29 Legion Gear Prep Guide

Kirise

Kirise

OG
The arrival of the Legion prepatch brought significant changes to optimizing gear for XP-off players. Here's what you need to know for playing in instanced PvP (arenas and battlegrounds, not world PvP). Please let me know if this guide needs any corrections/additions/deletions. Special thanks to @Original for helping with updates.
  • All characters in instanced PvP will receive stats based on a stats template predetermined by Blizzard, based on class and spec. Stats and enchantments on gear no longer matter. Trinkets and weapon/gear procs no longer work.
  • Characters continue to temporarily boost to 29 in instanced PvP. All item levels on gear below item level 34 no longer boost to 34.
  • For every average item level you achieve above 34, you will receive a 0.1% bonus to all of your stats e.g. if you get your average item level to 54, you will receive a 2% bonus to your stats.
  • Characters can now use their best armor types i.e. shamans and hunters can wear mail, and warriors and paladins can wear plate. In addition, wearing all of the same armor type grants around a 5% boost to stats for wearing their native armor type.
  • All 29s should get engineering as one of their professions, to obtain BiS gear.
The following list covers what we know (so far) as BiS items. Any slot stating "strongbox" means that the best gear comes from blue drops out of battleground rewards (ilvl 37), gained from winning a random battleground. This list excludes grandfathered gear.

BiS gear is the same within each armor type; weapon and offhand differences are separated by class within each armor type. Please see @StS Ralso 's great weapon guide for more details about weapons and offhands.


Cloth:

Head: Gnomish Mind Control Cap (ilvl 47)
Neck: Problem Solving Pendant (ilvl 80)
Shoulders: Tattered Dreadmist Mantle / Exquisite Sunderseer Mantle / Thistlefur Mantle (ilvl 34)
Back: Parachute Cloak (ilvl 45)
Chest: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Wrist: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Hands: Enumerated Handwraps (ilvl 35)
Waist: Stonecloth Belt / Conjurer's Cinch / Interlaced Belt (ilvl 34)
Legs: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Feet: Gnomish Rocket Boots / Goblin Rocket Boots (ilvl 45)
Rings: The Rock (ilvl 60)
Trinkets: Hook of the Master Angler (ilvl 65), Arena Grand Master (ilvl 55)
Weapon (mage/warlock/priest): Inquisitor's Wand / Starfaller / Combustible Wand (ilvl 34). Wands provide 5% extra stats, making them BiS.
Off-Hand: Stratholme Lily (ilvl 70)


Leather:

Head: Any headpiece sold by Griftah (ilvl 100, rogue only), Cap of Harmony (ilvl 40, Alliance only). Horde choose: Preened Tribal War Feathers / Stained Shadowcraft Cap / Pathfinder Hat (ilvl 34)
Neck: Problem Solving Pendant (ilvl 80)
Shoulders: Stained Shadowcraft Spaulders / Exceptional Stormshroud Mantle / Lasting Feralheart Spaulders / Cutthroat's Mantle (ilvl 34)
Back: Parachute Cloak (ilvl 45)
Chest: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Wrist: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Hands: Vigorous Handguards (ilvl 35)
Waist: Gnomish Harm Prevention Belt (ilvl 43)
Legs: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Feet: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Rings: The Rock (ilvl 60)
Trinkets: Hook of the Master Angler (ilvl 65), Arena Grand Master (ilvl 55)
****weapon speed takes precedence over ilvl for melee and ranged melee except guardian and feral druid****
Druid
Weapon (feral/guardian druid): 2H strongbox (ilvl 37)
Weapon (balance/resto druid): MH strongbox (ilvl 37), OH Stratholme Lily (ilvl 70)
Monk
Weapon (brewmaster monk): Grand Staff of Jordan (speed 3.7)
Weapon (ww monk): MH = Brushwood Blade (speed 3.0, Alliance only). For Horde: Sinister Scimitar (speed 2.9), OH = 1H strongbox (ilvl 37)
Weapon (mw monk): MH strongbox (ilvl 37), OH Stratholme Lily (ilvl 70)
Rogue
Weapon (outlaw rogue): MH = Brushwood Blade (speed 3.0, Alliance only). For Horde: Leaden Mace (speed 2.9), OH = 1H strongbox (ilvl 37)
Weapon (sub/ass rogue): MH = Jagged Wing Slasher (speed 2.6, Horde only). For Alliance: Broad Bladed Knife (speed 2.0), OH = dagger strongbox (ilvl 37)


Mail:

Head: Goblin Mining Helmet (ilvl 41)
Neck: Problem Solving Pendant (ilvl 80)
Shoulders: Champion Herod's Shoulder / Mystical Pauldrons of Elements / Aged Pauldrons of the Five Thunders / Thick Scale Shoulder Pads (ilvl 34)
Back: Parachute Cloak (ilvl 45)
Chest: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Wrist: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Hands: Earthbound Grips (ilvl 35)
Waist: Spritescale Cinch / Enduring Belt / Mail Combat Belt / Double Mail Belt (ilvl 34)
Legs: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Feet: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Rings: The Rock (ilvl 60)
Trinkets: Hook of the Master Angler (ilvl 65), Arena Grand Master (ilvl 55)
****weapon speed takes precedence over ilvl for melee and ranged melee****
Hunter: weapon speed takes precedence over ilvl
Weapon (surv hunter): Bloodied Arcanite Reaper (speed 3.8)
Weapon (BM/marks hunter): gun strongbox (speed 3.0)
Shaman: weapon speed takes precedence over ilvl only for melee mainhand
Weapon (ele/resto shaman): mace strongbox (ilvl 37), shield strongbox (ilvl 37)
Weapon (enhance shaman): MH = Leaden Mace (speed 2.9), OH = strongbox mace (ilvl 37)


Plate:

Head: Pristine Lightforge Helm / Polished Helm of Valor (ilvl 34)
Neck: Problem Solving Pendant (ilvl 80)
Shoulders: Polished Spaulders of Valor (ilvl 34)
Back: Parachute Cloak (ilvl 45)
Chest: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Wrist: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Hands: Rockgrab Crushers (ilvl 32)
Waist: Highlander's Plate Girdle (Alliance only) / Highlander's Lamellar Girdle (Alliance only) / Defiler's Plate Girdle (Horde only) / Defiler's Lamellar Girdle (Horde only) (ilvl 33)
Legs: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Feet: strongbox (ilvl 37)
Rings: The Rock (ilvl 60)
Trinkets: Hook of the Master Angler (ilvl 65), Arena Grand Master (ilvl 55)
****weapon speed takes precedence over ilvl for melee and ranged melee except holy paladin****
Warrior
Weapon (arms warrior): Bloodied Arcanite Reaper (speed 3.8)
Weapon (fury warrior): MH = Bloodied Arcanite Reaper (speed 3.8), OH = 2H strongbox (ilvl 37)
Weapon (prot warrior): MH = Brushwood Blade (speed 3.0, Alliance only). For Horde: Leaden Mace (speed 2.9), OH = shield strongbox (ilvl 37)
Paladin
Weapon (ret paladin): Bloodied Arcanite Reaper (speed 3.8)
Weapon (holy paladin): HEALING MH = mace strongbox (ilvl 37), DAMAGE MH = Mace of the Order (Alliance only) / Mace of the Sunwalker (Horde only) / Morningstar of the Order (Horde only) (speed 3.3), OH = shield strongbox (ilvl 37)
Weapon (prot paladin): MH = Mace of the Order (Alliance only) / Mace of the Sunwalker (Horde only) / Morningstar of the Order (Horde only) (speed 3.3), OH = shield strongbox (ilvl 37)

Thanks @Redgreenblur and @SikTh for posting about the engineering items, @Kryptonite for confirming the gear sold by Griftah, @raziel83 and @Holythane for the Stratholme Lily info, @AlisterCrow for the heads up on the STV trinket, and @Purj for the info about blue gear drops from battleground strongboxes.
 
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I'm currently on my phone so I can't link it, but on the Warcraft Twitter page back in January the 15th they said that at the end of a battleground there will be a chance to get a piece of gear. I assume this means that they will implement the strongbox system of lvl 100 random BGs. Who knows what ilvl the gear will be or whether these pieces will scale better than high ilvl gear with no stats on it....
 
Tidey said:
so the bad thing I see is that we won't be able to mog a lot of the crap out there. Is that right?
Click to expand...
Some of it, that's true. Specifically, the head, and the offhand. I'd gladly trade in ilvl 35 cloth pants for an ilvl 34 set of pants I could mog. Other than that, our mogs won't change much.
 
Shredz said:
I'm currently on my phone so I can't link it, but on the Warcraft Twitter page back in January the 15th they said that at the end of a battleground there will be a chance to get a piece of gear. I assume this means that they will implement the strongbox system of lvl 100 random BGs. Who knows what ilvl the gear will be or whether these pieces will scale better than high ilvl gear with no stats on it....
Click to expand...

Last I read somewhere, the strongbox system was only going to be in place for endgame battlegrounds. The thing is, even if there were low-level strongboxes, they probably would act like the satchel of helpful goods, and still not surpass the list above.
 
It would make sense for them to implement something like that since they are removing honor points. I can't seem to find anything saying that low lol PvP will have the same stat scaling as 100-110....perhaps I've overlooked something? This all seems a bit premature, but I can see why people will want to get these items just in case.
 
Also, I didn't specify that the tweet from January was specifically about low lvl brackets "starting at lvl 10".
 
Tidey said:
so the bad thing I see is that we won't be able to mog a lot of the crap out there. Is that right?
Click to expand...


Yes and no. I read somewhere on one of the thread that in legion when u complete a quest everything item reward will be available in armor category. If that is true, people should wait to complete quest in hope of being able to get potential cloth armor rewarded in quest being leather or plate etc. with that being said items like lucky fishing hat and faerie mantle will be leather. So who know.
 
Shredz said:
It would make sense for them to implement something like that since they are removing honor points. I can't seem to find anything saying that low lol PvP will have the same stat scaling as 100-110....perhaps I've overlooked something? This all seems a bit premature, but I can see why people will want to get these items just in case.
Click to expand...

There was a blue post or a tweet that said lower level PvP (i.e. below endgame) would use stat templates the same way endgame PvP would, scaled down by item level, per bracket. I can try to dig up that post, if you want.

Edit: found it: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/20743024723#10
 
Luplis said:
http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/legion-transmogrification-changes

Off topic but will mogging become exactly what they didn't want when the cataclysm mail bug was going strong? Or is this new system of transmog embracing that a level 29 could be rocking end game wear.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me like they're opening the floodgates on the transmog system. ...And buried in that post is the best news I ever heard about transmogs -- we *finally* get to hide shoulders!

That was ten years coming.
 
raziel83 said:
You're missing http://www.wowhead.com/item=19022/nat-pagles-extreme-angler-fc-5000

It does increase average ilvl. I've done it on both a rogue and a druid.
Click to expand...

Absolutely true -- good point. My language in the guide wasn't clear about that. Will Blizzard use Average Item Level as posted in our armories (i.e. base stats on our max gear, even if it isn't equipped), or will Blizzard use the equipped item level? My guess is the latter, since that's how ilevel-restricted dungeons currently work, which is why I didn't include the fishing pole in the guide. But we won't really know until the prepatch lands.

Edit: @raziel83 strongly supports your point here:

http://www.xpoff.com/threads/highest-item-level-obtainable-at-29.67452/page-2#post-968931

...So I'm not sure at all, now.
 
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Highest ilvl i've seen on the forums is 74 so far. Anyone able to reach higher ilvls?
 
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As much as I appreciate the majority of changes coming in Legion and I'm especially happy about the XP-on / XP-off merger, but this item level thingy is going to be annoying. We tinks will all be geared to the hilt out in the world, but then jump into a bg, we pull out flowers, fishing rods, fancy necklaces and bling and then go to war............
WTF is Blizz doing.......
 
icehawk said:
As much as I appreciate the majority of changes coming in Legion and I'm especially happy about the XP-on / XP-off merger, but this item level thingy is going to be annoying. We tinks will all be geared to the hilt out in the world, but then jump into a bg, we pull out flowers, fishing rods, fancy necklaces and bling and then go to war............
WTF is Blizz doing.......
Click to expand...

It's the price we have to pay for a merger.

BTW real twinking will still exist in the 100-109 bracket. Grinding out max artifact traits will take forever but once you have them you will have a serious numerical advantage over non-twinks.
 
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