PLATE MELEE
Warriors, Death Knights, and Retribution Paladins can all look forward to the Savage Saronite non-set, which is crafted by Blacksmiths. The recipes are available from the trainer, so all players have to do is look for a Blacksmith who has Blacksmithing at 425 and didn't scrimp on his training. The Plate PvP items have higher Stamina and Resilience overall compared to the other gear, making it an excellent investment for Northrend starter PvP.

Savage Saronite Skullshield
Savage Saronite Pauldrons
Savage Saronite Hauberk
Savage Saronite Waistguard
Savage Saronite Legplates
Savage Saronite Walkers
Savage Saronite Bracers
Savage Saronite Gauntlets

The materials to craft the Savage Saronite pieces aren't as straightfoward as the Leatherworking items, but they're still quite simple. It will take a total of 102 Saronite Bars (or a shade over five stacks), 2 Eternal Airs, 2 Eternal Shadows, 2 Eternal Waters, 1 Eternal Fire, and 1 Eternal Earth. All eight pieces confer a total of 559 Stamina, 360 Resilience, 380 Strength, and 340 Critical Strike Rating.

PLATE CASTER
For now, Holy Paladins get a free ride in raids and dungeons because all Plate caster drops automatically go to them. Unfortunately, as far as crafted PvP gear is concerned, they get an awful compromise. The set has one piece with Strength, the belt, which is utterly useless for Holy Paladins. Some pieces also have token MP5 when it should simply have been Critical Strike. And there's a dearth of Intellect. Still, the key is Resilience, and this non-set has quite a bit of it.

Ornate Saronite Skullshield
Ornate Saronite Pauldrons
Ornate Saronite Hauberk
Ornate Saronite Waistguard
Ornate Saronite Legplates
Ornate Saronite Walkers
Ornate Saronite Bracers
Ornate Saronite Gauntlets

It's advisable to wear some pieces of PvE gear at the expense of Resilience in order to inflate the Holy Paladin's mana pool. All the pieces grant a whopping total 87 Intellect, an odd 44 Strength, laughable 36 MP5, and 567 Stamina, 355 Resilience Rating, and 139 Critical Strike Rating. Assuming you'd want to have the entire non-set crafted -- it's still 355 Resilience, after all -- you'll need the same materials needed for the melee version. It takes 102 Saronite Bars, 2 Eternal Air, 2 Eternal Shadow, 2 Eternal Water, and 1 each Eternal Earth and Fire.

FILLER GEAR

Trinkets
The most important filler gear for any PvP situation is the all-important trinket. This should be your first priority in terms of gear, above and beyond any other piece of armor. The start of Season 5 introduced Level 80 versions of the Medallion of the Alliance and Medallion of the Horde. If you're serious about doing Arenas, this 49,600 Honor trinket is the first thing you should buy with Honor. It grants a massive 84 Resilience, almost double that of its Level 70 epic counterpart. You can purchase this at the Hall of Legends in or Champion's Hall.

You can put anything else in the other trinket slot, but considering how it's only the beginning of the Arena Season, I'd recommend padding Stamina until you can get better from epic gear. Jewelcrafters have great options in the Bind-on-Pickup Monarch Crab and Ruby Hare figurines, both of which have over 60 Stamina. Both also have two sockets each, with a +9 Stamina socket bonus, making them incredible for PvP. Between the two, Ruby Hare would be the safest bet as you'll be able to use the sprint use more often than the Dodge of the crab trinket. Can't have Warriors and Death Knights insta-gibbing you.

Alchemists have an awesome trinket in the Indestructible Alchemist's Stone, although the Dodge rating is terrible against the aforementioned classes. But +75 Stamina is +75 Stamina, and the added bonus of healing effects of potions is extremely useful. This brings to mind the only potions usable in Arenas... the Alchemist-only Endless Healing and Endless Mana Potions. Note that these aren't trinkets, merely endless charge items that stay in your inventory.

Engineers can use a Sonic Booster, which is a melee trinket. But the sweet thing about this trinket isn't the proc but the amazing +81 Stamina. The caster version, the Noise Machine, provides no Stamina but has a defensive proc that just might prove useful against those pesky melee classes. If you're not a Jewelcrafter, an Alchemist, nor an Engineer, there's a perfectly good alternative which is the Essence of Gossamer, which is a great tanking trinket but works equally well in PvP. A whopping +111 Stamina from one trinket slot is insanely good. The proc is pretty sweet, as well. This beauty drops from Hadronox in Heroic Azjol-Nerub.

Rings
Obviously, the best upgrades in the ring slot are the currently available Honor items. The Hateful Gladiator's Band of Dominance and Band of Triumph provide great Stamina and +33 Resilience Rating. The rings cost 38,000 Honor, which should be a good Honor sink for those who've capped at 75,000. Barring those, Jewelcrafters can make a Savage Titanium Band and Savage Titanium Ring, caster and melee rings respectively. Both have sockets and provide +32 Resilience.

Cloak
Likewise, the Hateful Gladiator epic cloaks, which require no Arena ratings, also cost 38,000 Honor and are a significant upgrade from old PvP cloaks. There are eight versions of the cloak (which makes you wonder why there are only two rings), so it might get a bit confusing. The good thing is that players are certain to find a cloak that will fit their play style perfectly. We'll take a look at all the newly available Honor and Arena gear soon. For now, gear up and get PvPing!

Tags: Blacksmithing, Cloaks, Medallion-of-the-Alliance, Medallion-of-the-Horde, Ornate-Saronite, Plate-Armor, Rings, Savage-Saronite, Trinkets

Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Guides, Arena