World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

One of the finer points in the great gear bonanza that is World of Warcraft is item enhancement. Item enhancements come in several forms and are available both for purchase from reputation vendors or from your fellow players in the form of tradeskill items. Some pieces of armor feature gem slots that allow you to socket in extra attributes. These gem slots can often make the difference in whether a piece of gear is a substantial upgrade or not. Because the druid can fill many roles you may find yourself accruing many pieces of gear to better suit you for each archetype, the astute player will make sure it is all properly gemmed and enchanted before switching roles.


 Each item slot has different rules as to what can or can not be added to it. There are currently only three inventory slots in the game that can gain no bonuses and those are the trinket and ammo/relic/libram/totem/sigil slots.

Slot	Gems	Enchants	Reputation Vendor	Player Made Items
Head	x		x
Neck	x
Shoulder	x		x
Back	x	x
Chest	x	x		x
Wrist	x	x
Main Hand	*	x		x
Off Hand	*	x		x
Rings	x	x²
Feet	x	x		x
Legs	x			x
Belt	x			x
Gloves	x	x		x

*  = not seen in current end game items. ² = only available to enchanters.

Your specific needs will change based on the gear you receive and the stats you compile and the role you are filling. The one thing that should never change however is your vigilance to finding the best possible enhancement for each slot to maximize your potential. If you are wearing a green item then you most likely shouldn’t spend your energy maximizing it, your much better served replacing it. Many will tell you that you should hold off on the top end enchants and enhancements until you have a best in slot item or at the minimum a nice level 200 or better epic. I couldn’t disagree more. If you can afford it then you should optimize each upgrade with the best item available.


Resto

Some of the better Gems and item enhancements to consider -

Lustrous Sky Sapphire
 +7 Mana every 5 seconds
 "Matches a Blue Socket.”

Energized Forest Emerald
 +8 Haste Rating and +3 Mana every 5 seconds
 “Matches a Yellow or Blue Socket."

Sparkling Sky Sapphire
 +16 Spirit
 "Matches a Blue Socket."

Intricate Forest Emerald
 +8 Haste Rating and +8 Spirit
 "Matches a Yellow or Blue Socket."


Brilliant Spellthread
 Requires Level 70
 Use: Permanently embroiders spellthread into pants,
 increasing spell power by 50 and Spirit by 20.

Greater Inscription of the Crag
 Binds when picked up
 Requires Level 80
 Requires The Sons of Hodir – Exalted
 Use: Permanently adds 24 spell power and 6 mana per 5 seconds
 to a shoulder slot item.

Arcanum of Blissful Mending
 Binds when picked up
 Requires Level 80
 Requires The Wyrmrest Accord – Revered
 Use: Permanently adds 30 spell power and 8 mana per 5 seconds
 to a head slot item


Balance


Rigid Autumn's Glow
+16 Hit Rating
"Matches a Yellow Socket."

Veiled Monarch Topaz
+9 Spell Power and +8 Hit Rating
"Matches a Red or Yellow Socket."

Runed Scarlet Ruby
+19 Spell Power
"Matches a Red Socket."

Potent Monarch Topaz
+9 Spell Power and +8 Critical Strike Rating
"Matches a Red or Yellow Socket."

Brilliant Spellthread
 Requires Level 70
 Use: Permanently embroiders spellthread into pants,
 increasing spell power by 50 and Spirit by 20

Greater Inscription of the Storm
 Binds when picked up
 Requires Level 80
 Requires The Sons of Hodir - Exalted
 Use: Permanently adds 24 spell power and 15 critical strike rating
 to a shoulder slot item.

Arcanum of Burning Mysteries
 Binds when picked up
 Requires Level 80
 Requires Kirin Tor - Revered
 Use: Permanently adds 30 spell power and 20 critical strike rating
 to a head slot item.


Feral


Rigid Autumn's Glow
+16 Hit Rating
"Matches a Yellow Socket."

Bright Scarlet Ruby
+32 Attack Power
"Matches a Red Socket."

Pristine Monarch Topaz
+16 Attack Power and +8 Hit Rating
"Matches a Red or Yellow Socket."

Delicate Scarlet Ruby
+16 Agility
"Matches a Red Socket."

Greater Inscription of the Axe
 Binds when picked up
 Requires Level 80
 Requires The Sons of Hodir - Exalted
 Use: Permanently adds 40 attack power and 15 critical strike rating
 to shoulder armor.

Icescale Leg Armor
 Requires Level 80
 Use: Permanently attach icescale armor onto pants
 to increase attack power by 75 and critical strike rating by 22.

Arcanum of Torment
 Binds when picked up
 Requires Level 80
 Requires Knights of the Ebon Blade - Revered
 Use: Permanently adds 50 attack power and 20 critical strike rating
 to a head slot item.



Remembering to keep your items maximized to their full potential will show others that you are striving to do your best and will help insure those raid invites. If you aren’t doing it, rest assured the other guy vying to get that final raid spot is and with the WoW armory just a click away, your raid leader is looking.  This stance may sound harsh to the more casual minded player and it is. If you fall into the more relaxed category you may not feel the need to spruce up your gear to this extent. However if you find yourself coming up just short or running out of resources to quickly in a fight, this may be the bump you need to gain that edge.

However you chose to play the game being aware of the available item enhancements is a smart play and adds another dimension of objectives to strive for in this hamster on a wheel adventure. Until next week, stay safe and have fun in Azeroth!