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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsWoW Rookie: Hear, hear for tier gear
by Lisa Poisso 
Mar 11th 2009 at 8:00PM
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Reader Nick writes in with a question we've been planning to tackle here at WoW Rookie for a while now: "Hey, I'm semi-new to the game, but I don't understand what a 'tier' is. My bro has a level 80 Blood Elf Hunter, and he's always saying 'Oh, he has Tier 5; I got Tier 8.' What does that mean?"
The answer to all this math is nothing more complex than the progression of class-specific armor sets. (Oh, and tell your brother he can't possibly have T8 on the live servers yet -- that's going to drop in Ulduar.) Over the course of the game, Blizzard has introduced three-, five- and eight-piece armor sets for each class. These are the so-called "Tier #" or "T#" sets that you hear so much about, all obtained by raiding. Distinguishing between the sets grew confusing as new dungeons, raids and expansions were added, so players began referring to these armor sets in numerical order.
First, a quick look at the basic dungeon sets, which were often numbered among the Tier gear in earlier days.
Dungeon Set 1 An eight-piece set from Old World, level 58-60 dungeons. You'll sometimes hear this set called "Tier 0" by players.
Dungeon Set 2 Patch 1.10 added quests to upgrade Dungeon 1 items to form this eight-piece set. This set is sometimes called "Tier 0.5" by players.
Dungeon Set 3 These are five-piece sets that drop in The Burning Crusade instances. While any class can equip any item, most are designed with specific classes in mind. The "class" sets drop in non-heroic instances, while other pieces can drop in heroic instances. This set is sometimes called "Tier 3.5."
Several other faction-based armor sets, such as the Zandalar Tribe set from Zul'Gurub, used to be referred to in the Tier progression. These fell out of the progression once the Tier terminology started becoming more standardized and widely used.
Tier 1 This eight-piece set drops in Molten Core.Tier 2 An eight-piece set, Tier 2 drops in Molten Core, Onyxia's Lair and Blackwing Lair.
Tier 3 This set actually offers nine pieces for each class. They are quest rewards from items that drop in old, 40-man Naxxramas. Since Patch 3.0.2, Tier 3 gear is no longer available.
Tier 4 With Tier 4, raiding gear entered The Burning Crusade era. This is a five-piece set, sometimes with multiple spec sets for a class, obtained by turning in tokens that drop in Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and Magtheridon's Lair.
Tier 5 Again offering different sets for different talent trees, these five-piece sets are purchased with tokens that drop in Serpentshrine Cavern and The Eye.
Tier 6 Tier 6 offers eight-piece sets for multiple specs for purchase with tokens from Hyjal Summit, Black Temple and Sunwell Plateau.
Tier 7 Welcome to the modern era, baby! The five-piece Heroes' sets come from tokens dropped in 10-man ("regular") Wrath raids. Gloves and chest tokens may also be purchased with Emblems of Heroism. Archavon the Stone Watcher in Wintergrasp sometimes drops a random Tier 7 piece.
Tier 7.5 The five-piece Valorous sets are purchased with tokens dropped in 25-man ("heroic") Wrath raids. Leg and shoulders tokens may also be purchased with Emblems of Valor.
Tier 8 and Tier 8.5 Coming soon from Ulduar!
Finally, we leave you with a special tip for casuals, slowbies and completists: Do you drool over armor sets? Check out wowwiki's Armor Sets page for history, drop details and screenshots of matched sets that you can wear as early as your teens. After all, nothing says HAWT like a full set of Defias Leather.
WoW Rookie feeds you the basics to get you off to a good start in the World of Warcraft. Find more tools you can use in the WoW Insider Directory and WoW Insider Leveling GuidesFiled under: Features, WoW Rookie
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Emjas Mar 12th 2009 11:02AM
I have a question (a couple actually):
Is it worth getting any of the 'tiered' sets below 7/8 at all? From what I understand, for example tier 6 was oriented for level 70, so once you're into Northrend, you'll probably end up with better gear anyway? I'm just wondering if it'd be worth it (stats wise) to get any of these previous-tier items currently (I'm in low 70s at the moment, semi-casual player).
Also, can you explain PvP sets? Are they different/better/worse than the 'tiered' sets? Are they only available by doing Arenas? (And wouldn't you want a PvP set _before_ doing arenas?)
Those are some questions I have that the info on wowwiki/wowhead doesn't seem to explain.
bundee Mar 12th 2009 11:33AM
at level 80, with access to T7 and T8, there is no reason at all to get lower tier gear other than aesthetic value.
skreeran Mar 12th 2009 11:52AM
In regard to your PvP gear question:
PvP gear is vastly different from PvE gear in most cases.
PvP gear stacks mostly stamina (which increases your survivability), crit rating (which increases your burst dps and healing, good for quickly overwhelming your opponent or recovering from being overwhelmed), and resilience (which does many things. It decreases your chance to be crit, the damage you take from being crit, and the damage that DoTs do to you).
In some cases, PvP gear is passable in PvE, but in almost all cases, gear that you obtain through PvE is better in PvE, and likewise for PvP gear and PvP.
They're two different games, and some have even advocated that they be seperated (like if they created a seperate version of WoW for PvP) to allow for better balance between the two.
skreeran Mar 12th 2009 11:55AM
Oh, and as for where PvP gear comes from, you do get most of it from Arenas, but there is also slightly less powerful PvP gear that you can purchase for honor (or Emblems of Heroism, that you can use to gear up for arenas.
Mullen Mar 13th 2009 12:54AM
The PvP gear is always under valued in PvE and while it is not optimal, it is still pretty damn good in PvE. My level 65 Hunter is still dressed in her PvP gear that she earned in BG's at level 60. I have replaced the belt and cape (Which are not part of the PvP set) but I am still in the full PvP gear with PvP trinkets and Don Julio's Band. Some Outland Greens and Blues comes close to replacing pieces but as full set, it is pretty damn good.
However, I predict that I will have most of the PvP set replaced by level 67 or 68.