PvE Restoration Druid Best in Slot (BiS) & Pre-Raid Gear - (WotLK) Wrath of the Lich King Classic

Author: Nevermore
Date: March 20, 2023
Expansion: WotLK Classic

PvE Restoration Druid

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 the biggest bulk of your stats. Therefore, it is 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 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: The “Pre-Raid” tab contains items that were available before the implementation of the new “Titan Rune Dungeons”!

Some of the alternatives and explanations in the list are a work-in-progress. More details will be provided soon!

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Helm of Anomalus

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Shroud of Moorabi

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Insect Vestments

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Boots of Transformation

This will be the best item combination.

Alternatives: Titansteel Guardian / Gavel of the Fleshcrafter

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Valorous Dreamwalker Headpiece

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Valorous Dreamwalker Robe

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Spellweave Gloves

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Shackled Cinch

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Distorted Limbs

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Boots of the Escaped Captive

This will be the best item combination.

This will be the best item for this slot.

This will be the best item for this slot. We want the 4-piece tier set bonus ASAP.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot. This item is from one of the more difficult hard modes and may be challenging to get. Watchful Eye of Fate may be easier for you to get.

Alternatives:

Charm of Meticulous Timing
Watchful Eye of Fate
Evoker’s Charm – Worth mentioning as it is only 19 conquest emblems. The raid pieces are better, but this is a quick and cheap alternative.

This will be the best item for this slot. Again we want the 4-piece set bonus right away, so we want tier in our shoulder slot.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot. This is from the Algalon quest item and may be contested. Consider the 10-man version with lower stats or farm 10-man Naxx for Pennant Cloak.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot. Because this is a vital piece with excellent stats and three sockets, we want this in place of tier and should be our tier off-piece. While we can take the tier chest if we want to rush the set bonus, technically, the balance tier chest will have better stats for us.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot. These will be highly contested by other casters, so consider hanging on to Unsullied Cuffs, or farming them from OS 10-man.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot. The stats aren’t great on these tier gloves, but we want them for the set bonus. If you get a tier chest token and use it for the resto piece, you can use gloves as your off piece and pick up Pharos Gloves.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot. We are taking these for the set bonus. Technically, Zodiac Leggings are better, so keep them in mind during your 10-man runs.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative:

This will be the best item combination. Please note, you CANNOT get both Starshine Circle & Sunglimmer Cloak as they are rewards from the same quest. The cloak is a better item, so you may want to try and get any of the alternatives we have listed.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item combination.

Alternatives:

Sif’s Remembrance
Pandora’s Plea
Spark of Hope – More sustain than Druid needs; only take if the rest of your gear is weak.

This will be the best item combination.

Alternative:

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Idol of the Flourishing Life

Once you reach the tier set 4-item bonus, you will want to use Idol of Awakening instead of Idol of the Flourishing Life, since Rejuvenation gains a massive bonus.

Alternatives:

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Greatcloak of the Turned Champion

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Deathwhisper Raiment

This will be the best item for this slot.

Alternative: Boots of Unnatural Growth

This will be the best item combination.

Alternative: Glowing Twilight Scale & Solace of the Fallen

This will be the best item combination.

Alternative: Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings & Sundial of Eternal Dusk

If you manage to get your hands on Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings, it will be your actual BiS, since the absorption effect can grant amazing procs from Wild Growth.

This will be the best item for this slot.

Progressive Best-in-Slot

The following tabs are dedicated to our “Progressive Best-in-Slot” lists which have a full in-depth explanation for each item and why they have been chosen. Keep in mind that there will be items that are considered “Meta” and items that can be used for alternative builds and play styles.

Phase 2
Phase 3

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Noth’s Curse	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred
Cowl of Sheet Lightning	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof
Heroes’ Dreamwalker Headpiece	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Multiple Locations (All Titan Rune Dungeons)
Enamored Cowl	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Drak’Tharon Keep – The Prophet Tharon’ja
Helm of Anomalus	The Nexus – Anomalus (Heroic)
Crown of Unbridled Magic	The Oculus – Ley-Guardian Eregos (Heroic)

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your head slot. Since there are no good BoE items that you can directly buy, you will have to go through a slow progressive dungeon crawl in order to gain some powerful items.

Until you can get into Titan Rune Dungeons, you will most likely start with Heroic Dungeons, claiming items such as the Crown of Unbridled Magic or the Helm of Anomalus. Both items are a great start since they grant you a perfect combination of Intellect, Stamina, and Spirit as baseline stats with Spell Power as a secondary stat. Generally, you will want items that have this combination of baseline stats!

Once you manage to get into Titan Rune Dungeons, you have several options. The weakest item in our setup will be the Enamored Cowl since it has Critical Strike Chance as a secondary stat. This item will be great only in a build that emphasizes the Tier 7 4-items set bonus and the direct bonus it gives to Nourish, as your HoTs can’t be Critical Strikes at the moment.

Heroes’ Dreamwalker Headpiece can be used if you wish to focus on a play style that uses Nourish as a main healing spell, however, it can be quite underwhelming since Hots scale a lot better with a full Haste Rating build over Critical Strike Chance. The Cowl of Sheet Lightning can be used as a better alternative since it grants you quite a considerable amount of Haste Rating.

Lastly, Noth’s Curse is the perfect item that you can acquire from Titan Rune Dungeons as it will grant you a decent amount of Haste Rating, a perfect combination of baseline stats, and quite a hefty amount of Spell Power!

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Headpiece of Reconciliation	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
Cowl of Vanity	Naxxramas – Grobbulus (25)
Headpiece of Fungal Bloom	Naxxramas – Thaddius (25)
Valorous Dreamwalker Headpiece	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (25)

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. Since the Tier 7 bonus is underwhelming, we will want to use it only as a last resort.

The best possible choice for the Pre-Raid phase of Ulduar will remain the BiS from the first phase of the expansion, the Headpiece of Reconciliation. This is mainly due to the Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Spell Power, and Haste stat combination! The item will grant you the highest possible amount of stats until Ulduar items become available!

The Cowl of Vanity is the next-best option granting you the same type of stats as the Headpiece of Reconciliation, only in a smaller amount. The item is a great choice if you can’t manage to find any Obsidian Sanctum groups!

The Headpiece of Fungal Bloom is another great alternative, albeit it grants you a different set of stats, offering MP5 instead of Spirit. While you mainly want items with Spirit, the MP5 will still be a great choice for mana management.

Lastly, Valorous Dreamwalker Headpiece will be your weakest possible choice due to its secondary stats and overall weak set bonuses. The baseline stats are good enough for you to use the item, however, the combination of MP5 and Spell Power will make it the weakest choice, as the lack of Haste Rating hurts your overall efficiency.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Headpiece	Ulduar – Thorim (25)
Unwavering Stare	Ulduar – Auriaya (25)
Lifespark Visage	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (10)
Collar of the Wyrmhunter	Ulduar – Razorscale (25)

The best option for this slot in the second phase will be the Conqueror’s Nightsong Headpiece. This is mainly due to the high baseline among which a high baseline Spirit ratio combined with a great combination of Haste Rating and Spellpower. The item also grants you access to the Tier8 4-set bonus which will be excellent for the second phase of the expansion. Since Rejuvenation is our most useful spell, we will want to get the 4-item set bonus at all costs!

The second next-best item that you can acquire is the Unwavering Stare. The item is great due to its high baseline stats, moderately high Haste Rating, and gem socket that it possesses. While this item is great as a BiS, you will want to keep it until you can acquire the Tier 8 headpiece since the 4-item set bonus is extremely powerful.

Lifespark Visage is a great alternative, giving similar types of stats. There is not much difference between Unwavering Stare and Lifespark Visage, with the difference that the former has a higher Spirit while the

Lastly, you can use the Collar of the Wyrmhunter as a last resort. The issue with this item is that it has no Spirit but it will grant you Hit Rating instead. Typically, you don’t want items that grant you no Spirit or Hit Rating, but this can be used as an exception, especially in fights where you may be required to use a Cyclone or Entangling Roots. While this case may be extremely rare, the item grants you overall high stats,. being a great alternative until you can get a better piece.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Veiled Amulet of Life	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Pinnacle – Prince Keleseth
Chain of the Ancient Wyrm	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Culling of Stratholme – Mal’Ganis
Pendant of Lost Vocations	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Gundrak – Moorabi
Chain of Latent Energies	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Pinnacle – Skadi the Ruthless
Torque of the Red Dragonflight	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Nexus – Keristrasza
Necromancer’s Amulet	The Culling of Stratholme – Salramm the Fleshcrafter (Heroic)
Choker of Betrayal	Zul’Drak – Betrayal (Quest)

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your necklace slot. Since there are no valuable BoE items that you can directly buy, you will be forced to go through a slow dungeon-crawl to gain items that will allow you to join raids!

The most powerful item that you can acquire and incidentally one of the best ones that you can use even when breaching the gates of Ulduar is the Veiled Amulet of Life. This is mainly due to the amazing combination of baseline stats that it offers, (Stamina, Spirit, and Intellect), combined with a good amount of Haste Rating and Spell Power as secondary stats. You will want to stack as much spirit as possible due to your Improved Tree of Life talent. However, there may be situations where you will want to change some of your items for items that provide Hit Rating or Critical Strike Chance depending on your current setup and your raid group, with Critical Strike Chance for builds that are tied to the Tier 7 set bonuses and Hit Rating for builds that use utility spells such as Cyclone and Entangling Roots.

The Chain of the Ancient Wyrm is the next best alternative that can be acquired early on with an emphasis on Hit Rating for Utility Spells. Fitting in the same category, we also have the Chain of Latent Energies available for our setup.

The Pendant of Lost Vocations can be a great alternative for mana regeneration since it grants MP5, however, it won’t grant you any benefit from your Improved Tree of Life passive. Nonetheless, a great item for the beginning.

You may also use the Torque of the Red Dragonflight, however, it is a bit of an odd choice when compared to the rest of the items. It will serve you perfectly until you manage to gain an upgrade, however, you will want to change it as fast as possible. This is due to the high amount of baseline stats granted, along with a decently good amount of Spell Power.

However, until you can get into the new Titan Rune Dungeons, you will want to gain beginner items that can be acquired either from quests or Heroic Dungeons. One such item is the Choker of Betrayal which grants you amazing stats beginning stats. The Necromancer’s Amulet is another item that can be extremely useful, however, it lacks any form of Haste Rating.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Wyrmrest Necklace of Power	Heroic: Judgement at the Eye of Eternity
Veiled Amulet of Life	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Pinnacle – Prince Keleseth
Chains of Adoration	Naxxramas – Zone Drop (25)
Cosmic Lights	Naxxramas – Sapphiron (25)
Chain of the Ancient Wyrm	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Culling of Stratholme – Mal’Ganis

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.

There are two possible choices for this slot as there were two items that could fit the “BiS” term in the previous phase. Either the Wyrmrest Necklace of Power or the Veiled Amulet of Life will be your best possible choice before entering Ulduar, with each item granting you a different bonus. The Veiled Amulet of Life is better for builds and setups where you will be forced to spam your spells as it aids you with your mana regeneration while the Wyrmrest Necklace of Power is better for overall spell performance as it grants more Haste. The only downfall of the Wyrmrest Necklace of Power is that it grants you Hit Rating, a stat that will prove to be useless unless you plan on using utility spells such as Cyclone or Entangling Roots to aid your group.

The next-best alternative will be the Chains of Adoration. It grants you great stats, however, as far as mana-regeneration works, the 20 MP5 will not be as effective as Spirit. The Cosmic Lights can be a good alternative if you plan on using a build that focuses on Nourish and Regrowth. However, the community believes that this build is sub-optimal compared to the pure Haste Rating build with HoTs spams. The choice is yours.

The Chain of the Ancient Wyrm is the weakest possible choice in our lineup for the Pre-Raid phase, as it grants you Hit Rating which is only useful for utility spells such as Entangling Roots and Cyclone. The rest of the stats are close to the other items, however, the lack of Spirit or MP5 will make the item quite underwhelming.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Sapphire Amulet of Renewal	Ulduar – The Iron Council (25) HM
Watchful Eye of Fate	Ulduar – The Iron Council (10) HM
Charm of Meticulous Timing	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25)
Evoker’s Charm	19 Emblem of Conquest

The best possible choice for this slot in Phase 2 will be the Sapphire Amulet of Renewal. This is mainly due to the perfect combination of Intellect, Spirit, and Stamina as baseline stats paired up with Spell Power and Haste Rating as secondary stats. This item will grant you the highest possible amount of those specific stats, making it the BiS.

The Watchful Eye of Fate is the closest possible option to the Sapphire Amulet of Renewal as it grants exactly the same type of stats, however, in a different amount.

As a valid alternative, you can use the Charm of Meticulous Timing. The item grants you similar types of stats with the main difference being the MP5 granted as a baseline stat instead of Spirit. As we want to stack as much Spirit as possible to benefit from our Improved Tree of Life talent, you may want to use this item until you can get an upgrade.

Lastly, you can use Evoker’s Charm since it grants the same types of stats as your actual BiS, however, it lacks any gem sockets. This makes it a valid choice only as a precursor item before you gain a more powerful item.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Heroes’ Dreamwalker Spaulders	(Titan Rune Dungeon) – Multiple Locations (Loken/Sjonnir the Ironshapper/Keristrasza)
Mantle of the Extensive Mind	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Ley-Guardian Eregos
Dark Runic Mantle	Halls of Stone – Zone Drop (BoE)
Spaulders of the Monstrosity	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Gundrak – Slad’ran

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your shoulders slot. Since you have access to BoE items for this slot, you can choose to use a BoE item until you can replace it with one from Naxxramas 25 or you can choose to seek the best possible choice before entering a 25-man raid.

The Dark Runic Mantle will be your BoE of choice, granting you medium-high baseline stats, combined with a gem sockets and solid Haste Rating and Spell Power as secondary stats. You can choose to directly buy this item from the Auctioun House and maintain it until you gain access to a better choice or a 25-man raid.

While the Tier 7 bonus can be underwhelming, for sheer stats you can use the Heroes’ Dreamwalker Spaulders as it drops from multiple bosses in Titan Rune Dungeons. However, its Critical Strike Chance secondary stat is much more suited for builds that emphasize Nourish and Regrowth rather than your HoTs.

The Mantle of the Extensive Mind is another amazing option, even if it does not grant you any sort of Spirirt. The MP5 will aid you with your mana regeneration while the other stats granted by the item can be considered quite high.

In case you can’t get any other item from the ones we presented you with, you can choose to use the Spaulders of the Monstrosity, however, they are better suited for a build that rellies more on Nourish and Regrowth than your HoTs.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Mantle of the Locusts	Naxxramas – Anub’Rekhan (25)
Mantle of Shattered Kinship	Naxxramas – Maexxna (25)
Valorous Dreamwalker Spaulders	Naxxramas – Loatheb, Gluth (25)
Heroes’ Dreamwalker Spaulders	(Titan Rune Dungeon) – Multiple Locations (Loken/Sjonnir the Ironshapper/Keristrasza)

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.

The best possible choice will remain the BiS from the previous phase, the Mantle of the Locusts. This is mainly due to the very high baseline stats it offers combined with a high Spell Power and moderately high Haste Rating as secondary stats. The item also has a gem socket that can be used to either increase your Spell Power, Haste, or Spirit.

The next-best alterative is the Mantle of Shattered Kinship being the closest item in terms of raw stats compared to the Mantle of the Locusts.

Either one of Valorous Dreamwalker Spaulders or Heroes’ Dreamwalker Spaulders can be extremely useful, however, they can be used only in a build that emphasizes Nourish and Regrowth, as none of the items grant you any Haste Rating that can empower your HoTs.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Spaulders	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25)
Amice of Inconceivable Horror	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (10) HM
Malleable Steelweave Mantle	Ulduar – Mimiron (25)

The best possible choice for this slot in phase 2 will be the Conqueror’s Nightsong Spaulders. This is due to the the high baseline among which a high baseline Spirit ratio combined with a great combination of Haste Rating and Spellpower. The item also grants you access to the Tier8 4-set bonus which will be excellent for the second phase of the expansion. Since Rejuvenation is our most useful spell, we will want to get the 4-item set bonus at all costs!

The next-best alternative will be the Amice of Inconceivable Horror, granting you extremely high baseline stats, 2 gem sockets, and very high secondary stats. The only issue with this item is that it doesn’t grant you access to the tier set bonus. You will want to keep it until you manage to gain the Tier8 Shoulders.

Lastly, the Malleable Steelweave Mantle is extremely close in stats to the Amice of Inconceivable Horror, granting you a very good alternative.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Disguise of the Kumiho	25 Emblem of Valor
Cloak of Kea Feathers	25 Emblem of Valor
Shroud of the Citadel	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom
Cloak of the Dying	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Azjol-Nerub – Anub’Arak
Deathchill Cloak	Tailoring
Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape	The Oculus – Ley-Guardian Eregos

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your cloak slot. Since there are options to directly buy BoE items, you can either choose to go through a slow dungeon crawl and gain strong items or you can directly buy a BoE item and attempt to join a Naxxramas 25-man raid.

The best possible choice that can be acquired quite easily is the Disguise of the Kumiho. The item itself is strong enough to be used even throughout Ulduar Progression, granting you plenty of useful stats. It also heavily competes with the BiS from phase 1 in terms of overall performance. The Cloak of Kea Feathers is the next-best choice that can be used for this slot, however, as they both share the same cost from a vendor, you might simply want to skip this item alltogether. We however believe that you should know of the item’s existence!

The Shroud of the Citadel and the Cloak of the Dying are both great options, with the former option being stronger than the latter due to the Haste Rating it can grant you.

As far as BoE items go, you can directly buy the Deathchill Cloak which will grant you solid secondary stats, however, you may want to change the item fast as it has no baseline stats at all. If you do not wish to buy the item from a Tailor or the Auction House, you can opt for the Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape which can prove to be a great alternative for the beginning of your journey.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Pennant Cloak	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
Disguise of the Kumiho	25 Emblem of Valor
Cloak of Kea Feathers	25 Emblem of Valor
Shroud of Luminosity	Naxxramas – Zone Drop/Multiple Bosses (25)
Shroud of the Citadel	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom
Cloak of the Dying	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Azjol-Nerub – Anub’Arak

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.

The best possible choice for the Pre-Raid phase will remain the Pennant Cloak from the previous phase. This is mainly due to its very high baseline stats and secondary stats, even if it grants you Critical Strike Chance instead of Spirit.

The next-best alternative will be the Disguise of the Kumiho, granting you nearly as many stats as the Pennant Cloak, with the major difference being the Spirit it grants you which enhances the Improved Tree of Life passive. From a pure performance perspective, the Disguise of the Kumiho is extremely similar to the Pennant Cloak.

The Cloak of Kea Feathers is a similar item to the Disguise of the Kumiho, however, its a much better suited item for mana regeneration as it grants you MP5.

The Shroud of Luminosity is another great alternative, however, it is far better for builds that emphasize the use of Nourish and Regrowth. The issue with the item is that it lacks any Spirit. Due to the lack of Spirit, you will lose overall healing as you won’t gain any benefit from the Improved Tree of Life talent.

Lastly, you can either use the Cloak of the Dying or the Shroud of the Citadel, however, you will want to change those items as fast as possible with an upgrade. This is mainly due to the fact that the item lacks any form of Haste Rating.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Sunglimmer Cloak	Ulduar – Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Sunglimmer Drape	Ulduar – All Is Well That Ends Well
Shroud of Alteration	Ulduar – Zone Drop (25)
Shawl of the Caretaker	Ulduar – Ignis the Furnace Master (10)
Pennant Cloak	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (25)

The best possible choice for this slot in phase 2 will be the Sunglimmer Cloak. This is mainly due to the very high baseline stats combined with a gem socket and quite a high amount of Spell Power and Haste Rating as secondary stats. While this Cloak will be your BiS, it will be harder to attain than its initial variant, the Sunglimmer Drape.

The Sunglimmer Drape is your best alternative to the Sunglimmer Cloak., being its predecesor. It will grant you much needed Haste Rating and Spirit which will both aid you with your Hots and your Improved Tree of Life passive.

The Shroud of Alteration is a great alternative, however, it replaces Spirit with MP5, reducing the overall healing you perform due to a lesser effect from the Improved Tree of Life talent. This will happen due to the loss of Spirit. The Shawl of the Caretaker is the inferior version of the Shroud of Alteration, granting you the exact same types of stats.

Besides thosecloaks found in Ulduar, your next available choice will actually be the Pennant Cloak from the previous phase. While the item itself grants you Critical Strike Chance instead of Spirit, its other stats makeup for it.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Spellweave Robe	Tailoring
Heroes’ Dreamwalker Robe	80 Emblem of Heroism
Insect Vestments	Azjol-Nerub – Anub’Arak (Heroic)
Fel Conquerer Raiments	Sunwell Plateau – M’uru

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your chest slot. Since there are multiple possible choices, including a very potent BoE item, you may choose to directly buy that item or choose to go through a dungeon-crawl adventure to gain powerful items.

In the case of this slot, the best possible choice that you can use directly right after reaching level 80 will be the Spellweave Robe. Since it is a crafted item, you can directly buy it from the Auction House or you can ask a Tailor to make it for you. The item grants you very high amounts of Haste, Spell Power, Spirit, and Intellect, however, it lacks any gem sockets and Stamina. Due to the lack of Stamina, your overall survivability will be lowered.

The next-best alternative will be the Heroes’ Dreamwalker Robe. However, this item requires you to grind dungeons and can be quite hard to acquire fast as it has a steep price of 80 Emblems of Heroism. The item grants you overall amazing stats for the beginning of your journey, having a great combination of Stamina, Spirit, Intellect, Haste Rating, and Spell Power besides its access to the Tier 7 set bonuses.

Another great alternative for the beginning of your journey is the Insect Vestments. This item grants you similar stats to the other items, however, it lacks Spirit, making it a great item only if you have enough Spirit from your other items.

If you managed to raid the Sunwell Plateau before reaching level 80, the Fel Conquerer Raiments are a worthy mention! Compared to the items that you will find in the beginner dungeons of Northrend, this item has extremely high stats, making it a great choice until you actually manage to get an upgrade.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
The Sanctum’s Flowing Vestments	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
Valorous Dreamwalker Robe	Naxxramas – Four Horsemen, Gluth (25)
Tunic of Prejudice	Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina (25)
Spellweave Robe	Tailoring

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.

The best possible choice for this slot will remain the BiS from the last phase, the The Sanctum’s Flowing Vestments. This is mainly due to the amazing baseline stats that it offers combined with great secondary stats.

The next best alternative is the Valorous Dreamwalker Robe, having the same type of stats. However, the item also grants you access to the Tier 7 item set bonuses, being a solid plus if you plan on using the 4-set bonus for Nourish. Keep in mind that some people believe that the Nourish build is completely sub-optimal compared to the pure Haste Rating build which only uses spells such as Wild Growth, Rejuvenate, and Swiftmend.

The Tunic of Prejudice is a great alternative as it grants you the exact types of stats that you want to stack, however, it doesn’t grant you any gem sockets. Due to the lack of gem sockets, you will want to change this item as soon as possible when given the chance to gain an upgrade.

Lastly, the Spellweave Robe is an extremely powerful item that can be used to gain massive amounts of Intellect, Spirit, Haste Rating, and Spell Power, however, it doesn’t have any Stamina or Gem Sockets, making it a temporary choice. This item will serve you well, however, you will want to exchange it as soon as possible with an item that grants you Stamina as well, as you will need plenty survivability. The greatest thing about this item is that you can directly acquire it right after reaching level 80, as it is a crafted item!

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Vestments of the Blind Denizen	Ulduar – General Vezax (25) HM
Robes of the Umbral Brute	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)
Raiments of the Iron Council	Ulduar – The Iron Council (25)

This slot will be the slot dedicated to your offpiece item! The best possible choice will be the Vestments of the Blind Denizen due to the massive amount of stats that it offers, both baseline and secondary, combined with the three gem sockets. The item grants you a perfect combination of Haste Rating, Spell Power, Spirit, Intelelct, and Stamina, making it quite hard to replace.

The next best alternative will be the Robes of the Umbral Brute, however, it lacks Spirit and has one less gem socket when compared to the Vestments of the Blind Denizen. It comes extremely comes to the Vestments of the Blind Denizen in terms of overall performance, however, the Critical Strike Chance is a lot better for builds that rely on Regrowth or Nourish.

The Raiments of the Iron Council is another great alternative granting you the precise stats that you require for the most optimal build, as it will enhance your overall healing through increased Haste Rating..

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant	60 Emblem of Valor (BoE)
Bands of the Great Tree	60 Emblem of Valor (BoE)
Resurgent Phantom Bindings	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Nexus – Commander Kolurg
Putrescent Bands	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Gundrak – Gal’darah
Savage Wound Wrap	Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred (Heroic)

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your bracer slot. Since there are multiple BoE items that you can directly buy, we recommend you start with those items. However, if you can’t find any BoE on the Auction House, you will have to go through a slow dungeon crawl to gain strong items that you can use for 25-man raids.

Either the Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant or the Bands of the Great Tree are the best possible items that you can gain right after reaching level 80. However, you can only gain those items if someone else posts them on the Auction House, as they are quite expensive to farm as a fresh level 80, each of them costing 60 Emblem of Valor.

If you can’t afford a BoE item for this slot or if you can’t find any on the Auction House, you will most likely want to start with an item such as the Savage Wound Wrap which can be found in a Heroic Dungeon. The item itself grants a decent amount of Haste Rating and baseline stats, however, you will want to swap it as fast as possible.

Once you get to Titan Rune Dungeons, either the Putrescent Bands or the Resurgent Phantom Bindings can be confidently used even in 25-man raids such as Naxxramas once they are acquired. Both items give the exact same type of stats, granting you a perfect combination of Intellect, Stamina, and Spirit as baseline stats and Haste Rating/Spell Power as secondary stats.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Unsullied Cuffs	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharioon (25)
Esteemed Bindings	Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious (25)
Punctilious Bindings	Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina (25)
Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant	60 Emblem of Valor (BoE)
Bands of the Great Tree	60 Emblem of Valor (BoE)

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.

The best possible choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Unsullied Cuffs. This is mainly due to the great stat combination that it offers, granting you Spirit, Stamina, Intellect, Haste Rating, and Spell Power. The item is strong enough to be used even while progressing through Ulduar’s Hardmode fights.

Both Esteemed Bindings and the Punctilious Bindings are very similar items that can be used as valid alternatives with the former option being the stronger one. Both items grant the exact same type of stats, with the only difference being the overall stats amounts when compared to the Unsullied Cuffs.

However, if you wish to directly gain powerful items without actually raiding Naxxramas 25, you can also use either the Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant or the Bands of the Great Tree as they are both BoE items that can be acquired from the Auction House.

The Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant is a better choice for builds that struggle with mana regeneration while also benefiting from quite a decent amount of Haste Rating while the Bands of the Great Tree are also great for mana regeneration, however, they are better for empowering you Improved Tree of Life passive.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Grasps of Reason	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25) HM
Bracers of the Broodmother	Ulduar – Razorscale (25)
Unsullied Cuffs	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)

The best possible choice for this slot in the second phase of the expansion will be the Grasps of Reason. This is mainly due to the great combination of baseline stats, a good amount of Haste Rating, and a high amount of Spell Power. Since this item grants us Spirit, it will also empower our Improved Tree of Life talent!

The next-best alternative will be the Bracers of the Broodmother, as they grant you the exact same type of stats, only in a lower amount. In the same manner, the Unsullied Cuffs grant the same type of stats, only lower than the Bracers of the Broodmother.

Each of the bracers in our current lineup can be considered a progressive path to the actual BiS, since they all share the exact same type of stats, with the only difference being the amount itself.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Spellweave Gloves	Tailoring
Heroes’ Dreamwalker Handguards	60 Emblem of Heroism
Handgrips of Turmoil	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Violet Hold – Xevozz (Former Naxxramas)
Silken Bridge Handwraps	Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – Amanitar (Heroic)
Contagion Gloves	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Violet Hold – Erekem

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your gloves slot. Thankfully, there is one choice that can be directly crafted or bought from the Auction House that is extremely powerful and can be acquired right after achieving level 80.

The Spellweave Gloves can be easily acquired and will provide you with an extraordinary set of stats that will boost your overall healing performance. This is due to the extraordinary amount of Haste Rating combined with Spell Power alongside the (Spirit, Intellect) baseline stats. The only downside of the item is that it has no Stamina and no gem sockets, offering a reduced overall survivability and no opportunity to customize it with various other stats.

A potent alternative would be the Heroes’ Dreamwalker Handguards, offering you a general stat spread that would perfectly fit your needs. However, the issue with this item is its cost, the 60 emblems can take a while to farm and since you can directly buy the crafted item, its cost simply isn’t worth it.

The Handgrips of Turmoil are a great alternative that can be used in 25-man raids with an emphasis on mana regeneration due to the MP5 stat they can offer you. Fitting the same pattern of items that grant you Haste, this item can be quite strong, especially for fresh characters, however, it won’t grant you any bonus through the Improved Tree of Life talent, as they have no Spirit.

On the same note, the Silken Bridge Handwraps can grant you a similar effect as the previous item!

Lastly, the Contagion Gloves can be a great option due to their baseline stats, however, the Critical Strike Chance that the item offers can be suboptimal for most builds, being a better fit for builds that rely on Nourish and Regrowth.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Valorous Dreamwalker Handguards	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharioon (25)
Spellweave Gloves	Tailoring
Gloves of Token Respect	Naxxramas – Grand Widow Faerlina, Gluth (25)
Gloves of Peaceful Death	Naxxramas – Four Horsemen (25)

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.

The best possible choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Valorous Dreamwalker Handguards. While many people consider the Spellweave Gloves to be actually stronger due to the increased Haste Rating, the actual choice is entirely subjective based on the rest of your build and the raid setup. Depending on your overall group survivability, you may want to actually use the Spellweave Gloves instead, as long as you know that wiping an encounter will not be happening.

Besides those two items, you have other available alternatives such as the Gloves of Token Respect. Its baseline stats lineup is precisely what we desire for each of our items (Stamina, Spirit, Intellect), combined with Haste Rating and Spell Power as secondary stats. As another valid alternative that fits into the same stats archetype, we also have the Gloves of Peaceful Death. You can confidently use them, however, their overall stats are lower than the rest of the items displayed in our guide.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Handguards	Ulduar – Mimiron (25)
Pharos Gloves	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Handwraps of Plentiful Recovery	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)
Grips of the Unbroken	Ulduar – General Vezax (25)

The best possible choice for this slot in the second phase of the expansion will be the Conqueror’s Nightsong Handguards. While this item has precisely the baseline stats that we desire (Stamina, Spirit, Intellect), the secondary stats are not precisely the ones we exactly desire. Nonetheless, the item is a must-have, especially considering how strong the 4-item set bonus is.

The next-best alternative, especially in the case of using a tier 8 set piece for the chest slot or legs slot is the Pharos Gloves. Even if the item itself doesn’t grant you any Spirit, the sheer amount of stats makes up for it, especially with the two gem sockets that can be used for either Spirit or additional Spell Power.

Lastly, we got two items that are quite similar, the Handwraps of Plentiful Recovery and the Grips of the Unbroken. While those two items have exactly the stats lineup that we desire, their overall stats are sadly lower than other items such as the Pharos Gloves. Nonetheless, either one of those two items can be used extremely efficiently as an actual BiS since they give you a perfect combination of stats.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Girdle of Lenience	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Pinnacle – Svala Sorrowgrave
Agonal Sash	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Lightning – Ionar
Sash of Blood Removal	Gundrak – Gal’darah (Heroic)
Belt of Dark Mending	Knights of the Ebon Blade – Exalted Reputation
Sash of Phantasmal Images	The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom (Heroic)
Shimmerthread Girdle	World Drop (BoE)

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your waist slot. You can either buy different BoE items, vendor items, or go through a slow dungeon crawl to gain powerful items that can be used in 25-man raids.

With the addition of the new Titan Rune Dungeons, you have access to quite some powerful belts that can compete with the 25-man belts, however, you first need to access those dungeons, and that can’t be done right after reaching level 80. Realistically, you will want to start with either the Sash of Phantasmal Images, Shimmerthread Girdle, or Belt of Dark Mending as they all have great initial stats.

The Sash of Blood Removal is another great alternative to the items found in the new Titan Rune Dungeons as it has a high amount of Haste Rating and a high amount Spell Power.

Either the Girdle of Lenience or the Agonal Sash can be used confidently once acquired, being items strong enough even for Ulduar. This is due to the perfect baseline stats and secondary stats combinations that they offer.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Leash of Heedless Magic	The Eye of Eternity – Malygos (25)
Shackled Cinch	Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester (25)
Girdle of Lenience	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Pinnacle – Svala Sorrowgrave
Agonal Sash	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Lightning – Ionar
Sash of Blood Removal	Gundrak – Gal’darah (Heroic)

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.

By far the best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Leash of Heedless Magic, this is due to the baseline stats combination alongside the great Haste Rating it offers. The Shackled Cinch its the closest item in terms of raw stats.

Both the Girdle of Lenience and the Agonal Sash are items that can be considered precursors to the Leash of Heedless Magic, as both grant you the exact same type of stats, however, they become available with the new Titan Rune Dungeons, being much more accessible.

Lastly, the Sash of Blood Removal is another useful alternative that can be acquired extremely early, however, it doesn’t have any Spirit that can empower your Improved Tree of Life passive.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Star-beaded Clutch	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Belt of the Crystal Tree	Ulduar – The Iron Council (10) HM
Belt of Arctic Life	Leatherworking

The best possible choice for this slot in the second phase of the expansion will be the Star-beaded Clutch. This item grants you an extreme amount of stats that you require such as Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Spell Power, and Haste Rating combined with 2 gem sockets that allow you to customize the item as you see fit. All in all, there is no better item that can grant you this precise exact same type of stat combination when we talk about raw stat numbers and overall performance.

Both the Belt of the Crystal Tree and the Belt of Arctic Life are extremely good alternatives for this slot, however, you will realistically want to acquire the Belt of Arctic Life as fast as possible since it is a crafted item. Keep in mind that we don’t list this item for the Pre-Raid Phase and the Fresh 80 Phase due to how its availability comes after Ulduar is cleared and its recipe is made available to crafters.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Leggings of Sapphiron	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Drakos the Interrogator (Former Naxxramas 10)
Splint-Bound Leggings	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Lightning – Volkhan (Former Naxxramas 10)
Black Duskweave Leggings	Tailoring
Trousers of the Arakkoa	Violet Hold – Erekem

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your legs slot There are multiple BoE items that you can acquire, both Cloth and Leather items, however, for this slot we will choose to specify only a few powerful items that outperform any other alternative including one BoE item.

The best possible choice as a fresh level 80 character will be the Leggings of Sapphiron. This is due to the perfect baseline stats alignment, offering you Spirit, Stamina, and Intellect while also granting you a high amount of Haste Rating and Spell Power as secondary stats. The item also grants you two gem sockets that can be used to customize it further, however, you will need to gain access to the new Titan Rune Dungeons first before actually acquiring this item.

Another great alternative that offers the exact same type of stats is the Splint-Bound Leggings, however, just like the previous item, you will first need to be able to enter the new TItan Rune Dungeons before you can actually acquire it.

The Black Duskweave Leggings is a great initial choice that can be acquired even before reaching level 80 as it is a BoE item. While this item doesn’t grant you the perfect combination of stats, it can be used to reach into Titan Rune Dungeons faster, making it a great initial choice.

Another great initial choice will be represented by the Trousers of the Arakkoa that can be acquired extremely easily as they are dropped in a normal dungeon, making it quite easy to simply reset the dungeon and farm the item itself.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Legguards of the Boneyard	Naxxramas – Sapphiron (25)
Distorted Limbs	Naxxramas – Maexxna (25)
Leggings of Sapphiron	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Drakos the Interrogator (Former Naxxramas 10)
Splint-Bound Leggings	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Lightning – Volkhan (Former Naxxramas 10)
Leggings of the Wanton Spellcaster	The Eye of Eternity – Malygos (25)

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.

The best possible choice will remain the BiS from phase 1, the Legguards of the Boneyard. This is mainly due to the perfect baseline stats combination of Spirit, Intellect, and Stamina given in abundant amounts combined with a high Haste Rating and a high Spell Power amount as secondary stats. The item also has 2 gem sockets that allow you to customize your item further.

Both the Distorted Limbs and the Leggings of Sapphiron are perfect alternatives that can be used instead, both of them fitting into the same stats pattern granted by the Legguards of the Boneyard. However, the former choice when compared to the latter lacks gem sockets, meaning that you will lose the opportunity to customize your item with other stats.

The Splint-Bound Leggings can be used as an okay alternative given the fact that it shares the same types of stats, however, this item’s stats are considerably lower than the other items presented.

Lastly, we got another viable option, however, this item is better suited for granting utility rather than increasing your overall healing capabilities, namely the Leggings of the Wanton Spellcaster. This item can grant you a large amount of Hit Rating that can be used on spells such as Cyclone and Entangling Roots that can aid the entire raid group, however, it lacks any Spirit, meaning that you will not benefit from mana regeneration or the Improved Tree of Life talent.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Leggings	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Zodiac Leggings	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Leggings of the Lifetender	Ulduar – Freya (25)

The best possible choice for this slot will be the Conqueror’s Nightsong Leggings. This is due mainly to the baseline stats it offers alongside its access to the 4-set bonus granted by Tier 8. While the item does not give you any sort of Haste Rating, the Crticial Strike Chance itself with help you whenever you use Swiftmend or Regrowth!

In case you choose to use this slot as your off-piece slot instead of a Tier 8 slot, you will want to use the Zodiac Leggings as they grant you a perfect combination of Stamina, Spirit, Intellect, Haste Rating, and Spell Power. As a valid alternative, you can use the Leggings of the Lifetender since they offer the exact same type of stats, only a lower amount!

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Boots of the Follower	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Stone – Maiden of Grief (Former Naxxramas 10)
Footsteps of Malygos	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)
Saltarello Shoes	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Azjol-Nerub – Hadronox (Former Naxxramas 10)
Cleric’s Linen Shoes	The Nexus – Commander Stoutbeard (Heroic)

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your feet slot. Since there are no good BoE items that you can use for this slot, we will have to rely on dungeon items.

The best possible choice will be the Boots of the Follower as they grant you the perfect combination of baseline stats and secondary stats. Thanks to the new Titan Rune Dungeons, you will be able to acquire an item that comes close in stats to the Phase 1 BiS quite early after reaching level 80.

As a valid alternative, however, one that you should swap fast if you plan on min-maxing, you can use the Footsteps of Malygos. This item can be great thanks to its raw stats, however, the Criticial Strike Chance will only benefit you through spells such as Regrowth, Nourish, and Swiftmend.

Another great choice that offers the precise type of stats that we desire is the Saltarello Shoes, granting you Stamina, Intellect, and Spirit as baseline stats combined with Haste Rating and Spell Power as secondary stats. Compared to the Boots of the Follower, this item grants lower overall stats.

The Cleric’s Linen Shoes will be a great initial choice as you venture into dungeons before actually getting into the new Titan Rune Dungeons, granting you quite some powerful initial stats.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Arcanic Tramplers	The Eye of Eternity – Malygos (25)
Boots of the Escaped Captive	Naxxramas -Multiple Bosses – Zone Drop (25)
Boots of Forlorn Wishes	Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious, Gluth (25)
Slippers of the Holy Light	40 Emblem of Valor
Boots of the Follower	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Stone – Maiden of Grief (Former Naxxramas 10)
Footsteps of Malygos	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Former The Eye of Eternity 10)

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.

The best possible choice will remain the BiS from phase 1, the Arcanic Tramplers. While the item doesn’t have any gem socket, it grants you the perfect combination of Haste Rating, Spell Power, Intellect, Stamina, and Spirit!

Both the Boots of the Escaped Captive and the Boots of Forlorn Wishes are viable alternatives as they have the exact same type of stats, only in lower amounts. The latter option also has a gem socket, however, its overall stats are lower. The Slippers of the Holy Light fit in the same category, being a better option in case none of the previous items are available as this item can be directly bought with Emblems of Valor.

Another great alternative that can be accessed quite early through the new Titan Rune Dungeons is the Boots of the Follower. This item grants you exactly the same type of stats as the previous options, being a great alternative considering how quickly you can acquire it.

Lastly, you can use the Footsteps of Malygos as a valid alternative, however, you won’t min-max your build by using this item as it replaces Spirit with Critical Strike Chance. Taking into consideration that your HoTs can’t crit at the moment, your Regrowth, Nourish, and Swiftmend will be the only spells that will benefit from it.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Boots of Fiery Resolution	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25) HM
Treads of the False Oracle	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25) HM
Spellslinger’s Slippers	Tailoring
Boots of the Servant	Ulduar – Freya (25)

The best possible choice for this slot will be represented by the Boots of Fiery Resolution. This is due to the extremely high baseline and secondary stats that the item offers, having the perfect combination of Spirit, Intellect, Stamina, Haste Rating, and Spell Power. The item also grants you 2 gem sockets that can be used to customize it further in any way you desire. Since we want those precise stats to boost our passives and our overall HoTs, there is no other item that can grant you this raw amount of stats.

The Treads of the False Oracle are another viable alternative, however, they grant you Critical Strike Chance instead of Spirit. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it can empower spells such as Regrowth and Nourish, however, from a min-max perspective, you will want to empower your Improved Tree of Life talent as much as possible.

The Spellslinger’s Slippers and the Boots of the Servant can be viewed as viable alternatives for the Boots of Fiery Resolution, and even a better choice than the Treads of the False Oracle from a min-max point of view. This is due to their stat lineup, each of them having the same Spirit, Intellect, Stamina, Haste Rating, and Spell Power stat lineup. However, the choice is yours when it comes to which item you should consider first. Keep in mind that the Spellslinger’s Slippers is the easiest item to acquire since it is a crafted item.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Circle of Life	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Nexus – Anomalus (Former Naxxramas 10)
Ring of Holy Cleansing	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – Jedoga Shadowseeker (Former Naxxramas 10)
Band of Guile	The Culling of Stratholme – Mal’ganis (Heroic)
Annhylde’s Ring	Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer (Heroic)
Signet of Hopeful Light	Argent Crusade – Exalted Reputation
Ring of the Frenzied Wolvar	Utgarde Pinnacle – Gorthok Palehoof (Heroic)
Solitaire of Reflecting Beams	Violet Hold – Moragg (Heroic)

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ring slots. Most of the items we listed can be acquired in dungeons, however, some of them can be gained from vendors.

The most powerful ring combination that you can use early on will be the Circle of Life & Ring of Holy Cleansing. This is due to the stat combination that they offer, granting you a well-rounded amount of Spirit, Stamina, Intellect, Haste Rating, MP5, and Spell Power. With the release of the new Titan Rune Dungeons, those two items can be acquired quite early on, improving your character’s overall performance by quite a considerable amount.

Either of the Band of Guile, the Annhylde’s Ring, or the Signet of Hopeful Light can be used as a beginning alternative before actually entering any of the new Titan Rune Dungeons as all of them grant you solid beginning stats and most importantly, a considerable amount of Haste Rating.

If you don’t have access to any of the previously mentioned items yet, you will want to begin with rings such as the Ring of the Frenzied Wolvar or the Solitaire of Reflecting Beams as they have decent baseline stats and important Haste Rating that will aid you greatly at the beginning of your journey.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Band of Channeled Magic	25 Emblem of Valor
Ring of Decaying Beauty	Naxxramas – Sapphiron (25)
Wyrmrest Band	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
Circle of Life	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Nexus – Anomalus (Former Naxxramas 10)
Ring of Holy Cleansing	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom – Jedoga Shadowseeker (Former Naxxramas 10)

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.

The most powerful ring combination for your ring slots in the Pre-Raid phase will be the Band of Channeled Magic & Ring of Decaying Beauty. This is mostly due to the great stat combination that they offer, granting you Stamina, Spirirt, Intellect, Haste Rating, Mp5, and Spell Power in abundant amounts.

You can use the Wyrmrest Band as an alternative to the Ring of Decaying Beauty, as it grants the same types of stats! The Circle of Life can be considered a precursor that you can use for those two items as it grants the exact same types of stats, only in lower amounts. Each of those items will be quite strong for mana-regeneration, however, they will not empower your Improved Tree of Life passive effect.

Lastly, you could use the Ring of Holy Cleansing, however, it has the lowest available stats meaning that you will have to swap it with a more powerful item quite fast.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Conductive Seal	Ulduar – Mimiron (25) HM
Starshine Circle	Ulduar – Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Lady Maye’s Sapphire Ring	Ulduar – The Iron Council (10)
Nebula Band	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (10)
Fire Orchid Signet	Ulduar – Freya (10) HM

The best possible combination of rings for your ring slots will be the Conductive Seal & Starshine Circle. This is mainly due to the amazing stats they offer, granting you a strong combination of Intellect, Stamina, Spirit, Mp5, Haste Rating, and Spell Power. You may choose to only keep one of the rings and choose another one as an alternative, however, you should keep in mind that you will always want to maintain the Conductive Seal as your best option.

The Lady Maye’s Sapphire Ring can be used as an alternative to the Starshine Circle or simply as a precursor item since it grants you the best possible stat combination.

The Nebula Band can be considered a good alternative, even if it doesn’t offer you any Spirit. The Critical Strike Chance will empower your Regrowth, Nourish, and Swiftmend spells.

The Fire Orchid Signet is strong enough to be considered an overall BiS on its own, however, we will want to swap it for the Starshine Circle as it grants the exact same types of stats, only in a lower overall amount.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
The Egg of Mortal Essence	40 Emblem of Heroism
Embrace of the Spider	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Gundrak – Slad’ran
Spark of Life	Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Heroic)
Tome of Arcane Phenomena	The Oculus – Cache of Eregos

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your trinket slots.

The most powerful item that you can acquire in your entire set once you reach level 80 will be the The Egg of Mortal Essence. This is due to the extremely powerful proc that it has, granting you a very large amount of Haste Rating. You can also acquire a similar item, the Embrace of the Spider that grants you the same type of proc, massively increasing your Haste Rating for a limited duration.

The Spark of Life is a great choice for the beginning as it allows you to gain a massive amount of MP5 that will aid you with your mana management. This item is especially good if the rest of your gear is not strong enough yet.

As an initial choice before actually acquiring any other trinket, you can use the Tome of Arcane Phenomena as it has a strong on-use effect that grants you a high amount of Haste Rating which can be used in tough situations.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Illustration of the Dragon Soul	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
The Egg of Mortal Essence	40 Emblem of Heroism
Embrace of the Spider	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Gundrak – Slad’ran
Forethought Talisman	Naxxramas – Zone Drop (25)
Spark of Life	Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshaper (Heroic)
Soul of the Dead	Naxxramas – Sapphiron (25)

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 trinket combination will highly depend on the rest of your gear and the raid group that you find yourself in, as different group setups require different adjustments.

Among the best trinkets that you can use, you will have: Illustration of the Dragon Soul, The Egg of Mortal Essence, and the Embrace of the Spider. The Illustration of the Dragon Soul is a great choice since it will give you a constant high amount of Spell Power while the The Egg of Mortal Essence has a proc effect that can grant you tremendous amounts of Haste. Egg of Mortal Essence is strong enough to be used even throughout Ulduar’s Hardmode progression as the Haste Rating proc is quite consistent. The Embrace of the Spider can be considered a similar version of The Egg of Mortal Essence, granting you the same type of proc.

The Forethought Talisman can be a good alternative if you plan on using the Tier 7 set-bonus where Nourish gets empowered. However, this is usually considered a sub-optimal build.

The Spark of Life is a great alternative. both for the beginning and advanced raids, as it allows you to gain a massive amount of MP5 that will aid you with your mana management. This item is especially good if the rest of your gear is not strong enough yet.

The Soul of the Dead is another item that can be used if you plan on using the Tier 7-set bonus, however, it can be considered extremely niched. This item has the chance to provide you with massive amounts of mana when you use either Regrowth or Nourish.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Show of Faith	Ulduar – Yogg-Saron (25) HM
Illustration of the Dragon Soul	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion (25)
Sif’s Remembrance	Ulduar – Thorim (10) HM
Pandora’s Plea	Ulduar – Mimiron (25)
Spark of Hope	Ulduar – Kologarn (10)
Scale of Fates	Ulduar – Thorim (25)

We all know that choosing the right trinket is probably among the most important choice when it comes to creating a powerful character, however, as a Restoration Druid, we have multiple choices that can be considered BiS making it a bit more difficult! It all really depends on the rest of your build and how far you’ve progressed in acquiring all the items that you require, since multiple trinkets can actually occupy the BiS spot depending on your current need.

Among the top 3 choices we got the following trinkets: Show of Faith, Illustration of the Dragon Soul, and Sif’s Remembrance. Your main trinket will be the Show of Faith due to the amazing mana regeneration that it offers. The Illustration of the Dragon Soul is your second choice if you have plenty of mana regeneration already as it grants you quite a powerful Spell Power boost. You should keep in mind that this trinket is only good if the other healers in your raid group don’t struggle with their mana management. Sif’s Remembrance is your go to choice if either you or the other healers struggle with mana-management, as it allows you to greatly enhance your mana regeneration, making up for any loss in healing time caused by being OOM.

Pandora’s Plea is another great alternative if you don’t struggle with your mana management at all, granting you a very high Spell Power bonus! However, keep in mind that this item will be highly contested by other healers and damage dealers!

The Spark of Hope is a very interesting alternative that you can use to increase your overall healing and mana regeneration. The huge amount of Spirit it offers will increase your overall regeneration while also empowering your Improved Tree of Life talent. The reduced mana cost will aid you as you will spam Rejuvenate.

The Scale of Fates is the weakest item in our lineup, however, it can be very useful in times of distress where the raid is close to wiping an encounter. The massive amount of Haste it offers can be very useful as it will allow you to lower your overall GCD and use your spells more often while also empowering your HoTs.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Ice Spire Scepter	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Lightning – Loken
Infection Repulser	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Violet Hold – Erekem
War Mace of Unrequited Love	The Nexus – Keristrasza (Heroic)
Charmed Cierge	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Nexus – Commander Kolurg
Temple Crystal Fragment	Drak’Tharon Keep – Novos the Summoner (Heroic)
Scepter of Murmuring Spirits	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your weapon slots. There are many weapons that can be used, including BoE, Crafted, and drops, however, we will choose to include only the most powerful ones for the Fresh 80 category that can be acquired without actually entering any raid.

The best possible choice will be the combination of the Ice Spire Scepter and theTemple Crystal Fragment due to the high baseline stats they grant you and the overall Haste Rating boost that you can get.

The Infection Repulser is a great alternative, however, it replaces Spirit with Mp5, meaning that you will retain mana regeneration but you won’t gain the bonus from the Improved Tree of Life talent.

However, you won’t be able to gain either the Ice Spire Scepter or the Infection Repulser directly after reaching level 80, meaning that you will find yourself going through Heroic Dungeons first. The War Mace of Unrequited Love is a great first choice that can be used initially and gained easily by farming The Nexus Heroic!

However, if you wish to use a Staff instead, you can use the Charmed Cierge as it grants a perfect combination of Stamina, Spirit, Intellect, Haste Rating, and Spell Power!

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Torch of Holy Fire	Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad (25)
Ice Spire Scepter	(Titan Rune Dungeon) Halls of Lightning – Loken
Wraith Strike	Naxxramas – Maexxna (25)
The Impossible Dream	Naxxramas – Loatheb (25)
Matriarch’s Spawn	Naxxramas – Maexxna (25)
Handbook of Obscure Remedies	25 Emblem of Heroism
Surplus Limb	Naxxramas – Patchwerk (25)
Temple Crystal Fragment	Drak’Tharon Keep – Novos the Summoner
Scepter of Murmuring Spirits	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Oculus – Mage-Lord Urom
Spire of Sunset	Naxxramas – Thaddius (25)
Charmed Cierge	(Titan Rune Dungeon) The Nexus – Commander Kolurg
Staff of Draconic Combat	The Oculus – Ley-Guardian Eregos

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.

For the Pre-Raid Phase, there are many choices for weapons that can be used as you breach the gates of Ulduar. You can either choose to use a Staff or the typical One-Handed/Off-Hander combination.

The best choices will be the Torch of Holy Fire combined with the Matriarch’s Spawn. This is mainly due to the Haste Rating that you can gain by using those items combined with the overall high baseline stats that they grant you. You can combine the Torch of Holy Fire with any of the Off-Hand items in our list above and achieve a similar result, as all of them have the same types of stats. Consequently, this works with any One-Handed weapon presented in our list and the Matriarch’s Spawn.

The idea behind it is to stack as much Haste Rating, Spell Power, Stamina, Intellect, and Spirit as possible. You will often find items that fit the pattern but will grant you Critical Strike Chance instead of Spirit or Haste Rating. Depending on the weapon itself, you may choose to sacrifice a bit of Haste Rating or Spirit for increased Critical Strike Chance.

If you are not a fan of this combination or you are unlucky with finding any one-handed weapon, you may choose to use a Staff instead. The Spire of Sunset will be the best possible choice with an emphasis on Mana Regeneration while the next-best alternative will be represented by the Charmed Cierge which can grant you a perfect combination of Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Haste Rating, and Spell Power.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings	Ulduar – Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings
Icecore Staff	Ulduar – Hodir (10) HM
The Lifebinder	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Constellus	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)
Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion	Ulduar – General Vezax (10) HM
Ironmender	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)
Matriarch’s Spawn	Naxxramas – Maexxna (25)
Handbook of Obscure Remedies	25 Emblem of Heroism
Surplus Limb	Naxxramas – Patchwerk (25)
Cosmos	Ulduar – Algalon the Observer (25)

There are many weapons that can be used in the second phase of the expansion, however, there is one that stands atop of them all, and that is Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings. Once you read the description of the item, it will be quite self explanatory as to why this item is extremely overpowered. Once you equip it, it will give you an absorption effect as a passive that can proc on all of your healing effects. Imagine having the ability to provide absorption effects just like a Discipline Priest while also having the extremely powerful AoE healing of a Restoration Druid.

Naturally, you will want to pair up this item with one of the available Off-Hands shown above, with the best one being the Ironmender, followed up by the Matriarch’s Spawn and the Handbook of Obscure Remedies.

However, keep in mind that acquiring Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings is often a guild effort, meaning that you will have to undertake quite a long journey to attain it. As valid alternatives, you can use Constellus or Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion as both items grant you extraordinary stats, with the former choice being focused on high baseline stats and mana regeneration while the latter choice is more focused on Haste and overall baseline stats.

If the legendary weapon won’t be available for you too soon, you may choose to use a Staff instead of a One-Hander/Off-Hander combination, with items such as the Icecore Staff and The Lifebinder granting you a perfect combination of Haste Rating, Spell Power, Spirit, Stamina, and Intellect.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Idol of Awakening	25 Emblem of Valor/Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester (25)
Idol of Lush Moss	15 Emblem of Heroism
Deadly Gladiator’s Idol of Tenacity	1200 Arena Points
Idol of Pure Thoughts	30 Venture Coin

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your idol slot.

The best possible choice for both phase1 and phase 2 will be the Idol of Awakening. You will idealy want to maintain it throughout the entirety of the first phase and the second phase, especially with how strong the Tier 8 4-item set bonus is. You may find that there are multiple other valid options but do keep in mind that the strongest one by far is the Idol of Awakening.

The Idol of Lush Moss can be a good alternative if your tanks have low survivability as this Idol massively boosts the power of Lifebloom, however, you will lose quite a lot of mana as you will constantly find yourself spamming Rejuvenation on the entire raid.

While technically not a PvE item, the Deadly Gladiator’s Idol of Tenacity can be another great addition in raids, aiding you by improving the final heal granted by Lifebloom. Personally, I believe that this item is extremely situational, however, it may prove very useful in situations where tanks struggle with their overall survivability.

You may use the Idol of Pure Thoughts as a beginner choice that you can use before you actually get to the good items.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Idol of Awakening	25 Emblem of Valor/Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester (25)
Idol of Lush Moss	15 Emblem of Heroism
Deadly Gladiator’s Idol of Tenacity	1200 Arena Points

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.

Just as stated previously, we will have the same items with the same priority. The Idol of Awakening maintains its position as the best possible Idol for both the first and the second phase of the expansion.

Best-in-Slot

Item	Source
Idol of Awakening	25 Emblem of Valor/Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester
Idol of the Flourishing Life	Ulduar – Zone Drop (25)
Idol of Lush Moss	15 Emblem of Heroism

The best possible choice for this slot will be the Idol of Awakening! This is mainly due to our Tier 8 4-set bonus that allows us to instantly heal our allies for a specific amount in addition to the Heal-over-Time effect!

Since we will spam Rejuvenation on all of our allies, this Idol is crucial to our gameplay as it considerably reduces its manacost.

A valid alternative, although quite weak in comparison is the Idol of the Flourishing Life. You may choose this idol only in the eventuality that you use Nourish in your rotation, however, in the second phase using Nourish will be suboptimal compared to Regrowth.

You can also use the Idol of Lush Moss as a valid alternative since it massively empowers Lifebloom, however, the Idol of Awakening is simply a way better option considering the Tier 8 4-set bonus.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Headpiece	Emblem of Conquest x58
Valorous Nightsong Headpiece	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Cover of the Keepers	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Lifespark Visage	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Cowl of Icy Breaths	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Enamored Cowl	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former The Obsidian Sanctum 10 drop)
Greensight Gogs	Engineering (440)
Helm of the Majestic Stag	Kirin Tor – Honored

Upon hitting level 80, start farming Heroic++ dungeons for a Conqueror’s Nightsong Headpiece. This will cost you 58 Emblem of Conquest. It has good itemization for us and the best you can do as soon as you hit 80 is to shoot for your tier 8.

The next best option is getting a Valorous Nightsong Headpiece from Heroic++ dungeons. Still, it has great stats and will help you get to that tier 8 set bonus.

Aside from these, there is a multitude of other viable helmets that drop from Heroic+ and Heroic++ dungeons such as Cover of the Keepers which drops off of Skadi the Ruthless in the Heroic++ version of Utgarde Pinnacle.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Headpiece	Emblem of Conquest x58
Unwavering Stare	Ulduar – Auriaya (25)
Headpiece of Reconciliation	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
Valourous Nightsong Headpiece	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Cover of the Keepers	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Lifespark Visage	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

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.

The best possible choice for the Pre-Raid phase of ToGC will remain the BiS from the first phase of the expansion, the Conqueror’s Nightsong Headpiece. This is mainly due to the Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Spell Power, and Haste stat combination. The item will grant you the highest possible amount of stats until ToGC items become available!

The next best option is from Ulduar 25 called Unwavering Stare from Auriaya.

Headpiece of Reconciliation is two tiers old at this point, but it’s flawless optimization makes this an exceptional helmet for a Druid looking to get into ToGC. It drops in both 10 and 25 man versions of The Obsidian Sanctum, which should be puggable on your server.

As an alternative, you can also seek out the Cover of the Keepers or Lifespark Visage from Heroic++ dungeons.

Best-in-Slot

The absolute best helmet in the game for us is the 258 item level Tier 9 helmet Malfurion’s Headpiece of Triumph/Runetotem’s Headpiece of Triumph. This may be difficult to acquire however, as it requires fully clearing Heroic ToGC with 24+ attempts remaining. It does not have haste on it, which we typically look for in our BIS pieces, but its high base stats and crit rating make it the most powerful helmet in the game.

Much more easily acquirable is the Tier 9 non-heroic helmet. You can obtain this easily with a Trophy of the Crusade (which drops from both 10 and 25 man ToC) as well as 75 Emblem of Triumph. Its itemization is indentical to the 258 version, just quite a bit lower. Still, it is superior to any other helmet in the game, especially if you can complete a 2 piece or 4 piece set bonus.

Off of Onyxia 25 man you can find Stormrage Crown. It lacks mana regeneration in the form of spirit or mp5, but it has very high output relative to any other item level 245 helmet in the game with its high crit and haste values. Consider that Onyxia is quite a bit easier than ToGC, and extremely puggable, so consider going for this helmet before stepping foot into ToGC.

As a last ditch effort to secure a quality helmet, you can spend 75 Emblem of Triumph on the Wow Alliance Crest Helm of Abundant Growth. There are several other badge items that may get you more mileage than this helmet, but if you find yourself with an abundance of badges or currently have a very weak helmet, this is a solid option.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Watchful Eye of Fate	Animated Constellation – 15 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Evoker’s Charm	Emblem of Conquest x19
Pendant of Endless Despair	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Chain of the Ancient Wyrm	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Torque of the Red Dragonflight	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Necklace of the Glittering Chamber	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Veiled Amulet of Life	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Symbol of Redemption	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Titanium Spellshock Necklace	Jewelcrafting – BoE

When you hit level 80, your best bet for a good necklace is the Watchful Eye of Fate which costs 15 Sidereal Essences. You can farm Sidereal Essences by completing H++ dungeons. This neckalce is itemized flawlessly for a Resto Druid, coming equipped with both high output potential and mana regeneration. And a gem socket kicker!

While you farm this out, you could pick up another option on this list such as Evoker’s Charm which can be purchased for 19 Emblem of Conquest. It’s itemization is just as perfect as the Watchful Eye of Fate, but is a tad weaker and lacks the gem socket. For only 19 badges, however, this is an easy buy for a fresh 80. If you aren’t yet drowning in Sidereal Essences, consider purchasing this instead of the Watchful Eye of Fate and instead spending your Sidereals on a weapon or rings instead.

If you are just hitting level 80 and are seeking an immediate upgrade from your leveling necklace, check the auction house for a Titanium Spellshock Necklace. It is two phases old at this point so it should be quite affordable. Bear in mind that you will replace this very quickly, but if it gets you in the door of Heroic+ or Heroic++ Dungeons, cheap BoE’s like this one are well worth it to jumpstart your character.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Sapphire Amulet of Renewal	Ulduar – Iron Assembly (25)
Charm of Meticulous Timing	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25) (HM)
Watchful Eye of Fate	Animated Constellation – 15 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Freya’s Choker of Warding	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Evoker’s Charm	Emblem of Conquest x19

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.

Outside of ToC, your best option is going to be picking up a Sapphire Amulet of Renewal which drops in Ulduar 25 from Iron Assembly Hard Mode. The Iron Assembly is a deceptively difficult encounter with an extremely high DPS check, even for old content. Progressing through this boss is well worth it for a necklace this sweet though. Haste, spirit and a gem socket? Yes please!

Charm of Meticulous Timing is also another good necklace which drops in Ulduar 25 from XT-002 Deconstructor Hard Mode. It lacks spirit and instead has Mp5, making this neckalce more well suited for a Holy Paladin or a Resto Shaman. They may fight you tooth and nail for this necklace, but if you manage to win it, you won’t regret it. What it lacks in spirit it makes up for with insanely high base stats and the highest haste rating available on a necklace outside of ToC.

Best-in-Slot

The best possible choice for this slot in Phase 3 will be the Wow Alliance Crest Wail of the Val’kyr. As the only 258 caster necklace in the game, it is extremely coveted by every caster and healer and Resto Druids are no different. It lacks the spirit we normally look for in our BIS, but its exceptionally high output potential makes up for its lack of mana sustainability.

The Sapphire Amulet of Renewal, our BIS from last phase remains to be extremely powerful even compared to Tier 9 necklaces. It has the best mana sustain in the game, but doesn’t skimp on output potential. With high base stats and a gem socket to boot, this neck will get you a lot of mileage.

Lastly, you can use Watchful Eye of Fate. It lacks some of the item level of the above necklaces, and therefore, will have lower overall stats. But the itemization on this is perfect! Haste and spirit is exactly what we’re looking for.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Amice of Inconceivable Horror	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Valorous Nightsong Spaulders	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Underworld Mantle	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Shoulderguards of Assimilation	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Iceshear Mantle	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Mantle of the Preserver	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Runecaster’s Mantle	Halls of Stone – BoE

Once you are strong enough, start running as many Heroic++ Dungeons as you can handle. You’ll need to clear 19 Heroic++ Dungeons to accumulate enough sidereals to purchase your best pre-raid shoulders, but they are well worth it. Amice of Inconceivable Horror is flawlessly statted and will get you A LOT of bang for your buck. Not only are they the best option before raids, but they’re one of the best shoulders in the entire game.

Your Tier 8.0 shoulders Valorous Nightsong Spaulders should be quite easily obtainable once you step foot in Heroic++ Dungeons. A tier token drops off of every end boss, so with a little luck you’ll acquire these lickety split. They’re statted well and should serve you well until you come into some more powerful shoulders, like Amice of Inconceivable Horror.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Spaulders	Ulduar – Yogg Saron (25)
Amice of Inconceivable Horror	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Malleable Steelweave Mantle	Ulduar – Mimiron
Mantle of Wavering Calm	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor
Valorous Nightsong Spaulders	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Underworld Mantle	Ulduar – Vezax
Shoulderguards of Assimilation	Ulduar – Mimiron

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.

Before stepping foot into ToC, you’ll want to pick up Conqueror’s Nightsong Spaulders. These can be obtained by defeating Yogg Saron in Ulduar 25, which isn’t too difficult on normal mode. They don’t possess stats quite as good as the Amice of Inconceivable Horror, but your 4 piece Tier 8 set bonus is very desirable and a huge quality of life increase.

Alternatively, your tier 8 shoulders are still decent. The Valorous Nightsong Spaulders can be found in Heroic++ dungeons or from Ulduar 10 off of Thorim Normal Mode. They pale in comparison to the shoulders listed above, but if they bring you to a set bonus, they’re worth seeking out.

Malleable Steelweave Mantle is your next best option. Flawlessly itemized with both haste and spirit, these will serve you well entering ToC. Note that their stats are not quite as high as the Amice of Inconceivable Horror and they lack the potential to progress your Tier 8 set bonuses.

Best-in-Slot

The best possible choice for this slot in phase 3 will be the Wow Alliance Crest Malfurion’s Spaulders of Triumph. This is due to the the high baseline among which a high baseline Spirit ratio combined with a great combination of Haste Rating and Spellpower. The item also grants you access to the Tier9 4-set bonus which will be excellent for the third phase of the expansion.

Far easier to acquire is the 245 version of your Tier 9 shoulders. They only require a Trophy of the Crusade and 75 Emblem of Triumph, compared to the 258 version that requires a full Heroic clear of ToGC.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Shawl of the Caretaker	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Asimov’s Drape	Ulduar – Mimiron – BoE
Drape of the Spellweaver	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Cloak of the Dormant Blaze	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Disguise of the Kumiho	Emblem of Valor x25
Relentless Gladiator’s Cloak of Subjugation	Honor Points x29862
Wispcloak	Tailoring (415) – BoE

If you can’t be bothered to go through a grueling dungeon grind, look for Asimov’s Drape on the auction house. It’s well itemized and high item level, so you’ll get lots of mileage out of it. If you’re short on gold and still want to skip the dungeon crawl, purchase the Wispcloak. It is way worse than the other cloaks on this list, but it should be extremely cheap and it will get your foot in the door of Heroic++ Dungeons.

If you prefer not to spend your gold, you’ll want to farm Heroic++ Dungeons. Luckily, there are a medly of options. The best of which is the Shawl of the Caretaker. It lacks the spirit we normally look for in our gear, but its high base stats and haste make this a very solid option.

If you can’t find a Shawl of the Caretaker, keep an eye out for Drape of the Spellweaver or Cloak of the Dormant Blaze. They aren’t quite as powerful as the cloaks listed above, but they will serve you will in the interim.

If you find yourself with an excess of badges, you can purchase Disguise of the Kumiho for only 25 emblems. It has excellent stats: spirit, haste, the works. It is, however, lower item level than the other cloaks on this list, so its stats will be lower.

Another excellent option is the Relentless Gladiator’s Cloak of Subjugation if you can tolerate PvP. Its itemization leaves much to be desired, but unlike the cloak detailed above, has a very high item level. What it lacks in itemization it makes up for with killer base stats and a whole lot of Spellpower.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Sunglimmer Cloak	Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Sunglimmer Drape	All is Well That Ends Well
Pennant Cloak	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
Shroud of Alteration	Ulduar – Trash
Shawl of the Caretaker	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

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.

Sunglimmer Cloak is your best cloak before you enter ToC. It can be found by defeating Algalon The Observer in Ulduar on 25 man. You can also find a lesser, but similar version from Algalon The Observer 10 man. The 10 man version Sunglimmer Drape has the exact same stats, just slightly less compared to the 25 man version. Regardless of what version you’re going for, you can rest easy knowing that this baby is po-wer-ful. High spellpower, haste spirit AND a gem socket is exactly what we’re looking for!

Pennant Cloak from Tier 7 is so busted that it still holds up even against current Tier 9 content. If you don’t yet have a solid cloak, consider running The Obsidian Sanctum 10 & 25 man until you acquire this. It drops in both versions.

Shroud of Alteration from trash in Ulduar 25 is also a great choice. It is a fairly common drop, so hopefully it won’t take you more than a few Ulduars to encounter one.

Shawl of the Caretaker from Heroic++ Dungeons still holds up compared to the other cloaks on this list. It lacks spirit, a stat we normally look for in gear, but haste and spellpower still make this item very desirable.

Best-in-Slot

Your absolute best cloak is the 272 item level cloak Wow Alliance Crest Bolvar’s Devotion from ToGC 25 Anub’arak Heroic with all 50 attempts remaining. This is easily the hardest item to obtain in the entire game at the moment, but don’t worry, there are plenty of viable alternatives.

Your next best bet is the 10 man version of the above cloak, Shawl of the Refreshing Winds. You obtain it the same way: by killing Heroic Anub’arak with all 50 attempts remaining. However, 10 man ToGC is considerably easier than 25 man, making not wiping a breeze in comparison.

A close alternative to the 258 item level cloaks is Sunglimmer Cloak from Algalon The Observer. It may have slightly lower stats than the cloaks above on this list, but it makes up for it with flawless itemization.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Merlin’s Robe	Tailoring – BoE
Royal Moonshroud Robe	Tailoring – BoE
Lunar Eclipse Robes	Leatherworking – BoE
Conqeuror’s Nightsong Robe	Emblem of Conquest x58
Phaelia’s Vestments of the Sprouting Seed	Ulduar – Iron Assembly
Valorous Nightsong Robe	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Vest of the Glowing Crescent	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Vestments of the Piercing Light	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Raiments of the Corrupted	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Spellweave Robe	Tailoring – BoE

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your chest slot. Since there are multiple possible choices, including several potent BoE items, you may choose to directly buy that item or choose to go through a dungeon-crawl adventure to gain powerful items.

The premier BoE item on this list is the Merlin’s Robe. It’s outrageously powerful, as its a BoE from a pattern that just came out this tier. With a 245 item level and high output stats, it doesn’t get much better than this.

An alternative BoE item is the Royal Moonshroud Robe. It has inferior output to Merlin’s since it lacks haste, but it has a TON of spirit. You’ll need to make a decision based on your playstyle: sustain or output?

The Lunar Eclipse Robes is practically identical to the Royal Moonshroud Robe, albeit slightly worse. It has slightly less spirit and instead has more crit, which is a less desirable stat. Still, their closeness in value makes it viable to just buy whichever one is cheapest. You almost certainly won’t notice the difference.

A budget BoE option is the Phaelia’s Vestments of the Sprouting Seed. It comes from Ulduar instead of ToGC like the other BoE options, so its item level is lower and therefore its stats are less abundant. If you’re short on gold and want to avoid the Dungeon grind, this is a great choice for you.

If you’re really, really broke you can purchase the Spellweave Robe. It is two phases old at this point, so it should cost you next to nothing. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. It pales in comparison to the other BoE options on this list.

Prefer to work for your gear instead of buy it? Don’t worry. There’s a medly of chest options from Heroic++ Dungeons such as your tier 8 chest, Valorous Nightsong Robe. If it gets you a 2 piece or 4 piece set bonus, this is definitely an item you’ll want to seek out.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Vestments of the Blind Denizen	Ulduar – Vezax (25) (HM)
Conqueror’s Nightsong Robe	Emblem of Conquest x58
Conqueror’s Nightsong Vestments	Emblem of Conquest x58
Raiments of the Iron Council	Ulduar – Iron Assembly (25)
Merlin’s Robe	Tailoring – BoE
Royal Moonshroud Robe	Tailoring – BoE
Valorous Nightsong Vestments	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
The Sanctum’s Flowing Vestments	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

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.

The best chest option before you step into ToGC is the Vestments of the Blind Denizen. It has everything we want in a chest piece: high base stats, spellpower and whopping THREE gem sockets. Luckily it is leather and not ideal for Boomkins, so if it drops, it should be yours uncontested!

Your tier 8.5 chest piece may not have the best stats, but if Conqueror’s Nightsong Robe helps you complete your 4 piece set bonus, definitely run it. The power of an instant heal on your Rejuvenation is just too juicy to pass up.

Raiments of the Iron Council are another phenomenal option. They may only be 232 item level, but their are itemized flawlessly and have everything we’re looking for.

The crafted BoEs Merlin’s Robe & Royal Moonshroud Robe still hold up in ToGC. Merlin’s has highest output and Moonshroud has superior mana regeneration, so you’ll need to choose what best suits your playstyle.

An interesting chest selection is your Balance Tier 8.5 chest, Conqueror’s Nightsong Vestments. It won’t progress your 4 piece set bonus, but it is actually itemized better than the resto version. If you’re drowning in badges and in need of a good chest piece, considering buying this one over the resto one.

Best-in-Slot

The best chest piece in the game for us will be the 258 item level Tier 9 Balance chest Wow Alliance Crest Malfurion’s Vestments of Triumph. The Balance chance, rather than the resto one, has the best stats in the game for us Resto Druids. Strange! This may be difficult to obtain as it involves fully clearing ToGC on heroic difficulty, but don’t worry, there are plenty of viable alternatives.

The next best bet is also 258 item level and called the Flowing Vestments of Ascent from Heroic Beasts of Northrend. This chest piece is beautful. Haste, spirit, and THREE gem sockets!? Yes please!

Very similar to the above chest is the Wow Alliance Crest Vestments of the Shattered Fellowship. It is slightly worse to the Flowing Vestments of Ascent, but since it is leather, it will probably be less contested.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers	Tailoring – BoE
Moonshadow Armguards	Leatherworking – BoE
Royal Moonshroud Bracers	Tailoring – BoE
Bindings of the Depths	Ulduar – Vezax (25) – BoE
Runetouch Wristwraps	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant	60 Emblem of Valor BoE
Combustion Bracers	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Bands of the Great Tree	60 Emblem of Valor BoE
Putrescent Bands	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop) – BoE

As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your bracer slot. Since there are multiple BoE items that you can directly buy, we recommend you start with those. However, if you can’t find any BoE on the Auction House, you will have to go through a slow dungeon crawl to gain strong items that you can use for 25-man raids.

The best bracers for a fresh level 80 is going to be the Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers, followed closely by the Moonshadow Armguards. You can purchase these off the auction house, although they might be quite expensive. The Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers has exceptional output potential with lots of haste, whereas the Moonshadow Armguards has superior mana sustain capabilities. You’ll want to purchase which one best fits your playstyle.

Are the above bracers too pricey? Search for Bindings of the Depths instead. Or if you’re on an even tighter budget you can buy the Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant, but bear in mind these bracers are far weaker than the other ones on this list.

You can also look for Runetouch Wristwraps by defeating Svala Sorrowgrave in the Heroic++ version of Utgarde Pinnacle, or Putrescent Bands from various Heroic++ Dungeons.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Grasps of Reason	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25) (HM)
Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers	Tailoring – BoE
Bracers of the Broodmother	Ulduar – Razorscale (25)
Unsullied Cuffs	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion

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.

Before entering ToC, the best bracers you can get a hold of are the Grasps of Reason which you can acquire by defeating XT-002 Deconstructor Hard Mode in Ulduar 25.

Other than that, the Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers are your next best bet.

Best-in-Slot

Wow Alliance Crest Bracers of the Autumn Willow are incredible bracers. Flawless itemization with tons of spirit, haste and a gem socket. They drop off of 25 man Lord Jaraxxus Heroic, which is commonly considered to be the easiest boss in ToGC.

Almost identical to those are the cloth bracers Wow Alliance Crest Armbands of the Ashen Saint. These are considerably more contested since they can be used by all casters, so if you have the option, opt for the Bracers of the Autumn Willow.

Grasps of Reason from Ulduar still hold up, even compared to the best bracers from ToGC.

The Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers are also incredibly powerful, and hold their own against any other bracer. They actually have arguably superior output potential to the bracers above them on this list, but lack mana sustainability.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Pulsar Gloves	Ulduar – Algalon The Observer (10)
Touch of the Occult	Emblem of Conquest x28
Valorous Nightsong Handguards	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Handwraps of Resonance	Ulduar – Thorim (25) – BoE
Gloves of Dismal Fortune	Trial of the Champion – The Black Knight (Heroic)
Gloves of Token Respect	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Handwraps of Surrendered Hope	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Spellweave Gloves	Tailoring (415) – BoE
Handgrips of Turmoil	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Contagion Gloves	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

After hitting level 80 the best gloves you can get are the Pulsar Gloves. They cost 24 Sidereal Essence which can be obtained by completing H++ dungeons. Despite the hit rating, the stats are still very good for us.

Touch of the Occult can be purchased for 28 Emblem of Conquest and is an excellent item to grab in the interim.

While farming dungeons, also keep an eye out for a tier 8 token that will allow you to buy Valorous Nightsong Handguards.

If you’re looking for an immediate upgrade after hitting level 80, then head to the auction house and buy Handwraps of Resonance. They aren’t quite as powerful as the gloves above them on this list, but they’ll serve you just fine as you enter raids for the first time.

For a cheaper alternative to the Handwraps of Resonance, search for Spellweave Gloves. They’re two phases old at this point, so expect them to be quite affordable.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Handguards	Ulduar – Mimiron (25)
Pharos Gloves	Ulduar – Algalon The Observer (25)
Handwraps of Plentiful Recovery	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)
Grips of the Unbroken	Ulduar – Vezax (25)
Pulsar Gloves	Ulduar – Algalon The Observer (10)
Touch of the Occult	Emblem of Conquest x28

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.

Grabbing the Conqueror’s Nightsong Handguards are a good choice before stepping into ToC to aid in our goal of getting tier 8 set bonus. Not only is our set bonus super powerful, but man oh man is it a great quality of life increase. Rejuvenation is our most powerful spell, and having a baked in instant heal component makes it ridiculously powerful!

Pharos Gloves are also another great choice and they make an excellent off-piece item. They can be found by defeating Algalon The Observer in Ulduar on 25 man.

Handwraps of Plentiful Recovery are also quite nice, and drop off of one of the easiest bosses in Ulduar: Kologarn.

Pulsar Gloves are also a powerful option despite their hit rating, and are obtainable both from Algalon The Observer and from Sidereal Essences that drop in Heroic++.

Similarly easy to acquire are the Touch of the Occult gloves, which can be purchased with 28 Emblem of Conquest.

Best-in-Slot

Your best gloves in phase 3 of Wrath of the Lich king are your heroic T9 gloves, Malfurion’s Handguards of Triumph. They may not have the greatest itemization; crit is not our best stat. But given the strength of other options, they’re your best bet to acquire your Tier 9 set bonuses.

If you’re struggling to acquire your heroic tier gloves, the normal mode version is far easier to obtain, and similarly powerful.

If you’re looking for gloves that pack a lot of punch and aren’t worried about your set bonus, look no further than the Pharos Gloves from Ulduar. They are highly contested and drop off of the very difficult Algalon The Observer 25 man.

Wow Alliance Crest Gloves of the Lifeless Touch are practically identical to Pharos Gloves and drop off of the similarly challenging Heroic Anub’arak.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Belt of Arctic Life	Leatherworking – BoE
Cord of the White Dawn	Tailoring – BoE
Sash of Ancient Power	Tailoring – BoE
Binding of the Dragon Matriarch	Ulduar – Razorscale (25)
Conductive Cord	Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor (25)
Binding of the Tranquil Glade	Trial of the Champion – The Black Knight (Heroic)
Girdle of Lenience	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Sash of Blood Removal	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Sash of Mortal Desire	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Sash of Jordan	World Drop – BoE

The best belt you can get before stepping into a raid is the Belt of Arctic Life which can be crafted or purchased from the auction house. Followed closely and also a BoE is the Cord of the White Dawn & Sash of Ancient Power.

Belt of Arctic Life is the clear winner of the three, and will likely be the most expensive. It has everything we’re looking for: haste, spirit and lots and lots of spellpower. Perfect!

Cord of the White Dawn is nice a swell, but unlike the Belt of Arctic Life has crit instead of haste, which is less disirable.

Lastly, Sash of Ancient Power has lots of output, but is bogged down by a useless hit rating stat. We get little to no power out of hit rating, but all caster DPS do, so this may be innapropriately priced for us.

If you cannot afford these, then try to pick up the Binding of the Dragon Matriarch which can be found from the Drakkari Colossus/Elemental in the Heroic++ version of Gundrak or off of Razorscale in Ulduar.

If you’re looking to buy something immediately, but don’t have the gold to spend on an item level 232 belt, try visiting the auction house and seeking out the Sash of Jordan. It’s a world drop that drops off just about everything in Northrend, and is quite old at this point so it should be affordable.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Star-beaded Clutch	Ulduar – Algalon The Observer (25)
Belt of Arctic Life	Leatherworking – BoE
Embrace of the Leviathan	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25)
Belt of the Sleeper	Ulduar – Trash
Belt of the Living Thicket	Emblem of Conquest x28
Belt of the Crystal Tree	Ulduar – Iron Assembly (25)

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.

Outside of ToC, the Star-beaded Clutch is your best belt by far. This drops from Algalon The Observer in Ulduar 25, which, despite being a tier old, is very challenging. The challenging encounter is more than worth it for a belt this powerful though. It is perfectly statted for a resto druid. It’s so powerful that it’s also quite contested, even by healers that have no use for spirit like Resto Shaman and Holy Paladins.

Still if you can’t get a Star-beaded Clutch, you can get a BoE like Belt of Arctic Life. Belt of Arctic Life has excellent itemization despite its relatively low item level, so it’ll hold up against just about anything.

Embrace of the Leviathan which drops from Flame Leviathan Normal Mode in Ulduar 25 man is something you can also pick up. It’s statted nicely for us, but its lack of belt sockets will result in a lack of spellpower relative to the other belts on this list.

Best-in-Slot

Cord of Pale Thorns is the best belt in the game by far. Similar to the Star-beaded Clutch, it has all the juicy stats, but even more of ’em. It drops off of the fourth encounter in ToGC, Twin Valkyrs, which can be quite challenging.

Cord of the Tenebrous Mist is almost identical, but is cloth and therefore heavily contested. If you have a choice between these two belts, opt for the Cord of Pale Thorns.

Star-beaded Clutch from Ulduar is itemized identically to the two belts above, but with 6 item level less it has slightly less stats. Still, it’s a fantastic belt that holds up against any in the game.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Zodiac Leggings	Animated Constellation – 32 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Valorous Nightsong Leggings	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Leggings of Lost Love	Ulduar – Thorim (25) – BoE
Leggings of Unstable Discharge	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Valorous Dreamwalker Leggings	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Leggings of the Snowy Bramble	Trial of the Crusader – Argent Crusade Tribute Chest (25) Heroic
Splint-Bound Leggings	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

Upon hitting level 80, your best legs are going to be the Zodiac Leggings which cost 32 Sidereal Essences which can be acquired by completing Heroic++ dungeons. It’s quite the grind, but it’s well worth it for leggings this powerful. Perfectly itemized with haste, spirit, and tons of spellpower potential with two gem sockets, these bad boys will last you all the way to ToGC. Due to the high cost of acquiring these, it is advised you pick up another pair of legs while grinding dungeons for Sidereals..

The next best bet is the Valorous Dreamwalker Leggings which can acquired by turning in a tier token acquired from grinding H++ dungeons. They lack a lot of the power of the Zodiac Leggings, but if they lead you to a set bonus, they’ll become super powerful.

You may also want to shoot for your Balance tier 8 legs, the Valorous Nightsong Leggings during your Heroic++ grind. They won’t lead to any powerful set bonuses, but they are actually better itemized than their resoration counterpart.

Want to skip the dungeon grind altogether? Pick up a pair of Leggings of Lost Love from the auction house. They’re a phase old at this point so they should be pretty affordable. My lost love is laziness, so I buy these on all my druids.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Conqueror’s Nightsong Leggings	Emblem of Conquest x58
Zodiac Leggings	Animated Constellation – 32 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Leggings of the Lifetender	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Leggings of Lost Love	Ulduar – Thorim (25) – BoE

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.

Before stepping into ToGC, you’ll want to try your hardest to obtain your 4-piece tier 8 set bonus. Conqueror’s Nightsong Leggings should help you accomplish that, but bear in mind that there are stronger legs available if the set bonus is unobtainable for you at this time.

Zodiac Leggings is one of such examples. Perfectly itemized with haste, spirit, and tons of spellpower potential with two gem sockets, these bad boys will last you all the way to ToGC.

Leggings of the Lifetender are another great standalone option. These are also itemized just the way we want them, and drop off of normal mode 25 man Freya

Best-in-Slot

The best legs in the game for a resto druid are the Wow Alliance Crest Malfurion’s Leggings of Triumph. Not only are they beautifully itemized, but they’ll allow you to acquire your set bonuses which are extremely powerful. These are really tough to acquire though, as they require a full clear of heroic ToGC 25 man to have a shot at them.

A much easier, but slightly worse alternative are the 245 version of your Tier 9 legs, Wow Alliance Crest Malfurion’s Leggings of Triumph. To get these, all you need is a Trophy of the Crusade and 75 Emblem of Triumph which is far more easily attainable.

If you’re looking to exclude legs from your 4 piece, Wow Alliance Crest Leggings of the Soothing Touch is your best bet. They have the best stats in the game relative to any leg piece, even moreso than your 258 tier 9.

Wow Alliance Crest Legwraps of the Awakening are also a viable option if you want to exclude legs from your 4 piece setup. Despite being last on this list, they actually have the highest output potential of any other leg piece in the game! They’re similar to Leggings of the Soothing Touch, but have crit instead of spirit. Generally crit is less desireable, however.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Spellslinger’s Slippers	Tailoring – BoE
Boots of the Petrified Forest	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Boots of Wintry Endurance	Leatherworking – BoE
Treads of the Dragon Council	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Arcanic Tramplers	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop) – BoE
Boots of the Follower	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)

After hitting level 80, the best boots for us will be the Spellslinger’s Slippers. These are BoE and can be acquired by crafting or purchasing them from the auction house. It is highly recommended that you purchase these if you can afford them, as they are wicked powerful. With tons of spellpower potential from their two gem sockets, and static spirit & haste these bad boys are itemized flawlessly for us.

Another BoE option are the Boots of Wintry Endurance. They may be quite a bit cheaper than their cloth counterparts, but they are significantly worse as they have no haste.

Lastly, Arcanic Tramplers from Tier 7 content are also a viable BoE option, and since they’re so old, they should be quite affordable.

If you don’t have the gold for either of the above BoEs, there are plenty of good alternatives from Heroic++ dungeons you can pick up.

Boots of the Petrified Forest are the best boots obtainable from Dungeons, as they have everything we’re looking for: spellpower, haste and spirit. They lack the gem sockets of the Spellslinger’s Slippers, but they’ll be a great piece in the interim.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Boots of Fiery Resolution	Ulduar – Flame Leviathan (25) (HM)
Spellslinger’s Slippers	Tailoring – BoE
Boots of the Servant	Ulduar – Freya (25)
Boots of the Petrified Forest	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)

Boots of Fiery Resolution are by far the best boot option for us outside of ToGC. They’re so good in fact, that they’re considered to the be second best boots in the entire game. If you’re lucky enough to obtain them, you can consider your boot slot to be good enough for just about the rest of WotLK.

Spellslinger’s Slippers still hold up as well, and are the third best boots in the game at the moment, just behind Boots of Fiery Resolution.

Both of these boots are itemized flawlessly, with tons of output potential through their high spellpower, socket bonuses and haste.

Similarly, Boots of the Servant are incredibly itemized as well, and are extremely close in value to the Spellslinger’s Slippers.

Best-in-Slot

Wow Alliance Crest Boots of the Mourning Widow are the best boots in the game for us. Like all the other boots on this list, they have the stat trifecta: spellpower, haste and spirit. They just have more of those three than any other boot in the game. Unfortunately they are super contested, and are bis for most casters.

Boots of Fiery Resolution & Spellslinger’s Slippers have the same stat breakdown as Wow Alliance Crest Boots of the Mourning Widow, it’s just a question of how much. All three of these boots are exceptional, and upgrading from one to the next will be minimal.

Fresh 80

Lucky for us, we have a plethora of seriously overpowered ring options right out the gate.

The normal mode version of Wow Alliance Crest Ring of the Darkmender is BoE and should be relatively affordable on your servers auction house.

Additionally, you can purchase the Etched Loop of the Kirin Tor off of a vendor in Dalaran. It’s itemized pretty well and comes with the added benefit of a second hearthstone, which will surely come in handy for the rest of time.

If you don’t feel like dropping a bunch of gold on a ring, don’t fret. You can farm Heroic++ Dungeons for Sidereal Essences to buy both Fire Orchid Signet & Nebula Band.

Fire Orchid Signet has incredible mana sustain potential, where as Nebula Band is more output oriented with lots of crit and haste.

Don’t have tons of gold, or endless time to grind Heroic++? No problem. Both the Lady Maye’s Sapphire Ring & Emerald Signet Ring are excellent options, and only require dipping your toes into Heroic++ for a few runs. Nothing compared to farming 30+ Sidereals!

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Conductive Seal	Ulduar – Mimiron (25) (HM)
Starshine Circle	Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well
Band of the Invoker	Emblem of Triumph x35
Fire Orchid Signet	Animated Constellation – 15 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)

The Conductive Seal is not only the best ring outside of ToGC, but it is in your BIS setup for all of phase 3 content. This baby is flawlessly itemized with tons of haste, spellpower and spirit. It is super contested, however, as it is also BIS for most casters.

Starshine Circle is another powerful option out of Ulduar, and is a reward from the Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well quest that drops off of Algalon.

Don’t have access to high end Ulduar content, or have just been unlucky? No problem. With a week or so of triumph badges saved up, you can purchase Band of the Invoker, which is comparable to any ring in the game.

Best-in-Slot

Wow Alliance Crest Ring of the Darkmender is the best ring in the game for Resto Druids, and every healer for that matter. It has unparalleled mana sustain, and really really strong output potential. Luckily it drops off of the easiest boss in ToGC, Lord Jaraxxus.

Conductive Seal is a close second. It may be a tier old, but this ring still holds up against anything in the game. It is itemized flawlessly and has everything we’re looking for on a resto druid: spellpower, haste, spirit and even a socket bonus!

Starshine Circle is another powerful option out of Ulduar, and is a reward from the Heroic: All Is Well That Ends Well quest that drops off of Algalon.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Sif’s Remembrance	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Spark of Hope	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Meteorite Crystal	Animated Constellation – 24 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Eye of the Broodmother	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Darkmoon Card: Illusion	Darkmoon Prisms Deck – BoE
Je’Tze’s Bell	World Drop – BoE

The best trinket in the game for a fresh level 80 Resto Druid is Sif’s Remembrance. You can purchase it for Sidereal Essences that drop from Heroic++ Dungeons.

Beyond Sif’s, your next best choice is Meteorite Crystal. It is also farmable from Sidereal Essences and is considered one of the best mana sustain trinkets in the game.

Past that you can keep an eye out for Spark of Hope while you’re farming Heroic++ Dungeons. It may provide some much needed regen while your early gear is lacking mana sustain.

If you’re looking for BoEs to purchase immediately upon hitting 80, consider the Darkmoon Card: Illusion and/or Je’Tze’s Bell. They’ll be replaced quickly, but are more than powerful enough to get you in the door to Heroic++ Dungeons.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Illustration of the Dragon Soul	The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion
Show of Faith	Ulduar – Yogg Saron (25) (HM)
Sif’s Remembrance	Animated Constellation – 19 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Pandora’s Plea	Ulduar – Mimiron (25) (HM)

Illustration of the Dragon Soul may be two tiers old at this point, but it still offers the highest possible output of any trinket in the game. Particularly if you stack it up to full before an encounter, nothing comes close to offering this much spellpower. It offers nothing in the way of mana sustainability, however.

Show of Faith on the other hand is beautifully balanced trinket. It has both static spellpower and an Mp5 proc, so you get the best of both worlds.

Sif’s Remembrance is effectively the baby version of Show of Faith. It opereates the same way: static spellpower, with proccing Mp5.

Pandora’s Plea is also a deceptively powerful option. Intellect is not something we seek out on gear, but there’s just… so much of it!

Best-in-Slot

Wow Alliance Crest Solace of the Defeated is by far the most powerful trinket in the game for a Resto Druid. It offers really good output potential with its crazy high static spellpower, and unparalleled mana sustain from its stacking proc.

Show of Faith on the other hand is beautifully balanced trinket. It has both static spellpower and an Mp5 proc, so you get the best of both worlds.

Sif’s Remembrance is effectively the baby version of Show of Faith. It opereates the same way: static spellpower, with proccing Mp5.

Pandora’s Plea is also a deceptively powerful option. Intellect is not something we seek out on gear, but there’s just… so much of it!

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion	Animated Constellation – 38 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Stormtip	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Plasma Foil	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Pulse Baton	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Hammer of the Astral Plane	Heroic+ Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Titansteel Spellblade	Blacksmithing (440) – BoE

Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion is by far the most powerful option for a fresh level 80 Resto Druid. You can acquire this weapon without even stepping into a raid; simply farm Heroic++ Dungeons for Sidereal Essences to purchase this.

Stormtip, and the rest of the weapons on this list, pale in comparison to Aesuga. But this is your next best bet. It drops in Heroic++ Dungeons, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain.

Similarly, Plasma Foil, Pulse Baton & Hammer of the Astral Plane all drop from Heroic++ Dungeons as well.

Looking for a cheap BoE weapon to jumpstart your character upon hitting 80? Search for the Titansteel Spellblade on the auction house. It’s quite old at this point, so it should be affordable.

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings	Ulduar (25) – Fragment of Val’anyr x30
Staff of Endless Winter	Ulduar – Hodir (25) (HM)
Constellus	Ulduar – Algalon The Observer (25)
Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion	Animated Constellation – 38 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)
Guiding Star	Ulduar – Razorscale (25)
Soulscribe	Ulduar – Yogg Saron (25)

Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings is the best weapon in the game, and you acquire it without stepping foot in ToGC. It is difficulty and tedious to build, as it requires multiple full clears of Ulduar 25 man.

The only viable staff for a Resto Druid before ToGC is Staff of Endless Winter. It drops off of 25 man Hodir Hardmode, which has become one of the easier Hardmodes for a group with solid DPS. It is more powerful than any combination of weapon/offhand other than Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings.

Constellus does not have stats we typically look for as a resto druid, but its high spellpower makes it a very viable weapon option for us.

Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion is the last Ulduar-level weapon available to us. Luckily, you can farm this in Heroic+ Dungeons via Sidereal Essences before even stepping into a raid.

Best-in-Slot

Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings remains the best weapon in the game for us, by far. The stats of other weapons on this list may be comprable, but don’t be fooled: the bubble effect of Valanyr makes this weapon untouchable by anything else in Tier 9.

Wow Alliance Crest Misery’s End is the next best weapon behind Valanyr. It’s missing spirit, which we typically look for in gear, but its crazy high spellpower puts it on a different level.

Wow Alliance Crest Blade of Tarasque is the only other weapon with spellpower this high, but it has hit rating on it, which is completely dead for us. It’s also heavily contested by casters. If you take this from a Warlock, they may shout some Curse of Tongues at you.

Wow Alliance Crest Blade of the Silver Disciple & Heartcrusher will be your best 10 man options. They may not have the same level of spellpower as the weapons above them on this list, but their high output stats and gem socket make them extremely powerful weapons.

Fresh 80

Item	Source
Igniter Rod	Heroic++ Dungeons (Former Ulduar 10)
Handbook of Obscure Remedies	Emblem of Heroism x25
Scepter of Murmuring Spirits	Heroic + Dungeons (Former Naxxramas 10 Drop)
Watchful Eye	Animated Constellation – 15 Sidereal Essence (Sidereal Essence Vendor)

If you are seeking an offhand as a fresh level 80 Resto Druid, your best bet is to farm Heroic++ Dungeons for a chance at Igniter Rod or Scepter of Murmuring Spirits.

If you find yourself with an abundance of badges, consider purchasing the Handbook of Obscure Remedies.

Alternatively you can farm Sidereal Essences to eventually purchase Watchful Eye

Pre-Raid

Item	Source
Ironmender	Ulduar – Kologarn (25)
Matriarch’s Spawn	Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses
Handbook of Obscure Remedies	Emblem of Heroism x25

Ironmender is very easy to obtain as it drops off of one of the easier bosses in Ulduar, Kologarn. Since most casters will be going for Cosmos, it may be relatively uncontested.

With limited offhand options, Matriarch’s Spawn from Naxxramas is still relatively powerful. It drops off of multiple bosses, so it’s not unrealistic to obtain this after a single Naxxramas clear.

Handbook of Obscure Remedies is also decent, and can be purchased with only 25 badges.

Best-in-Slot

Wow Alliance Crest Chalice of Benedictus from 10 man ToGC is the best offhand in the game for us. There are 25 man options, such as Chalice of Searing Light, but they lack the haste necessary to make them super powerful.

If you are a veteran arena player, consider pushing for Relentless Gladiator’s Compendium. If you are new to PvP, however, it is unreasonable to invest the amount of time it would take to be able to afford this item, as it requires a high arena rating.

Other than these two options, good ol’ Ironmender will be your best bet. It has a low ilvl relative to the rest of the items on this list, but it is statted flawlessly for us, keeping this offhand in contention.

Wow Alliance Crest Chalice of Searing Light has super high base stats as it is a 258 heroic ToGC item, but it lacks the stats that we as resto druids typically look for.

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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Spn

#7205

11 months ago

PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS GUIDE!
Almost every single item is incorrect, the T7 set bonus is absolute garbage and you should only use the items for their stats. Only the gloves are BiS and crit is basically useless, you should stack haste.

Nevermore(@nevermore)

Author

#7367

Reply to Spn

10 months ago

Hey there! If you refer to phase 1, most of the items that I have shown in this build have haste. The 4-item bonus from the T7 is not actually as bad as you make it sound. I fail to see how “every single item” is incorrect.

-9

SpnIsRight

#7376

Reply to Nevermore

You realize HoTs cannot crit right? All through this guide you talk about crit being a good stat, when it’s largely useless unless you’re doing some insanely inefficient Resto Druid healing and spamming HT or Nourish. Additionally, since you shouldn’t be spamming Nourish the 4P becomes mostly useless as well. Forethought Tailsman cannot proc off HoTs, only direct heals.

If you’re aware of all of this, why would you ever suggest tier shoulder or legs as BiS? They have a useless stat and tier bonus. Why would you suggest a trinket that relies on crits to proc and gives crit, when the majority of your heals cannot crit? Or a trinket that relies on direct heals when it does not proc of your HoTs? I agree with Spn, this list is terrible. Its like you just went “okay gotta throw this together, tier + highest ilvl”

#7385

Reply to SpnIsRight

I am aware of the fact that HoTs do not crit, with the exception of Rejuvenation in phase 3. I am also aware that some people might consider using Regrowth/Nourish entirely inefficient. Yes, if you desire to only spam Rejuvenation/Wild Growth, then the item list for phase 1 should be changed. I will add a separate build since my desire is to help, not hinder.

If you checked the rotation section of the guide, I talk about different filler abilities such as Nourish/Regrowth throughout different phases of the expansion. Regarding the first phase of the expansion, the logic behind Soul of the Dead was that it can proc of Swiftmend/Nourish/Regrowth. I am quite aware that an overall better choice would be The Egg of Mortal Essence since it can give more optimal Haste procs based on Rejuvenation/Wild Growth.

The general idea is that you can create an entire build that ignores T7 altogether and make it entirely viable. I always advocated for different play styles instead of a single definite meta. But I will add an update to the BiS list so that it can encompass multiple alternatives to fit different play styles.

Last edited 10 months ago by Nevermore

-5

#10115

5 months ago

An update regarding this situation. I have created a new format explaining each item and why they are picked while also resorting to the Haste Build for phases I and II. I wish to offer my deepest apologies if I offered misleading information or sub-optimal information. Please give the new format an honest good look as it is filled with helpful information for both beginners and experienced players.

Pyralis

#8220

9 months ago

This guide is the trolliest bullshit I’ve ever seen, as are the author’s comments.

#10249

Reply to Pyralis

I am sorry the guide gave you this impression. I always advocated for multiple ways to play the game instead of a single “Meta” path. I created an overhaul for this section that should provide a better build. The guides are continuously updated! However, it does take a bit of time to update them.

Frogu(@frogu)

#9091

7 months ago

Hello Nevermore ,you missed one important thing to Druid Restoration in the stats section …. that being the haste cap for the Celestial Focus 3/3 build that is 735 and without being 856.
This is a friendly reminder from a fellow druid 😃 . Kiss love and best of luck brutha.

Last edited 7 months ago by Frogu

#10248

Reply to Frogu

Thank you for pointing that out! I created an overhaul for this section that should remove the previous issues with the build! Feel free to check it out and point out any inconsistencies that you notice.

kisulken

#7102

would be nice if explained where the item comes from

DanielD(@danield)

Admin

#7112

Reply to kisulken

Hi Kisulken! If you click on an item, it will take you to a database page, and at the bottom of the page it will tell you how the item is created, what boss drops it, etc.

Wonderdog

#10528

Item	Source
Malfurion’s Headpiece of Triumph Runetotem’s Headpiece of Triumph	Trial of the Crusader – Argent Crusade Tribute Chest (25) Heroic
Malfurion’s Headpiece of Triumph Runetotem’s Headpiece of Triumph	75 Emblem of Triumph + 1 Trophy of the Crusade
Stormrage Crown	Onyxia’s Lair – Onyxia (25)
Helm of Abundant Growth Mask of Abundant Growth	Emblem of Triumph x75