alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/227321">

If you are a frequent reader
here at Ten Ton Hammer you probably have already read
Messiah’s recent article titled href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/features/gearing-for-raidfinder"
target="_blank">Dragon Soul: Gearing up for
Raid Finder. Inside this guide
we learn that one of the best places to
get the gear that will enable you to raid (and we all want to raid) is
inside Heroic instances. However, unlike in the days of old, getting
into a Heroic instance isn’t just a matter of walking in
anymore.

Players wishing to participate
in Heroics must first obtain an item level score of roughly 329-346
depending on which dungeon you wish to partake in. Reaching this item
level can be a difficult task and while there are more than a few ways
to get there, when asked most players will tell you they just want to
get through the gear grind as quickly (and preferably cheaply) as
possible.

I myself am one of the many
that don’t want to spend an eternity as well as a ton of gold
gearing up my various alts, especially when I’ll be replacing
most of the gear with Heroic loot soon after. Below you will find the
fastest and cheapest way I have personally found to gear up for Heroic
instances and thus get you into raiding that much faster. So read
onward and enjoy!

Gearing Up for Heroics in
Patch 4.3...the Cheap and Easy Way

Since we’ve decided
that we all want to get things done as quickly as possible let us not
waste any more time on the why and instead turn our attention to the
how. This guide is all about the methods that will cost you the least
to gear up for WoW heroics in Patch 4.3 while still getting it done in
a speedy manner. There are three basics steps to getting Heroic ready
in a hurry but before you do that first you should…

Create
a List

style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/227323" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/227323/preview"
width="200">

Make
a gear list and check it twice!

I could almost hear the
collective groan of my readers as I typed that. Yes, I know it is
tedious, and may seem like a complete waste of time, but let me assure
you that making list is worth it in
the long run. Making a list for
gearing up for WoW heroics in Patch 4.3 means that
you won’t
spend your time running around with a chicken with your head cut off.
Even though there are only two methods to my quick and easy gearing
madness, being organized while doing them is an excellent idea.

The idea behind this list is to
scan through the loot tables of both regular instances and the various
factions reputation rewards and see what is best for you. Pick out
items, write them down along with other important information such as
which boss or faction a particular item comes from and how much
reputation (if applicable) you need to obtain it. This way you can
easily decide which instances are most important for you to run, what
bosses you can look for loot from, and which tabard you should wear
while inside each instance. Be sure to check the item level of all gear
you list and make sure it is appropriate for heroics!

Once you have complete your
list of gear it will be time to go out get it.

Reputation Rewards

Reputation rewards have become
some of the easiest loot to collect in game. This is especially true in
the Cataclysm expansion where most of your reputation grind is done by
the time you are done leveling. This will mean that as long as you have
completed most of the quests in each zone, by the time you reach max
level you will probably already be able to obtain many excellent pieces
of gear without doing much work at all.

Since you will find that you
are honored with most factions at 85, you will be able to pick up most
of your gear here. Of course these items do cost gold, however, they
generally cost much less than buying gear from the Auction House and
less time than farming for crafted items. For any additional reputation
gear you may want or need you can simply purchase a tabard and wear it
while completing one of the many normal instances you will be doing in
the near future.

Justice Points

style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/227322" target="_blank"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/227322/preview"
width="245">Gunra,
Orgrimmar's Justice Quartermaster.

Depending on if you have any
Justice Points will depend on if you can complete this step or not.
Justice Points in Patch 4.3 come from several places including;
completion of a random normal dungeon and defeating raid bosses in
Wrath of the Lich King raids. It should also be noted that any Valor
Points you obtain will typically be converted to Justice Points
whenever a major content patch is released.

If you have any Justice Points
at your disposal, head over to your local Justice Point vendor (located
in major cities) and pick up any of the items there that may be on your
list. This is an especially good place to pick up your weapon as they
are harder to come by via reputation reward or instance.

Regular Instances

Whatever pieces you
haven’t managed to obtain from reputation or Justice Points
thus far can be obtained in normal WoW instances. Ideally, for the best
results you will want to bring along a group of friends to help you
complete these instances in the most timely fashion. This also ensures
that most likely no one else will be inclined to roll on the loot you
are after, however, if you cannot manage to get together a group you
can always go the way of the Dungeon Finder.

While more risky when it comes
to loot and actually having a decent group, most Dungeon Finder groups
will easily be able to take on normal instances and breeze through them
in a short amount of time. Running these instances with either friends
or a group of strangers will server more purpose than just gathering
loot from bosses. Putting on the appropriate tabard will ensure that
you raise your various faction reputations allowing you access to more
gear in that aspect. Also taking on these instances will give you
massive amounts of experience which will be critical when it comes time
to take on Heroic instances and beyond.

What are the methods you
personally use to gear your alts to ready them for heroics in WoW Patch
4.3? Share them with us in the comments section below! Or if you are
interested in other (albeit more costly and time consuming) methods to
gear up for heroics check out another of Messiah’s articles; href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/instance/gearing-for-heroics"
target="_blank">Gearing up for Heroics.
We here at Ten Ton Hammer wish you good luck in your quest to get
raiding!