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Now
that you’re all prepped and ready to step into the
raiding scene the next question on your mind should be “What
loot do I roll on
now that I’m here?” style="">  End
game gear for
tree druids used to revolve around one core stat of spirit and one
secondary
stat of spell power. Recent changes to the game have modified that view
and now
MP5 is as important to us as spirit is. Having a good balance will keep
you
well stocked in the mana department.

Ulduar
loot will be reviewed more in depth in a future
article as I will be focusing on intro level raid gearing here. The set
bonuses
of tier 7/7.5 are still hard to beat and I personally won’t
be replacing any of
the items completely until I can lock in a 4 set bonus of tier 8/8.5.

I was
lucky enough to not start gearing my druid until mid
February when the rumors of spirit nerf were beginning to take flight.
I also
had the benefit of a very wise resto druid friend who advised me to
focus on
MP5 like she had been. As a former shaman it was easy to stay in an MP5
frame
of mind, and seeing her numbers on WWS I certainly couldn’t
argue with her
logic.

style=""> I
know some druids
are reluctant to go back and replace some of their items and I know
some of you
don’t want to spend the DKP to re-itemize your toon. If you
can afford to do so
or you’re not locked into a particular gear set yet then this
list is for you.

 

style="">Head - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40461">Valorous
Dreamwalker
Headpiece style="">

Or - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40247">Cowl
of Innocent Delight style="">  until
you get
the set piece. The only drawback here is lack of sockets but the stats
are
pretty amazing and the MP5 is very nice.

style="">Neck - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=44662">Life-Binder's
Locket
– I personally prefer haste but the socket and raw stats here
push this
necklace to the top.

Or - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40071">Chains
of Adoration – Until
you can get the Malygos quest neck listed above.

style="">Shoulders - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40465">Valorous
Dreamwalker
Spaulders

style="">Back - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40254">Cloak
of Averted Crisis
– Throw a haste enchant on this and with the spellpower and
MP5 inherent on the
item it becomes a clear choice.

style="">Chest -
href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40463">Valorous
Dreamwalker Robe

Or - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40194">Blanketing
Robes of Snow – I
don’t advocate taking these over a priest, however once
your cloth brethren have them, feel free to roll if you don’t
have your set
piece.

style="">Wrist - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40739">Bands
of the Great Tree style=""> style=""> -
Two items on this list can be obtained only
through the badge vendor, this is one of them. If you are oozing in MP5
then a
nice set of haste wrists can also fill the gap.

style="">Main Hand
- href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40395">Torch
of Holy Fire –
Hands down the best in slot, however expect a ton of competition here.
It’s
best in slot pre-Uld for damn near every caster that benefits from MP5.

style="">Off Hand - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40350">Urn
of Lost Memories

style="">Idol - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40711">Idol
of Lush Moss style=""> 
- A
level 200 item? On the best in slot list? AFTER THE LIFEBLOOM NERF??
Yes. 
Lifebloom wasn’t
nerfed, you just need to be
able to count to ten now instead of nine

style="">Trinkets - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=37835">Je'Tze's
Bell style=""> and
href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40430">Majestic
Dragon Figurine
– “OMG HYPE YOUR NUTS! A WORLD DROP w:st="on"> w:st="on">BoE
ON
THE LIST??” Yes. The bell is
an incredible item in your arsenal. The spell power alone makes it a
worthwhile
trinket and it href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Proc">procs
all the time.

Trinkets are really a great place to add some unique flavor
to your character and there are several that add benefit to the druid. href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40258">Forethought
Talisman
is also high on my list.

style="">Rings
- href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40433">Wyrmrest
Band and href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40375">Ring
of Decaying Beauty
top my list.

style="">Boots
- href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40749">Rainey's
Chewed Boots style="">  -
Vendor loot best in slot. Some of you are
outraged.

style="">Legs -
href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40462">Valorous
Dreamwalker
Leggings – These are
also available from the badge vendor if you aren’t
lucky enough or patient enough to wait for the drop.

style="">Waist –
href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40566">Unravelling
Strands of
Sanity – Still waiting
for a better item to be added to the game, even
Ulduar loot doesn’t compete.

style="">Hands
- href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40460">Valorous
Dreamwalker
Handguards

Or – If you have four other pieces of set gear - href="http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=40349">Gloves
of Peaceful Death style="">  are
a very nice alternative.

Gearing
yourself in end game raiding is often a chess match
of item selection tempered by patience and a lot of luck. If you set
out a gear
plan for yourself before venturing in it will greatly increase your
odds of
making the best choices. I hope I have illuminated some of the quagmire
that is
itemization for you.

I have
found this mix of spirit, spellpower, haste and MP5
to be a potent combination of efficiency and effectiveness as a resto
healer. Until
next week, stay safe and have fun!



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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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