19 Quick Start Gearing Guide [BfA]

Awesome guide as i am new to twinking. is there a guide on consumables or "use" items?

I believe a few users put together some consumables in the comments somewhere, but I don't cover them in the guide for the most part and I don't know of a full guide. I'd skim through the comments to find those and start there.
 
I believe a few users put together some consumables in the comments somewhere, but I don't cover them in the guide for the most part and I don't know of a full guide. I'd skim through the comments to find those and start there.

gotcha, thanks for the reply. time to start skimming lol.
 
@necroaqua First off, great guide! I got a couple of questions.

1. How does non-meta classes compare to meta classes when it comes to pugs? Would it be bad to play things such as Frost/Fire Mage, warlock, shadow priest etc? I think my plan is mainly to play pugs whenever im bored of doing things on my main etc.

2. When it comes to burst classes how does ele force compare to spellpower? How much does 1 sp add to a spell? For example lets say you cast 5 spells, would 1 proc of ele force do more dmg than the SP adding a bit to those 5 spells?

3. I've heard alot that vers is just so good at this level, is it worth it trying out buiilds where you go for vers as a secondary stat or not even at all? i.e Haste > Vers, Crit > Vers, Haste > Crit, Crit > Haste etc.

Cheers!
 
@necroaqua First off, great guide! I got a couple of questions.

1. How does non-meta classes compare to meta classes when it comes to pugs? Would it be bad to play things such as Frost/Fire Mage, warlock, shadow priest etc? I think my plan is mainly to play pugs whenever im bored of doing things on my main etc.

IMO, you should play what you have fun with. In pugs, any twink is more valuable than the average leveler. You might regret that you can't carry games as well as a druid - but if you enjoy getting off pyroblasts as a fire mage, then do that. If playing against other meta twinks, you'll find yourself at a disadvantage - whether that is an interesting challenge or a reason to go meta is up to you.

2. When it comes to burst classes how does ele force compare to spellpower? How much does 1 sp add to a spell? For example lets say you cast 5 spells, would 1 proc of ele force do more dmg than the SP adding a bit to those 5 spells?

Every spell has its own ratio for how much spell power affects the spell. Elemental force is really good, so its really hard for a spellpower enchant to overtake it. Ele force procs very often as well, usually once every 6 seconds or so - so it can often proc twice in a short time.

3. I've heard alot that vers is just so good at this level, is it worth it trying out buiilds where you go for vers as a secondary stat or not even at all? i.e Haste > Vers, Crit > Vers, Haste > Crit, Crit > Haste etc.

You can find some players that value verse and haste equally depending on the build. There are a few specs where haste/crit are super valuable - but verse is still really useful for them. Fury warrior (haste), fire mage (crit), and destro lock (crit) are the ones off the top of my head that might consider a different priority.
 
I probably should update the general guidance a bit to make it seem less set in stone.

In short, crit is nerfed, but crit is burst, which is really strong in pvp (even with the nerf). Haste is good for certain classes, though its mostly casters who benefit from the reduced cast times and increased dot/hot time. Even casters can look at crit to try and burst through heals if that is their role. Marksman is going for big aimed shots to burst through healers to secure a kill. So definitely prefer crit as marksman.
 
call me wrong but as a healer with non-boe gloves i'm considering this chant over 3sp :)

Its not necessarily wrong, just not the one of the best quick start options IMO. If you feel like you're at a good amount of health to survive a rogue opening on you or being focused in a midfight - then you can get by without the stam. If you feel that the haste is more useful than the 3SP then go for it. Ultimately, you might be better off using the BoE gloves with stam and switching a stam trinket to haste/int though.
 
There are a number of threads right now about the PTR changes for 8.1.5. I'll sum them up quickly here, and will update the guide when it goes live, with what actually happens.

1. All stats to chest enchants are nerfed.

Glorious stats is still going to be the best stat option at +3. Since this is a global nerf, it doesn't change much in the way of balancing things. It means that +4 verse to chest might be considered, but 3stam/3primary is still probably better than 4 verse.

2. Quest blues scale to ilvl 25.

This isn't a huge change, but it might make a few quest items viable. Most of the quest blues aren't particularly great with secondary stats. Any many slots will have to compete with BG crate items (still ilvl 25). Its kind of annoying for many players who did quests for ilvl 23 gear, as those will NOT scale back up to ilvl 25. Random dungeon satchels remain at ilvl 23. We'll have to see what items become viable. For the most part it seems like they might gain ~1 stat from their current form. Most appear to be inferior to BG crate options. I think the main changes from this will be 2h weapons (more viable options and easier to obtain ones than the RNG involved) and perhaps some plate pieces that don't have many options (still probably worse, but easy to get).

3. Shadow Armor nerfed.

Agility users are going to want to switch from shadow armor (will be 1agi/3armor) to stealth (2agi/2dodge). Basically all agility users lose 1 agility. Also makes Gift of Verse not as bad as it used to be. 2agi is still more damage (equiv to 4-6 verse) - but going movespeed isn't as big of a loss.

4. Frag Belt damage nerfed.

While not part of the quick start guide, the grandfathered frag belt will still be annoying with a 3 second stun in a bracket with little CC, but now it deals 1/3 of its former damage give or take. Will make the bracket a bit more welcoming to new twinks.

5. ELEMENTAL FORCE NERFED.

Damage cut by about half. This is a big one. This nerfs so many classes/specs. Rogues, boomkins, arcane mages, survival hunters are going to see their damage drop. Dual wield survival is such a niche option that it may not be useful anymore (remains to be seen). Offensive healers will have their damage reduced (not a bad thing). Less viable classes will also feel these nerfs and be even less viable (WW/locks/enhance/etc). On the bright side, this may open up other enchants like landslide, dancing steel, +spellpower, and 12agi to 2H. We don't have any extra slow weapons to take advantage of PPM unfortunately.

We'll have to see what else gets hit by the nerf though, because it looks like fiery and lifesteal get hit by it, as they are possible replacements. Avalanche was also nerfed.

6. Incendiary ammo, frost ammo?, flintlocke, gnomish xray scope all nerfed.

Not sure what this is going to mean for hunters. Incendiary is an easy fire and forget item. Flintlocke still gives 30agi and gnomish 40AP, but the 40s ICD is annoying to micromanage and harder to justify at less than half the previous buff value. Another option is that BfA enchants can be used on ranged weapons, and can be used on ANY ranged weapons. So ilvl 25 BG crate weapons with ideal stats and slightly higher weapon damage can use those. The enchants themselves are meh, but depending on how nerfed the scope are...

7. Coastal Surge nerfed.

Still does 2/3 of what it used to, and an extra HoT is pretty nice still. +spellpower may compete in terms of throughput now though. I imagine it will depend on the class if the throughput or the hot is preferred.

8. Stats to bracer nerfed.

It used to show +1 on the tooltip, but give +2. Now it actually gives +1. Bracer enchants will likely switch to pure int/agi/str/stam/etc.

9. Crusader is NOT nerfed, still gives 100 str.

Warrior and ret are still somewhat limited classes, but their damage relative to everything else is going up. At higher levels, warrior is going to dominate even more than it already does. For 19s though, we'll see. Lack of mobility, slows, and spammable moves still mean warriors are vulnerable to kiting. A pocket healer is still highly recommended.



We'll see what actually makes it to live and if there are any other changes. Healers are going to be WAAAAAAY harder to kill. Warriors will be dealing more damage relative to other things, but still suffer from the same vulnerabilities. Some minor enchant changes to armor might be needed, but the weapon enchants are going to shake things up. We'll need to dust off some of those old enchants to see what sticks. +9 Spellpower might be comparable throughput for casters. Landslide, mongoose, and dancing steel will need to be tested. Some of the Cata/Wrath enchants with PPM or ICD style enchants might be worth looking into.

Patch 8.1.5 expected tomorrow. Most of my initial thoughts are the same, but theres lots of new buzz on upgrade procs (see bottom). Its going to take some time for certain enchants and pieces to be figured out, not to mention I'm busy IRL this week - so the majority of updates will come in a week or two.

For now though, here is what to expect and do on patch day to update your 19s...

Enchants:
  • Your chest enchant will suck. Don't worry, its still probably BiS.
  • Stats to bracers has been nerfed (tooltip used to display 1, but actually gave 2 - now really only gives 1). Look at switching to stam or str/AP/SP.
  • Agility classes will want to switch from shadow armor to https://www.wowhead.com/item=38893/enchant-cloak-stealth . If you're using gift of verse, then you're fine.
  • Ele force is nerfed. While no longer the go-to enchant, its still really good and procs way more than anything else. If you've got money or extra weapons, feel free to start testing out alternatives. If not, keep on trucking and see what people think after a week or two. Dual wield agi users might consider landslide (mainhand only) or dancing steel (either). Casters may want to consider +9 spellpower. Healers might want to consider coastal surge (even though it is getting nerfed too).
  • Hunter scopes got nerfed all over the place. Flintlockes, gnomish xray scope, incendiary ammo, and frost laced ammo all got nerfed. Not quite sure what the new winner is going to be. All of those are still in contention for the new ranged enchant. Also consider lord blastington's scope of doom (1PPM), +damage (diamond scope), and BfA enchants like versatile navigation or gale force (which can be enchanted on BoP weapons!). My guess is that incendiary is still going to be an obtainable and easy to use option - but using BfA enchants on better weapons is tempting. Update: Galeforce on a ilvl 31 epic is a marksman's dream.
Gear:
  • Blue gear from dungeons, quests, and random dungeon satchels will now drop at ilvl 25. This opens up a lot more gearing options that are comparable to blue BG crate items, but easier to obtain. I'll be going through and updating as I find interesting pieces - but it'll take me a week or two. Feel free to post with anything that you think is now worth getting.
  • First thing is to look at your existing gear from dungeons. These scale up to ilvl 25 automatically. See if there are any new pieces you should pick up.
  • Existing quest and satchel gear will probably NOT scale up. If you've already finished a quest and got the ilvl 23 version, then you may be out of luck =/. See what quests you haven't done and if there is anything notable. Consider if satchel gear might replace something for you. Update: With epic upgrades, just do all quests now and roll the dice.
  • Finally hit shift-J and look at the dungeon drops for your class/spec and compare them to your current gear. Many things (like cloaks) will have the same stats as before. Other slots (like chest, bracers, boots, belt) might see some extra stats. Several of these slots that happen to have the right secondaries (verse/crit or verse/haste depending on class/spec) are going to be BiS. If you see an upgrade, feel free to leave a comment.
  • The fang/slither-scale sets will still be BiS for leather/mail/plate casters - it'll be slightly higher ilvl though.
  • BoA shoulders are still the only options that can be legally enchanted - those won't need updated.
  • BoE/BoA legs are still the only options that can be legally enchanted - those likely won't need updated. Update: There are leather/mail BoE legs than can upgrade to epic.
  • BoE gloves are still the only legal way to get glove reinforcements. But if you prefer to enchant your gloves with primary stats - look for new gear.
  • Engineering helms are still the way to go, but mail/plate dungeon options might be a little less worse. Update: Feathered Headdress can upgrade and may be better for glass cannon agi users.
  • Neck/Rings still lack primary stats - so unlikely to see much difference there.
  • There are a few verse/crit agility 1hers that are going to be very competitive for mainhand BiS (though you might get better stats with the random stats of the BG crate blue).
  • There are going to be some interesting 2h str and agility options from quests and dungeons.
Here are a few possible dungeon upgrades to look for:

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Finally, the patch notes have a previously unnoticed change - the possibility for quest items and drops from rares to titanforge to epics??? We'll have to see how this works and what it means for rare drops. Is it BoP items only? Is it mob-specific items only or instance-specific or world drop rares? Does it work on greens as well as blues?

The change to questing is going to be very weird and may screw some things up. BiS would no longer be a thing. Existing twinks are cut out of possible upgrades as they've already done the quests. Depending on how big these upgrades are, I can see people powerleveling a rogue/hunter/warrior to 19 and then turning in a few quest blues to see if they get an epic weapon. If they don't, mail the heirlooms to the next toon and delete it. We'll see...

UPDATE: See guide for list of farmable epics. Do any quests that you haven't done on your 19 yet. Hunters can consider the reroll option to get an epic weapon, as there are currently no known farmable ranged drops.

Hopefully that should help get you started on patch day while I'm busy and people test the changes. Let me know if theres anything new that wasn't on PTR or if you have obvious quest/dungeon upgrades.


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Guide 8.1.5 update progress:
  • Fix existing enchant numbers [Enchants]
  • Add new possible enchants [Enchants]
  • Remove stats enchant from lists [All classes/specs]
  • Replace shadow armor with stealth [rogue, hunter, enhance, feral]
  • Look through dungeon journal for possible upgrades. Add them to appropriate lists [All classes/specs]
  • Add blurb on quest rare/epic upgrades [Intro]
  • Create separate list of notable farmable rares that can upgrade [New]
  • Figure out which enchants are going to be used. Update accordingly. [Enchants, All classes/specs]
  • Figure out notation to indicate Epic upgrade of farmable item Foamspittle Staff (E)
    Code:
     ([B][COLOR=#a335ee]E[/COLOR][/B])
  • Add in farmable epic upgrade items [All classes/specs] (foamspittle, pacifier, 1h agi mainhand, 1h agi offhand, 1h agi daggers, leather shoulders, leather gloves, leather chest, leather legs, mail chest, mail legs, mail belt)
  • Replace thorbia's with slitherscale [enhance, hunter]
  • Do some math to compare full fang/slitherscale set vs upgrade purples - Fang/Slitherscale is still probably best for casters with only 1-2 epics. Some good questing epics may overtake the set bonus. Will leave comparing the fang/slitherscale stats against a set of epic upgrades as an exercise for the reader.
  • Rework Assumptions/Logic/Sources sections into an easily digestable FAQ.
  • Clean up Farmable Epics section. Include links to the mob, approximate timers, how horde can get to bloodmyst isle, etc. Remove a few less useful items.
  • Update pally weapons
 
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Farmable Upgrades

Now that 8.1.5 has had some time to settle, I've started to put together a list of farmable epics. If you have any other BoE Epics or know of anyone who does, please screenshot or link your armory. The Unknown section includes many things that in theory upgrade, but may not drop in game anymore.

This is only for BoE epics that are farmable. In theory, BoP epics that are farmable would be accepted as well...I just don't know of any.

I'd highly recommend addons like NPCScan to help identify rares. It might also help to create a targeting macro that can be spammed to find a specific rare mob. The following macro will attempt to target Lo'Grosh, and then moonfire if targeting an enemy.

Code:
/cleartarget
/target Lo'Grosh
/cast [harm, nodead] Moonfire

Caster Weapons
https://www.wowhead.com/item=1405 - 37 int, 13 stam, 16 verse
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=517
Shares spawns with: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=127
Item use: Caster BiS, despite losing the offhand int enchant. Shamans may want to keep 1h/shield instead or in addition to a staff.
Tips:
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast
  • Recommended spot is approximately 27, 70. Can go south for another couple of camps while waiting for respawns
  • Consider also tagging the https://www.wowhead.com/npc=831/sea-crawler - as they can drop an epic https://www.wowhead.com/item=2088
  • Rare version is comparable with current adaptable 1h/offhand setups
https://www.wowhead.com/item=1391/riverpaw-mystic-staff - 37 int, 13 stam, 13 verse
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=453
Shares spawns with: Riverpaw Taskmasters
Item use: While not quite as good as foamspittle, the epic riverpaw mystic staff is still better than most other options. It isn't any easier to farm - so probably stick with foamspittle.
Tips:
  • Mobs are more spread out than foamspittle, but the spot is less popular, so you'll have less competition
  • This is NOT as good as foamspittle (less verse) - so even less competition
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast and then west towards the riverpaw camps
  • Recommended spot: 63.62, 77.82 - theres a camp where a single mob respawns in a few seconds (depending on the number of players in the area)

Agility 1H Weapons
https://www.wowhead.com/item=5744/pale-skinner - 4 agi, 6 stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=472
Approx spawn rate: 15-30 minutes
Item use: BiS farmable mainhand for rogues/WW monks. Several other options exist from quests with possibly better stats - so exhaust your quest possibilities first. The drop rate appears to be very low even before looking at the upgrade rate.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance for your faction to win the tag (and share the low-HP mob)
  • Horde - Go to Grom'Gol by zeppelin and then head north up the shoreline and through westfall.
  • ??? - (Haven't done this farm yet, don't have more details)
https://www.wowhead.com/item=820/slicer-blade - 8 agi
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=115
Shares spawns with: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=154
Item use: Most agility for rogue offhands. Shares BiS with Talon of Vultros
Tips:
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast to westfall
https://www.wowhead.com/item=115349/talon-of-vultros - 7 agi, 3 crit
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=462
Approx spawn rate: 15 minutes to 1 hour?
Item use: Contender for best dagger (has 1 less agility, but 3 more crit than Slicer Blade). Good offhand for all rogues and WW monk. Good mainhand dagger for dagger rogues.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance to find Vultros
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast
  • There are 4 main spawn locations - see wowhead
  • Can also drop https://www.wowhead.com/item=115348
https://www.wowhead.com/item=1917/jeweled-dagger - 4agi, 8stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=99/morgaine-the-sly
Approx spawn rate: 15-30 minutes
Item use: Good FC option for rogues and FC druids (w/ stacks). More damage than an ilvl 25 for a mainhand dagger rogue - but look for Slicer Blade or Talon of Vultros instead.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance for your faction to win the tag (and share the low-HP mob)
  • Horde - Go to Grom'Gol by zeppelin and then head north up the shoreline and through westfall.
  • ??? - (Haven't done this farm yet, don't have more details)
https://www.wowhead.com/item=2088/long-crawler-limb - 4agi, 8stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=831/sea-crawler
Item use: Good FC option for rogues and FC druids (w/ stacks). More damage than an ilvl 25 for a mainhand dagger rogue - but look for Slicer Blade or Talon of Vultros instead.
Tips:
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast
  • Consider combining with the https://www.wowhead.com/item=1405/foamspittle-staff grind
  • There is a decent group at 36, 18 and another at 33, 24

Agility 2H Weapons
None so far =(

Strength 1H Weapons (for the rare prot warr/pally)
https://www.wowhead.com/item=1958/petrified-shinbone - 4 str, 5 stam, 5 crit
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=625
Shares spawns with: ?
Item use: Good option for the rare prot pally/warrior. More desirable to 20s, where some pve stuff happens.
Tips:
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • Horde - Go to Grom'Gol by zeppelin and then head north up the shoreline into westfall.
  • Consider combining with https://www.wowhead.com/npc=626 grind
  • Wowhead has this also dropping from Skeletal Miner, this is likely an error. It is a single source drop and DOES upgrade.
https://www.wowhead.com/item=827/wicked-blackjack - 8 str
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=449
Item use: Good option for the rare prot pally/warrior. More desirable to 20s, where some pve stuff happens.
Tips:
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • Alliance only - these mobs are in a specific phase
  • "Complete the quest series in Westfall up to and including Rise of the Brotherhood. After you turn in to King Wrynn in Stormwind, return to Westfall. The sky will be red and Defias Knuckledusters will be among the mobs attacking Sentinel Hill. They have an essentially instant respawn rate. Just farm away until the mace drops." - From Celano in the wowhead comments
  • Kill all of the Defias mobs, as they share spawns with the Kunckledusters. Henchmen can also drop https://www.wowhead.com/item=1927/deadmines-cleaver - while it does NOT upgrade, its worth grabbing for transmog and selling on the AH.
  • The north gate of sentinel hill was a good spot for me.

Strength 2H Weapons
https://www.wowhead.com/item=6327/the-pacifier - 14str, 5stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=2453
Approx spawn rate: 1.5-2 hours
Item use: BiS 2H str weapon. Comparable to several quest upgrade options. Warriors and Ret pallies get farming.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance for your faction to win the tag
  • Also drops boulder and kickers

Cloth
https://www.wowhead.com/item=31264/silvermoon-robes - 8 int, 13 stam, 11-12 secondaries (quickblade/aurora/fireflash)
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=22060/fenissa-the-assassin
Approx spawn rate: 1 hour?
Item use: BiS Cloth robes. Ideally quickblade/aurora with 7/4 or 6/6.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance of finding her and ensuring everyone gets a tag
  • Horde - Swim (or get a ride) from Darkshore to Teldrassil. A swimming mount (Sea Turtle/Riding Turtle), druid aquative form, or water walking may be required to survive - otherwise you'll need to run back as a ghost after dying to fatigue. Take the portal on the dock on the west to get to Azuremyst isle, then head north (don't get too close to the Exodar)
  • Can spawn in three places - see wowhead comments
  • Mob is stealthed, so somewhat hard to find
  • Also drops https://www.wowhead.com/item=31263 and https://www.wowhead.com/item=31256
  • Wowhead has this listed as a possible drop from Sunhawk Agent as well - this is an error. It is a single-source drop and DOES upgrade.

Leather
https://www.wowhead.com/item=3011/feathered-headdress - 11 primary, 10 versatility
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=2452
Approx spawn rate: 1.5-3 hours?
Item use: Glass cannon head option. Mainly for agility users, as casters will prefer engineering goggle options.
Tips:
https://www.wowhead.com/item=2167/foremans-gloves - 8 primary, 8 haste
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=626
Approx spawn rate: 5-8 minutes
Item use: Glass cannon option for leather agility gloves. It can be enchanted with glove reinforcement, but that negates going glass cannon. Casters will generally prefer the full fang/slitherscale set.
Tips:
https://www.wowhead.com/item=4810/boulder-pads - 9 primary, 8 crit
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=2453
Approx spawn rate: 1.5-2 hours
Item use: Glass cannon shoulders for a glass cannon set (rogues, boomkins, and hunters might consider). Can't be legally enchant except for +2 stam.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance for your faction to win the tag
  • Also drops pacifier and kickers
https://www.wowhead.com/item=31263/silvermoon-tunic - 8 primary, 13 stamina, 11/12 secondaries (quickblade/aurora/fireflash)
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=22060/fenissa-the-assassin
Approx spawn rate: 1 hour?
Item use: Possible BiS leather chest. Ideally quickblade/aurora with 7/4 or 6/6.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance of finding her and ensuring everyone gets a tag
  • Horde - Swim (or get a ride) from Darkshore to Teldrassil. A swimming mount (Sea Turtle/Riding Turtle), druid aquative form, or water walking may be required to survive - otherwise you'll need to run back as a ghost after dying to fatigue. Take the portal on the dock on the west to get to Azuremyst isle, then head north (don't get too close to the Exodar)
  • Can spawn in three places - see wowhead comments
  • Mob is stealthed, so somewhat hard to find
  • Also drops https://www.wowhead.com/item=31264 and https://www.wowhead.com/item=31256
https://www.wowhead.com/item=2087/hard-crawler-carapace - 11 primary, 13 stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=830/sand-crawler
Item use: Possible BiS farmable leather chest. Silvermoon chest has 3 less primary, but 11/12 total secondaries - but the carapace is easier to farm. Casters will likely stick with the full Fang/Slitherscale set.
Tips:
  • Group up to share tags for low HP mobs
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast
  • There are several sizable groups on the beach, and usually a few just inside the water. The group at 40,10 appear to respawn fairly fast, but moving all along the north coast is recommended.
  • Consider pulling any https://www.wowhead.com/npc=831/sea-crawler that are nearby for the chance at the dagger they drop.
https://www.wowhead.com/item=38513/boarhide-leggings - 11primary, 13 stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=100/gruff-swiftbite
Approx spawn rate: 15-30 minutes
Item use: BiS Leather BoE legs, can be enchanted. Mostly for agility users and FC sets due to the fang legs being used for casters.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance for your faction to win the tag (and share the low-HP mob)
  • Horde - Go to Grom'Gol by zeppelin and then head north up the shoreline and through westfall.
  • Can spawn at a few of the various camps. 26.85, 89.72 is a good spot to see the camps.
  • This is a low level quest area, so random people will be clearing the camps fairly often

Mail
https://www.wowhead.com/item=31256/silvermoon-armor - 8 primary, 13 stam, 11/12 secondaries (quickblade/aurora/fireflash)
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=22060/fenissa-the-assassin
Approx spawn rate: 1 hour?
Item use: BiS mail chest. Ideally quickblade/aurora with 7/4 or 6/6.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance of finding her and ensuring everyone gets a tag
  • Horde - Swim (or get a ride) from Darkshore to Teldrassil. A swimming mount (Sea Turtle/Riding Turtle), druid aquative form, or water walking may be required to survive - otherwise you'll need to run back as a ghost after dying to fatigue. Take the portal on the dock on the west to get to Azuremyst isle, then head north (don't get too close to the Exodar)
  • Can spawn in three places - see wowhead comments
  • Mob is stealthed, so somewhat hard to find
  • Also drops https://www.wowhead.com/item=31264 and https://www.wowhead.com/item=31263
https://www.wowhead.com/item=3053/humberts-chestpiece?ilvl=31 - 16 primary
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=14275/tamra-stormpike
Approx spawn rate: 1+ hour?
Item use: Glass cannon chest for hunters.
Tips:
  • Group up to ensure everyone gets a tag
  • VERY low drop rate. Like 2-5% chance to drop, on top of the 2-5% chance to go epic.
  • Despite what wowhead says, it does NOT drop from the Mountaineers.
https://www.wowhead.com/item=2166/foremans-leggings - 11 primary, 13 stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=626
Approx spawn rate: 5-8 minutes
Item use: BiS for mail agility legs that can be enchanted (hunters, enhance shammy). Resto/ele shammy will probably still prefer the slither-scale set.
Tips:
https://www.wowhead.com/item=1678/black-ogre-kickers - 5 primary, 9 stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=2453
Approx spawn rate: 1.5-2 hours
Item use: FC set for hunters/shamans?
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance for your faction to win the tag
  • Also drops pacifier and boulder

Plate
=(

Misc
https://www.wowhead.com/item=115348/feathered-cape - 7 agi, 7 stam
Drops from: https://www.wowhead.com/npc=462
Approx spawn rate: 15 minutes to 1 hour?
Item use: Decent cloak for a balanced agility user. Less agility than parachute cloak, not overly better than Sporid Cape for rogue/hunter. Might work well for a "max movement speed" set with gift and let parachute cloak use an agility enchant.
Tips:
  • Group up to for better chance to find Vultros
  • For Horde - take the zeppelin from Org to GromGar and head north up the coast
  • There are 4 main spawn locations - see wowhead
  • Can also drop https://www.wowhead.com/item=115349


Inferior

These items drop and upgrade, but are direct downgrades from other BoE gear. Unless they prove to be extremely easy to farm, then these aren't worth considering.



Unknown/Unlikely

These are items that were in the game at one point, currently exist in the database and can upgrade - but its most likely that they no longer actually drop in game. Most of the rare mobs that drop them were changed in cata. Some of these might have appeared from salvage crates for a while, which can make tracking things down confusing. Consider all of things HIGHLY UNLIKELY to drop.

Note that this is only a small subset of items that used to exist and no longer drop. See more info here: https://xpoff.com/threads/single-drop-source-boes.75473/


Does NOT upgrade

These are items that do NOT upgrade, though they still drop. It appears that dungeon drops are not eligable to upgrade, and sometimes items USED to be dungeon drops even if they aren't anymore. There are also a few other exceptions. Confirmation comes from looking items on the old WoW Encyclopedia - http://us.battle.net/wow/en/item/1927 - as it will say if it can be Rare/Epic.

The WoW Encyclopedia is part of the old wow website, and many things (such as search) don't work anymore. You can create a bookmark with the following code as the URL, then look up an item on wowhead. When you click the bookmark, it will take you to the correct WoW Encyclopedia page. Very useful for combining wowhead's search and filters with the official information
Code:
javascript:window.location.href = "http://us.battle.net/wow/en/item/" + window.location.href.substring(window.location.href.search("item=")+5).split("/")[0]

 
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Farmable Upgrades

Now that 8.1.5 has had some time to settle, I've started to put together a list of farmable epics. The main sections include items that are known to drop (but not necessarily upgrade yet) and are good/interesting at ilvl 31. Items that I have not seen an epic version of will be marked with a ? after the name. If you have an epic version or know of someone who does, please screenshot or link your armory.

Note that this is a work in progress and will probably be for a long time. Please let me know if you known of any other relevant items that drop. I'll be going through and clean up the formatting as well as removing some of the items that don't drop/upgrade. At some point I'll also possibly remove some that DO drop/upgrade, but might be worse AND harder to farm than a better option. Some ongoing/interesting threads on these drops are the showoff thread (has lots of quest item bragging too), possible drops thread, and the single drop source thread.

Caster Weapons
Agility 1H Weapons
Agility 2H Weapons
  • None so far =(
Strength 1H Weapons (for the rare prot warr/pally)
Strength 2H Weapons
Cloth
Leather
Mail
Plate
  • =(
Misc

Unknowns

I'm not sure that these items drop anymore or I don't expect them to upgrade based on what I've currently seen.


Thx for this awesome list bro!
 
For Rogues I think that epic Boarhide Legs and epic Soothsaying Vest could be bis

I'm definitely leaning towards https://www.wowhead.com/item=38513/boarhide-leggings , though https://www.wowhead.com/item=5422/brambleweed-leggings are also an option.

For chests, soothsayer is a great option if it upgrades, but I'm not going to add quest items to the main part of the guide. For farmable options, https://www.wowhead.com/item=31263/silvermoon-tunic (of the quickblade) or https://www.wowhead.com/item=2087/hard-crawler-carapace are probably best.
 
Pallys cant use staffs, even if they could being able to use a shield would be far more valuable then an epic formspittle

Thanks for the info, you can tell I don't play pally. I'll fix that when I get home.

I'll note that ele/resto shamans have the same dilemma though with 1h/shield vs staff. Since theres no farmable int 1h or shield, its going to be up to what you get for quest upgrades. I'd probably suggest having a 1h/shield for when youre being focused or flag carrying, and whatever your best int setup is for when you can free cast. I'll need to add that to the guide somewhere as well.
 

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