PvE Blood Death Knight DPS BiS (Best-in-Slot) - WotLK Classic

Author: Nevermore
Date: May 19, 2023
Updated: July 16, 2023
Expansion: WotLK Classic

Blood Death Knight DPS

Talents, Builds & Glyphs

Stat Priority

Best Races

Gems, Enchants & Consumables

Rotation & Cooldowns

Best Professions

Best in Slot (BiS) & Pre-Raid Gear

Addons & Macros

Equipment will be the main source of your character’s power, contributing significantly to your stats. It is therefore very important that you choose the correct equipment for each slot — commonly referred to as “best in slot” equipment — in order to maximize your power. This guide will help you pick the best equipment possible for each phase, but also the best equipment you can find outside of raids, known as “pre-raid” gear or “pre-BiS”.

This section of the guide will be divided into two parts: the first part of the section will have a simple BiS list. The second part of the section will have the best items along with all possible alternatives and extended explanations for their use.

Note: stats of the items may change once Phase 2 is released. This list is an educated guess based on the currently available information.

This section is currently a Work in Progress. We will update it with more in-depth explanations for each item!

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Spiked Titansteel Helm/Chitin Shell Greathelm

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Gold Amulet of Kings/Pendant of Azure Dreams

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Cloak of Bloodied Waters

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Breastplate of Undeath

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Legplates of the Oculus Guardian

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Rift Striders

This combination of rings will be your best option.

Alternative: Mobius Band

Alternative: Darkmoon Card: Greatness & Coren’s Chromium Coaster

Alternative: Mojo Masked Crusher

This will be your best option for this slot.

This combination of rings will be your best option.

Alternative: Incisor Fragment

Alternative: Armageddon

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Valorous Darkruned Gauntlets (If you have 4-set item bonus)
Gloves of the Endless Dark

This will be your best option for this slot.

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This combination of rings will be your best option.

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These will be your best options for trinkets.

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Sigil of Awareness

This will be the best option for this slot.

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This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Winding Sheet

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Bracers of the Heir

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Sanctified Scourgelord Gauntlets

This will be your best option for this slot.

Alternative: Blood-Soaked Saronite Stompers

This combination of rings will be your best option.

This combination of trinkets will be your best option.

Alternative: Glorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver Hand/Cryptmaker

This will be your best option for this slot.

Progressive Best-in Slot

Phase 2
Phase 3

Before proceeding to the in-depth part of our guide, we will grant you some very important tips that you will have to keep in mind, especially as you progress through your journey and come across many different items.

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for each separate slot. You will either be able to directly buy BoE items from the Auction House and other players, or, you will go through a progressive item hunt from Normal Dungeons, Heroic Dungeons, and the brand-new Titan Rune Dungeons.

The Titan Rune Dungeons don’t have a special requirement that needs to be completed in order to enter them, however, they are considerably harder than the Heroic Dungeons, meaning that you will need to form a potent group in order to conquer them.

Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons or raid BoE items that arrive with the new phase.

Your Best-in-Slot items will often vary depending on the rest of your equipment and the situation you find yourself in. Depending on the class itself, the specialization, the phase you find yourself in, and the PvE encounter you currently face, your BiS items can completely change to better adjust to whichever situation you may find yourself in. In some cases, you will find a single BiS set that can be 100% functional in any situation, while in other cases, you will need to adjust your set from one PvE encounter to another.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Helmet	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons) (Former Naxxramas 10)
Titan’s Outlook	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Culling of Stratholme – Salramm the Fleshcrafter (Former The Obsidian Sanctum 10)
Helm of the Unsubmissive	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom (Former Naxxramas 10)
Helm of the Vast Legions	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Drakkos the Interrogator (Former Naxxramas 10)
Spiked Titansteel Helm	Blacksmithing
Planetary Helm	Halls of Lightning – Loken (Heroic)

With the release of the Titan Rune Dungeons, you have plenty of viable options as a fresh level 80 for your head slot that can massively enhance your overall performance compared to the previous options from Phase 1.

The most accessible item that can be acquired even before reaching level 80 is the Spiked Titansteel Helm. While it doesn’t grant any Stamina, it grants a large amount of Strength, and quite a high amount of both Hit Rating and Critical Strike Chance, making it a perfect beginning item. The Hit Rating will be crucial, especially since you won’t have a lot of it in the beginning of your gearing phase.

In case you can’t find any Blacksmith or any offer on the Auction House, you can use the Planetary Helm as a viable alternative since it grants similar stats. While it does not grant raw Critical Strike Value, it offers a similar amount of Hit Rating, and very large amounts of Agility and Stamina to compensate.

Once you gain access to the Titan Rune Dungeons, the best possible option will be the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Helmet. This is due to the overall high stats that the item grants, with both baseline stats and secondary stats having high values. The item also grants you access to the T7 item-set bonuses which will empower you further. However, since it grants a lower amount of Hit Rating than the other options, you will want to use this item in conjunction with other items that have a high amount of Hit Rating.

If you still have issues with your Hit Rating and you can’t get the T7 helmet yet, you can also use either one of the Helm of the Unsubmissive or the Helm of the Vast Legions as viable options. They both grant a good amount of Hit Rating while also providing you with stats that result in a similar damage output to the T7 helmet.

Lastly, if you already have plenty of Hit Rating and you can’t get the T7 helm, the Titan’s Outlook is the best possible alternative, as it grants a very high amount of both baseline stats and secondary stats. While the item doesn’t have any gem socket for your Meta Gem, the Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration combination it offers will provide almost the same damage output.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Obsidian Greathelm	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
Valorous Scourgeborne Helmet	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Helmet	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons) (Former Naxxramas 10)
Fire-Scorched Greathelm	Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina
Titan’s Outlook	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Culling of Stratholme – Salramm the Fleshcrafter (Former The Obsidian Sanctum 10)

For the Pre-Ulduar phase, the Phase 1 BiS will remain the best option, namely the Obsidian Greathelm. This is due to the large amount of baseline stats that the item offers, being the highest among the Phase 1 helmets. While the item doesn’t grant you access to the T7 item-set bonuses, it will grant you a large amount of Expertise Rating which will aid you in reaching your Expertise Cap, and a considerable amount of Critical Strike Chance which will increase your overall damage output.

The Valorous Scourgeborne Helmet is the next-best alternative since it offers similar baseline stats, access to the T7 item-set bonuses, and quite a decently high amount of secondary stats. Rather than Expertise Rating, this item grants you Hit Rating, which is a better fit if you severely lack Hit Rating from your other item slots. Since the T7 4-item set bonus is not that spectacular, you can simply choose to use this item until you can get the Obsidian Greathelm, or simply keep it until you manage to gain an upgrade from Ulduar.

The Heroes’ Scourgeborne Helmet works in the same way the Valorous Scourgeborne Helmet works, being its precursor. The only difference is the raw amount of stats the item gives, being slightly lower than its upgraded version. You will want to take this item as its extremely easy to gain with the addition of the Titan Rune Dungeons.

In case you simply don’t want to bother farming the T7 helmet or the Obsidian Greathelm, you can use the Fire-Scorched Greathelm as a great alternative. This item grants the highest possible baseline stats paired up with a large amount of secondary stats, however, it doesn’t offer any gem sockets. Since there is no gem socket available, the only drawback of this item is that you will no longer be able to benefit from a Meta Gem. With Meta Gems being quite powerful, this can result in a serious issue.

Lastly, Titan’s Outlook is another viable and great option that will provide you with a similar damage output when compared to the other options. Once again, just like with the Fire-Scorched Greathelm, this item doesn’t grant you any gem sockets. Even without a Meta Gem, this item will grant you high amounts of Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration, resulting in a very similar damage output to the other items.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Darkruned Helmet	Ulduar – Thorim (25)
Warhelm of the Champion	Ulduar – Thorim (25) HM
Valorous Darkruned Helmet	Ulduar – Mimiron (10)
Mimiron’s Flight Goggles	Ulduar – Mimiron (10) HM
Iron Riveted War Helm	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25)

The best possible choice for Phase 2 will be the Conqueror’s Darkruned Helmet! This is mainly due to the high baseline stats paired up with a perfect combination of offensive secondary stats, Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration. The item also grants you access to the T8 item-set bonuses, which are very potent, especially when combined with the previous set.

Depending on whether you can already activate the T8 4-item set bonus, you will want to use the Valorous Darkruned Helmet as the next-best alternative if you can activate it, or the Warhelm of the Champion if you can’t yet activate the 4-item set bonus. In any case, in order to gain the Conqueror’s Darkruned Helmet, you will still need the Valorous Darkruned Helmet as a prerequisite.

The Warhelm of the Champion is the better overall choice if you still need a large amount of Hit Rating! If you still need a large amount of Hit Rating and don’t have access to the Warhelm of the Champion, your next-best option will be the Iron Riveted War Helm. Its baseline stats are almost as high as the Warhelm of the Champion, providing a very similar damage output when compared to it.

Lastly, if you already have enough Hit Rating, Mimiron’s Flight Goggles are a stronger choice than the Iron Riveted War Helm, however, they offer a lower damage output when compared to the other 3 options. You can consider them as an intermediary item that you can use until you manage to acquire the Valorous Darkruned Helmet.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Pendant of the Dragonsworn	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Collar of Dissolution	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Lightning – Ionar (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Titanium Impact Choker	Jewelcrafting
Pendant of the Outcast Hero	25 Emblem of Heroism
Gold Amulet of Kings	Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron (Heroic)

With the release of the new Titan Rune Dungeons, there are many new opportunities for a fresh level 80 when it comes to the necklace item slot. The best possible option will be the Pendant of the Dragonsworn due to the high overall baseline stats combined with a considerable amount of Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration. This particular combo enhances our damage capabilities by quite a significant amount, provided we already have enough Expertise Rating and Hit Rating.

The Gem of Imprisoned Vassals is the next-best alternative that provides similar results with its high baseline stats and Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stat combination. In our current setup, this item provides a very similar damage output to the BiS, and can even be used while progressing Ulduar.

However, until you can get your hands on other items that improve your Hit Rating and Expertise Rating, the Collar of Dissolution is the better overall item as it grants a substantial amount of both Expertise Rating and Hit Rating. While the amount of Hit Rating provided is not very high, it will still allow you to get closer to your Soft Hit Cap.

Keep in mind, however, that you won’t be able to instantly access the new Titan Rune Dungeons on your own, unless you manage to get in a group with some well-geared allies. Until you can manage to find a proper group or get enough gear to simply be invited, your first options would be either one of the Titanium Impact Choker, the Pendant of the Outcast Hero, or the Gold Amulet of Kings.

The Titanium Impact Choker is the easiest option to acquire while also granting you a great set of initial stats, while the other options are very similar in damage output but harder to acquire.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Favor of the Dragon Queen	The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity
Pendant of the Dragonsworn	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Fool’s Trial	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Icy Blast Amulet	Naxxramas – Sapphiron

For the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase, the best possible option will remain the Phase 1 BiS, namely the Favor of the Dragon Queen. This is due to the high overall baseline stats combined with a great amount of Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration. Ideally, you will want to reach your Expertise Soft Cap and Hit Rating Soft Cap in order to use this necklace without any penalties!

The Pendant of the Dragonsworn is the next-best alternative as it is the precursor of the Favor of the Dragon Queen. Since it offers precisely the same types of stats, albeit with lower overall stats, the best time to use it is when you reached both your Expertise and Hit Rating Soft Caps.

The Gem of Imprisoned Vassals offers a similar damage output, even if it has a combination of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating instead of Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration. While we scale the best with Armor Penetration, Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating can help us achieve similar results. Once again, this option is best used when you already have your Expertise Soft Cap and Hit Rating Soft Cap.

The Icy Blast Amulet can be used as an alternative to the Gem of Imprisoned Vassals, as it provides exactly the same type of stats, with the stat spread itself being the only difference. When compared, both items grant a very similar damage output.

Lastly, Fool’s Trial is a good alternative if you still don’t have enough Hit Rating, as it grants a decent amount of Hit Rating while also offering you a great amount of Critical Strike Chance. Ideally, you will want Hit Rating from your other items, however, this item can help you get close to the Hit Rating Soft Cap.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Frigid Strength of Hodir	Ulduar – Hodir (25) HM
Pendulum of Infinity	Ulduar – General Vezax (25) HM
Strength of the Heavens	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Seed of Budding Carnage	Ulduar – Freya (10) HM
Spiked Battleguard Choker	19 Emblem of Conquest

The best possible option for the second phase of the expansion will be the Frigid Strength of Hodir. While there are other options that come very close to it in terms of pure performance, in our current setup, the Frigid Strength of Hodir will grant you much-needed Hit Rating and quite a high amount of Armor Penetration. As Blood Death Knights have a special talent that empower them from the Armor Penetration Stat, you will want to prioritize items that grant it.

The next-best alternative is the Pendulum of Infinity, which allows you to perform almost the same damage output as the Frigid Strength of Hodir, even with different stats. While the stats are very different, the combination of Agility, Haste Rating, Attack Power, and Critical Strike Chance will amount to the same damage output potential as the Strength and Armor Penetration that the BiS can produce.

The Strength of the Heavens is another perfectly viable alternative that actually grants you the same damage output as the first two options, provided you have enough Hit Rating. In terms of pure stats, the baseline stats as similar to the Frigid Strength of Hodir while the Haste Rating/Critical Strike Chance combo will grant you a similar effect to Armor Penetration.

In case you can’t actually get the BiS, the Seed of Budding Carnage is another viable alternative that will grant you valuable Hit Rating and a considerable amount of Armor Penetration. However, since this item grants you Agility instead of Strength, the resulted damage output will be lower.

If you can’t get any of the previously mentioned items after several weeks of progression through Ulduar, you will want to acquire the Spiked Battleguard Choker. Even if it’s stats are quite low in comparison with the other items, its cheap price makes this item quite valuable as a potential alternative, especially as it grants a good amount of Hit Rating.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Shoulderplates	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons) (Former Naxxramas 10)
Shoulderplates of Bloodshed	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – Elder Nadox (Former Naxxramas 10)
Spaulders of Egotism	Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious (BoE)
Trollwoven Spaulders	Leatherworking
Snake Den Spaulders	Gundrak – Slad’ran (Heroic)
Pauldrons of the Lightning Revenant	Halls of Lightning – Ionar

You have multiple options when it comes to your shoulders item slot as a fresh level 80, with both accessible BoE items and very strong items dropped from Heroic and Titan Rune Dungeons.

The best possible option will be the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Shoulderplates, as it grants access to the T7 item-set bonuses while also granting you high baseline stats and much-needed Hit Rating. As they are the precursor to the BiS from Phase I, you will want to use this item even during Ulduar’s progression.

The next-best alternative from the new Titan Rune Dungeon is the Shoulderplates of Bloodshed. They offer the same type of stats as the T7 item, however, you won’t gain access to the T7 item-set bonuses.

The Spaulders of Egotism are another great alternative if you can’t get access to the new Titan Rune Dungeons as they are a BoE items. Even if they provide Agility instead of Strength, the overall agility combined with the Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating will provide a similar damage output to the other Strength based items.

Another great option if you are at the beginning of your gearing phase is the Trollwoven Spaulders. This option is great due to its baseline stats and its high Expertise Rating which will aid you at the beginning. The best part about this option is that its a BoE crafted item, meaning that you can easily acquire it even before reaching level 80.

The Snake Den Spaulders or the Pauldrons of the Lightning Revenant are both good initial options if you can’t afford any BoE item. The Pauldrons of the Lightning Revenant are a better choice since they offer a substantial amount of Hit Rating, even if their item level is lower.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Valorous Scourgeborne Shoulderplates	Naxxramas – Loatheb, Gluth
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Shoulderplates	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons) (Former Naxxramas 10)
Shoulderguards of Opportunity	Naxxramas – Gluth, Noth the Plaguebringer
Shoulderguards of the Undaunted	Naxxramas – Zone Drop

For the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase, the best possible option will remain the Valorous Scourgeborne Shoulderplates. This is due to the access to the T7 item-set bonuses paired up with a much-needed amount of Hit Rating. The item also grants a large amount of Critical Strike Chance which will enhance your overall damage output.

The Heroes’ Scourgeborne Shoulderplates is the next-best alternative, offering the precise exact same type of bonuses as its upgraded version. The only difference is the stat values themselves, however, the difference itself is not high.

The Shoulderguards of Opportunity are another viable alternative if you choose to ignore the T7 items. This item will grant you a high offensive potential due to its Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration stat combination, however, you will require enough Hit Rating to use it properly. You will also not benefit from the T7 set bonuses anymore if you don’t have them already activated from your other item slots.

If you require a large amount of Hit Rating and you can’t gain access to the T7 items, the Shoulderguards of the Undaunted is a perfectly valid alternative. While the Haste Rating on its own will not be very beneficial, the large amount of Hit Rating will aid you in reaching your Soft Hit Cap easily.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Darkruned Shoulderplates	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25)
Shoulderplates of the Celestial Watch	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Shoulderpads of the Intruder	Ulduar – The Iron Council (25) HM
Shoulderplates of the Eternal	Ulduar – Auriaya (25)
Valorous Darkruned Shoulderplates	Ulduar – Thorim (10)

The best possible option for the second phase of the expansion will be the Conqueror’s Darkruned Shoulderplates. This is due to the high overall baseline stats combined with much-needed Hit Rating and access to the T8 item-set bonuses. While there are other viable options that might be better than the T8 shoulderplates, it really depends on the rest of your items and whether you acquired the T8 4-item set-bonus or not through other T8 pieces.

The next-best alternative in case you already activated the T8 4-item set bonus and already have plenty of Hit Rating is the Shoulderplates of the Celestial Watch. It grants a very high amount of Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration besides its high baseline stats, which results in an overall increased damage output.

The Shoulderpads of the Intruder are a better option if you severely lack Hit Rating and Expertise Rating while also granting you a large amount of baseline stats.

In case you already have enough Expertise Rating and can’t gain access to the T8 items yet, the Shoulderplates of the Eternal are the best possible alternatives as they grant a great mix of high baseline stats, Hit Rating, and Critical Strike Chance.

Lastly, the Valorous Darkruned Shoulderplates are the precursor to our BiS, the Conqueror’s Darkruned Shoulderplates, meaning that they will grant you the exact same type of bonuses, only in an overall lower amount. The difference in raw stat values is not considerably high, meaning that you can confidently use this item and ignore the rest until you find its upgrade if you desire to do so.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Cloak of Darkening	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Utgarde Pinnacle – Skadi the Ruthless (Former Naxxramas 10)
Cloak of Mastery	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Drakos the Interrogator (Former Naxxramas 10)
Cloak of Bloodied Waters	Gundrak – Zone Drop (BoE)
Ice Striker’s Cloak	Leatherworking
Cloak of the Gushing Wound	Violet Hold – Erekem (Heroic)

With the new Titan Rune Dungeons, there are two particularly strong options that fresh level 80s can acquire, while also having access to the old BoE & Crafted options until they can enter a Titan Rune Dungeon.

Until you can manage to properly clear a Titan Rune Dungeon, you can start with either one of the Cloak of the Gushing Wound, the Ice Striker’s Cloak, or the Cloak of Bloodied Waters as valid choices. The Cloak of the Gushing Wound may be the best initial choice as it provides a substantial amount of Hit Rating. While the other options empower your damage output, you won’t be able to deal any damage if you can’t properly hit your target!

Both the Ice Striker’s Cloak and the Cloak of Bloodied Waters are easily accessible depending on your realm’s economy, offering you great initial offensive stats. However, they will be more beneficial if your build already has a good amount of Hit Rating.

The most powerful options are the Cloak of Mastery and the Cloak of Darkening, with both items offering a large amount of stats that can even be used during Ulduar’s progression later on. The Cloak of Mastery is the better option if your build is not yet close to the Soft Hit Cap while the Cloak of Darkening is the better option if you are already close to your Soft Hit Cap. Both items generate a rather similar DPS output, yet the Cloak of Darkening is stronger if you want to completely optimize your build. This is due to the Haste Rating/Armor Penetration secondary stat combination, even if both items have similar baseline stats.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Drape of the Deadly Foe	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
Aged Winter Cloak	Naxxramas – Zone Drop
Hammerhead Sharkskin Cloak	25 Emblem of Valor
Cloak of Darkening	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Utgarde Pinnacle – Skadi the Ruthless (Former Naxxramas 10)
Cloak of Mastery	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Drakos the Interrogator (Former Naxxramas 10)

The best possible choice for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the BiS from phase 1, namely the Drape of the Deadly Foe. This is due to the very high baseline stats combined with Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating as secondary stats. While the item doesn’t offer Armor Penetration or gem sockets, the Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating combination is strong enough to provide similar damage output results.

The Aged Winter Cloak is the next-best alternative as it offers very similar stats with the main difference being Armor Penetration instead of Haste Rating. When you compare the two items, their damage output is almost identical with a small difference of 5-15 DPS in favor of the Drape of the Deadly Foe. Even if it seems like a paradox considering the fact that Blood Death Knights benefit more from Armor Penetration than Haste Rating, in this current setup, the Drape of the Deadly Foe simply seems to provide the better damage output.

Another item that is perfectly viable and works as a great alternative is the Hammerhead Sharkskin Cloak. It has the exact same type of stats as the Drape of the Deadly Foe, however, it provides a lesser damage output due to the stat spread itself and the raw stat values. The difference is quite small, with only 20-30 DPS in between the two items.

The Cloak of Darkening is yet another alternative that works similarly to the other options as it provides a good amount of baseline stats and a decently high combination of Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration. This results in a similar yet lesser damage output than the other options, with a varying output between 35-50 DPS. On a similar note, the Cloak of Mastery results in a similar damage output, however, it’s a better choice for builds that are still not close to the Soft Hit Cap, as it provides a decent amount of Hit Rating.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Drape of the Faceless General	Ulduar – General Vezax (10) HM
Drape of the Drakerider	Ulduar – Razorscale (25)
Stylish Power Cape	Ulduar – Mimiron (10)
Drape of the Skyborn	Ulduar – Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Drape of Icy Intent	Ulduar – Hodir (25) HM

The best possible choice for the second phase of the expansion will be the Drape of the Faceless General. This is due to the large amount of baseline stats combined with two gem sockets and Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration as secondary stats. As long as you have enough Hit Rating to reach your Soft Cap, this item will always be the best you can acquire!

As the next best alternative, provided you have enough Hit Rating, the Drape of the Drakerider offers similar stats with similar damage output. While the stats are similar when it comes to the secondary stats, the baseline stats are different, with the BiS offering gem sockets and Agility. At the same time, the Drape of the Drakerider offers Strength and no gem sockets. The Stylish Power Cape is another viable alternative, being the predecessor of the Drape of the Drakerider. It provides exactly the same types of stats as its upgraded version, with only the raw stat values themselves being lower.

If you still lack Hit Rating after reaching as close as possible to the BiS option in every one of your gear slots, you can use either one of the Drape of the Skyborn or the Drape of Icy Intent as perfectly valid alternatives. While they offer different sets of stats, their overall performance is quite similar, resulting in close damage outputs.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Battleplate	80 Emblem of Heroism/Vault of Archavon (Archavon the Stone Watcher)
Chestplate of the Risen Soldier	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred (Former Naxxramas 10)
Bonegrinder Breastplate	Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom– Prince Taldaram (Heroic)
Breastplate of Undeath	Drak’Tharon Keep – Novos the Summoner (Heroic)
Engraved Chestplate of Eck	Gundrak – Eck the Ferocious (Heroic)
Wing Commander’s Breastplate	The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider

The best possible choice as a fresh level 80 will be the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Battleplate. While it does have extremely good stats which boost your overall damage output, the item has a very steep vendor price which makes it hard to acquire. You can also acquire it from the VoA raid, however, you will require to heavily rely on RNG and luck to both find a group and also gain the item as a fresh level 80.

An easier to acquire alternative thanks to the new Titan Rune Dungeons is the Chestplate of the Risen Soldier as it grants exactly the same type of stats without the T7 bonuses. The Bonegrinder Breastplate is a close alternative in terms of damage output, however, it’s a weaker version since it only grants Critical Strike Chance.

If you struggle with Hit Rating at the beginning of your gearing journey, either one of the Breastplate of Undeath, the Engraved Chestplate of Eck, or the Wing Commander’s Breastplate will be a perfect option as they all grant consistent amounts of Hit Rating. Your choice between them depends entirely on which one you can find first, as they all are very close in terms of damage output.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Valorous Scourgeborne Battleplate	Naxxramas – Four Horseman, Gluth
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Battleplate	80 Emblem of Heroism/Vault of Archavon (Archavon the Stone Watcher)
Breastplate of Frozen Pain	Naxxramas -Sapphiron
Chestguard of the Recluse	The Eye of Eternity– Malygos
Undiminished Battleplate	Naxxramas -Maexxna

The best possible choice for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the phase 1 BiS, namely the Valorous Scourgeborne Battleplate. This is due to the access to the T7 item-set bonuses combined with great amounts of both baseline and secondary stats. The Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating combination will vastly increase your overall damage output. Naturally, the next-best alternative will be its predecessor, the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Battleplate, which offers the same types of stats in lower overall amounts.

The only issue with the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Battleplate is the extremely high vendor price. A fix for this issue is the VoA raid which drops the item, however, you will have to heavily rely on RNG and luck to gain it.

Depending on your current needs you will want to use the Breastplate of Frozen Pain if you lack Hit Rating or the Chestguard of the Recluse if you lack Expertise Rating.

If you still require more of both Expertise Rating and Hit Rating due to your other items having more offensive secondary stats, the Undiminished Battleplate will be the best alternative as it grants very high amounts of both Hit Rating and Expertise Rating.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Darkruned Battleplate	Ulduar – Hodir (25)
Valorous Darkruned Battleplate	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (10)
Embrace of the Gladiator	Ulduar – Thorim (25) HM
Chestplate of Vicious Potency	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (10)
Chestplate of Titanic Fury	Ulduar – Auriaya (10)
Steelbreaker’s Embrace	Ulduar – The Iron Council (25)

The best possible option for the second phase of the expansion will be the Conqueror’s Darkruned Battleplate. This is due to the access to the T8 item-set bonuses while also granting you very high baseline stats combined with a large amount of Expertise Rating. Since we already have plenty of items with pure offensive secondary stats in our build, the Expertise Rating granted by the T8 chestpiece will be vital. Naturally, the Valorous Darkruned Battleplate will be the next-best alternative as it offers the exact same types of stats in an overall lower amount.

The Steelbreaker’s Embrace will be a good alternative if you still need Expertise Rating, however, due to the overall amount of stats, your overall damage output will be reduced by 100-200 DPS.

The Embrace of the Gladiator is the next-best alternative as it grants both massive amounts of baseline stats and secondary stats. Needless to say, this only applies if you already have enough Expertise Rating to reach your Soft Expertise Cap. The Chestplate of Vicious Potency is very close in terms of damage output, even if it grants a different set of baseline stats and secondary stats. The amount of Armor Penetration granted by the item is almost equal as the Critical Strike Chance offered by the Embrace of the Gladiator.

Lastly, if you already have enough Expertise Rating but still haven’t reached your Soft Hit Cap, you can use the Chestplate of Titanic Fury as a viable alternative if you don’t want to sacrifice some of your gem sockets for Hit Rating. However, you will want to swap the item quite fast, as it is suboptimal.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Wristbands of the Sentinel Huntress	60 Emblem of Valor (BoE)
Bracers of Lost Sentiments	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Stone – Krystallus (Former Naxxramas 10)
Wristwraps of the Cutthroat	60 Emblem of Valor BoE
Cuffs of Dark Shadows	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – Prince Taldaram (Former Naxxramas 10)
Bands of the Stoneforge	Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Heroic)
Golden Limb Bands	Azjol-Nerub – Krik’thir the Gatewatcher (Heroic)
Cast Iron Shackles	Violet Hold – Zone Drop (Heroic)

With the arrival of the new Titan Rune Dungeons, there are multiple viable options for the Bracers Slot, with a vast variety of items depending on your current need. In our current setup, the best possible choice will be the Wristbands of the Sentinel Huntress, as it will offer us a great amount of baseline stats combined with a large amount of Expertise Rating and Critical Strike Chance.

The Bracers of Lost Sentiments are a better alternative if you lack both Expertise Rating and Hit Rating, however, they won’t be instantly accessible as you will first need to find a group that can clear a Titan Rune Dungeon. Nonetheless, this item allows you to customize your other slots with more offensive stats.

The Wristwraps of the Cutthroat are another viable alternative that can be accessed easily since it is a BoE item, offering you a great amount of offensive stats. However, you should only consider this item if you already have a good amount of Hit Rating and Expertise Rating. The Cuffs of Dark Shadows serve a similar purpose, resulting in almost the same amount of damage output. This is due to the stat spread that the item has, with a decent amount of both Armor Penetration and Critical Strike Chance.

If you can’t acquire any of the previously mentioned items, you can start with either one of the Bands of the Stoneforge, the Golden Limb Bands, or the Cast Iron Shackles. However, you will want to swap those items as they only grant one type of secondary stats.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Bracers of Unrelenting Attack	Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester
Bracers of the Tyrant	Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina
Wristbands of the Sentinel Huntress	60 Emblem of Valor (BoE)

The best option for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase remains the phase 1 BiS, namely the Bracers of Unrelenting Attack. This is due to the high amount of baseline stats it offers combined with a large amount of Hit Rating and Critical Strike Chance. The Hit Rating granted by this item is essential and can even be used later on in Ulduar as you upgrade the rest of your gear slots.

If somehow you already have enough Hit Rating from the rest of your items, yet you still require Expertise Rating, the Bracers of the Tyrant is the next-best alternative in terms of pure damage output. The Wristbands of the Sentinel Huntress is a very similar option which serves the same purpose that can be acquired easily since it’s a BoE item, provided that someone offers to sell it on the Trade Channel or the Auction House.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Armbands of Bedlam	Ulduar – Mimiron (25) HM
Bitter Cold Armguards	Ulduar – Hodir (10) HM
Solar Bindings	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Decimator’s Armguards	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)

The best possible choice for the second phase of the expansion will be the Armbands of Bedlam. This is due to the upgrade that the item received, which increased its overall baseline stats and secondary stats by a large amount. The Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating combination will also provide you with the best damage output in this scenario due to the sheer amount of stats.

The next-best alternative is the Bitter Cold Armguards, offering similar baseline stats and a great amount of Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration as secondary stats. The only reason this item is not the actual BiS is due to the amount of stats themselves, as the Armbands of Bedlam provide more overall stats. However, the damage output difference is quite minimal, with only a 25-35 DPS difference.

In case your build still lacks Expertise Rating, the best possible alternative is the Solar Bindings. The damage output resulted by using this item is quite similar to the other options with only a 50 DPS difference.

Lastly, if you still require Hit Rating, the Decimator’s Armguards are the best possible alternative as they grant a large amount of Armor Penetration and high baseline stats. In terms of pure damage output, they offer the lowest DPS out of all the other options if you don’t alter the rest of your build, even if they provide a considerable amount of Armor Penetration. Nonetheless, a great alternative if there is no other option and you require Hit Rating.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Zeliek’s Gauntlets	Naxxramas – Four Horseman (BoE)
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Gauntlets	60 Emblem of Heroism/Vault of Archavon ( Archavon the Stone Watcher)
Gloves of Fast Reactions	Naxxramas – Sapphiron (BoE)
Gauntlets of Dragon Wrath	The Oculus – Cache of Eregos (Heroic)
Gauntlets of Capture	Violet Hold – Cyanigosa (Heroic)

As a fresh level 80, there are two powerful items that can be directly acquired as they are BoE items. However, unlike crafted items, those two items can only be acquired if someone clears Naxxramas and posts them on the Auction House.

Zeliek’s Gauntlets are the first BoE option, with a focus on Expertise Rating and high baseline stats. They can provide the best damage output if you haven’t reached your Expertise Soft Cap yet. The Gloves of Fast Reactions are the better option if you already are close enough to both your Hit Soft Cap and Expertise Soft Cap.

The Heroes’ Scourgeborne Gauntlets are also another potent alternative that can be extremely useful due to the T7 item-set bonuses and the Hit Rating it grants, however, it can be quite hard to acquire due to its steep price. You can also acquire it from the VoA raid, but it would be difficult to find a group as a fresh character.

If you can’t find any of the BoE items, the Gauntlets of Dragon Wrath are a great initial choice as they offer a decent amount of Hit Rating and powerful baseline stats while the Gauntlets of Capture can be used as a fast intermediary item until you can find an upgrade. The Haste Rating granted by the Gauntlets of Capture can increase your overall damage output, however, you will most probably lack Hit Rating at the beginning of your gearing journey.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Valorous Scourgeborne Gauntlets	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
Crude Discolored Battlegrips	Naxxramas – Patchwerk
Zeliek’s Gauntlets	Naxxramas – Four Horseman (BoE)
Frosted Adroit Handguards	The Eye of Eternity– Malygos
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Gauntlets	60 Emblem of Heroism/Vault of Archavon ( Archavon the Stone Watcher)

The best option for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the phase 1 BiS, namely the Valorous Scourgeborne Gauntlets. This is due to the access to the T7 item-set bonuses combined with a great amount of both baseline and secondary stats. One of the main reasons we prioritize this item is the Hit Rating that it grants, as it allows us to swap other item slots with more offensive-oriented options.

The Crude Discolored Battlegrips are the next-best alternative thanks to the large amount of Hit Rating that they provide combined with a high amount of baseline stats. On the same note, either one of the Frosted Adroit Handguards or the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Gauntlets can be used as an alternative for the Hit Rating that they provide, with the T7 gloves being the better choice if you need to activate the T7 item-set bonuses.

If you already have plenty of Hit Rating from your other slots, Zeliek’s Gauntlets will be a better overall choice for damage output, especially for builds that lack Expertise Rating.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Darkruned Gauntlets	Ulduar – Mimiron (25)
Valorous Darkruned Gauntlets	Ulduar – Freya (10)
Gloves of the Endless Dark	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Gauntlets of Ruthless Reprisal	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Gauntlets of the Wretched	Ulduar – General Vezax (10)

The best possible option for the second phase of the expansion will be the Conqueror’s Darkruned Gauntlets. This is due to the access to the T8 item-set bonuses combined with a great amount of essential Hit Rating. Its baseline stats are quite similar to the other alternatives, however, since we already chose items which have mostly offensive stats, the Hit Rating will be crucial to our current setup. The next-best alternative will be its predecessor the Valorous Darkruned Gauntlets , as it grants the same types of stats in lower overall amounts.

If you already activated the T8 4-item set bonus from your other item slots, the best alternative to the T8 gloves will be the Gloves of the Endless Dark. This is due to the large amount of Hit Rating they offer combined with a great amount of baseline stats. The Gauntlets of the Wretched serve the same purpose of providing valuable Hit Rating, however, since their overall stat spread is considerably lower, your damage output will also be reduced.

Lastly, if you already have plenty of Hit Rating and the T8 4-item set bonus activated, you can choose to use the Gauntlets of Ruthless Reprisal. Ideally, you will only want to use this item for a short period of time, as the Off-piece from the Legs Slot is superior.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Girdle of the Ascended Phantom	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Keep – Prince Keleseth (Former Naxxramas 10)
Verdungo’s Barbarian Cord	40 Emblem of Heroism
Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt	Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Heroic)
Trollwoven Girdle	Leatherworking
Strategist’s Belt	Utgarde Keep – Prince Keleseth (Heroic)
Trollwoven Girdle	Leatherworking

There are plenty interesting choices as a fresh level 80 for this item slot, with the Girdle of the Ascended Phantom being the strongest thanks to the new Titan Rune Dungeons. Not only you will gain a large amount of baseline stats, you will also gain a considerable amount of Hit Rating which will ease your gearing process.

The next-best alternative if you already have plenty of Hit Rating will be Verdungo’s Barbarian Cord thanks to its Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating. The only issue with this item is its huge emblem cost, making it quite the hefty purchase at a price of 40 Emblems of Heroism.

If you have plenty of Hit Rating yet still need Expertise Rating, the Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt will be the best possible alternative. This is due to its overall stat spread, resulting in quite a similar damage output if your entire build is optimized. The Trollwoven Girdle is another similar item that can be easily acquired since it’s a crafted item if you don’t want to seek the Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt.

The Strategist’s Belt is another viable option, however, its quite weak by comparison to the other options, as it only has a single secondary stat.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Girdle of Chivalry	Naxxramas – Grobbulus
Girdle of Razuvious	Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious
Girdle of the Ascended Phantom	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Keep – Prince Keleseth (Former Naxxramas 10)
Belt of the Tortured	Naxxramas – Patchwerk, Gluth
Stalk-Skin Belt	Naxxramas – Gluth, Heigan the Unclean

The best possible choice in our current setup for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the phase 1 BiS, namely the Girdle of Chivalry. This is due to the large amount of Hit Rating it offers besides its high baseline stats. The Girdle of the Ascended Phantom is the next-best alternative to it as it also grants a high amount of Hit Rating. The Belt of the Tortured is yet another viable option for increasing your Hit Rating, however, due to the rest of the stats your overall damage output will be considerably lower.

If somehow, you already have plenty of Hit Rating from your other sources, there are other more potent items that you can use.

The Girdle of Razuvious is a better alternative if you can’t manage to gain enough Expertise Rating from the rest of your item slots. If you already have enough Hit Rating and enough Expertise Rating, then you can use the Stalk-Skin Belt as potent alternative which will increase your damage output through the Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stats combination.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Belt of Colossal Rage	Ulduar – The Iron Council (25) HM
Starfall Girdle	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Belt of the Titans	Blacksmithing
Girdle of Embers	Ulduar – Ignis the Furnace Master (25)
Belt of the Singing Blade	28 Emblem of Conquest

The best possible choice for the second phase will be the Belt of Colossal Rage. This is mostly due to its baseline stats and the large amount of Hit Rating it offers. There are certainly other better options for pure offensive stats, however, in our current setup, the Hit Rating granted by the Belt of Colossal Rage is absolutely vital. If you can’t acquire Hit Rating from other sources or the Belt of Colossal Rage, your best bet would be to use the Belt of the Singing Blade.

The next-best alternative in case you tweak your build and already have enough Hit Rating will be the Starfall Girdle. This option is great thanks to its high baseline stats combined with a high amount of Expertise Rating. Needless to say, this option is far better suited for builds that still require expertise Rating and have gained Hit Rating/Haste Rating/Armor Penetration from other sources.The Belt of the Titans is a very similar item that serves the same function, with the added accessibility of being a crafted item that can be directly bought.

The Girdle of Embers is another viable alternative if you already have enough Hit Rating and Expertise Rating from your other item slots as it grants a large amount of Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration which will make up for any lost damage through the optimization process.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Legplates	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons) (Former Naxxramas 10)
Belabored Legplates	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Azjol-Nerub – Anub’arak (Former Naxxramas 10)
Staggering Legplates	Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Heroic)
Legplates of Steel Implants	The Culling of Stratholme – Meathook (Heroic)
Legplates of the Oculus Guardian	The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider (Heroic)

With the new Titan Rune Dungeons, there are multiple new potent options that can be accessed as a fresh level 80. The best possible choice will be the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Legplates as it grants a large amount of baseline stats combined with a large amount of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating. This item also grants you access to the T7 item-set bonuses, although, you would ideally want to access them through your other item slots.

The next-best alternative, especially if you don’t have enough Hit Rating from your other item slots is the Belabored Legplates as it grants a large amount of baseline stats as well, besides quite a considerable amount of Critical Strike Chance.

You also have other options that can aid you increase your overall Hit Rating, however, besides the Hit Rating itself and the high baseline stats, the items lack any other secondary stats. Those options are the Staggering Legplates and the Legplates of the Oculus Guardian.

Lastly, you can also use the Legplates of Steel Implants as a viable option in case you can’t find any of the other items as it has high baseline stats and quite a considerable amount of Haste Rating.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Legplates of Double Strikes	Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious
Valorous Scourgeborne Legplates	Naxxramas – Thaddius, Gluth
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Legplates	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons) (Former Naxxramas 10)
Belabored Legplates	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Azjol-Nerub – Anub’arak (Former Naxxramas 10)

The best possible choice for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the phase 1 BiS, namely the Legplates of Double Strikes. This is due to the massive amount of baseline stats that the item offers combined with a very high amount of Critical Strike Chance and a very high amount of Armor Penetration. This item is strong enough to even replace the T7 4-item set bonus!

The next-best alternative will be the Valorous Scourgeborne Legplates due to the similar baseline stats, Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stat combination, and the access to the T7 item-set bonuses. While this item is strong on its own, the BiS is simply a lot better thanks to the Armor Penetration it offers. Nonetheless, by using this item, you will have quite a strong damage output! Naturally, you can use the Heroes’ Scourgeborne Legplates as a viable alternative since it’s the predecessor of the the Valorous Scourgeborne Legplates, offering exactly the same types of stats in lower amounts.

Lastly, the Belabored Legplates are another viable choice if you still need Hit Rating and can’t gain it from other sources, offering a slightly lower damage output.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Plated Leggings of Ruination	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25) HM
Conqueror’s Darkruned Legplates	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Legplates of the Violet Champion	39 Emblem of Conquest
Clockwork Legplates	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor
Fused Alloy Legplates	Ulduar – Mimiron (10) HM

The best possible option for the second phase of the expansion will be the Plated Leggings of Ruination. This is due to the massive baseline stats that the item offers combined with 3 gem sockets and very high amounts of both Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating. Ideally, you will want to use this item and ignore every other option, however, there are other strong items that you can use in case the Plated Leggings of Ruination don’t drop or if you simply don’t acquire them.

The next-best alternative is the Conqueror’s Darkruned Legplates, as they grant you high baseline stats, 2 gem sockets, and a great amount of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating as secondary stats. They also offer access to the T8 item-set bonuses, however, you will ideally want to acquire the 4-item set bonus from your other item slots. A very similar item and possibly easier acquired is the Legplates of the Violet Champion. It offers the same type of stats, with the exception of the T8 bonuses. Since the T8 tokens can be heavily contested, the 39 emblems cost that the item has can be a better bargain.

Lastly, you also got two other viable alternatives that work best for builds that don’t have enough Hit Rating. You can use either one of them as they are both extremely close in terms of damage output. The items are the Clockwork Legplates and the Fused Alloy Legplates with the former option being stronger than the latter due to the Armor Penetration it offers.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Iron-Spring Jumpers	Naxxramas – Gluth, Heigan the Unclean (BoE)
Ravaging Sabatons	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Lightning – Ionar (Former Naxxramas 10)
The Obliterator Greaves	Violet Hold – Zuramat the Obliterator (Heroic)
Death-Inured Sabatons	Knights of the Ebon Blade – Exalted
Echoing Stompers	Utgarde Pinnacle – Svala Sorrowgrave (Heroic)

The best possible choice for a fresh level 80 will be the Iron-Spring Jumpers. This is due to their status as a BoE item, and the large amounts of stats that the item offers, taking into account both baseline stats and secondary stats. The amount of Hit Rating granted by the item will allow you to optimize the rest of your items better. However, this item can’t be acquired unless someone actually posts the item on the Auction House, as it is a Naxxramas raid drop.

The next-best alternative will be the Ravaging Sabatons. While they don’t offer any Hit Rating, they enhance your overall damage output through great baseline stats combined with Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating as secondary stats. The Obliterator Greaves offers a similar damage output while replacing the Critical Strike Chance with Armor Penetration. While Armor Penetration is typically stronger than Critical Strike Chance, this item is weaker than the Ravaging Sabatons due to the overall stat spread.

If you can’t acquire any of the previously mentioned options, you can either use the Death-Inured Sabatons or the Echoing Stompers. You will want to only keep them until you find an upgrade, as the general lack of secondary stats will reduce your overall performance.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Melancholy Sabatons	The Eye of Eternity – Malygos
Sabatons of Sudden Reprisal	Naxxramas – Anub’Rekhan
Iron-Spring Jumpers	Naxxramas – Gluth, Heigan the Unclean (BoE)
Bladed Steelboots	40 Emblem of Valor

The best possible choice for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the phase 1 BiS, namely the Melancholy Sabatons. This is due to the very high baseline stats that the item offers combined with very high secondary stats. While this amount of Critical Strike Chance can be encountered on other items as well, the raw amount of Armor Penetration that the item offers is extremely strong for our build.

The next-best alternative will be the Sabatons of Sudden Reprisal, granting you a slightly lower yet similar damage output. This is due to the high amounts of baseline stats combined with decently high amounts of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating. We should remember that items with either Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating or Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration will always provide the best damage output.

If your build still lacks Hit Rating, the best choices will be either one of the Iron-Spring Jumpers or the Bladed Steelboots with the former option being stronger. This is because of the Armor Penetration stat being stronger overall than the Critical Strike Chance stat.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Sabatons of Lifeless Night	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Melancholy Sabatons	The Eye of Eternity – Malygos (25)
Battlelord’s Plate Boots	Blacksmithing
Boots of the Underdweller	Ulduar – General Vezax (25)
Greaves of Iron Intensity	Ulduar – The Iron Council (10)

With the update that Ulduar items received the best possible option for this slot in the second phase will be the Sabatons of Lifeless Night. This is due to the very high amount of baseline stats that the item offers combined with a perfect stat spread of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating as secondary stats. There are only two other options that come close to this item, with the rest of the items being better suited for increasing your Hit Rating rather than increasing your overall damage output.

The next-best alternative in terms of pure damage output will be the Melancholy Sabatons. This is due to the high amount of Strength they grant as a baseline stat and a very large amount of Armor Penetration besides a high quantity of Critical Strike Chance as a secondary stat. The item itself is better than the crafted phase 2 boots due to the large amount of Armor Penetration which is better than the Haste Rating.

The crafted Battlelord’s Plate Boots are another viable alternativeve, however, as mentioned earlier, they are weaker than the Melancholy Sabatons due to the Haste Rating they offer. Nonetheless, in case you can’t acquire the Melancholy Sabatons, the Battlelord’s Plate Boots can be easily acquired once a blacksmith finds the recipe and posts the item on the Auction House.

While those 3 items are your best options, in case you don’t have enough Hit Rating, you will want to use either one of the Boots of the Underdweller or the Greaves of Iron Intensity. Both items grant exactly the same types of stats, meaning that the Boots of the Underdweller will be the better option from a sheer stat values perspective.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Inscribed Ring of the Kirin Tor	Dalaran – 1250 Gold
Surge Needle Ring	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)
Circle of Death	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider (Former Naxxramas 10)
Greatring of Collision	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Former The Obsidian Sanctum 10)
Band of the Kirin Tor	Dalaran – 8500 Gold
Titanium Impact Band	Jewelcrafting
Hemorrhaging Circle	Gundrak – Gal’darah (Heroic)

With the arrival of the new Titan Rune Dungeons, there are plenty of viable choices that can empower a fresh level 80 Death Knight. The best ring combination will be the Inscribed Ring of the Kirin Tor & Surge Needle Ring. This is due to a few factors, including the changes to the Dalaran Ring (Both in terms of price and overall stats). This ring combination will grant you the best possible stat spread, offering you both utility stats such as Hit Rating and Expertise Rating while also providing you with offensive stats such as Critical Strike Chance.

The Circle of Death is another viable alternative that can be used instead of the Kirin Tor ring, however, it will provide lower overall stats. It will be useful for gaining a good amount of Expertise Rating. If you somehow manage to gain a large amount of Expertise Rating and Hit Rating from your other items, the Greatring of Collision is a perfect alternative that will empower you with offensive stats such as Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration. You can think of it as a stat trade-off.

However, until you manage to find a group to clear Titan Rune Dungeons with, you will most likely start with either one of the Titanium Impact Band or the Hemorrhaging Circle. Since the Kirin Tor has received a massive upgrade, you can choose to ignore one of these options and directly buy it to empower your character. The Titanium Impact Band can also be prioritized over the Hemorrhaging Circle as it is a BoE-crafted item that can be easily acquired.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Inscribed Ring of the Kirin Tor	Dalaran – 1250 Gold
Ruthlessness	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Surge Needle Ring	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)
Strong-Handed Ring	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Ring of Invincibility	25 Emblem of Valor
Circle of Death	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider (Former Naxxramas 10)
Greatring of Collision	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Former The Obsidian Sanctum 10)

With the change that the Dalaran ring has received, the best possible ring combination for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will be the Inscribed Ring of the Kirin Tor/Ruthlessness. This is due to a large amount of Expertise Rating that you can acquire by using those two rings combined, paired up with a considerable amount of Critical Strike Chance. The Circle of Death serves as a possible alternative to either of the previously mentioned rings as it grants similar stats, offering a similar damage output.

If your build suffers from a lack of Hit Rating, either one of the Surge Needle Ring or the Strong-Handed Ring will be a perfectly valid alternative. While their stats are different, with one of them granting you Critical Strike Chance while the other offers Haste Rating, the resulting damage output is very similar when using either one of them. This means that depending on RNG and your personal luck, it doesn’t necessarily matter which one you pick, but more precisely, which one you can get access to faster.

If you already have enough Hit Rating and Expertise Rating, you also have the option of using the Ring of Invincibility as a potent alternative. Assuming you sacrifice a few offensive stats such as Critical Strike Chance, Haste Rating, or Armor Penetration from your item gear slots in favor of Hit Rating and Expertise Rating, this item will supplement your build with a considerable amount of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating.

In the same fashion, the Greatring of Collision serves the same purpose.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Seal of the Betrayed King	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25) HM
Brann’s Signet Ring	Ulduar – Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Band of Lights	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Strength of the Automaton	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25)
Bladebearer’s Signet	Ulduar – Zone Drop (25)
Sif’s Promise	Ulduar – Thorim (25)
Power Enhancing Loop	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (10)

The best possible combination for your ring slots in the second phase will be the Seal of the Betrayed King & Brann’s Signet Ring. This is due to the overall great stat spread that you gain with those two items. The Seal of the Betrayed King grants you very high baseline stats, a gem socket, and quite a high amount of Hit Rating/Critical Strike while Brann’s Signet Ring further enhances your damage output through Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration. This only applies if you already reached both your Soft Hit Cap and Soft Expertise Cap, as you will be forced to modify your build or use other rings if you haven’t reached your Soft Caps yet.

If you can’t get Seal of the Betrayed King you can use the Band of Lights as a valid alternative. This item will supplement the lost Hit Rating from the Seal of the Betrayed King while replacing the offensive bonus granted by Critical Strike Chance with a similar amount granted by the Armor Penetration. By using this item you will have a similar damage output, only slightly lower.

The Strength of the Automaton is another viable option if you can’t get Brann’s Signet Ring, providing a great amount of Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration. However, your overall damage output will be slightly lower by using this option.

If you find yourself in the middle of your gearing process, the Bladebearer’s Signet is a great alternative that provides you with plenty of Hit Rating and Expertise Rating while you change the rest of your item slots. Sif’s Promise works in a similar manner, only that it is more useful for builds that already have enough Hit Rating while still lacking Expertise Rating. You can expect your damage output to remain similar as the item itself grants high baseline stats and plenty of Critical Strike Chance.

Lastly, on the same note, the Power Enhancing Loop is yet another viable and potent alternative that works best for builds that don’t have enough Hit Rating yet. This option offers almost the same amount of baseline stats as the other options while also offering a great amount of secondary stats. This means that your overall damage output will be similar to the other options, making this a strong option until you can get the actual BiS.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Darkmoon Card: Greatness	Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck
Mirror of Truth	40 Emblem of Heroism
Meteorite Whetstone	Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron (Heroic)
Loatheb’s Shadow	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Azjol-Nerub – Krik’thir the Gatewatcher
Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood	The Nexus – Keristrasza (Heroic)
Incisor Fragment	Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred (Heroic)

As a fresh level 80, there is one trinket that you can consider absolutely broken when it comes to how powerful you can become once you acquire it. The Darkmoon Card: Greatness is the best possible trinket you can acquire, even before reaching level 80, as long as you can find it on the Auction House. It grants a massive Strength bonus which can be used even as a BiS in Ulduar. The rest of the options that we are showcasing should be paired up with the Darkmoon Card: Greatness!

The Mirror of Truth and the Meteorite Whetstone grant similar damage outputs even if each of them grants a different On-Equip effect. This is thanks to the way stats balance each other with the raw Attack Power granted by the Mirror of Truth being equal to the raw amount of Haste Rating granted by the Meteorite Whetstone.

Another viable alternative is Loatheb’s Shadow, albeit a far weaker option than any of the options presented before. This is due to the overall lower Attack Power granted by the item. The Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood grants the same amount of Attack Power, being a great alternative to Loatheb’s Shadow, however, it’s a better option for builds that haven’t reached their Soft Hit Cap yet.

The Incisor Fragment is another viable initial alternative that you can use until you can gain better trinkets. It grants a decently high amount of Armor Penetration, however, it’s a lot weaker than any of the other options as it has a very high cooldown and a very low amount of Attack Power as a static bonus when compared to the other options.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Darkmoon Card: Greatness	Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck
Grim Toll	Naxxramas – Zone Drop
Mirror of Truth	40 Emblem of Heroism
Fury of the Five Flights	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
Meteorite Whetstone	Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron (Heroic)

The best possible trinket combination for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will be Darkmoon Card: Greatness/Grim Toll. This is due to the massive Strength Buff received from the Darkmoon Card combined with a very high amount of Hit Rating and Armor Penetration granted by Grim Toll. Since Grim Toll grants a very high amount of Hit Rating, it bestows a great amount of flexibility when it comes to your other gear slots which will allow you to pick more offensive oriented items rather than utility items for Hit Rating.

The Mirror of Truth and the Fury of the Five Flights are two possible alternatives that provide similar effects with one of them granting you an On-Equip proc with an internal cooldown while the other one grants you a static permanent effect as long as you remain in combat. Both trinkets can be used independently or combined with either Darkmoon Card: Greatness or Grim Toll.

Lastly, the Meteorite Whetstone is a surprisingly powerful trinket that can grant you a massive Haste Rating buff due to it’s On-Equip effect. This trinket also grants quite a high amount of Critical Strike Chance, making it a great choice even if it has a low-item level. You can successfully use it with any of the other trinkets, however, it performs best with either Grim Toll or the Darkmoon Card: Greatness.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Mjolnir Runestone	Ulduar – Thorim (10) HM
Darkmoon Card: Greatness	Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck
Comet’s Trail	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Dark Matter	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Wrathstone	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)
Blood of the Old God	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25)

There are 4 possible trinkets that you can effectively use in the second phase of the expansion for the best possible outcome. The most used combination is Darkmoon Card: Greatness/Mjolnir Runestone. With the upgrade that Mjolnir Runestone received and the massive amount of Armor Penetration that it grants, you will want to use it in most trinket combinations. The Darkmoon Card: Greatness manages to maintain its position as one of the strongest trinkets up to date with it’s huge Strength enhancing effect. You will notice that it is just as strong as the Comet’s Trail or Dark Matter.

You can also use Mjolnir Runestone in combination with Comet’s Trail or Dark Matter. You will find that in either one of the two combinations the damage output is extremely similar with only a 10-20 DPS difference. Even if one of the trinkets offers Critical Strike Chance while the other offers Haste Rating, both stats are granted in such large amounts that they offer similar results.

If you can’t find any of those 4 trinkets, you can use either one of the Wrathstone or the Blood of the Old God as valid alternatives.

The Blood of the Old God is also great for builds that severely lack Hit Rating, as it grants a very high amount of Hit Rating. It also has an On-Equip effect which is quite potent, resulting in a very close DPS output to the other trinkets. Meanwhile the Wrathstone is better if you already have plenty Hit Rating as it grants a large amount of Critical Strike Chance. The only issue with the item is that it has an On-Use effect with a high cooldown.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Death’s Bite	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – (Former Naxxramas 10)
Black Ice	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Oculus – Ley-Guardian Eregos (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)
Wraith Spear	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Gundrak – Moorabi (Former Naxxramas 10)
Claymore of Ancient Power	(Titan Rune Dungeons) The Nexus – Grand Magus Telestra (Former Naxxramas 10)
Titansteel Destroyer	Blacksmithing
Mojo Masked Crusher	Drak’Tharon Keep – The Prophet Tharon’Ja (Heroic)

With the release of the Titan Rune Dungeons, there are many new viable options can be acquired as a Fresh level 80. Depending on the rest of your build and how much Hit Rating and Expertise Rating you already have you may use different weapons in different setups. The best possible choice if you don’t have enough Hit Rating will be Death’s Bite. The next-best option if you still require a large amount of Hit Rating will be Black Ice. Keep in mind, however, that while both items grant extraordinary amounts of stats, Death’s Bite increases your overall damage output by a considerably higher amount due to the Critical Strike Chance it offers.

In case you already have enough Hit Rating from your item item slots, either one of the Claymore of Ancient Power or the Wraith Spear will be a great initial alternative. The Wraith Spear is stronger than the Claymore of Ancient Power thanks to the two secondary stats it has, however, the Claymore of Ancient Power comes quite close in terms of damage output.

However, if you still can’t find a group for the new Titan Rune Dungeons, the you can start with either one of the Titansteel Destroyer or the Mojo Masked Crusher. We recommend that you start with the Titansteel Destroyer since it grants a fairly high amount of Hit Rating and a large amount of baseline stats.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Betrayer of Humanity	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad
Death’s Bite	(Titan Rune Dungeons) Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – (Former Naxxramas 10)
The Jawbone	Naxxramas – Maexxna
Armageddon	Naxxramas – Four Horsemen
Cryptfiend’s Bite	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Black Ice	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Ley-Guardian Eregos (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)

The best possible option for the Pre-Ulduar gearing phase will remain the phase 1 BiS, namely the Betrayer of Humanity. This is due to the very high weapon damage combined with a great amount of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating as secondary stats. Even if the item grants Agility instead of Strength, the overall damage output is far better than with any other option.

The next-best alternative is Death’s Bite, an option that can be acquired quite easily from the new Titan Rune Dungeons, providing you with a massive amount of Hit Rating. This option outshines Betrayer of Humanity in case the rest of your gear slots barely provide you with Hit Rating!

Another great option that produces the almost the same amount of damage output is The Jawbone. However, this option is better only for builds that severely lack Expertise Rating!

You also have other options that offer a slightly lower damage output but can still perform quite well, namely Armageddon and Cryptfiend’s Bite. Those two options are fairly similar due to their secondary stats, with the only major difference being their baseline stats, one granting you Strength while the other grants you Agillity. As mentioned, they are both extremely close in terms of damage output, meaning that either option is perfectly valid.

Lastly, if you still need Hit Rating and can’t get a hold of Death’s Bite, your best option will be Black Ice. While it’s stat spread is not completely ideal, this option will still provide a great damage output as you progress through Ulduar.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion	Ulduar – General Vezax (25) HM
Aesir’s Edge	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (10) HM
Dark Edge of Depravity	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25) HM
Hammer of Crushing Whispers	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (10) HM
Worldcarver	Ulduar – Hodir (10)

The best possible option in the second phase of the expansion will undoubtedly be Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion. Provided you have enough Hit Rating and Expertise Rating, Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion grants you extremely high baseline stats combined with two gem sockets and high amounts of Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration. There is no other better choice for a Blood Death Knight DPS in this current phase of the expansion.

The next-best alternative is the Aesir’s Edge which provides precisely the same types of stats as Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion. The only difference is the weapon damage and the amount of stats granted by the item, with the Aesir’s Edge offering slightly lower overall stats than Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion.

Both the Dark Edge of Depravity and the Hammer of Crushing Whispers are viable alternatives for builds that severely lack Hit Rating, with both items granting a nearly identical damage output. Even if their stats are different, in our current setup, both Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating granted by the items will produce the same type of results. While we typically benefit more from Critical Strike Chance than Haste Rating, in this setup it produces the same effect.

If your build lacks enough Expertise Rating, another viable alternative is the Worldcarver. However, considering our actual BiS, you will only want to use this option until you manage to gain enough Expertise Rating from your other items, since Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion is simply the best option.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Sigil of Awareness	25 Emblem of Valor/Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean
Sigil of Haunted Dreams	15 Emblem of Heroism

As a Fresh 80 Blood Death Knight, your Sigil is one of the most important items. The best possible choice will be the Sigil of Awareness, due to its baseline damage-enhancing effect for Death Strike. Since this item increases the baseline damage, this means that the damage-enhancing part is also susceptible to being further empowered by other stats such as Armor Penetration or Critical Strike Chance.

The only other viable alternative is the Sigil of Haunted Dreams due to the massive amount of Critical Strike Chance it offers. The only issue with this Sigil is that its proc effect has a 45-second internal cooldown, meaning that it is inferior to the flat damage bonus granted by the Sigil of Awareness. However, even if the proc has a long internal cooldown, the damage output resulting from using this sigil is quite similar to the Sigil of Awareness, resulting only in a 60-75 DPS difference.

Pre-Ulduar

Item	Source
Sigil of Awareness	25 Emblem of Valor/Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean
Sigil of Haunted Dreams	15 Emblem of Heroism

The best possible options for the Pre-Ulduar Gearing phase will remain the Fresh 80 options as there aren’t other viable alternatives. The same concepts apply, even if the rest of your gear slots completely change.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Sigil of the Vengeful Heart	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25)
Sigil of Awareness	25 Emblem of Valor/Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean (25)

We only have two viable Sigils that we can use in the second phase of the expansion, with the Sigil of the Vengeful Heart being the best possible choice. This is due to two different important factors: The first one is that our main Runic Spender is Death Coil which the Sigil of the Vengeful Heart massively empowers. The second factor is the Sudden Doom talent which allows us to proc free Death Coils based on our Heart Strike and Blood Strike abilities.

The Sigil of Awareness is the only possible alternative, showcasing a far lesser performance-enhancing effect when compared to the Sigil of the Vengeful Heart. While we will be using Death Strike in our rotation, the frequency at which we cast the ability is far lower than Death Coil. This will result in considerably lower damage output.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Iron Riveted War Helm	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (10) BoE
Spiked Titansteel Helm	Blacksmithing
Mimiron’s Flight Goggles	Animated Constellation – 25 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Valourous Darkruned Helmet	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Helmet	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Spiked Titansteel Helm	Blacksmithing
Titan’s Outlook	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Helm of the Unsubmissive	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Charged Titanium Specs	Engineering

If you have the money, Iron Riveted War Helm will be a solid pick-up to get hit as a newly minted level 80. Spiked Titansteel Helm is still a decent choice if you want to go the Blacksmithing route. Mimiron’s Flight Goggles do decent damage as the stats are optimized, but since it provides Agi instead of Str, we should aim for something else. Finally, Our 10-man Tier helm offers solid stats.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Warhelm of the Champion	Ulduar – Thorim (25)
Iron Riveted War Helm	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (10) BoE
Conqueror’s Darkruned Helmet	Ulduar – Thorim (10)
Obsidian Greathelm	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
Valorous Scourgeborne Helmet	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

Warhelm of the Champion is our top pick out of what’s available in Ulduar, due to its raw ilvl and the hit and crit it grants us. Among our other choices are the BoE, Iron Riveted War Helm, and our 25-man Tier.

Our 4 piece bonus is pretty important to us, so you may want to keep using Conqueror’s Darkruned Helmet for quite a while.

Best-in-Slot

Our 4-piece Tier bonus is what we want, and there aren’t really any non-set alternatives.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Strength of the Heavens	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Spiked Battleguard Choker	19 Emblem of Conquest
Pendant of a Thousand Maws	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Might of the Leviathan	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (10)/Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Titanium Impact Choker	Jewelcrafting
Pendant of the Outcast Hero	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

Strength of the Heavens is now available via Sidereal Essence, so with a little bit of patience in Beta Heroics, you can pick up this piece for your fresh DK. Barring that, we can grab Spiked Battleguard Choker for a small amount of Emblem of Conquest from the vendor.

We also have a couple Heroic ++ Dungeon options; they simply lack the ilvl and stat itemization of our top choices.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Frigid Strength of Hodir	Ulduar – Hodir (25)
Strength of the Heavens	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Spiked Battleguard Choker	19 Emblem of Conquest
Pendant of a Thousand Maws	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10) Shoulders
Favor of the Dragon Queen	The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity
Pendant of the Dragonsworn	The Eye of Eternity – Judgement at the Eye of Eternity
Fool’s Trial	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses

Frigid Strength of Hodir is our best option and, ideally what we go into ToGC with.

Strength of the Heavens has OK stat itemization for us with haste and crit rating; we can stick with this if we already have it.

If we can’t get our hands on our top pieces, we can grab our Emblem or Dungeon options instead.

Best-in-Slot

wow classic horde leveling guide The Executioner’s Vice gives us the most out of anything in this slot; we can also use the normal version The Executioner’s Vice, or the previous phase BiS, Frigid Strength of Hodir.

In this slot, our option’s viability descends in terms of ilvl.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Valorous Darkruned Shoulderplates	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Shoulderplates of the Celestial Watch	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Heroes’ Scourgeborne Shoulderplates	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Shoulderplates of Bloodshed	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

Ideally, we will get 10-man Tier in this slot as we go into ToGC because of the 4-piece bonus.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Darkruned Shoulderplates	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (10)
Valorous Darkruned Shoulderplates	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Shoulderplates of the Eternal	Ulduar – Auriaya (10)

Our best choice is upgrading to the Tier shoulders’ better version.

Best-in-Slot

Like our other slots with a Tier piece, our best slot is the Heroic 258 ilvl wow classic horde leveling guide Koltira’s Shoulderplates of Triumph.

The Normal version ( wow classic horde leveling guide Koltira’s Shoulderplates of Triumph) will also work, as we really want that set bonus and don’t want to use this slot as our set drop piece.

In the meantime, we can hang onto our old Ulduar Tier.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Drape of Fuming Anger	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Drape of the Faceless General	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Stylish Power Cape	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Shawl of the Shattered Giant	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

Drape of Fuming Anger is a great piece with decent stat itemization; if you don’t have luck getting it to drop, you can get Drape of the Faceless General for Sidereal Essence.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Drape of the Skyborn	Ulduar – Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Drape of Icy Intent	Ulduar – Hodir (25)
Drape of the Skyherald	Ulduar – All Is Well That Ends Well
Shawl of the Shattered Giant	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

Now, Drape of the Skyborn is the best thing we can get out of Ulduar, Brann’s Signet Ring is a reward from the same quest, and gives us much more than the cape; This means Drape of Icy Intent is a more realistic item to go for.

Best-in-Slot

This is going to be a tough piece to get because it’s looted from the Argent Crusade Tribute Chest and will only drop with all 50 attempts remaining; wiping on any encounter will exclude this from the loot table.

Consider the 10-man version, Cloak of the Triumphant Combatant, if the 25-man version is too contested.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Chestplate of Titanic Fury	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Chestplate of Vicious Potency	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Valorous Darkruned Battleplate	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Breastplate of the Imperial Joust	Trial of the Champion – Eadric the Pure

Our Heroic ++ options do offer better dps than our 10-man Tier piece, but we should take it over them if it contributes to our set bonus.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Embrace of the Gladiator	Ulduar – Thorim (25)
Chestplate of Titanic Fury	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Conqueror’s Darkruned Battleplate	Ulduar – Hodir (25)

If it helps complete our set bonus, we should definitely put Tier in this slot.

Best-in-Slot

We will use this slot as our Tier set bonus drop piece to benefit from wow classic horde leveling guide Chestplate of the Frostwolf Hero and its solid hit and three gem slots.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Titanium Spikeguards	Blacksmithing
Bitter Cold Armguards	Animated Constellation – 15 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Wristbands of the Sentinel Huntress	60 Emblem of Valor BoE
Bracers of Lost Sentiments	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Wristwraps of the Cutthroat	60 Emblem of Valor BoE
Cuffs of Dark Shadows	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

If you’ve got the money, you can grab Titanium Spikeguards off the Auction House, keep in mind these do act as BiS for the phase, so you may want to invest early.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Titanium Spikeguards	Blacksmithing
Armbands of Bedlam	Ulduar – Mimiron (25)
Bitter Cold Armguards	Animated Constellation – 15 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)

The other options besides our crafted BoE give us more damage in a vacuum, but because Titanium Spikeguards are a good source of Armor Pen, we will want to keep these on once we start rounding out our BiS.

Best-in-Slot

Because of the Armor Pen, Titanium Spikeguards will be BiS once we have a solid baseline of our other BiS pieces. wow classic horde leveling guide Boneshatter Vambraces from Beasts of Northrend is an alternative, and Armplates of the Nether Lord from 10-man Jaraxxus is as well, and these may give you more DPS if you lack a majority of your BiS already.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Gloves of the Endless Dark	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Valorous Darkruned Gauntlets	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Gauntlets of the Wretched	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Zeliek’s Gauntlets	Naxxramas – Four Horseman (25) BoE

We have a couple of fresh 80 options for our glove slot, Gloves of the Endless Dark get a slight edge of 10-man Tier despite being Agi just because of the increased ilvl, but ideally, we will use this slot for our set bonus.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Darkruned Gauntlets	Ulduar – Mimiron (10)
Gloves of the Endless Dark	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Valorous Darkruned Gauntlets	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Gauntlets of the Wretched	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

25-man Tier for our set bonus is what’s best for us here.

Best-in-Slot

Once again, we will want a Tier piece in this slot for our set bonus, as there isn’t a fresh option worth set-dropping the glove slot for.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Starfall Girdle	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Belt of the Singing Blade	28 Emblem of Conquest
Belt of the Titans	Blacksmithing
Soul-Devouring Cinch	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Verdungo’s Barbarian Cord	40 Emblem of Heroism

Starfall Girdle is a great starter option for this slot, and it’s got nice gem slots and an OK stat offering.

If you need to prioritize your Sindereal Essence, Belt of the Singing Blade & Belt of the Titans are other options that can be acquired with Emblems or gold, respectively.

Soul-Devouring Cinch does work in a pinch, but your Sidereal Essence can be better spent, so only take this if it drops off Yogg in 10-man and if other physical DPS don’t need it.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Belt of Colossal Rage	Ulduar – The Iron Council (25)
Starfall Girdle	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Belt of the Singing Blade	28 Emblem of Conquest
Belt of the Titans	Blacksmithing
Girdle of Chivalry	Naxxrama – Grobbulus (25)
Girdle of the Ascended Phantom	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas10 Drop)

Belt of Colossal Rage is the best we will get out of Ulduar because of its gem slots and high ilvl, it will even serve us as BiS for all of the phase, only being replaced by Bloodbath Belt/Bloodbath Girdle once we have most of our BiS already equipt.

Best-in-Slot

This is a tricky slot, as switching from Belt of Colossal Rage to wow classic horde leveling guide Bloodbath Girdle may be a DPS loss.

Once you have most items on this list, wow classic horde leveling guide Bloodbath Girdle will be BiS.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Fused Alloy Legplates	Animated Constellation – 25 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Legplates of the Violet Champion	39 Emblem of Conquest
Valorous Darkruned Legplates	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Belabored Legplates	Heroic + Dungeons (Former The Obsidian Sanctum 10 Drop)

Like a lot of our fresh 80 recommendations, Fused Alloy Legplates, bought with Sidereal Essence, wins due to being the highest ilvl available to a fresh character, its a nice hit piece and will serve you well in progression.

Another option is the Emblem piece, Legplates of the Violet Champion.

10-man Tier is an ok pick if it helps you get set bonuses.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Plated Leggings of Ruination	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25)
Fused Alloy Legplates	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Legplates of the Violet Champion	39 Emblem of Conquest
Conqueror’s Darkruned Legplates	Ulduar – Freya (10)
Valorous Darkruned Legplates	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

In addition to our fresh options, we can now try for Plated Leggings of Ruination from Ulduar, our ideal drop piece for Tier 8.

Best-in-Slot

Since we have a good chest piece set-drop option, we will want to use this slot for Tier 9.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Greaves of Iron Intensity	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Battlelord’s Plate Boots	Blacksmithing
Iron-Spring Jumpers	Naxxramas – Gluth, Heigan the Unclean (25) (BoE)
Ravaging Sabatons	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas10 Drop)

In phase 3, we have two new pieces for fresh players that are accessible right away, Greaves of Iron Intensity & Battlelord’s Plate Boots, from Heroic ++ and Blacksmithing, respectively.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Sabatons of Lifeless Night	Ulduar – Algalon (25)
Boots of the Underdweller	Ulduar – General Vezax (10)
Greaves of Iron Intensity	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Battlelord’s Plate Boots	Blacksmithing

We have a couple of Ulduar 25 options for boots, and if you’re lucky you can get Sabatons of Lifeless Night off Algalon.

Best-in-Slot

Sabatons of Lifeless Night are our best option and are slightly better than wow classic horde leveling guide Greaves of the Saronite Citadel.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Darkstone Ring	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Band of Lights	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Power Enhancing Loop	Heroic ++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Surge Needle Ring	The Eye of Eternity – Malygos (10)/Heroic +Dungeons

Darkstone Ring is a choice stat option with crit and hit that will help you out in the early gearing phase.

Band of Lights does well because of its ilvl, but because of its Agi, you might feel your Sidereal Essence is better spent elsewhere.

Power Enhancing Loop is another good choice; it’s lower on the list as it gives Arp, which we aren’t really going after.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Seal of the Betrayed King	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25)
Brann’s Signet Ring	Ulduar – Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Crazed Construct Ring	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (10)
Bladebearer’s Signet	Ulduar – Trash (10)

Seal of the Betrayed King off Yogg is the best we can get and was BiS last Phase in tandem with Brann’s Signet Ring.

Our other options we can now pick up from 10-man Ulduar are decent picks as well.

Best-in-Slot

Luckily we don’t need to replace Seal of the Betrayed King; we just need to pick up wow classic horde leveling guide Ring of the Violent Temperament.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Mjolnir Runestone	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Dark Matter	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Darkmoon Card: Greatness	Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck

Because of how we scale off of Str, Darkmoon Card: Greatness is the best thing we can put in a trinket slot, even in ToGC. We can also begin work on our other piece, Mjolnir Runestone, by farming Sidereal Essence.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Comet’s Trail	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Mjolnir Runestone	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Dark Matter	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Darkmoon Card: Greatness	Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck

In addition to our previous options, we can now try and get Comet’s Trail from Algalon.

Best-in-Slot

We can try for Death’s Choice to replace Darkmoon Card: Greatness, but in all likelihood it won’t be Blood prio.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Aesir’s Edge	Animated Constellation – 38 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Colossal Skull-Clad Cleaver	Halls of Lightning – Loken (Heroic)
Claymore of Ancient Power	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas10 Drop)
Demise	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas10 Drop)

You’ll need to farm several Essences to get your hands on two Aesir’s Edge.

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion	Ulduar – General Vezax (25)
Aesir’s Edge	Animated Constellation – 38 Sidereal Essence ( Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Betrayer of Humanity	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (25)

Many groups have seen enough of Voldrethar that you may have an easy time picking up a couple of them with some persistence.

Best-in-Slot

The axe that drops from the Faction Champions will be our best choice because of its great stat offering; the other 258 options work, but be mindful of the hit and expertise they offer, as we don’t want to over-cap.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Sigil of the Wild Buck	Grizzly Hills – 30 Venture Coin

Pre-ToGC

Item	Source
Sigil of the Vengeful Heart	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (10)
Sigil of Haunted Dreams	15 Emblem of Heroism

We don’t have any options in Ulduar other than Sigil of the Vengeful Heart.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Sigil of Virulence	25 Emblem of Triumph
Sigil of the Vengeful Heart	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25)
Deadly Gladiator’s Sigil of Strife	600 Arena Points

Sigil of Virulence gives us such a large Str buff that it is now worth including Death Strike in our rotation.

About the Author

Nevermore

Hey there folks, I am Nevermore and have been deeply passionate about WoW for more than a decade. Whether we talk about the hidden mysteries of Azeroth or the otherworldly Outland, my journey brought me here to share the things that I have experienced with you all.

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Pilldickles

#7420

1 year ago

Phase 1 BiS looks a bit off, but a couple of minor changes would make a decent difference. Consider the following changes:

Head – Obsidian Greathelm
Shoulder – Valorous Scourgeborne
Chest – Chestguard of the Recluse
Wrist – Bracers of Unrelenting Attack
Legs – Legplates of Double Strikes
Trinket – Darkmoon Card: Greatness (in place of Mirror of Truth)

Doing so brings the toon up to expertise cap and nearly hit cap, more AP, and more armor pen. The character only trades off 7% haste (Blood DK’s worst stat), the 4-set bonus (which sucks), and just 3% crit to make it happen. Absolute win.

Zealot Effect

#7581

Reply to Pilldickles

I have a question Would duel wielding slow weapons be great for Blood caked blade and Necrosis instead of going 2h, or just going armor pen duel wield weapons?

Last edited 1 year ago by Zealot Effect

#7609

Reply to Zealot Effect

So dual wielding would probably increase BCB and Necrosis damage, and armor pen is great, but the bigger problem is you’d be sacrificing way too much in other places when dual wielding.

There’s no Threat of Thassarian equivalent talent for Blood, which means that your Heart Strike and Death Strike (well over a third of your total single target damage combined) will have it’s damage based only on the normalized main hand damage. That gap is further widened by the large multipliers from Bloody Strikes and Improved Death Strike. That alone would be a huge DPS loss. Additionally, if you were dual wielding as Blood, you wouldn’t have the benefit of Nerves of Cold Steel unless you forfeited BCB/Necrosis, which is less than ideal.

It’s an interesting thought, but unfortunately the above points probably lock in Blood as a 2h spec.

Cerberuz

#7665

So ive gone off Rugz blood dk bis list and his seems really good keep in mind going leather armor chest your losing Attack power also from talent. i feel like breatplate of frozen pain is amazing for the hit and crit.

#7703

Reply to Cerberuz

I’ve seen his list, and it’s perfectly valid. It’s almost identical to mine so it’s going to yield basically the same results. There are some minor tradeoffs like mine has more armor pen and expertise, while his has more crit, but it’ll be mostly the same overall.