39 BiS Standards (All Classes) Updated for Phase 5!

I'm not opposed to Discord, I just vastly prefer the forums where knowledge is shared and the community benefits. I think the lack of forum activity in 49s is a tragedy for instance.
 
I agree with the shared knowledge part. One of the main reasons to have a forum in the first place. Would also love to hear out people with actual spriest experience @ 39. Is mana the only issue? And how bad is it in any case?
 
Outofspace, thanks for the amazing post and work that has gone in the various specs. I’m currently gearing a 39 rogue, and have gone with a mix between your Ambush and Hemo sets to get a little more Damage but not full glass canon. I love playing dagger as I’m addicted to the big crits on clothies.... i was wondering what your thoughts were between the full ambush vs ambush/backstab spec? It seems to me that the latter is probably more viable outside of hoping to one shot someone. You essentially trade 10% AP for 30% backstab crit.
Also in a previous comment you mentioned that Hemo was significantly better at lv39, can you expand on that a bit? I’m new to the bracket and so trying to figure it out before enchanting weapons ^^.
 
Outofspace, thanks for the amazing post and work that has gone in the various specs. I’m currently gearing a 39 rogue, and have gone with a mix between your Ambush and Hemo sets to get a little more Damage but not full glass canon. I love playing dagger as I’m addicted to the big crits on clothies.... i was wondering what your thoughts were between the full ambush vs ambush/backstab spec? It seems to me that the latter is probably more viable outside of hoping to one shot someone. You essentially trade 10% AP for 30% backstab crit.
Also in a previous comment you mentioned that Hemo was significantly better at lv39, can you expand on that a bit? I’m new to the bracket and so trying to figure it out before enchanting weapons ^^.
More CC, more control, more consistent damaged, more energy efficient. You’re not relying on crits as much.
 
Outofspace, thanks for the amazing post and work that has gone in the various specs. I’m currently gearing a 39 rogue, and have gone with a mix between your Ambush and Hemo sets to get a little more Damage but not full glass canon. I love playing dagger as I’m addicted to the big crits on clothies.... i was wondering what your thoughts were between the full ambush vs ambush/backstab spec? It seems to me that the latter is probably more viable outside of hoping to one shot someone. You essentially trade 10% AP for 30% backstab crit.
Also in a previous comment you mentioned that Hemo was significantly better at lv39, can you expand on that a bit? I’m new to the bracket and so trying to figure it out before enchanting weapons ^^.

Hemo itself is just an amazing spell being that it's only 35 Energy and puts a raid wide damage buff on the target. You get more combo points because it's cheaper, and also the spec affords you some bonus combo points, so finishers are always potent. Also, since your damage isn't based on positioning like BS you can still do good work out of stealth and slowed.

In terms of the Ambush vs Backstab build, I really do think the Backstab build is underrated. Getting Improved Gouge out of the deal is actually pretty huge too. The main problem is that it's just hard to land Backstabs once you're targeted, but I see the damage potential as higher than the other builds tbh - with any kind of mobility support it's very bursty. Reminder that Thistle Tea is pretty much a must for Ambush/Backstab specs since they are so Energy intensive.

Ambush build will get you the single highest two-shot burst attack, which can take down a lot of people extremely fast. If you get caught out though you suffer more than anyone else. I will say that all the Rogues who scare me the most while holding the flag are running some kind of Ambush setup, but they have great patience and skill as well.
 
Hemo itself is just an amazing spell being that it's only 35 Energy and puts a raid wide damage buff on the target. You get more combo points because it's cheaper, and also the spec affords you some bonus combo points, so finishers are always potent. Also, since your damage isn't based on positioning like BS you can still do good work out of stealth and slowed.

In terms of the Ambush vs Backstab build, I really do think the Backstab build is underrated. Getting Improved Gouge out of the deal is actually pretty huge too. The main problem is that it's just hard to land Backstabs once you're targeted, but I see the damage potential as higher than the other builds tbh - with any kind of mobility support it's very bursty. Reminder that Thistle Tea is pretty much a must for Ambush/Backstab specs since they are so Energy intensive.

Ambush build will get you the single highest two-shot burst attack, which can take down a lot of people extremely fast. If you get caught out though you suffer more than anyone else. I will say that all the Rogues who scare me the most while holding the flag are running some kind of Ambush setup, but they have great patience and skill as well.

Thanks for the info. I’m going to try both but have a feeling I’ll go with Ambush/backstab build. I only play solo or duo so love to focus on getting the flag back!
 
Wanted to let folks know that I just finished a review of all the gear sets and made some corrections, all very minor but if you see anything different that's why.
 
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Scorpashi Cape has been my go-to for 39 warr, I've not seen tigerstrike used, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough

Decent cloak, I think Tigerstrike is a tiny bit better though. If you really value Str that much over Agi look at the 7/7 Bear cloak.
 
Decent cloak, I think Tigerstrike is a tiny bit better though. If you really value Str that much over Agi look at the 7/7 Bear cloak.
Yes, I would say Str>Agi for a 39 warr. I am willing to hear out why agi should be put on an equal footing with str.
 
Pod war does so much damage already, after testing both agi and str builds I highly lean towards agi. More crits mean more rage and of course burst is king. If highest dps mattered we would all be using that crap epic sword.
 
Yes, I would say Str>Agi for a 39 warr. I am willing to hear out why agi should be put on an equal footing with str.

Str > Agi sure, but by how much is the question. I sit around .85 Agi = 1 Str.
 
I've used about 3/4 for utility build, and i've always had glass cannon builds, so our numbers really arent that far off, imo. Never discounting agi, I like big crits & I cant deny it, and i like them flashing in my face frequently. Was just wondering about that particular slot.
 
I like Tigerstrike personally. Problem with 7/7s is that they are damn hard to find on my server@least. Still haven’t found a 7/7 eagle since Classic started :(
 
I've used about 3/4 for utility build, and i've always had glass cannon builds, so our numbers really arent that far off, imo. Never discounting agi, I like big crits & I cant deny it, and i like them flashing in my face frequently. Was just wondering about that particular slot.

Ya Scorp is trading at .66 Agi per Stam though.
 
Great guide as always, but I have a few questions about your priest gear choices.
coming from a a pre-made vs pre-made standpoint
Priest Gear - Disc / Talents - Disc
I usually run this https://classic.wowhead.com/gear-pl...rYDXwsHvAwHvA1Jow4p4M8dbTTSA1iQHiJc_BETeBIzCA https://classic.wowhead.com/talent-calc/priest/50021213-2-05024201

I switch the 22 int hypnotic to HoR with healing / Beacon of hope when skull is on cooldown, and sometimes I'll wear a green lens with +100 libram, but I've noticed that stacking healing doesnt get the job done
you lack the mana to dispell
 
Great guide as always, but I have a few questions about your priest gear choices.
coming from a a pre-made vs pre-made standpoint

I usually run this https://classic.wowhead.com/gear-pl...rYDXwsHvAwHvA1Jow4p4M8dbTTSA1iQHiJc_BETeBIzCA https://classic.wowhead.com/talent-calc/priest/50021213-2-05024201

I switch the 22 int hypnotic to HoR with healing / Beacon of hope when skull is on cooldown, and sometimes I'll wear a green lens with +100 libram, but I've noticed that stacking healing doesnt get the job done
you lack the mana to dispell

Your build looks like a great setup.

Yes, eagle pieces vs the healing are advisable for premades. You shouldn't be afraid to mix and match or start off with a high mana set and then swap to high healing just as you described with the weapons. There's a lot of theory that goes into the power of +healing vs straight eagle but it's true, you will be mostly a dispel bot in premades and a high mana build is perfect for that. In pugs you do need to be more of a jack of all trades and you won't have as many opportunities to dispel super high priority targets on either side because it's not usually that coordinated. Your ability to keep a large group of poorly geared teammates alive has less to do with spam dispelling and more to do with spread healing.
 
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First off, I've really enjoyed this thread and keep coming back to it nine months in. So thanks so much for doing all the work to start it! When I started playing my fire mage I wasn't super satisfied with scorch spamming, and I used to run an Arcane Explosion spec as a cheese build back in BC so I thought I'd try it out. I've actually had a lot more fun with it than Fire, especially since people are so thrown off by the different style.

Instant polymorphs and frostbolts are so handy in WSG, instant fireballs make for great burst, and my mana pool sits at around 4k which makes me a decent FC. Plus hunters and rogues are always stunned whenever I blink at them and spam AE. They crit for around 280 apiece, so while not super mana efficient the uninterruptible dps is excellent (also, in groups there's a lot of clearcasting going on).

Curious to hear if anyone else has goofed off with Arcane. Presence of Mind just gave me a lot of fun and improved counterspell is not to be ignored in such a caster heavy bracket. I'll probably go back to fire eventually, but as a "for the love of god play objectives" player I'm fine with sacrificing kb's for clutch flag saves. There's also a lot of +Arcane greens avail, I think I cap out at +231 Arcane Damage (but I carry a full eagle set with me and swap around as needed) If there's interest I can post the gear/build.
 

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