[Ret-PvE] 3.0.8 Best In Slot Gear List for No-Bonus Horde

[Questioner]

Some of you may disagree, but every combination I've put together comes out with less dps than the following set. There are some individual pieces that are stronger in a vaacuum, or are better under certain circumstances and thus are a good idea to pick up for when Ulduar hits. These pieces are marked with **.

Leather Item

Helm: Obsidian Greathelm
Neck: Favor of the Dragon Queen
Shoulders: Valorous Redemption Shoulderplates
Cape: Drape of the Deadly Foe
Chest: Valorous Redemption Chestpiece
**Chest: Chestguard of the Recluse
Bracers: Bracers of Unrelenting Attack
Gloves: Valorous Redemption Gauntlets
**Gloves: Frosted Adroit Handguards
Belt: Girdle Of Razuvious
Legs: Valorous Redemption Legplates
**Legs: Leggings of the Honored
Boots: Iron Sprin Jumpers
Boots: Dawnwalkers
**Boots: Melancholy Sabatons
Ring 1: Ruthlessness
Ring 2: Surge Needle Ring
Trinket 1: Darkmoon Card: Greatness
Trinket 2: Fury of the Five Flights
**Trinket: Mirror of Truth
Weapon: Betrayer of Humanity

Enchants (No Profession Specific except enchanting rings):
Helm : Arcanum of Torment +50 Attack Power and +20 Critical Strike Rating
Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Axe +40 Attack Power and +15 Critical Strike Rating
Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Major Agility +22 Agility
Chest: Enchant Chest - Powerful Stats +10 All Stats
Bracers: Enchant Bracers - Greater Assault +50 Attack Power
Gloves: Enchant Gloves - Crusher +44 Attack Power
Belt: Eternal Belt Buckle
Legs: Icescale Leg Armor +75 Attack Power and +22 Critical Strike Rating
Boots: Enchant Boots - Icewalker +12 Hit Rating and +12 Critical Strike Rating
Rings: Enchant Ring - Assault+32 Attack Power
Weapon: Enchant Weapon - Berserking

Gemming (Non-JC):
Meta: Relentless Earthsiege Diamond
Helm Blue Socket: Enchanted Tear
Every Other Socket Bold Scarlet Ruby

There are NO known socket bonuses worth off-red gemming for in this gear list.


Certain racial buffs will put certain items ahead because you will go over a cap, such as the Melancholy Sabatons with a Draenai Aura.

[Dorvan]

Looks correct to me

[Baelor]

That saves me some work this evening. Thanks Questioner.

I'll add a link to here from the sticky.

EDIT: If you could add gems/enchants to this list as well, I'd love you forever.
EDIT2: Since you have alternates to the T7.5 Chest/Gloves, add the T7.5 Helm as an alternate as well. If someone puts on the Frosted Adroit Gloves with T7.5 Chest/Shoulders/Pants, they'll likely wear the Helm too.

[majiben]

You should make it clear that the 4 set bonus is the best for dps is worth approximately a 4% increase in dps. Usually either the hands or the head is swapped out. Now without evaluating the bonus some of the non tier pieces may be stronger than the tier gear but bonus makes wearing 4 pieces of T7 superior dps.

In that vien, adding the T7.5 helm as the alternative head option for a 4 piece would make sense.

[Dorvan]

Just noticed something, your outfit has no legs

T7.5 for the main choice, of course: possibly with http://www.wowhead.com/?item=44011 as an alternate for when we start breaking the set bonus.

[GothicPL]

You omitted legs, but I'm sure you meant to include T7.5 legs for the 4 piece bonus.

[Questioner]

Woops...sheesh!

[Questioner]

EDIT: If you could add gems/enchants to this list as well, I'd love you forever.
EDIT2: Since you have alternates to the T7.5 Chest/Gloves, add the T7.5 Helm as an alternate as well. If someone puts on the Frosted Adroit Gloves with T7.5 Chest/Shoulders/Pants, they'll likely wear the Helm too.

I can do the gems and enchants, sure.

I'd like to make a point about the other items though. They aren't listed because they are alternatives, they are listed as Best In Slot. As mentioned, the T7 bonus makes this SET more dps than Best In Slot pure gear (not to mention quality of life) however, a pure BIS gear list will be more dps than any T7 4 piece gear set not swapping the helm.

As an example: if you have Frosted hands, Spiked titansteel helm (everyone should have this!), and every piece of T7.5 and have yet to get Obsidian GH, then you should almost certainly go with Spiked Helm as your non 4 set.

When you start breaking your T7 set, you will never choose to wear the T7.5 helm. It is just a weak piece.

[Baelor]

EDIT: If you could add gems/enchants to this list as well, I'd love you forever.
EDIT2: Since you have alternates to the T7.5 Chest/Gloves, add the T7.5 Helm as an alternate as well. If someone puts on the Frosted Adroit Gloves with T7.5 Chest/Shoulders/Pants, they'll likely wear the Helm too.

I can do the gems and enchants, sure.

I'd like to make a point about the other items though. They aren't listed because they are alternatives, they are listed as Best In Slot. As mentioned, the T7 bonus makes this SET more dps than Best In Slot pure gear (not to mention quality of life) however, a pure BIS gear list will be more dps than any T7 4 piece gear set not swapping the helm.

As an example: if you have Frosted hands, Spiked titansteel helm (everyone should have this!), and every piece of T7.5 and have yet to get Obsidian GH, then you should almost certainly go with Spiked Helm as your non 4 set.

When you start breaking your T7 set, you will never choose to wear the T7.5 helm. It is just a weak piece.

Touche sir. I retract my T7.5 Helm statement.

[Fedaykin98]

This list corresponds very, very closely to what Rawr has been telling me.

Interestingly, Rawr tells me that (for me) Sabatons of Sudden Reprisal are better than Iron Spring, and I'm not anywhere near the Hit cap.

I agree about the T7.5 head stinking. I have a token for one, but I don't want to cash it in for Ret, even though it would give me the 4pc bonus. I'm sticking with Spiked Titansteel and hoping for a T7.5 chest (never seen it drop, sure to be lots of competition when it does). I'll use that token for Ret, where the helm is actually good.

Great list!

[Elsie]

I would add t7.5 helm, since some set ups and "spreadsheet weight systems" put 4pc+ malygos leather gloves higher rated than 4pc Obsidian Greathelm

[Baelor]

I would add t7.5 helm, since some set ups and "spreadsheet weight systems" put 4pc+ malygos leather gloves higher rated than 4pc Obsidian Greathelm

I'm in agreement about Obsidian Greathelm + 4 piece. I wouldn't wear Frosted Adroit + 4 piece if I had OS-25 +3D open to me, and we are talking Best In Slot here.

[Extracrispy]

I'm in agreement about Obsidian Greathelm + 4 piece. I wouldn't wear Frosted Adroit + 4 piece if I had OS-25 +3D open to me, and we are talking Best In Slot here.

They're both similar upgrades. In comparing the glove and helm set pieces to their 226 upgrades, I feel the frosted gloves are a better because the set gloves are so bad. The frosted gloves give you an extra crit and trade haste for hit for a minor loss in ap and stam. When you compare the greathelm and set helm, you're trading hit and haste for crit, a little bit of str, and expertise.

I added up the stats for both combinations and here's what I found (only counting divine str, not kings):

Frosted/Helm = 370 ap, 2.36% crit, 2.87% haste, 2.98% hit
Obsidian/Gloves = 380 ap, 2.74% crit, 1.28% haste, 7.2 expertise

So is 1.5% haste and 3% hit worth 10 ap, .4% crit and 7 expertise? I think so when you get to the 226 pieces that are lacking hit.

[Questioner]

Frosted/Helm = 370 ap, 2.36% crit, 2.87% haste, 2.98% hit
Obsidian/Gloves = 380 ap, 2.74% crit, 1.28% haste, 7.2 expertise

Your math is wrong. Assuming you are gemming as I specified, O Helm has 112 str and gloves have 83. With raid buffs, that's ~491ap. The Frosted pair is probably slightly higher as well, but since Frosted is not str based, it won't gain nearly as much.

A side note: the glove slot is a much weaker slot stat wise than the helm slot: there is less item points devoted to the gloves than the helm.

[Extracrispy]

Your math is wrong. Assuming you are gemming as I specified, O Helm has 112 str and gloves have 83. With raid buffs, that's ~491ap. The Frosted pair is probably slightly higher as well, but since Frosted is not str based, it won't gain nearly as much.

I left the glove gem out. So 40 ap difference. I planned on omitting helm gems/bonuses since they were the same and didn't consider the glove slot. Also remember that the frosted gloves will scale slightly on crit from agi.