item] | [item]Shard of the Virtuous[/item] |
| Off hand | [item]Triptych Shield of the Ancients[/item] | [item]Triptych Shield of the Ancients[/item] | [item]Triptych Shield of the Ancients[/item] | [item]Triptych Shield of the Ancients[/item] | [item]Triptych Shield of the Ancients[/item] |
| Relic | [item]Totem of the Maelstrom[/item] | [item]Totem of Healing Rains[/item] | [item]Totem of Healing Rains[/item] | [item]Totem of the Void[/item] | [item]Totem of the Plains[/item] |
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Finally, my current talent build. He’s going deeeeeep!  Â