Shifting Perspectives: Gearing a restoration druid, part 2 continued

Belt
Enchant Not really an enchant as such, but you'll want to sock an Ebonsteel Belt Buckle here. Don't make my mistake and assume that the Wrath version will work, because it won't on any item above ilevel 300.
This is a very interesting slot in that the current best-in-slot belt (as I write this in December 2010) is a reputation piece. Equally interesting, or perhaps just depressing, is that there's an overabundance of good and reasonably accessible choices for belts while other slots languish without any really good options.
Enchant Not really an enchant as such, but you'll want to sock an Ebonsteel Belt Buckle here. Don't make my mistake and assume that the Wrath version will work, because it won't on any item above ilevel 300.
This is a very interesting slot in that the current best-in-slot belt (as I write this in December 2010) is a reputation piece. Equally interesting, or perhaps just depressing, is that there's an overabundance of good and reasonably accessible choices for belts while other slots languish without any really good options.
- Belt of the Untamed (Alliance) or Withered Dream Belt (Horde) Available at exalted with the Wildhammer Clan or Dragonmaw Clan, respectively.
- Lightning Lash A leatherworking BoE. Also an excellent piece, but it loses to the above piece due to its lack of a native socket.
- Belt of the Nightmare (heroic) Dropped by heroic Nefarian in Blackwing Descent.
- Thatch Eave Vines Available for 1,650 justice points. Seriously, how can there be so many good pieces in the belt slot and so many terrible pieces in the bracer slot?
- Belt of the Nightmare The normal version of the belt above, dropped by normal Nefarian in Blackwing Descent.
- Underworld Cord (heroic) Dropped by Earthrager Ptah in heroic Halls of Origination.
- Underworld Cord The normal version of the belt above, dropped by Earthrager Ptah in normal Halls of Origination.
- Belt of Bloody Dreams (Alliance) or Belt of Smashed Feathers (Horde) Quest reward from Dragonmaw Takedown in the Twilight Highlands (Alliance) or Crushing the Wildhammer in the Twilight Highlands (Horde).
- Waistguard of Fallen Hearts Quest reward from Fashionism in Uldum.
- Press Gang Girdle Quest reward from Without a Captain or Crew in Deepholm.
- Earthmender's Sawfish Girdle (Alliance) or Earthmender's Sawfish Girdle (Horde) Quest reward from Overseer Idra'kess in Vashj'ir (Alliance) or Overseer Idra'kess in Vashj'ir (Horde).
- Primal Force Girdle (Alliance) or Wrap of Furious Pride (Horde) Quest reward from Lycanthoth the Corruptor in Mount Hyjal (Alliance) or Lycanthoth the Corruptor in Mount Hyjal (Horde).
Legs
Enchant Powerful Ghostly Spellthread
This is another fairly uninspiring slot, to the point where the balance tier leggings are actually better than their restoration counterpart.
Enchant Powerful Ghostly Spellthread
This is another fairly uninspiring slot, to the point where the balance tier leggings are actually better than their restoration counterpart.
- Leggings of Consuming Flames (heroic) Dropped by heroic Maloriak in Blackwing Descent.
- Stormrider's Legwraps (heroic) The heroic version of the tier 11 legs.
- Leggings of Consuming Flames The normal version of the legs above, dropped by normal Maloriak in Blackwing Descent.
- Stormrider's Legwraps The normal version of the tier 11 legs.
- Leggings of Late Blooms Available for 2,200 justice points.
- Leggings of the Path (heroic) Dropped by Siamat in heroic Lost City of the Tol'vir.
- Leggings of Clutching Roots Available at revered with the Earthen Ring.
- Blazewing's Furious Kilt A BoE drop from a Mount Hyjal rare mob, Blazewing.
- Leggings of the Path The normal version of the legs above, dropped by Siamat in normal Lost City of the Tol'vir.
- Woundseal Leggings Quest reward from Nightmare in the Twilight Highlands. Perfectly itemized, so naturally it's an ilevel 318.
- Preened Wildfeather Leggings The guild BoA legs, but the achievement to which they're linked isn't yet available.
- Leggings of the Lost Child Quest reward from Wayward Child in Stonecore.
- Substitute Gunner's Legs Quest reward from Battlezone in Uldum.
- Spore-Soaked Leggings Quest reward from Gone Soft in Deepholm.
- Treegrip Pants Quest reward from The Bears Up There in Mount Hyjal, undoubtedly one of the best new quests in the expansion.

Boots
Enchant Enchant Boots -- Lavawalker. Is this great for us? No, not really, but it's better than wasting a precious meta gem on increased run speed. If you don't want or need the run speed, you can use Enchant Boots -- Haste. Otherwise, the boot slot is similar to the belt slot in that you have a lot of really nice pre-raid options.
Enchant Enchant Boots -- Lavawalker. Is this great for us? No, not really, but it's better than wasting a precious meta gem on increased run speed. If you don't want or need the run speed, you can use Enchant Boots -- Haste. Otherwise, the boot slot is similar to the belt slot in that you have a lot of really nice pre-raid options.
- Nightmare Rider's Boots (heroic) Dropped by Sinestra in the Bastion of Twilight.
- Fading Violet Sandals Available for 1,650 valor points.
- Treads of Hideous Transformation (heroic) Dropped by heroic Cho'gall in the Bastion of Twilight.
- Treads of Hideous Transformation The normal version of the above boots, dropped by normal Cho'gall in the Bastion of Twilight.
- Decapod Slippers (heroic) Dropped by Mindbender Ghur'sha in heroic Throne of the Tides.
- Tarvus' Poison-Scarred Boots Dropped by Tarvus the Vile, a rare mob in the Twilight Highlands. They're actually identical to the heroic Decapod Slippers above, so if you get lucky with a drop off Tarvus you don't have to bother with the former.
- Treads of Revelation (Alliance) or Vision-Tainted Treads (Horde) Quest reward from A Villain Unmasked (Alliance) or Traitor's Bait (Horde), both from the pre-Twilight Highlands chain for both factions.
- Awakening Footfalls (heroic) Dropped by Temple Guardian Anhuur in heroic Halls of Origination.
- Sandals of Corrupted Water Quest reward from Trespassers in the Water in Uldum.
- Shattered Bond Treads Quest reward from Rescue the Stonefather ... and Flint in Deepholm.
- Awakening Footfalls The normal version of the boots above, dropped by Temple Guardian Anhuur in normal Halls of Origination.
- Decapod Slippers The normal version of the boots above, dropped by Mindbender Ghur'sha in normal Throne of the Tides.
- Gatekeeper Treads Quest reward from The Gatekeeper in Mount Hyjal.

Rings
Another slot where the number of available options got stupid.
Another slot where the number of available options got stupid.
- Signet of the Fifth Circle (heroic) The inability to get both spirit and haste on the same piece these days is getting a bit annoying. You will probably not have priority on this over a caster, but if you get lucky, it drops from heroic Cho'gall in the Bastion of Twilight.
- Security Measure Alpha (heroic) Dropped by Toxitron in heroic Blackwing Descent.
- Ring of the Boy Emperor Another archaeology piece, but this time from the Tol'vir. As with the other archaeology epics, you'll be at the profession for a while before you get a chance at this.
- Signet of the Fifth Circle The normal version of the Cho'gall drop above.
- Twined Band of Flowers Available for 1,250 valor points.
- Band of Secret Names Another 1,250 valor points expenditure, but no spirit.
- Security Measure Alpha The normal version of the Alpha above. Dropped by Toxitron in normal Blackwing Descent.
- Ring of the Great Whale (heroic) Theoretically a BoE zone drop from heroic Throne of the Tides, but heroic zone drops appear to be El Busto at the moment.
- Kibble (heroic) Dropped by Beauty in heroic Blackrock Caverns.
- Abandoned Dark Iron Ring A BoE zone drop from heroic Grim Batol -- though, as with the Great Whale ring above, it's probably bugged right now.
- Diamant's Ring of Temperance Available at revered with Therazane.
- Rose Quartz Band Dropped by Slabhide in heroic Stonecore.
- Veneficial Band Dropped by Augh in heroic Lost City of the Tol'vir. As an aside, healing this boss (well, technically the croc that precedes him) royally sucks, especially if you're constantly targeted by the little crocs.
- Band of Life Energy Dropped by Ammunae in heroic Halls of Origination.
- Ring of Frozen Rain Dropped by Asaad in heroic Vortex Pinnacle.
- Eye of the Stars Quest reward from Do the Honors in Uldum.
- Ammunae's Blessing Available at honored with Ramkahen.
- Abandoned Dark Iron Ring A BoE zone drop in normal Grim Batol.
- Band of Life Energy The normal version of the ring above. Dropped by Ammunae in normal Halls of Origination.
- Ring of Warring Elements A BoE from jewelcrafting.
- High Priestess' Signet Quest reward from Followers and Leaders in Stonecore.
- Spirit Keeper Ring (heroic) Dropped by General Husam in heroic Lost City of the Tol'vir.
- Gleaming Seal of the Archmagus A guild BoA piece, though I'm not yet sure of the achievement to which it's linked.
- Ring of the Great Whale A BoE zone drop from normal Throne of the Tides.
- Heartbinder Ring A BoE world drop from higher-level Cataclysm zones and dungeons.
- Rose Quartz Band The normal version of the Rose Quartz piece. Dropped by Slabhide in normal Stonecore.
- Redistributed Signet (Alliance) or Redistributed Signet (Horde) Quest reward from Coup de Grace in the Twilight Highlands (Alliance) or Coup de Grace in the Twilight Highlands (Horde).
- Ring of Frozen Rain The normal version of the Frozen Rain ring above. Dropped by Asaad in normal Vortex Pinnacle.
- Spirit Creeper Ring The normal version of the Spirit Creeper ring above. Dropped by General Husam in normal Lost City of the Tol'vir.
- Red Dragonheart Ring Quest reward from Battle of Life and Death in the Twilight Highlands.
- Caliph's Band Quest reward from Vengeance for Orsis in Vortex Pinnacle.
- Kibble The normal version of Kibble, above. Drops from Beauty in normal Blackrock Caverns.
- Finkle's Twinkle Quest reward from Do My Eyes Deceive Me? in Blackrock Caverns.
- Signet of the Lookout (Alliance) or Signet of the Lookout (Horde) Quest reward from Defending the Rift in Vashj'ir (Alliance) or Defending the Rift in Vashj'ir (Horde).
- Signet of Nascent Fire Quest reward from Black Heart of Flame in Mount Hyjal.
What race should you choose for your druid? What happened to Tree of Life? How can you get started as a bear or cat in Cataclysm? Shifting Perspectives has the answers!Filed under: Druid, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Szass Jan 4th 2011 4:08PM
Yay!
More druid/hunter/shaman crap.
Bronzey Jan 4th 2011 4:48PM
Yay, more whiny readers! Honestly, if you didn't want to read about druid stuff, why did you click the link?
I am very grateful for this information, as I am currently leveling a worgen druid who will be resto.
Szass Jan 4th 2011 4:56PM
Since Dec 1 2010.
Hunter articles; 12
Druid articles; 10
Shaman articles;13
Paladin articles;10
Priest articles;10
Warrior articles;6
Death Knight articles;5
Rogue articles;5
Mage articles;5
Warlock articles;3
PVP articles total;8
Just click the little class button on the screens upper left corner and count.
You will see I'm not lying to you.
The quality of WOW INSIDER is really going downhill fast lately.
Cyrus Jan 4th 2011 5:16PM
"Just click the little class button on the screens upper left corner and count.
You will see I'm not lying to you.
The quality of WOW INSIDER is really going downhill fast lately."
First of all, according to your own numbers your whining would be better aimed at the shaman or hunter columnist, if druids are in a three-way tie for third place. Second, you've been accused of being whiny and are most likely being downvoted simply for being pointlessly and unhelpfully negative, so bringing up honesty is a strawman. Third, the idea that this druid/shaman/hunter coverage represents bad quality, and/or a decline in quality, is not self-evident, to say the least.
Twill Jan 4th 2011 5:43PM
Szass.
Instead of bitching on an article written by a writer who posts a lot of pieces, try asking one of the less frequent writers to write more. Politeness goes a long way.
ddbrown89 Jan 4th 2011 5:44PM
And stop posting this on every single article.
Trollolololol
Rob Jan 4th 2011 6:36PM
Don't forget that hybrid classes have much more to talk about, esp druid/paly. Straight classes like rogues haven't really changed much. Hunters have changed quite a bit, thus a bunch of articles would be timely.
alteffour Jan 4th 2011 4:17PM
As a leveling resto druid, as of last night I will not even attempt to group with a druid tank any more. I will just leave group and come back in half an hour.
Compared to the others (in the 15-30 range at least so far) I constantly pull aggro and am killed just trying to heal through the ridiculous incoming damage. Of course then healer is blamed for not keeping everybody alive even after death.
robitrock Jan 6th 2011 2:06AM
Not your fault but also not the the tanks fault, bears threat got hit hard in cata swipe is on a long CD single target threat isn't what it use to be.
They get better when they get skull bash, to bad that isn't until the 80's
Lissanna Jan 4th 2011 4:22PM
My boots & bracers won't drop for me.
/stabity bosses
Crazyates Jan 4th 2011 4:43PM
I appreciate that comment about low lvl bears, and can't wait to read the article.
My main is a Prot Pally. My DK is Blood also. I recently lvl'd a Prot Warr to 50, and am now lvling my druid as bear (up to 34 right now). I must say, the difference in lvling the warr and the bear is astronomical. The warr was so easy and effortless, it was ridiculous, whether it be tanking or questing. The druid? not so much. I'm still sticking w/ it, and still do a decent job, but its certainly not easy.
(both these recent toons were lvl'd after the shattering, and with 3-4 pieces of BoA. The Warr even used the same agil leather chest/shoulders just cuz i don't have the plate ones yet :P )
MacAndy Jan 4th 2011 4:46PM
I'm leveling up a Worgen feral, and tried tanking a few instances (SFK, BFD) last weekend. It was very frustrating, to say the least. We got through with several deaths, although no full wipes, and fortunately had healers at the high end of the level range for those instances.
Ifound myself putting up roar as often as I could when there were multiple mobs, tab targeted/maul/mangle as much as possible, and still the DPS were pulling mobs off. I ended up pretty much growling on CD as well.
I know that some of that responsibility lies with the DPS for not focusing fire on the mobs I marked, and with me for not marking as much as I should, but boy did I ever lament the lack of Swipe.
Quorniya Jan 4th 2011 5:05PM
Can you maybe list alternative enchants for the ones that require maelstrom crystals. There are not a lot of those going around right now, and it seems silly to waste a maelstrom crystal to enchant pre-raid gear.
Also, I totally second your assertion that our bracer options SUCK right now. Me and my Oasis bracers seem destined to be with each other for a long, long time...
Quorniya Jan 4th 2011 5:05PM
Oops, let's just pretend there was a question mark at the end of that first sentence.
Pyromelter Jan 4th 2011 6:39PM
WotLK spellpower enchants on the bracers and gloves are viable alternatives, since you don't get +int or +sp choices on those items with cataclysm enchanting patterns. The gloves enchant is particularly cheap, and you'll likely be able to find it for very cheap as a scroll on your AH, as it's one of the patterns used to level up enchanting at that level.
Danthrax Jan 4th 2011 5:29PM
I for one welcome our millions of faceroll pally tank overlords!
Arita Jan 4th 2011 5:47PM
I recently leveled a druid up as feral tank. charge in to pull, use your aoe roar, maul, mangle, and pray. Also made me really love the addon tidy-plates threat plates so I could see right away which mob was about to run from me and switch to it. And yeah, growl on cooldown. Can't begin to explain how much easier it was with just fff. 3 cooldowns! horray! And getting swipe really doesn't help much, you'll still find yourself tab targeting like a maniac. I've learned early on if it's not elite don't compete and just keep them off the heals.
Rob Jan 4th 2011 6:35PM
Wait you actually found bear tanks? I haven't seen a good bear tank since BC.
I absolutely hate my bear. My DK and warrior are far better, at any level. Yes, if DPS would actually follow kill orders it would be fine. But they don't. And bears don't have the awesomeness that is rend/TC or tab sunder or DND or BB or pesti.
Sterb Jan 4th 2011 6:49PM
Yeah, they only have Swipe, Thrash, and Berserk Mangle spam (if we're going to talk high level).
sherekhan88 Jan 11th 2011 4:38AM
Yeah I try my best with bear tanks. I know they don't have the snap aggro, so I do MD and Multishot+SS+Explosive Trap to give them what they need, but with the new threat options, I sometimes STILL aggro from those mobs after a while because the bear couldn't spread enough threat.
I really hoped the new TBC styled heroics would bring back the bear, and I could bring back my OWN bear-tank out of retirement, but alas it still seems like a losing battle :(