Starting zone upgrades in Northrend: Retribution - Borean Tundra
by Zach Yonzon 
Nov 16th 2008 at 8:00PM
RETRIBUTION / CRIT
1. Mightstone Helm
The Alliance get this helm from a short quest chain from Valiance Keep in the Borean Tundra. The quest, the Hunt Is On, is the third part of a chain that will also give Mightstone Breastplate. The Horde must go through a longer quest chain culminating in Trophies of Gammoth, which should send players back to Warsong Hold after a brief sojourn out East.
2. Chilled Pauldrons
Off to the North of Borean Tundra is Fizzcrank Airstrip, where the Alliance get a quest chain that will reward Chilled Pauldrons midway with a quest called Re-Cursive. Horde players must go to the Taunka'le Village for a short quest to En'kilah called Neutralizing The Cauldrons.
3. Mightstone Breastplate
Horde players get Bury Those Cockroaches after a short quest right at the quarry outside Warsong Hold. As mentioned earlier, this is also one of the first rewards that Alliance players get right when they set foot at Valiance Keep.
4. Girdle of Ripped Space
This nicely named belt is an Alliance-only quest reward from Monitoring the Rift: Winterfin Cavern, the third part of a series. Horde players can take the Amberplate Waistguard from the quest Fallen Necropolis off to the North of Taunka'le Village. Alliance have the same reward from Might As Well Wipe Out the Scourge in the same area.
5. Amberplate Grips
Alliance players at the Fizzcrak Airstrip will have to go through a quest chain that involves looking through poop -- Blizzard seems to enjoy making us do that -- ending in Give Fizzcrank The News. On the other side of the zone, Horde players will clean up Fizzcrank's mess with Cleaning Up The Pools from Taunka'le Village.
6. Mightstone Legplates
Just outside of Valiance Keep is a small nod to Westfall where players can get Repurposed Technology, the second part of a two-part series that will reward these fine pants. Horde players do a cool quest called Taken by the Scourge right outside Warsong Hold, a variant of Taken in the Night from Terokkar Forest. Players can sometimes get pretty strong ally NPCs when freeing from the webbing.
7. Moral Sabatons / Chilled Greaves
The Moral Sabatons are a reward from a D.E.H.T.A quest that teaches players the basics of the new vehicle system using a mammoth. If you can't afford to buy the mammoth mount, then spend some time taking screenshots while doing this quest. Chilled Greaves are a reward from Deploy the Shake-n-Quake! for the Alliance and The Collapse for the Horde. Both quests are the last parts of a four-part quest chain from Fizzcrank Airstrip and Taunka'le Village, respectively.
8. Blubber Grinder
There are several choices of 2-handers from questing in the Borean Tundra (and even the Howling Fjord) that have identical 110.1 DPS, but the Alliance get a sweet mace from The Tides Turn. Horde players will do fine with a 2-handed sword from Cutting Off the Source, part of a quest chain in Warsong Hold.
On the other hand, there's a perfectly good alternative to Haste for Retadins in Northrend, and that's the melee crit items from Borean Tundra. There's a decent selection or Retribution gear here, perhaps more than the Howling Fjord, but very few have Haste. There is Strength, Crit, and even a hefty amount of Stamina.
The Alliance get this helm from a short quest chain from Valiance Keep in the Borean Tundra. The quest, the Hunt Is On, is the third part of a chain that will also give Mightstone Breastplate. The Horde must go through a longer quest chain culminating in Trophies of Gammoth, which should send players back to Warsong Hold after a brief sojourn out East.
2. Chilled Pauldrons
Off to the North of Borean Tundra is Fizzcrank Airstrip, where the Alliance get a quest chain that will reward Chilled Pauldrons midway with a quest called Re-Cursive. Horde players must go to the Taunka'le Village for a short quest to En'kilah called Neutralizing The Cauldrons.
3. Mightstone Breastplate
Horde players get Bury Those Cockroaches after a short quest right at the quarry outside Warsong Hold. As mentioned earlier, this is also one of the first rewards that Alliance players get right when they set foot at Valiance Keep.
4. Girdle of Ripped Space
This nicely named belt is an Alliance-only quest reward from Monitoring the Rift: Winterfin Cavern, the third part of a series. Horde players can take the Amberplate Waistguard from the quest Fallen Necropolis off to the North of Taunka'le Village. Alliance have the same reward from Might As Well Wipe Out the Scourge in the same area.
5. Amberplate Grips
Alliance players at the Fizzcrak Airstrip will have to go through a quest chain that involves looking through poop -- Blizzard seems to enjoy making us do that -- ending in Give Fizzcrank The News. On the other side of the zone, Horde players will clean up Fizzcrank's mess with Cleaning Up The Pools from Taunka'le Village.
6. Mightstone Legplates
Just outside of Valiance Keep is a small nod to Westfall where players can get Repurposed Technology, the second part of a two-part series that will reward these fine pants. Horde players do a cool quest called Taken by the Scourge right outside Warsong Hold, a variant of Taken in the Night from Terokkar Forest. Players can sometimes get pretty strong ally NPCs when freeing from the webbing.
7. Moral Sabatons / Chilled Greaves
The Moral Sabatons are a reward from a D.E.H.T.A quest that teaches players the basics of the new vehicle system using a mammoth. If you can't afford to buy the mammoth mount, then spend some time taking screenshots while doing this quest. Chilled Greaves are a reward from Deploy the Shake-n-Quake! for the Alliance and The Collapse for the Horde. Both quests are the last parts of a four-part quest chain from Fizzcrank Airstrip and Taunka'le Village, respectively.
8. Blubber Grinder
There are several choices of 2-handers from questing in the Borean Tundra (and even the Howling Fjord) that have identical 110.1 DPS, but the Alliance get a sweet mace from The Tides Turn. Horde players will do fine with a 2-handed sword from Cutting Off the Source, part of a quest chain in Warsong Hold.
Filed under: Paladin, Items, Analysis / Opinion, Leveling, (Paladin) The Light and How to Swing It
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rebmes Dec 9th 2008 2:21PM
Sorry to say this, but this article is a waste. You're merely showing ppl how you would gear your character and what it'd look like. What's the point? Noobs don't read this. The readers don't need you to tell us what quest rewards are better than what we're wearing, we're perfectly capable of figuring that out.
I was hoping for a little strategy on the new spells and abilities and how to use them to our advantage while lvling or in the new instances.
Malkavos Jan 15th 2009 4:12PM
I've got to disagree. I searched back through the site just to find this article. After leveling my Ret Paladin through Outlands, I'm very interested in finding exactly where to get upgrades, as most of the gear I'm wearing is from Hellfire, Zangarmarsh, and Terokkar quests.
Pallypower Dec 10th 2008 12:25PM
So I guess Paladins don't get any new articles? Ive been seeing lots of lvl80 strats and rep guides for alot of other classes on WI however this is the most recent pally related post? you got to be kidding. and btw I didnt need to use any of the starting area gear, all my 70 gear was much better, so this was fairly usless for anyone who was 70 pre-wotlk which at the date that this article was posted I think its safe to say that EVERY pally that read this was. please send us some pally love so I dont need to keep reading articles about hunters and rogues and druids :p
ty
benedikto Jan 5th 2009 9:23PM
I had not touched my pally in like 2 years and I was undergeared so thanks for the tips. I have like 5 of the pieces now and I crit like a mofo.