EOF items outlevels T10 with the same emblem amount

[holyhammer]

if you are a clother there are 2 vendors in dalaran that vendors you EOF. the first is arcanist Uovril in the emblem quatermaster section, the other is the clother merchant opposite the quatermaster section ( the area where there are portals)

Both of them sells certain items

here are the 2 NPCs
https://wotlk.evowow.com/?npc=37942#currency-for:0-8-2
https://wotlk.evowow.com/?npc=35496

if you observe carefully , for 95 EOF i can get this chestpiece

https://wotlk.evowow.com/?item=50974 ,which is lvl 264 item , with 354 armour

but with the other vendor i can get this for the same amount, 95 EOF

https://wotlk.evowow.com/?item=50278 , which is lvl 251, and only have 338 armour

does this mean if i buy the second item ( bloodmage robe) i am being ripped off?

[angrylol]

you need 4 piece set, thats the first thing you buy for EoF. Set bonuses just overpower those few stats gained from 264ilvl. Also you will upgrade it with Tokens (251 -> 264 -> 277)

If you have 4 set t10 already, sure, you can get that chest, because mages don't use T10 chestpiece, they use https://wotlk.evowow.com?item=50629, so you will need some EoT trinket with Hit rating or gem it or something.

Note that chest has low competition for it - only mages use it I think, so you will get it as it drops.

[holyhammer]

you need 4 piece set, thats the first thing you buy for EoF. Set bonuses just overpower those few stats gained from 264ilvl. Also you will upgrade it with Tokens (251 -> 264 -> 277)

If you have 4 set t10 already, sure, you can get that chest, because mages don't use T10 chestpiece, they use https://wotlk.evowow.com?item=50629, so you will need some EoT trinket with Hit rating or gem it or something.

Note that chest has low competition for it - only mages use it I think, so you will get it as it drops.

am i right to say what you meant is dont get T10 chestpiece, get only the other 4 parts because there is a better chest item ?

[angrylol]

yes, that's exactly right

this way you get 4 parts bonus and cap Hit Rating while retaining Crit Chance on all pieces

[Thorbjorn]

am i right to say what you meant is dont get T10 chestpiece, get only the other 4 parts because there is a better chest item ?

I'm baffled how you know what T10 is but you're comparing chest pieces by armor and ilvl.

[holyhammer]

yes, that's exactly right

this way you get 4 parts bonus and cap Hit Rating while retaining Crit Chance on all pieces

i want to ask u.

i already have leggings of woven death , which is a better item than the T10 leggings. Whats your view on my arragement? should i go for the chest and sacrifice the leggings for the meantime

[angrylol]

Sure, on condition you cap your Hit Chance, that is 14% from gear.

[pedroto63]

Okay, I am going to explain it in a noob friendly way(don't get offended, but you kinda are). By buying the T10 pieces, you are achieving the set bonuses which are super useful, especially the mages' ones. Do not worry about item level and armor, you can upgrade them later as you progress inside the Icecrown Citadel. This means that it is better to buy the T10 pieces over the higher ilvl items. You need 4/5 pieces from the set and that is why they told you you don't need the chest from the set (there is a better one that drops from icc or you can use the one with frosts, BUT you need to buy the 4/5 tier items first). Then, there is a chance that you can obtain the legs and the gloves from VoA (also a raid instance), thus, you will be better off buying shoulders and head from the T10 set and wait for gloves and legs to drop from VoA. If they don't drop by the time you have enough frosts after you've bought the head and the shoulders, buy the legs and the gloves. ;)

[angrylol]

He simply is confused by "GS" and "ilvl" and consider higher GS item an flat out upgrade. It is very common and understandable.

As I said, juggle with your stat caps. If you spend your EoF on stuff before you get your 4/5 you will lose a lot of time, more than week worth of EoF's(that's even if you clear everything and get every possible EoF).

It is probably best to even farm up for 2 parts while you have t9 4/5 set. Then use 2/5 from both sets until you have enough to buy next 2 pieces - 4/5 t10. Buy helm and shoulders first, kill VoA every week to have a chance for pants or gloves drop.

Stop comparing items by GS or ilvl, look at what they actually give you.

[TinyToys]

For additionnal info : the item ilevel only determine raw statistics of an object.

Quick guide :

When you try to analyze the power of an object you should follow this path :

First point :
- Combination of stats gived by the item : this combination is determined by the class and specialization you are playing
For a fire mage for exemple.
The ranking of item's characteristics is : Hit > SP > Crit > Haste > Spirit > Intellect > Stamina > Armor
So when you choose an item he will most of the time have primary characteristics such as Armor, Intellect, Spirit, Agility, Strength or Stamina
And Secondary characteristics such as Spell Power, Hit Rate, Critical Strike, Haste, .....
How to choose : you have first to look at the characteristics combination (don't care about the amount of characteristics)
As a fire mage (not sure you are fire because you didn't told us, but everybody assumed it because it's the most commun spec for a mage at icc)
You have to prefer items with Intellect and Stamina as primary characteristics and Spell power, Hit and Crit as secondary characteristics meanwhile you
are not already at 14% hit rate. When you while reach the 14% hit rate you should go for item with Intellect and Stamina asprimary characteristics and Spell
power, Crit and Haste as secondary characteristics

Second point :
- The possible side effects of the item : the most commun is the set bonus depending on the amount of items of the set you are wearing
The T10 set bonus is absolutly over powered as mage, not item can beat it whatever ilvl he is, even the 2 pieces set. I'll never change 2 pieces of T10 (251 ilvl) for any 284 ilvl item (non-T10 ofc). But set bonus aren't the only side effects of items, most of time trinket for exempl are all about side effects; and some time weapons have. [How to choose: [/b]Not all of them are overpowered but you have to judge the powerness of it in order to make the right choise.

Third point :
- The amount of characteristics otherwise said the ilvl of the item which reflect the raw characteristics of it. And even at that point it's important to keep the characteristics priority of your class/spec in mind. So and item which give you +70sp +50 crit and +45 haste, for a fire mage will be prefer to another one which give +70sp +45 crit +50haste. Meanwhile the second one will be prefer by an arcane mage. To chosse an item by his raw characteristics the secondary characteristics are the more important for a caster class; so if primary characteristics exist on the item and are the good ones (Intellect Stamina) most of time it's enough; start directly to compare secondary characteristics.



A few examples :

- http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=54582]Bracers are better then http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50686
because of the characteristics combination and the power ranking of raw statistics.
- Now compare : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50651 to http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=53486
in terms of raw characteristics http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50651 is better. But if you already have your hit cap http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=53486 will be more valuable ! So you will choose depending on you hit cap no matter the fact http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50651 is 277h ilvl and http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=53486 only 271ilvl
- let dig deeper : I think at this point you get that getting : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50276 is way better that having http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51554 or even this heroic version http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51837
because of the side effect !
- Side effect can have huge impact but not always; you will prefer : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50427 + http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50173 over http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50648 : because the http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50648 side effect do not manage to get over the power of the characteristics combination give by the sword + off hand combo. (btw most of the time one hand + offhand combo will get over 2-hands weapon because they give way more secondary characteristics.
- And sometimes, and expecially for trinket the side effect can make an item totally overpowered, we mention set items before but take a look at : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=40682 which is a ilvl 200 trinket you can buy in dalaran for heroic emblems (which can be trade for EoT or lower emblems). This trinket is better (for a fire mage) than all other trinket before you get : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50340 at icc. Exception made from http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=45518 which is just an upgrade version of it (way harder to get in theory, it's an ulduar 25hc item, but you can buy it in warmane shop for vote points) this http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=45518 is in my mind even better than : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50345

Last point :

You should be able to understand how your equipement synergize !

I mean, in the fire mage BIS (Best In Slot) list, the players choose a composition of gear where you have 4 items of the mage set, why ? Because 4 items are enough to tringer the bonus. And in terms of raw characteristics at a same ilvl, non-set items are always better then set item (the bonus come with a smalll cost in terms of characteristics)
But why did they choose the head + shoulder + hand + legs combination and choosed to go for non-set chest.
The answer comes in 2 parts. 1rt people notice that items themselves are ranked, you can easely see that legs will all time give more raw statistics than gloves or wrist. Approximatly more the piece is large or mantatory (like weapons) more the item give you characteristics. To have a precise look of this ranking you can download Gearscore which will give you a score resulting of the addition off all the characteristics of an item (with a different rating between secondary and primary characteristics) than if you equip same ilvl item in multiple gearslot, you will be able to see : Weapon > Head = Chest = Legs > Shoulders = Gloves > Waist = Feets > Off-Hand > Neck = Ring = Wrist = Back > Wand
I did not mention trinkets, they are specific and their value are all about side effect (proc or use).
So in order to get back to the BIS choice of the 4 set items. Because Head = Chest = Legs > Shoulders = Gloves and because Non-set > Set in terms of raw characteristics. In order to maximize characteristics the 2 first items picks for BIS comp are Shoulders and Glovers, in order to minimize the loss of characteristics by taking set items over non-set. And now the last dilema is about which 2 items get out of the 3 items : Head, Chest and Legs.
At this point you have to take a look on what items are available :
Heads : SET : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51281 NON SET : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50661or
Chest : SET : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51283 NON SET : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50629 or http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50717
Legs : SET : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51282 NON SET : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50694
Lets analyse the non-set items because we have to choose the more powerfull in order to get the best characteristics possible.
http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50717 is out of the game instantly because it have Spirit + haste, and no crit nor hit
http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50661is ok but it don't have one of the 2 stat combinaison we prefer (1) Stamina+Intel and Spellpower + Crit + Haste or (2) Stamina+Intel and Spellpower + Hit + Crit
Same conclusion for http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50694.
At this point it only remain http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50629.
But maybe with a little down rank of the ilvl to choose we can get better; let extend our pool choice to 264hc ilvl.
We gain for the head slot : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51896 and http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51837
For the chest slot : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51851and and http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51813
For the legs slot : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51823 and http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51882
Can be keept http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51882 or http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51837 or http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51813
Because they have the good combination of characteristics.

Now we have to compare our NON-SET option and find the more powerfull between : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51882 or http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51837 or http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51813 or http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50629

Between the 3 264hc option the best one for fire mage is http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51813. Compared to the head you gain 3 crit and 2 gem sockets (i don't count meta gems, they are here whatever) and the gem socket colors are better (ranking of socket color : Red > Yellow > Blue (because + 23sp better then +12sp +10cc or haste better then +12sp + 10spirit)).
Comparing to the leg : the chest get + 12 haste and - 9 crit which is pretty balance between the 2 items, but the fact the chest have 2 red socket out of 3 is better then the 1 red out of 3 for the legs.

At this point we have a last comparaison to do is between the 2 chest : http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=51813 and http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50629 then choise go for the http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50629 because : moreover have more raw characteristics than the lower ilvl chest, the huge amont of hit you get from it allowed you in combination with the SET legs to have one less non-set item carrying hit. With only 2 items you compensate the hit given by 3 small items such as http://wotlk.cavernoftime.com/item=50651. It allowed you to concentrate your NON-SET items on pure damaging characteristics. In fact I could have do this entire demo by starting with NON-SET > SET in terms of raw characteristics so lets take non-damaging characteristics on SET in priority, and just find which are the best non set solution (head or chest).



I hope that little "How to choose your gear" guide will help some new mage players

See you


Tiny