Insider Trader: Armorsmiths vs. weaponsmiths
by Amanda Miller 
Sep 26th 2008 at 7:30PM
I received a question over the tip line from an armorsmith this morning who is considering switching to weaponsmith because he is dissatisfied with his profession. Player regrets surrounding a chosen specialization, or even profession, are common and happen to almost everyone at one time or another.
JDT writes that he is "extremely disappointed" with armorsmithing and what he is able to make, and that one of his reasons for possibly switching to weaponsmithing is that he theorizes it would be helpful to be able to pass down weapons to his alts that cannot wear plate.
Unfortunately JDT, anything that you craft as either a weaponsmith or an armorsmith is not only bind on pick-up, but it also requires you to have that specialization in order to wield/wear it.
That being said, there are blacksmithing plans for weapons and armor floating around that are bind on equip and can be passed along, but those can be made by any blacksmith regardless of specialization.
This week I will begin comparing the various armorsmith and weaponsmith pieces to the first non-crafted upgrades in order to illustrate the value of each item and help each class and spec come to an informed decision when it comes time to choose blacksmithing specialties.
Next week I'll finish out the comparison, as there is more than I can fit into this week's edition!
Considering the time, effort and cost that would go into re-specializing, you might be better off staying with what you have earned.
The other thing to consider is that if you re-specialized, you would have to give up your armorsmithing breastplate. In addition, with Wrath of the Lich King's release only six weeks away (November 13th), I would not recommend this as the prime time to switch.
So what does Wrath have in store for blacksmiths?
Unfortunately, it seems that items that require a spec to forge will still require that specialization to wield or wear, although we do have a preview of some of the recipes currently in the Beta that blacksmithing and its specs will have to offer.
You will also be able to add sockets to items, some of which can only be used by you, and others that can be applied for other players in exchange for gold or /kisses, and it is definitely one reason to stick with the blacksmithing path.
If you still feel that the grass may be greener for the other specialization, here is a breakdown of how the various items compare to their non-crafted counterparts:
Armorsmith
[Bulwark of the Ancient Kings] is a nice chest piece for fury warriors, but it could also be used to tank up to Karazhan as long as you can reach the appropriate levels of defense and mitigation through other means.
This crafted piece is actually comparable to Tier 6 (Black Temple, Mount Hyjal) plate chest pieces, believe it or not.
[Onslaught Breastplate], a Tier 6 piece that can be purchased using a token that may drop after killing Illidan, is a warrior-only but similar piece, although the itemization is a bit different because of the "use" effect on the armorsmith piece.
This would likely be the first upgrade to that breastplate by a fury warrior, given that the Tier 5 equivalent, [Destroyer Breastplate] has inferior stamina, hit rating, critical strike rating, and depends on having at least two pieces from the set to begin to compete with the crafted piece's use effect.
In fact, if you prefer critical strike rating to agility, you might not equip the Tier 6 piece either until you had a second piece from that set in order to add the extra incentive, although you would probably do more damage with it anyway because its effect is not limited to use.
Unfortunately for tanks, the armorsmith breastplate would be replaced in Karazhan by the [Panzar'Thar Breastplate], whether you are a warrior or a paladin.
If you are a holy or protection paladin, or protection warrior, it seems that armorsmithing itself is not going to bring you any benefit, although of course there are non-specialization but bind on pick-up crafted items that still make being a blacksmith helpful.
If we were to compare the bulwark to the Tier 6 paladin piece for retribution spec, [Lightbringer Breastplate], you might be surprised that the two pieces are actually quite similar. The crafted piece has 16 less strength, but 4 more hit rating, 10 more critical strike rating, 8 more stamina, and the use effect.
The Lightbringer piece brings intellect to the table, so if you cannot muster enough intellect from your other pieces, you'll probably need to switch to this one. Although you should be compensating for the lack of intellect using gems if necessary, but once you can pick up this piece, you could free up your gem slots for something more beneficial to your DPS.
The other thing to note is that the two piece set bonus would also generate mana as a chance on hit sort of effect.
If you think that I have forgotten the arms warriors, I can assure you that I have not. Because arms is the preferred PvP spec and not as suited to PvE/raiding, most arms warriors are going to be sporting PvP gear purchased by running battlegrounds or arena. Of course, if you do not like to re-spec but you do raid on occasion, having the PvE breastplate is not a bad idea.
In fact, if you can get your hands on the arena season four piece, [Brutal Gladiator's Plate Chestpiece], you'd have a clean upgrade, even for PvE, with 158 more armor, 5 more strength, 20 more stamina, 4 more critical strike rating, and only 7 less hit rating. Your attacks would also ignore 84 of your target's armor, and of course, the resilience does not hurt.
The season three piece however is a bit more of a toss up when it comes to PvE. [Vengeful Gladiator's Plate Chestpiece] is the same item level as the crafted breastplate. Both have 1825 armor, but the PvP itemization takes some points away from your DPS and into survivability. With one less strength, 2 less critical strike rating, and 13 less hit rating, then you might slip down the charts if you cannot maintain the proper hit rating to avoid misses against raid bosses.
That being said, the extra 9 stamina, 24 resilience and the ability to ignore 84 armor when attacking could fill holes that your other gear does not, and it would seem to be a matter of personal preference.
Adding blue gems to the Bulwark piece:
As for maximizing the socket benefits from the crafted piece, fury and raiding arms warriors should consider using two [Smooth Dawnstones] and one [Jagged Talasite] for a bonus of +6 stamina and +20 critical strike rating.
Retribution paladins could consider adding three [Brilliant Dawnstones] for +24 intellect and ignore the socket bonus, or try for three [Bold Living Rubies] at +24 strength, also ignoring the socket bonus, or a mixture of the two. If you like the set bonus, use one of each and something like a [Soverien Nightseye] or a [Jagged Talasite].
Each week, Insider Trader takes you behind the scenes of the bustling sub-culture of professional craftsmen, examining the profitable, the tragically lacking, and the methods behind the madness. Check out our guide to maximizing your blacksmithing skill, or check out some of the blacksmithing patterns being introduced in Wrath.Filed under: Paladin, Warrior, Blacksmithing, Items, Analysis / Opinion, Guides, Classes, Insider Trader (Professions)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
HalcyonGT Sep 26th 2008 7:49PM
You do realize that the person was talking about crafting weapons such as daggers, axes, swords that they could pass on to Alts such as a rogue or shaman.
High lvl Armorsmiths essentially can only pass on craftables for plate wearers. A Weaponsmith can provide a lot more use for your alts.
In short everything that a high end specialized smith can craft is NOT BoE.
Barashakushu Sep 27th 2008 6:03AM
Well I can tell that you are not a very high level weapon smith. I have both Armor Smith and Weapon Smith toons.
FYI I am standing here in Shatt talking to Kradu Grimblade. Guess what? Every single Weapon Smith recipe that he has is Bind on Pickup. That means you can not send it to an alt.
My Blacksmithing on this toon is 275. Now stop for a second to think how dumb I feel that I leveled this toon to 50 with the plan to make weapons for my main and to sell on AH. "I are teh noob."
I am very grateful that I read this article before I continued wasting gold on this fruitless endeavor.
On the other hand there is stuff you can make as an armorsmith that you can send to alts. In fact most of the armorsmithing crap is not BOP its BOE. Keep in mind I said crap because the gear that you could send to an alt just flat out sucks compared to what drops in outland.
cudgel Sep 26th 2008 7:51PM
Is that one chestpiece not the only armorsmith item you can craft outside of sunwell? My warrior is a macesmith, and I enjoy the two maces I made, but blacksmithing doesn't have enough items to truly be worth the time spent leveling it in my opinion. I'm glad we're going to be able to make sockets in Wrath.
Skreed Sep 26th 2008 7:51PM
Before I knew my @$$ from my elbow, I thought I'd take my prot warrior into Armorsmithing.
Turns out... the Bulwark isnt all that great for tanking, and its on use effect is kindof 'meh.' Glad I got my learn on before starting down that road.
Weaponsmithing is vastly more versitile (Axes/Maces/Swords). Each sub-spec gives you access to TWO uber items (2H/1H... and the 1H'ers can now be DW), and -- perhaps the biggest selling point for me -- you can get a little extra out of those nifty weapon mastery racials (My Orc's fury set includes twin Wicked Edges... /swoon).
We'll see how things look in Wrath, but in all probability I'll keep my Axe-Mastery for a lil extra pwn.
Jack Spicer Sep 26th 2008 7:57PM
Adding sockets to armor is really a piss poor mechanic. Why? Because sockets can be added to equipment, the development team is simply withholding that extra socket from the equipment in its original form because "it can be added later". So basically the net gain on this blacksmithing "bonus" is zero.
cudgel Sep 26th 2008 8:01PM
I see, like how your gear really isn't complete now without an enchant. However, this makes me feel more useful as a blacksmith and is a chance for me to make some money. Plus, chances are that there will be BoP sockets which would make the gain more than 0.
Jack Spicer Sep 26th 2008 8:08PM
I'm not denying that it adds meaning to blacksmithing. I'm just not convinced that any item you could add a socket to wouldn't have had that extra socket if this mechanic wasn't implemented.
The net bonus to a Blacksmith would be zero, but its a net negative to anyone that isn't a blacksmith, especially when it comes to BoP socket adds.
Iloldirl Sep 26th 2008 8:00PM
"Retribution paladins could consider adding three [Brilliant Dawnstones] for +24 intellect"
Ugh.... where do you find these 'tards.
fahsky Sep 27th 2008 2:58AM
Yeah, non-Holy palys don't go for int. ._. I myself am an Armorsmith, tankadin, & regret my choice as well.
Saeverud Sep 26th 2008 8:25PM
I was thinking about this exact thing the other day. Armor smithing is pretty much useless. At least weapon smithing's weapons have quite a bit to offer for awhile. And now with the changes, weaponsmithing one handers are pretty good for pally tanks. I've been thinking about dropping armor smithing as well for weapons
Do we know what Wrath is looking like with these two things yet or have they not added them?
RetPallyJil Sep 26th 2008 9:32PM
I can tell you play a holy paladin.
How? Because Bulwark of the Ancient Kings is the perfect RET breastplate, too.
You know, that other paladin spec that isn't for tanking?
shumanfu Sep 26th 2008 10:29PM
What a strange time to publish this article.
It's at the end of the BC life and doesnt really say anything about armor vs weapon in Wrath.
VSUReaper Sep 26th 2008 10:42PM
I feel like this was a halfass attempt at an article, or else written by someone that has never leveled blacksmithing. I know that halfway thru the article she said that it was part one of a 2 part discussion, but I was under the impression that she would at least cover the weapons, or more than one piece of the armorcrafting set.
"This week I will begin comparing the various armorsmith and weaponsmith pieces to the first non-crafted upgrades in order to illustrate the value of each item and help each class and spec come to an informed decision when it comes time to choose blacksmithing specialties."
I also feel like she gave some subpar advice on how to gem the Bulwark. IMHO, if you are not hit capped, hit gems, if you are hit capped, then use w/e stat is going to give you the most bang for your buck: agi, str, crit, ap. I personally never bother to look at socket bonuses when I am gemming any of my toons cause i am either gemming to hit a meta or gemming to reach a certain stat.
@JDT - Amanada has a valid point that its not going to be all that lucrative at the moment to swap specs, but if you have a replacement for your crafted pieces that req you to be an armorsmith, and you have the mats lying around to make your weapons, then by all means go swap professions. Armorsmithing was for the most part a joke in BC, and tbh, it still isnt all that great in the expansion yet, mostly cause there isn't that much info.
The thing to ask yourself is this: what is going to make wrath more fun? Many of us choose weapons cause they are so visible and powerful for alot of content, and most people recognize the weapons and recognize the amount of effort invested into getting them.
Jelly Sep 29th 2008 6:23AM
You guys are forgetting one thing that makes weapon spec superior to armor spec.
Stormherald hooooooooo!
Mives Sep 27th 2008 4:50AM
As a thought....
I would dearly love to see the epic crafted weapons/armour evolve in LK. Lionheart Executioner upgraded to Lionheart "whatever". Espeically with Hierloom items coming in, upgrading your weapons/Armour to it's next stage sort of brings a personnal attachment to your items. Making the blacksmithing journey a labour of love, rather than the monumental painful experience that it is.
Ricardo Espergue Sep 27th 2008 3:45PM
Nice article, grinding armorsimth is so dificult, any tip es helpful.
Kia Sep 27th 2008 1:51PM
Can someone explain to a WoW newbie the thought processes between making something like armorsmithing/etc Bind on Pickup? I thought the point of professions like these were so you could sell stuff, but it seems pretty damn limiting from what I see everywhere...
vendrill Oct 3rd 2008 11:44PM
Essentially, while Blizzard states that they intend Blacksmiths, Leatherworkers, etc. to create items to sell for profit it usually doesn't work out that way. Because impatient people are willing to spend A LOT of gold on the Materials to level their professions up, the unregulated economics of the WoW Auction House make the value of those materials far greater then the crafted Bind-on-Equip item you'd make.
People take up crafting professions because they want the top-level items that they can produce. For example: A Warlock may take up Tailoring in order to craft the Frozen Shadoweave 3 piece Epic Cloth Armor Set. As long as the tailor is at 375 and is specialized in Shadoweave tailoring, they can make this Epic Bind-on-Pickup set that's better than any of the stuff even in Karazhan! As soon as they ding 70, they can equip this great gear, and have a great advantage.
It is important to decide what spec you will want at endgame before you decide on a complimentary profession. Let's look at Shamans: If a Shaman wanted to raid as an Elemental spec (yes, rare, I know) then Leatherworking will yield a great 3 piece Epic set. But if you're going to spec Enhancement and raid, Leatherworking is acceptable, but Weaponsmith(Blacksmith) may be more desirable to craft a pair sweet Maces for better dps. However, if you're going to go Resto as a Shaman, (VERY popular choice, due to the great Chain-Healing spell, and the demand for healers) then Leatherworking is a HORRIBLE choice! As a Resto Shaman, you'd probably want to go Herb/Alchemy to make those AMAZING Trinkets which really benefit raiding Resto Shammies.
Frequently, Prot warriors and Pallies drop Blacksmithing and take up Engineering. Blacksmithing is the Ugly Bastard child of WoW professions, and on a lot of days, Leatherworking is the only kid who'll play with it. LOL (No offense intended to the many of you ugly bastards out there, btw) It's generally agreed upon that Blizzard did Blacksmithing a GREAT disservice by not having good BoP Plate tanking patterns. I'm hoping that this will change in WotLK.
I'll suggest to new players to research which professions will be most beneficial to your class & spec. Google will be your friend here.
Hope that this helps.
Troll4Fun Sep 27th 2008 8:55PM
Adding sockets-- wow what a crumb of bread that is.
Posted until blue in the face on the forums for useful BoE items or at the very least, decent BoP tanking weapon plan or decent BoP tanking shield plan. Never got any blue responses. As of today, only choose armorsmithing if you want to suffer.
Ron Sep 28th 2008 12:53PM
To me the big question is whether or not you can continue to upgrade all of the crafted tier items such as Storm Herald or the other previously upgradeable crafting items for a weaponsmith. Blacksmithing requires a huge effort and extremely costly to level. Then you account for the impossible effort put upon us to craft these weapons prior to the consumables being available in the auction house. Personally, I don't use Storm Herald any longer because other pvp weapons are better. However, I was hoping Blizzard would not forget these items and continue to make them upgradeable for progression into expansion.