Elizabeth Harper was able to snap a few screenshots of the new Blacksmithing patterns from the game last night. The items all require at least level 75 and are of superior quality. That's good news for those that are looking to craft gear as they level – which can be a viable alternative to fill in certain missing pieces.

You can browse through all the latest patterns below in our gallery. For a quick analysis however, take the piece that is featured in the right hand image of this article. They're tank legplates that have 1661 armor, 57 strength, 84 stamina, and 55 defense. No sockets or anything else like that. Let's compare it to the T6 warrior legs, which have 24 agility, 78 stamina, a red socket, 40 def, 41 parry, and 32 block value.


If you socket the T6 legs with a +15 stam gem, you bring your total stamina up to 92, excluding any sort of enchantment. That means the T6 legs provide 80 more health. The T6 legs also win in the parry and block value stats.

Some people will tell you that agility isn't a very good stat to have on a warrior tank – and I generally agree. I'd rather have strength for the extra AP. The level 75 blue legs win in the 57 strength vs. 24 agility stats.

Finally, the defense rating is mostly a bust – the T6 legs provide 40, and the level 75 blue legs provide 55. While 15 defense may be important to a warrior tank depending on their gearing choices, it probably isn't. There are times where stacking defense is a good idea, but in general it's not needed once you hit the cap.

In the end, the T6 legs are still the better choice here. However we can clearly see that at level 75, items are going to become available that at least approach their greatness.

Tags: black, black-smith, blacksmith, blacksmithing, blue, epic, leg, legs, level-75, pattern, patterns, smith, superior

Filed under: Warrior, Blacksmithing, Analysis / Opinion, News items, Wrath of the Lich King