Originally submitted to WoW.com to apply for the Blood Pact Columnist position. After nearly 3 weeks with no word, I can assume I didn't get the job and it's alright to submit this here without them griping at me.So you've just dinged 80 in the midst of 3.2, my young and eager warlock. You are relieved that it's all over: the trepidation of leveling through Azeroth, Outlands, and finally, the dreaded frozen wastes of Northrend. You've conquered great things and have killed many and collected those trophies in the name of experience, money, and the exaltation of your respective faction. Your quests are all but finished and you have reach the highest and attainable echelon of greatness...or so you think.
Level 80 is but a cornerstone, the bread to the butter, and with enough time spent around those of your standing, you seem to still be a bit rough around the edges rather than bathed in a glow. What could it be that keeps you from brushing shoulders with the warrior over yonder with the really long title next to his name? Why does the priest just pass you by, offering no healing or fortitude, but instead, giving just a wince and a scoff? Surely you are just like them! Why must they be so short with you? Why don't they give you their attention, of which you so rightly deserve?
Because you're looking kind of poor, kid. Screw the
blue staff,
Jimmy, It's all about the
Professor Plums! You make look awesome in your crafted blues and perhaps an
Ebonweave piece or
two, even with some of those rare items you happened upon in the faceplant-of-snow that Arthas calls home, but really, you need teh epix.
Below I have outlined every possible drop, purchase, and redemption you could get much in the same way
holypaladin.net has for, well, holy paladins, without having to set foot in a raid at all. I'm not saying raiding is bad; by all means, snatch up that DPS spot when and if the opportunity should arise. But unless your guild has a schedule or you've got the patience of mind to deal with a PuG raid, heroics are the best way to gear out and look your best.
I'm just going to safely assume that you've got all four of the reputation tabards handy and a good amount of blue items from questing or crafting. You're ready for those heroics. Put the voidwalker away. We're starting with heroic drops.
Heroic Boss DropsAhn'kahet: The Old Kingdom -
Wand of Ahn'kahetAzjol-Nerub -
Sash of the Servant and
Rod of the Fallen MonarchCulling of Stratholme -
Band of GuileDrak'Tharon Keep -
Overlook HandguardsHalls of Lightning -
Woven Bracae LeggingsThe Nexus -
Gloves of Glistening RunesThe Oculus -
Cuffs of Winged LevitationUtgarde Keep -
Annhylde's RingUtgarde Pinnacle -
Girdle of BaneThe Violet Hold -
Azure Cloth BindingsI left out
Skirt of the Old Kingdom from Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom because, as a warlock, you don't need MP5, but if you can't get
Woven Bracae Leggings from Loken but the skirt drops for you and no one else wants them, by all means, take them. Just another step to bigger things.
Let's say you've done a number of heroics now, gotten reputation by wearing tabards and have now reached exalted with some of the Northrend factions. Here are some reputation rewards a warlock should consider in the road to greatness.
Reputation RewardsExalted with Argent Crusade -
Signet of Hopeful LightExalted with Kirin Tor -
Robes of Crackling FlameExalted with Ebon Blade -
Belt of Dark MendingExalted with Wyrmrest Accord -
Sandals of Crimson FuryEach costs a fair bit of gold, nothing too steep though, so acquiring these shouldn't be a problem if you focus on certain reputations.
You've now gathered quite a number of the
Emblems of Conquest in running heroics, an emblem, which, in my humble opinion and thanks to the recent patch, makes gearing up all the more satisfying. How you spend them – whether you trade them all in for
Emblems of Valor or
Emblems of Heroism, or even go straight for those Conquest pieces – is rightly up to you. Below I've listed, from Heroism to Conquest, any and all items you might be interested in. Once again, I'm ignoring anything that has MP5 on it. Life Tap FTW.
Emblems of Heroism GearPlush Sash of Guzbah, 40
EmblemsWard of the Violet Citadel, 25
EmblemsHandbook of Obscure Remedies, 25
EmblemsEncircling Burnished Gold Chains, 25
EmblemsSundial of the Exiled, 40
EmblemsChestguard of the Lost Conqueror for
Heroes' Plagueheart Robe, 80
EmblemsGloves of the Lost Conqueror for
Heroes' Plagueheart Gloves, 60
Emblems
Emblems of Valor GearWraps of the Astral Traveler, 60
EmblemsXintor's Expeditionary Boots, 40
EmblemsSlippers of the Holy Light, 40
EmblemsBand of Channeled Magic, 25
EmblemsDisguise of the Kumiho, 25
EmblemsLegplates of the Lost Conqueror for
Valorous Plagueheart Leggings, 75
EmblemsMantle of the Lost Conqueror for
Valorous Plagueheart Shoulderpads, 60
EmblemsEmblems of Conquest GearEvoker's Charm, 19
EmblemsSash of Potent Incantations, 28
EmblemsTouch of the Occult, 28
EmblemsLegwraps of the Master Conjurer, 39
EmblemsBreastplate of the Wayward Conqueror for
Conqueror's Deathbringer Robe, 58
EmblemsCrown of the Wayward Conqueror for
Conqueror's Deathbringer Hood, 58
EmblemsRunning heroics is one thing, but knowing you could potentially get epic quality items from a regular instance, ergo, a resettable 5-man, is another. Trial of the Champion, both on regular and heroic, drop purples like a piñata drops
Smarties. Work this instance and own it. Leave the money on the dresser.
Trial of the ChampionRegularBelt of the Churning BlazeBindings of the WickedHandwraps of Surrendered HopeMantle of Inconsolable FearLeggings of the Haggard ApprenticeThe Confessor's BindingSignet of PurityBrilliant Hailstone AmuletHeroicSpectral KrisBoots of the Crackling FlameGaze of the UnknownEmbrace of MadnessKurisu's IndecisionSinner's ConfessionNow let's say you're hard at work at those heroics. You're so tenacious, you do every single heroic each day, amassing 53 emblems a day. You're such a good heroic-running warlock you do both the regular and heroic daily as well. Doing the heroic daily now rewards two of those lovely
Emblems of Triumph, the highest emblem currently in the game. Hypothetically, if you ran the heroic daily each day, it would take you 200 days to collect enough
Emblems of Triumph to get each of the following items, though you probably wouldn't want all of them, depending on how you play the class. Spirit has become quite useful to warlocks since 3.0.2, both in fel armor as well as contributing with a tier bonus/glyph bonus, which is why most of these items are viable.
Emblems of Triumph GearBrimstone Igniter, 25
EmblemsHood of Smoldering Aftermath, 75
EmblemsHood of Clouded Sight, 75
EmblemsPauldrons of Catastrophic Emanation, 45
EmblemsMantle of Revered Mortality, 45
EmblemsBand of the Invoker, 35
EmblemsShard of the Crystal Heart, 50
EmblemsTalisman of Resurgence, 50
EmblemsAnd finally, with the introduction of the new emblem system, raids, and instances, tier 9 has become available. Before the recent patch there was two tier sets with two types of quality within each tier. For tier 9, there are three types of quality: Conquest, Triumph, and Heroic Triumph. The latter two can only be attained through raiding, but the former, that of Conquest, can be redeems for
Emblems of Triumph. Doing the heroic daily everyday would take 105 days to grab the entire set. If you were to forgo the above list of Triumph Gear to obtain the list of items below, I wouldn't blame you.
Tier 9 Conquest GearHordeGul'dan's Hood of Conquest, 50
EmblemsGul'dan's Gloves of Conquest, 30
EmblemsGul'dan's Robe Conquest, 50
EmblemsGul'dan's Leggings of Conquest, 50
EmblemsGul'dan's Shoulderpads of Conquest, 30
EmblemsAllianceKel'Thuzad's Hood of Conquest, 50
EmblemsKel'Thuzad's Gloves of Conquest, 30
EmblemsKel'Thuzad's Robe of Conquest, 50
EmblemsKel'Thuzad's Leggings of Conquest, 50
EmblemsKel'Thuzad's Shoulderpads of Conquest, 30
EmblemsThere you have it. Every possible item of epic quality you may want as a warlock fresh to 80, save for the PvP items and raiding. Hope all of your heroics go well and you top those DPS charts! Gear out and experience what you can, it's not often we can see the
Cataclysm on the horizon.
I'll be posting later in the week on my reactions to the new upcoming expansion, been busy all week with school and work and IRL stuff. I'm such a slacker, I know.
