Friday 15 January 2010

Frost upgrades for a 10er Shaman

Yet another gear post, do I think about anything else? Not really, when we are farming the first 4 bosses in ICC and having... issues... with the new 3. So here is a list of the upgrades I have identified from Emblems of Frost, given my current 10 man gear level. These are for myself only of course, as I have simulated the difference using Rawr and Enhsim, but could be used as a guide if you wish.

Herkuml War Token
+138 dps for 60 Frost (2.3 dps/frost), this is the best upgrade for me. The only issue is the way the trinket works, in that you need to stand and DPS the same mob for 20 attacks to get the maximum stack. Drops in ICC are better such as Whispering Fang Skull, but this is solid anyway.

Totem of the Avalanche
+52 dps for 30 Frost (1.7 dps/frost), an upgrade over the old Totem of Quaking Earth. Again it builds stacks, but it seems the first Stormstrike adds 2 stacks, so after 2 SS you will get the full 438 AP.

Band of the Night Raven
+96 dps for 60 Frost (1.6 dps/frost). This belt is an upgrade from my old Belt of Dragons and because it is i264 the stats are very good. It also doesn't occupy a Tier slot, so it all round win. There is a heroic drop from Marrowgar 10 which is as good, but we need to kill Arthas before being able to try heroic modes, which is a big task in itself.

Recovered Scarlet Onslaught Cape
+74 dps for 50 Frost(1.48 dps/frost), there was no upgrade cloak in ToTC 10, so this one is a good upgrade from my current Ulduar cloak. Now Marrowgar 10 also drops Shawl of Nerubian Silk which is as good, mainly because it features expertise rather than armor penetration. Below the cap, expertise is very valuable and as Tier 10 has none, I am hoping for this drop instead. Still with a gem slot, the Cape can be made to give expertise too. I suspect to ensure Marrowgar drops his cloak, I will need to purchase the Cape 3 hours beforehand (so I cannot trade it back).

2 Tier 10 (gloves, shoulders)
+88 dps for 120 Frost(0.74 dps/frost). For some reason the DPS upgrade going from 4T9 to 2T10 & 2T9 is not that much, I pondered this before and the loss of expertise really hurts, although it can be made up by regemming elsewhere.

The Plan
In conclusion, it seems that getting Tier 10 should wait until I have splurged on the i264 stuff from Frost. Luckily I won Linked Scourge Vertebrae which although not as good as Band of the Night Raven, will tide me over and I can skip to saving for the Cloak and raid Marrowgar until he coughs up his one.

2 comments:

Stoneybaby said...

You make me realize I haven't even looked at emblem gear nor planned out my gear nor updated my gear spreadhseet! I've been hoarding my emblems for tier pieces and decided last night to pick up and gem/chant the legs for the 2pc t10 bonus.

I say if anything you get the shoulders. Cmon man! Shoveltusks comin outta ya!! Badass.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget that each upgrade you buy in that list can dramatically change the worth of the others! And you can always get the legs or gloves of the t10 set "free" from VOA at any moment -- making them a bad purchase plan IMO, but then making that set bonus cost 1/2 as much.

Yours, your friendly neighbourhood dps/emblem contemplating Warlock ;-)

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