Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. On Wednesdays, shadow priesting expert Fox Van Allen comes from out of the shadows to bask in your loving adoration.

Gear. It makes the world go round. And though we like to say that we mess around in heroics and raids for the thrill of victory, let's face it -- if we didn't get those shiny new purples, we wouldn't obsess over victory so much.

If such virtual treasure fuels you, today's column is for you. Whether you prefer to run the new 5-man heroics, mess around in the Raid Finder, or even just shop around on the Auction House, there's some terrific new gear out there.

Stat weights stay level

For the most part, stat weightings are going to be unchanged from patch 4.2 to the current patch 4.3. This is because there were no real changes to shadow priest mechanics. The only change to shadow priests in 4.3 is an increase in the stats on new gear and our two-piece and four-piece tier bonus.

Hot new 5-man gear

Everything in the new instances is ilevel 378, putting it on par with the gear that drops in Firelands normal modes. You won't be able to find gear for every slot, but you can fill the rest of those slots with i378s using the justice points.

Weapons

• Jaina's Staff, a two-handed staff with crit and mastery, drops off Echo of Jaina in End Time.
• Stalk of Corruption, a two-handed staff with haste and mastery, drops off Archbishop Benedictus in HoT.
• Fanged Tentacle, a one-handed dagger with hit and crit, also drops off Archbishop Benedictus.
• Scepter of Azshara, a one-handed mace with spirit and crit, drops off Queen Azshara in the Well of Eternity.

Off-hand

• Orb of the First Satyrs, with hit and haste, drops off Peroth'arn in WoE.

Head

• Cowl of Highborn Sorcerors, with crit and mastery, drops off Mannoroth and Varo'then in WoE.

Shoulders

• Mantle of Time, with spirit and haste, drops off Murozond in End Time.
• Mantle of False Virtue, with hit and mastery, drops off Archbishop Benedictus in HoT.

Back

• Cloak of Subtle Light, with spirit and mastery, drops off Asira Dawnslayer in HoT.

Chest

• Robes of Fate, with hit and crit, drops off Murozond in End Time.
• Whisperwind Robes, with spirit and mastery, drops off Echo of Tyrande in End Time

Waist

• Chillbane Belt, a waist piece with hit and mastery, drops off Arcurion in HoT.

Legs

• Time Traveler's Leggings, a pair of legs with haste and crit, drops off all the Echos.

Feet

• Slippers of Wizardry, boots with hit and haste, drop off Queen Azshara in WoE.

Rings

• Horned Band, a ring with haste and crit, drops off Peroth'arn in WoE.

Trinkets

• Foul Gift of the Demon Lord, a trinket with 383 intellect and a mastery proc, drops off Mannoroth and Varo'then in WoE.

The best pieces in the new 5-mans are the ones with haste or mastery -- preferably both, like the Stalk of Corruption. With reforging, though, you can take just about any of these pieces of gear and make it a good fit. Just remember your priority: Reforge crit and any unneeded hit/spirit to haste (or, failing that, mastery).

New raid-level gear

All of the following gear is found in the new Dragon Soul raid. People who use the Raid Finder will be getting i384 gear, slightly better than most Firelands gear and on par with the stuff that drop from Ragnaros. The regular version of the raid drops i397 versions; the heroic version drops i410.

A large number of slots only have one option for cloth wearers. That makes gearing a lot easier -- how can you choose incorrectly when there's no choice to be had? -- but disappoints the old Fox, who used to love sifting through gear lists.

Even though your choices are limited, don't worry too much if you have trouble scoring one of these drops from your usual raid group. You'll have two shots a week at all this gear if you choose to use the Raid Finder tool. And further, you'll be able to buy gear with the valor points you earn.

Your best-in-slot pieces are in bold below. (It's too early to theorycraft the Deathwing weapons.) Note that a non-bolded piece with a higher item level is likely a better choice than a bolded piece of a lower item level.

Weapons

• Vagaries of Time, a one-handed mace with crit and haste, drops off Morchok (normal only).
• Scalpel of Unrelenting Agony, a one-handed dagger with spirit and haste, drops off Yor'sahj.
• Visage of the Destroyer, a two-handed staff with spirit and mastery, drops off Warmaster Blackhorn.
• Lightning Rod, a two-handed staff with hit and haste that drops off Hagara (thanks zomby)
• Ti'tahk, the Steps of Time, a two-handed staff that trades secondary stats for a multi-person haste proc and a bad pun, drops off Madness of Deathwing.
• Rathrak, the Poisonous Mind, a one-handed dagger with an AoE DoT proc, drops off Madness of Deathwing.

Off-hand

• Ledger of Revolting Rituals, with spirit and haste, drops off Ultraxion.

Wand

• Finger of Zon'ozz, with mastery and haste, drops off Warlord Zon'ozz.
• Scintillating Rods, with spirit and haste, costs 700 VP.
• Hungermouth Wand, with hit and mastery, costs 700 VP.

Head

• Crown of the Corrupted Conqueror, our T13 token, drops off Warmaster Blackhorn.
• Soulgaze Crown, with spirit and mastery, costs 2,200 VP.
• Hood of Hidden Flesh, with crit and hit, costs 2,200 VP.

Neck

• Petrified Fungal Heart, with spirit and haste, drops off Morchok.
• Threadlinked Chain, with spirit and crit, costs 1,250 VP.
• Opal of the Secret Order, with hit and haste, costs 1,250 VP.

Shoulders

• Mosswrought Shoulderguards, with crit and haste, drops off Morchok.
• Shoulders of the Corrupted Conqueror, our T13 token, drops off Hagara.

Back

• Woundlicker Cover, with spirit and haste, costs 1,250 VP.
• Nanoprecise Cape, with mastery and hit, costs 1,250 VP.

Chest

• Robe of Glowing Stone, with spirit and haste, drops off Morchok.
• Chest of the Corrupted Conqueror, our T13 token, drops off Ultraxion.
• Lightwarper Vestments, with spirit and crit, costs 2,200 VP.
• Robes of Searing Shadow, with hit and crit, costs 2,200 VP.

Wrist

• Bracers of the Banished, with mastery and haste, drops off Hagara.
• Bracers of Unconquered Power, with mastery and haste, are a crafted BoE.
• Dreamwraps of the Light, with spirit and haste, are a crafted BoE.
• Bracers of the Black Dream, with spirit and crit, cost 1,250 VP and are BoE.
• Chronoboost Bracers, with hit and mastery, cost 1,250 VP and are BoE.

Hands

• Gloves of Liquid Smoke, with haste and crit, drops off Spine of Deathwing.
• Gauntlets of the Corrupted Conqueror, our T13 token, drops off Warlord Zon'ozz.
• Hands of the Guilty, with spirit and mastery, cost 1,650 VP.
• Clockwinder's Immaculate Gloves, with hit and crit, cost 1,650 VP

Waist

• Cord of the Slain Champion, with crit and haste, drops off Zon'ozz.
• Sash of Relentless Truth, with haste and mastery, is a BoE trash drop (thanks Z)
• Vestal's Irrepressible Girdle, with spirit and crit, costs 1,650 VP.
• Tentacular Belt, with crit and mastery, costs 1,650 VP.

Legs

• Leggings of the Corrupted Champion, our T13 token, drops off Yor'sahj.
• Lavaquake Legwraps, with hit and haste, are a crafted BoE.
• World Mender's Pants, with spirit and mastery, are a crafted BoE.

Feet

• Janglespur Jackboots, with crit and haste, drops off Warmaster Blackhorn.
• Splinterfoot Sandals, with spirit and haste, cost 1,650 VP and are BoE.
• Kavan's Forsaken Treads, with hit and haste, cost 1,650 VP and are BoE.

Rings

• Infinite Loop, with hit and crit, drops off all non-Deathwing bosses.
• Signet of Suturing, with spirit and haste, also drops from non-Deathwing bosses.
• Ring of the Riven, with mastery and haste, drops off Hagara.
• Band of Reconstruction, with spirit and mastery, costs 1,250 VP.
• Seal of the Grand Architect, with hit and haste, costs 1,250 VP.

Trinkets

• Cunning of the Cruel, an intellect trinket with an interesting AoE damage proc, drops off non-Deathwing bosses.
• Insignia of the Corrupted Mind, an intellect trinket with a haste proc, drops off Yor'sahj.
• Will of Unbinding, a trinket with a intellect proc that stacks to 780/880/990, drops of Spine of Deathwing.
• Bottled Waters, a haste trinket with an on-use spellpower proc, costs 1,250 VP.

Generally, an item with a higher ilevel is going to be stronger than one with a lower item level, regardless of secondary stats. (It's not true 100% of the time, but it's a good rule of thumb.)

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Are you more interested in watching health bars go down than watching them bounce back up? We've got more for shadow priests, from Shadow Priest 101 to a list of every monster worth mind controlling and strategies for raiding Blackwing Descent.

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