Skumball's Arms Warrior Pre-Raid/ Naxx Gear Guide
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Skumball's Arms Warrior Pre-Raid/ Naxx Gear Guide
So, you wanna go raiding do ya?
If you lack the gear or don't know where to start, then this guide will tell you what gear you can get and where to get it from.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
For all those Arms Warriors out there who are looking for a little help when it comes to gearing yourself ready for raiding then look no further! This list will tell you what you can use and also where to get it from. It gives a couple of different options for each slot also so that you can choose what you get depending on what you need. This guide is a pre-Naxx guide though it can also be used as a pre-Heroic guide some of these items can be obtained in Heroic instances before entering Naxx though if you can't get into Heroics yet don't worry, just select one of the other items from the list.
I would like to make it clear also that this list is compiled from doing research, not from experience. I play a Prot Warrior and that's the way he will be staying - even his dual spec will be another Prot spec, though orientated towards PvP. As a result, someone who has good experience playing an Arms Warrior may be able to offer more insights and help than I can. However I made this guide as there was no Arms Warrior Gear guide at all on the site - either a complete or a work-in-progress, and we needed one. This is the fruit of my labour.
I must also give credit and thanks to Gorgax from the WoW-EU Warrior forums for coming up with this list in the first place. I have put a few of my own thoughts into this guide also, but 100% of the credit for the origional gear-list must go to him. To view his origional list click here.
Back to the top!Gearing Up
Firstly, I want to make clear what you should be aiming for before you start in Naxx. You need to reach your Hit and Expertise cap, followed by maximising your Crit Chance. Here are the values:
- 263 Hit Rating, 231 if you are a Draenei due to racial bonus of Heroic Presence
- 214 Expertise Rating or 26 Expertise skill - can be lowered by talents Weapon Mastery and Strength of Arms and also by racials such as Axe Specialisation (Orc), Mace Specialisation (Dwarf), Sword Specialisation (Human) and Mace Specialisation (Human)
- 34% Crit Chance Unbuffed, if you haven't got access to Heroic gear yet and intend to use this as a pre-Heroic guide you can drop this target to maybe 30%
Your Hit and Expertise are your priority number one, hit those targets before you even consider thinking about anything else. After that you can boost your Crit Chance.
With the gear list provided here, you will be able to manage these numbers without any problems. There are a number of options included for if you need to focus on a particular stat.
Navigation:
Head
Spiked Titansteel Helm
Crafted by a Blacksmith
Fang-Deflecting Faceguard
Bought from The Argent Crusade when Revered
Planetary Helm
Dropped by Loken in Halls of Lightning - Heroic
Neck
Titanium Impact Choker
Crafted by a Jewelcrafter
Pendant of the Outcast Hero
Bought for 25 Emblem of Heroism
Necklace of Arcane Spheres
Dropped by Xevozz in The Violet Hold - Heroic
Shoulders
Spaulders of the Giant Lord
Bought from The Sons of Hodir when Revered
Spaulders of the Careless Thief
Dropped by Grand Magus Telestra in The Nexus- Heroic
Spaulders of the Abomination
Dropped by Meathook in The Culling of Stratholme - Heroic
Back
Cloak of Bloodied Waters
BoE rare zone-drop from Gundrak - Normal and Heroic, can be bought in AH
Shroud of Reverberation
Dropped by Volkhan in Halls of Lightning - Heroic
Ice Striker's Cloak
Creafted by a Leatherworker
Chest
Heroes' Dreadnaught Battleplate
Bought for 80 Emblem of Heroism
Darkheart Chestguard
Bought from The Ebon Blade when Exalted
Breastplate of Undeath
Dropped by Novos the Summoner in Drak'tharon Keep - Heroic
Bracers
Wristbands of the Sentinel Huntress
Bought for 60 Emblem of Valor or in the AH
Vengeance Bindings
Crafted by a Blacksmith
Interwoven Scale Bracers
Dropped by Keristrasza in The Nexus - Heroic
Gloves
Heroes' Dreadnaught Gauntlets
Bought for 60 Emblem of Heroism
Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets
Dropped by King Ymiron in Utgarde Pinnacle - Heroic
Gauntlets of Dragon Wrath
Dropped by Cache of Eregos (after defeating Ley-Guardian Eregos) in The Oculus - Heroic
Belt
Belt of the Titans
Crafted by a Blacksmith
Flame-Bathed Steel Girdle
Dropped by Keristrasza in The Nexus - Heroic
Jorach's Crocolisk Skin Belt
Bought for 40 Emblem of Heroism
Legs
Legplates of Bloody Reprisal
Bought from Wyrmrest Accord when Exalted
Staggering Legplates
Dropped by Ingvar the Plunderer in Utgarde Keep - Heroic
Legplates of the Oculus Guardian
Dropped by Varos Cloudstrider in The Oculus - Heroic
Boots
The Obliterator Greaves
Dropped by Zuramat the Obliterator in The Violet Hold - Heroic
Death-Inured Sabatons
Bought from The Ebon Blade when Exalted
Boots of the Neverending Path
Bought from The Argent Crusade when Exalted
Rings
Titanium Impact Band
Crafted by a Jewelcrafter
Hemorrhaging Circle
Dropped by Gal'darah in Gundrak - Heroic
Ring of Scarlet Shadows
Crafted by a Jewelcrafter
Trinkets
Darkmoon Card: Greatness
Created from Nobles Deck
Mirror of Truth
Bought for 40 Emblem of Heroism
Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood
Dropped by Keristrasza in The Nexus - Heroic
Ranged
Nesingwary 4000
Crafted by an Engineer
Drake-Mounted Crossbow
Dropped by Ingvar the Plunderer in Utgarde Keep - Heroic
Pierce's Pistol
Dropped by Dark Runed Chest (after defeating Mal'Ganis) in The Culling of Stratholme - Heroic
Weapons
Titansteel Destroyer
Crafted by a Blacksmith
Colossal Skull-Clad Cleaver
Dropped by Loken in Halls of Lightning - Heroic
Argent Skeleton Crusher
Bought from The Argent Crusade when Revered
Gemming & Enchanting Your Gear
Putting Gems into your gear and Enchanting it is a further means to which you can improve it and hit those important stat targets.
Regarding Gems and socket bonuses, you should only gem to get a socket bonus if the reward is greater than sticking a pure DPS gem in the socket or if you need to activate your Meta Gem. Eg: you have a Blue socket with a socket bonus of 6 Stamina, it would not be worth putting a 8 Strength 12 Stamina Gem in this socket because of the DPS you will miss out on by doing so.
You also need to make sure you hit your targets for Hit and Expertise, so prioritise these stats when gemming before anything else.
The table here shows the best gems you can put into their respective sockets, at this stage in your progression.
| Socket Type | Gem |
|---|---|
| Meta | Chaotic Skyflare Diamond |
| Meta | Relentless Earthsiege Diamond |
| Red | Bold Scarlet Ruby |
| Red | Fractured Scarlet Ruby |
| Yellow | Rigid Autumn's Glow |
| Orange | Etched Monarch Topaz |
| Orange | Inscribed Monarch Topaz |
| Green | Vivid Forest Emerald |
| Purple | Sovereign Twilight Opal |
You should enchant your gear as follows:
Choose the better if you can afford.
Cloak:
Enchant Cloak: Major Agility
Enchant Cloak: Superior Agility
Chest:
Enchant Chest: Powerful Stats
Enchant Chest: Super Stats
Bracers:
Enchant Bracers: Greater Assault
Enchant Bracers: Striking
Gloves:
Enchant Gloves: Crusher
Enchant Gloves: Greater Assault
Boots:
Enchant Boots: Greater Assault
Enchant Boots: Icewalker
Weapon:
Enchant Weapon: Berserking
Enchant 2H Weapon: Massacre
Enchant 2H Weapon: Greater Savagery
Your Helm, Shoulder, Belt, and Leg enhancements come from other sources. Here are the ones that you should use:
Helm:
Arcanum of Torment
Bought from The Ebon Blade at Revered
Arcanum of Ferocity
Bought from The Cenarion Expedition at Revered (TBC faction)
Arcanum of Triumph
Bought for 40 Stone Keeper's Shards from Wintergrasp when it is under your faction's control
Shoulder:
Greater Inscription of the Axe
Bought from Sons of Hodir at Exalted
Lesser Inscription of the Axe
Bought from Sons of Hodir at Honored
Inscription of Triumph
Bought for 30 Stone Keeper's Shards from Wintergrasp when it is under your faction's control
Belt:
Eternal Belt Buckle
Crafted by a Blacksmith
Legs:
Icescale Leg Armor
Crafted by a Leatherworker
Nerubian Leg Armor
Crafted by a Leatherworker
You are now ready to start your raiding career as an Arms Warrior. Good Luck!
In the future I will probably add a Tips section and a Speccing and Glyphing section also to make the most of your Arms Warrior.
All comments and feedback are greatly appriciated and will be replied to or acted upon.
Thanks for reading, hope you found it helpful 
- Skumball
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With the new Patch a new
With the new Patch a new beautiful weapon appeared: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=47493
This is pretty much the best you can get pre-raid and if you're unlucky it will last you very long
Really nice guide.
Really nice guide. Still very useable though it's not updated to 3.2
Honored Member
Hi guys, sorry I've been
Hi guys, sorry I've been AWOL for a while...
@ Mic - ArP comes into use more when you reach t8+ content, especially Ulduar. Before this it's negligable. I will however include them in the Gem table for those looking for it.
@ Eric, Maw, and Picture - Overpower is a core part of an Arms warrior's DPS at raiding - it gains it's use from the proc from Taste for Blood.
@ Urkz - Thanks, I'll correct it now
- Skum
Valor
"Bought for 60 Emblem of Valour or in the AH"
Should be "Bought for 60 Emblem of Valor or in the AH" or something like that.
Great guide!
Exalted Member
I was wondering why Arms
I was wondering why Arms warriors need Expertise, how should Overpower proc then? I know from experince that Overpwer really kick asses
Exalted Member
How often does a boss
How often does a boss dodge?
Overpower is useless in raids.
If you were expeirenced,
If you were expeirenced, then you would also know that arms warriors should have Taste for Blood. Which means that when Rend deals damage, Overpower procs.
Member
gems
I am pretty sure the +16 armor penatration rating gem is better then the +16strenght gem for arms
Honored Member
Updated with corrected
Updated with corrected typo's, added Expertise racials, and fixed gem links.
Keep the feedback coming folks
- Skumball
Member
Very nicely done.
I love the format of your guide. Most people perform a simple item list dump and call it a day, but you really took your time to make it look good. I noticed a type in the line about expertise:
can be lowered by talents Waepon Mastery and Strength of Arms
Weapon is mis-spelled.
While your fixing that line, why not include racials such as the human's sword and mace racials.
Just a though.
-Esre
Not to sound harsh, but if this is your best attempt at communication the true "pwnage" is going to occur when you apply for a job that doesn't require you to wear a paper hat. - Doomplague
Honored Member
Typo's ftl. More I missed
Typo's ftl. More I missed haha Thanks for the heads up
- Skumball
Exalted Member
Looks Great
Looks Great Skumball!
Etched Monarch Topaz and Inscribed Monarch Topaz are both linking to Etched Monarch Topaz in your gemming section.
Honored Member
Thanks for the heads up,
Thanks for the heads up, I'll fix it later today when I get chance to sit down and go through the entire guide for corrections.
- Skumball
Moderator
Looks very nice, I have no
Looks very nice, I have no complaints. I could wish for a few little icons for the gear or gems to break things up - feel free to use the gem icons from my tree guide if you like. But its fine as is, and gets a 5/5 from me.
Administrator
Nothing to add. Great job
Nothing to add. Great job there Skumball
Honored Member
Thanks Jiyambi I do agree
Thanks Jiyambi
I do agree on the icons... Might add more "Oooh Shiny..." to it. I'll add some over the weekend when I get chance.
- Skumball
Revered Member
Nice guide, good clear
Nice guide, good clear layout.
Only thing I noticed was a typo in the first paragraph:
"For all those Arms Warriors out there who are looking for a little help when it comes to gearing yourself ready for raiding then look no futher!"
futher should be further, I think.
Great work mate,
Edit: I'll give it a 4 until you put the talents and spec's in, then it's a 5
Exalted Member
I'll give it a 5 right away,
I'll give it a 5 right away, 'cause it's a pre-raid gear guide, and in such a guide, talents shouldn't be included - it's off-topic.
Great guide Skumball, looks like you've really put some effort into this!
Revered Member
Good point, I 'spose I had
Good point, I 'spose I had forgotten that when reviewing it originally. I agree they are not needed, however I think they do help people get ready for Naxx.
As a gear guide this is all inclusive then
Honored Member
Thanks guys Typo's will
Thanks guys
Typo's will be fixed, I checked it before releasing but I'm bound to have missed some more.
As for talents and specs, they will be added shortly. As said though I compiled this list from doing research and using other sources (due credit has been given and I take none for the origional list). As for specs I'm still abit unsure with Arms so once I get abit more clue'd up I'll post them as extras.
- Skumball
Revered Member
A few typo's will always get
A few typo's will always get through
Great work though, especially if you made this through research.
Keep it up mate