Patches in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria have flown out like hot cakes. Keeping up with the most recent content can be a bit intimidating and the pressure will really be on once the new patch is finally launched. Even worse is those who are just now freshly reaching level 90 and want to experience the newest content as soon as possible. Where will the gear to do that come from? Is it even possible to catch up for these new players?

The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Thankfully, we can mostly set those fears aside in Patch 5.4 as Blizzard has provided us with a massive amount of ways to gear up and catch up pretty quickly. Read on to find out our top picks for ways to gear up for Patch 5.4

Top 5 Ways to Gear Up for Patch 5.4

Reputation Rewards

If you have found yourself at level 90 with gear that won't stop the most harmless kodo and a desire to better yourself, reputation based rewards in Patch 5.4 are the way to go. Big changes have come to ilvl 489 reputation gear, you know, the gear coming from the August Celestials, Shado-Pan, Golden Lotus, and Klaxxi. All these factions now offer their gear of this particular item level for Justice Points, regardless of your current reputation. Just head over to the quartermaster in Niuzao Temple in the Townlong Steppes to pick up your new digs.

You may want to read that again; ilvl 489 available for Justice Points, with no reputation requirement. Now all those Justice Points you have been saving can be put to good use. Even if you don't have much in the way of Justice Points they can easily be earned by completing normal in game activities such as running dungeons, Scenarios, and the PvP lovers among us can even convert their Honor points if they choose.

Adventure on the Timeless Isle

If you don't know yet, the Timeless Isle is a brand-new area being introduced in Patch 5.4 that is pretty different from anything we've seen before. Different because it is basically an open world with no real set quests and no rules. One thing this isle does have is the potential for a ton of loot.

Explore the Timeless Isle to find powerful creatures (many of which can be defeated solo), treasure chests filled with booty, puzzles, and even group events that give some pretty awesome rewards. You can't go wrong on the isle. Most the time you will find yourself rewarded with Timeless Coins, which can be turned in for valuable items and as you adventure further across the isle you will also discover Timeless armor tokens. These tokens can be turned in for a piece of gear (for a specific slot) that fits your current specialization. With so much goodness to be hard, the Timeless Isle is a perfect spot to collect gear in a rather unusual way. Learn more about the isle in our Timeless Isle guide.

Valor Point Upgrade

You know those pesky Valor Points you have laying around that you just can't seem to decide what to do with? Now you can use them to upgrade your gear in Patch 5.4. For just 250 Valor Points, players can add a total of four item levels to a piece of Epic quality gear. This upgrade process may be completed a total of twice on any one item. While this method will not get you any new gear, it is a great way to make any good gear you have useable for current content. So if you have a few pieces of good gear laying around that could be great with just an upgrade this is a great method of gearing up for you.

PvP

If PvE content is not really your personal style, then Patch 5.4 is the perfect time to hit the battlegrounds and arenas. Patch 5.4 brings a whole new PvP season to us complete with brand new PvP gear just waiting for you to put it on. Remember, Honor Points can now be used to purchase ilvl 496 gear, while Conquest Points gear starts off at 522. You can easily start out in random Battlegrounds earning Honor Points and work your way up to earning Conquest Points. Also thanks to some changes in Patch 5.3, non-PvP gear can still be used for entry level PvP. Meaning you can mix it up a little bit if you choose and keep a little variety in your gear.

Same Old, Same Old

While there are many new and exciting ways to collect gear for fresh level 90s in Patch 5.4, sometimes the tried and true methods are the way to go. In this case that tried and true method is running instances. While not the fastest method out there, if you do them consistently you will still be able to collect gear in a reasonable amount of time to shoot you forward to the next tier, which will in turn allow you to progress onward.

After outfitting yourself from 5-mans, LFR instances are just the spot for you. Here you can run the old instances and collect gear. Since most players don't like to continuously run instances, you can easily combine other methods of collecting gear mentioned here to make this a rather speedy process. While this is probably the slowest method on the list, this method will still get the job done if you have a little patience and dedication.

That concludes our top five picks for ways to gear up in Patch 5.4. It looks to us that this is a great time to be hitting level 90! What are some other easy ways you are planning to improve your gear in the newest patch? Share them with us in the comment section below!


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.

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