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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsPatch 4.3 PTR: New level 80 gear sets for every class
by Mathew McCurley 
Sep 28th 2011 at 4:00PM
We could speculate a million different explanations for these sets. A new service or gameplay mechanic to make new characters that start at level 80, perhaps? We'll know soon, hopefully. Here are all of the set names, with Wowhead links for those curious souls.
- Paladin Zealous
- Warrior Valiant
- DK Ebonsoul
- Mage Magesoul
- Warlock Dreadsoul
- Priest Seraphic
- Rogue Shadowstalking
- Druid Wildsoul
- Shaman Stormbinder
- Hunter Beastsoul
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Udderpowered Sep 28th 2011 4:13PM
Very odd. Surely if they can do this they can make pvp sets every 10 levels from 20 to 60 for people leveling in battlegrounds?
I don't like the idea of paying for levels, but the prospect of avoiding Northrend forever just about wins me over. Bloody Northrend.
RS Sep 28th 2011 4:15PM
Beastsoul looks better than tier 13
Professor Orc Sep 28th 2011 4:20PM
They could also be transmog sets available from the Darkmoon faire, but I also have the feeling that they're there to ease the transition to cata items.
GormanGhaste Sep 28th 2011 4:48PM
maybe they're pulling double duty
Jerry Sep 28th 2011 4:25PM
I have to agree with others that I think it's to help ease the transition between 78-81. I just finished getting my priest through that and I had to buy tons of gear off the auction house, to both replace my heirlooms that were no longer good (well, I could have worn them a little longer until a quest gave me a replacement) and for all the gear I never got in Wrath. Even after using the auction house I couldn't queue for BRC until I got the quest staff from Hyjal.
Also known as, I hope it's not something new to start players at 80 because as much as I've wanted that in the past I've been spending most of Cata leveling alts so I have 5 at 80+ and 5 at 70+ now, and I'd be um, sad, if new characters can start at 80.
dgillandersjr Sep 28th 2011 4:29PM
Definitely an issue of transition. The gear you're rolling around in at 79, pre-heroic, pre-raiding, is pretty brutal in WOTLK. going straight from leveling in Stormpeaks to leveling in Hyjal might be #nobueno
nick93 Sep 28th 2011 4:30PM
The most likely way of obtaining this is probably going to be a quest from the very start of Hyjal/Vashj'ir sending you off to grab this gear from an NPC. Or possibly just a package mailed to you when you hit 80 with a note from your faction leader or something.
stoppableforce Sep 28th 2011 4:33PM
Maybe this is what Rhonin sends you now when you turn 80, instead of a box of fireworks and useless potions.
Turtell Sep 28th 2011 5:49PM
Interesting! Lol, finally some merit to the classic "free gear" complaints that have been going around for years. "Blizzard might as well just mail you epixx when you hit 'X' level" muhhh...
Ironically, when it actually happens, people won't be complaining about it. It'll be a very nice and much needed implementation.
bethontheharbor Sep 28th 2011 4:35PM
The beastsoul armor set other than the accessories is the swiftarrow set with a slight color change.
Rhüarc Sep 28th 2011 4:38PM
@Shinae I'm usually good at skipping over typos as well when I know what's meant. But I also know some people, several people in my guild for example, that aren't so "talented" and would have gotten horribly confused. Only reason I pointed it out. ^.^
Rhüarc Sep 28th 2011 4:40PM
And of course, comment system eats my reply...
Enigma Sep 28th 2011 4:48PM
Sorry, ZERO chance they'll let you start toons at 80. Just just knowingly and willingly took a beating on the last xpac for spending the majority of their development on revamping the 1-60 experience rather than adding more
New content... And did so they could... Let people skip it?
Nope. Not going to happen.
Enigma Sep 28th 2011 4:51PM
"Just just" = they just
Phone typing = fail
Robert Sep 28th 2011 5:02PM
My guess? Since they're adding a Cata dungeon set with 4.3, we'll have a Vanilla, BC, and Cata dungeon set, but no Wrath dungeon set, so they're adding this one in to balance it out.
I also bet that the other purpose of this is to make the Dungeon Set 1/2 models available, as they mentioned they were interested in making it available for mogging. (In which case my Druid won't be such a special snowflake after all.)
Robert Sep 28th 2011 5:07PM
...Or I could have noticed the "view in 3D" button, which disproves my last theory.
Yersavior Sep 28th 2011 5:15PM
Okay, all you guys that are whining that it is hard to do the early Cata quests in Wrath gear need to knock it off. If all you are going to do is put on your superman cape and blast through content it's really not very fun and frankly makes as much sense has buying a game for $50 then using cheat codes so you can beat it on the first weekend. The quests should be suitably hard that they challenge you to learn the mechanics of the character but not to where you can't beat them. It's okay to die or to run away a lot while you are leveling. That's part of the learning experience.
Going into Cata I had 3 toons in Wrath quest blues or some purples. These characters were easy to level and frankly a bit boring. Since then I've started 6 more toons, 3 of which are at 85. I never twink them with cash or gear and I never buy gear while leveling. I also don't use heirloom gear. They all have top end flying they paid for themselves and I'm working on getting them into epics. The point is I'm enjoying the game as I level each character and haven't needed anything except what's already in the game and obtainable through questing to do so.
rip Sep 28th 2011 5:42PM
I think it's really great that you enjoy the challenge of leveling and the huge adjustment in difficulty from wrath to cata. Its obvious that others see it as a shock when you come from BC through wrath just nuking everything in your path then you are limited to pulling 1 or 2 at a time in cataclysm. Whether you think the challenge is warranted or not, some people see the transition as unusually difficult.
The last toon I leveled was a pally BS so I made all the starter gear with no issue. However, the furthest he had gone questing was sholazar then dinged 80 and headed into hyjal. The gear gap was tremendous! If it weren't for BS I would have died repeatedly on the opening quests.
It may not be necessary but it will certainly be helpful.
slim1256 Sep 28th 2011 5:17PM
I dunno... the whole transition to Cata thing seems weird to me. I've recently leveled three toons to 85 all the way from 1 (over the course of a couple of months), and, while the first few quests are fairly challenging when you hit Cata content, they're not too bad as long as you take your time and don't try to pull everything and burn it all down.
And once you start, you're gonna be replacing anything you're wearing when you arrive with quest greens in a hurry. What's the point of a set of armor that you're gonna start replacing almost instantly with quest rewards?
Not saying it's NOT a transition thing, but this feels very weird to me. These sets would only be relevant for a fairly short time...
Katherine Sep 28th 2011 5:26PM
Ever done Vash'jir? Where you get swamped with naga after moving 5 feet? Granted, I only died a few times there as I took only pet classes there, but still.