miss elf

This guide will focus on FFB spec and gear.

So you’ve just hit level 80 on your mage and you’re stuck wondering, “What next?” The next step can be difficult if you don’t have anyone to run Heroics with - I found most PuG groups didn’t want to take me unless I had 25-man gear stats (sad, but true).

Your primary concern at this point should be spell hit. Before you even consider hit on your gear, make sure you’ve taken talents to improve your hit. For my FFB spec, I took Precision in the Frost tree. That’s a free cheap 3% hit before I even start on my gear.

NOTE: Talents invested in hit do not currently display correctly on the default character sheet in-game, so remember when working on your stats to add 3%.

THE HIT CAP: For raiding, you need 17% spell hit. So, if you take the 3% hit from talents, you need to have 14% hit on your character sheet. In 5 man dungeons, you will need 6% spell hit (or 3% on your character sheet, provided you invested in the 3% hit talent).

REP TABARDS & REWARDS: I highly recommend championing for the Kirin Tor until you hit Revered. This will net you the helm enchant, [Arcanum of Burning Mysteries], and [Flameheart Spell Scalpel], a great caster weapon to start out with. Thankfully, Mages start at “Friendly” with Kirin Tor, so your first rep grind gets a nice boost.

After hitting Revered with Kirin Tor, I suggest donning the Wyrmrest Accord colours and striving for Exalted for a pair of nice boots: [Sandals of Crimson Fury].

Now for a decent, hit-capped set of gear to improve your stats (and hopefully increase your group invites!).

THE GEAR:

Helm: [Hat of Wintry Doom]. Can be crafted by tailors with a skill of 440+. The mats are a little steep (includes a piece of Ebonweave and a fair chunk of infinite dust), but it has a meta socket, +44 hit rating and spell damage to boot.

Neck: [Titanium Spellshock Necklace]. A really nice crafted piece, this neck offers crit, spellpower and a gem socket. It doesn’t offer any hit, but can be gemmed for hit. Alternatively, if you’re seeking hit items, a viable neck is [Necklace of Taldaram] from Heroic Ahn’Kahet. Another alternative is the [Choker of Betrayal], available from the neutral quest Betrayal. I recommend going for the Spellshock necklace and either gemming it for hit, or making the hit up elsewhere. The mats are a little pricey, but it’s a quality piece that should last you quite a while.

Shoulders: [Dark Runic Mantle], dropped from trash mobs in Halls of Stone (heroic). Thankfully, they’re BOE so keep an eye on your auction house and you should be able to nab a pair. Expect to pay close to 100g.

Chest: There are two very nice epic crafted options here. If you need spell hit (which you almost definitely will at this point), [Ebonweave Robe] is the way to go with 68 hit and 105 spellpower. A great starting piece. A less pricey alternative is the [Water-Drenched Robe], from Ichoron in Heroic Violet Hold.

Cloak: [Deathchill Cloak]. This cloak can be crafted by tailors who have completed the “Loremaster of Northrend” achievement. Depending on your realm and how willing you are to farm, this cloak can be obtained without the price hiking too high. A decent alternative (and one you should have the rep with easily) is the [Shroud of Dedicated Research], from Kirin Tor. If you desperately need hit and have Honored reputation with Ebon Blade, [Dark Soldier Cape] is worth considering.  If you lack rep with Ebon Blade, consider [Cape of Seething Steam] from Halls of Lightning. Same stats, different location!

Wrists: Prior to running Heroics, [Black Duskweave Wristwraps], sewn by tailors, are probably your best choice. Once you start getting heroic groups, though, you will hopefully pick up [Azure Cloth Bindings], a significant upgrade.

Hands: Crafted options include [Ebonweave Gloves] from tailors. A good starter pair of gloves with a nice chunk of hit and spellpower. Once you start running Heroic Nexus, you can hopefully pick up [Gloves of Glistening Runes] - but these may be difficult to equip until you can find the hit elsewhere.

Waist: The best option pre-heroics for your waist is the [Sash of the Wizened Wyrm], which requires Honored with Wyrmrest Accord. While working on your rep, you can look for [Flowing Sash of Order] from Heroic Halls of Lightning. The choice of which to keep is up to yours - Sash of Order has less base hit, but includes a gem socket. Once you start collecting badges, one of your purchase priorities should be the [Plush Sash of Guzbah]. Definitely worth putting an [Eternal Belt Buckle] on the moment you pick it up.

Legs: Pre-Heroics, [Black Duskweave Leggings] are a solid option - particularly if you’re using the wristwraps of the same set, unlocking a +18 spellpower set bonus. Once you start running heroics, try and collect [Sorrowgrave's Breeches] from Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle, which include some tasty crit (+59 crit!), spellpower and a red gem socket. Even better are the [Woven Bracae Leggings], however these might prove tricky to get for fresh 80s, as some consider Halls of Lightning a difficult Heroic - you will also lose a gem socket with these.

Feet: [Titan-forged Slippers of Dominance]. These are a great pair of boots, and fairly easily obtained (if you don’t mind running Wintergrasp!) The only cost 15 WG tokens, so win 5 times (or lose 15!) and these babies are yours. Another way to spend your tokens is the [Titan-forged Slippers of Salvation] (which replace hit with haste). Alternatively, the [Sandals of Crimson Fury] obtained from Wyrmrest Accord exalted. Which pair you choose here depends on your other stats (are you hit capped without the hit from Titan-Forged?) and preference. All are a solid choice, and all three pairs feature a gem socket. Here’s an item comparison on Wowhead I did of the three boots.

Trinkets: Pre-heroics, [Cannoneer's Fuselighter] is a great trinket choice. Focus on Heroic Violet Hold and get yourself a [Mark of the War Prisoner]. With a solid chunk of hit (+73 hit rating!) it unlocks a lot of potential to focus on gemming/enchanting for something other than hit on your other gear. Jewelcrafters also really luck out here, with the [Figurine - Twilight Serpent]. A great trinket, and something that will last you a long time.

Weapon: As mentioned, get yourself a Kirin Tor tabard and ding Revered with them - the [Flameheart Spell Scalpel] is the perfect weapon for any pre-raiding mage. Expect this one to last you a long time, so at least give it a +50 spellpower enchant.

Off-hand Weapon: Pre-heroics, try and grab the [Tome of Salramm] from Culling of Stratholme. While it has no hit, it has a nice dose of crit and spellpower to keep you going. Once you start heroics, save up 25 emblems and make [Ward of the Violet Citadel] one of your priority purchases.

Wand: Pre-heroics, the wand [Iceshrieker's Touch] from Icecrown quests (details in Wowhead link). If you badly need hit, [Ancient Measuring Rod] from Heroic Halls of Lightning will give you +11 hit rating. Once you start doing heroics, [Rod of the Fallen Monarch] from Heroic Azjol-Nerub has a nice mix of crit and spellpower.

Rings: If you can afford it, find someone to craft you [Titanium Spellshock Ring]. Like the neck, it has no hit, but crit, spellpower and a gem socket, and you can expect it to last you quite a while. If you don’t need hit, [Ring of the Traitor King] is a nice choice from Heroic Azjol-Nerub. A nice hit ring is the [Ring of Northern Tears]. Thankfully, you can avoid RNG and get this one crafted by a JC.

I followed your advice, but I’m still not hit capped! Okay, that happens. As you replace and switch gear, you’ll find it happens a lot. Don’t be surprised if you are constantly re-enchanting and re-gemming pieces. Some of the best hit enchants to use are:

Enchant Gloves - Precision - +20 hit rating for gloves.

Enchant Boots - Icewalker - +12 hit and crit for boots.

Icewalker, especially, is a great enchant to have and both can help you on your way to hitcap.

My next mage guide (coming soon!) will feature a comprehensive list of enchants, gems and consumables for both the heroic and the raiding type of mage.

I hope this will help  some fresh mages out there find a starting point!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 23:54 and is filed under Heroics, Mage, PuGs, Raiding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.