Best in Slot can always be a controversial conversation piece on the interwebz, what, with people theorycrafting this and theorycrafting that and nerd raging when coming into ideas that oppose their own. As such this list should not be seen as unalterable and set in stone. What I have assembled here though is probably the most accepted version of our current “Best in Slot” list. I’m sure, however, that there will be people who disagree with one item or another, especially when it comes to rings and trinkets. To these people I can only say a loud and hearty GFC! When using the below list to gather your gear, dont be slavish about it. This list is BiS when all of the pieces are combined. It is no use wearing Benefactor’s Gauntlets for instance if you are not hit capped and have Valorous Earthshatter Gloves that you can wear instead. You’ve got to look at the big picture and where your gear is currently sitting. Remember the gearing mantra … +Hit (to hit cap) > Spell Power > Haste > Crit.

Head:
Valorous Earthshatter Helm
- The token for this piece drops off of Kel’Thuzad in Heroic Naxxramas

Neck:
Wyrmrest Necklace of Power
- This is a quest reward from Heroic Judgment at the Eye of Eternity. The quest chain starts by killing Sapphiron in Naxxramas and looting the Heroic Key to the Focusing Iris

Shoulder:
Valorous Earthshatter Shoulder Pads
-The Token for this piece drops off of Loatheb in Heroic Naxxramas. You can also buy these shoulders with Emblems of Valor

Chest:
Valorous Earthshatter Hauberk
- The Token for this piece drops off of The Four Horsemen in Heroic Naxxramas. It is worth noting that Fallout Impervious Tunic is almost identical to this Tier 7.5 peice of armor and is in fact an ever so slight upgrade on it. The downside to equipping it though is that you will have to give up your four piece set bonus if you want to wear the best in slot gloves (which are not part of the Earthshatter Garb). So, if you never got the chest token to drop for you, the tunic is a fine second choice. You will however be stuck having to wear the tier 7.5 gloves (as I currently am )

Back:
Pennant Cloak
- This cloak drops from Sartharion in Heroic The Obsidian Sanctum.

Wrist:
Bands of Mutual Respect
- These drop from Instructor Razuvius in Heroic Naxxramas

Hands:
Benefactor’s Gauntlets
- These gloves drop from Thaddius in Heroic Naxxramas. They are BOE so they will often drop from the AH too

Waist:
Girdle of Recuperation
- This item drops off of Instructor Razuvius in Heroic Naxxramas

Leg:
Valorous Earthshatter Kilt
- The Token from this item drops off of Thaddius in Heroic Naxxramas. The kilt can also be bought with Emblems of Valor.

Feet:
Eruption-Scarred Boots
- These drop off of Heigan the Unclean in Heroic Naxxramas

Ring 1:
Signet of the Malevolent
- This ring drops from Gothik the Harvester in Heroic Naxxramas

Ring 2:
Signet of Manifested Pain
- This ring drops from Kel’Thuzad in Heroic Naxxramas

Trinket 1:
Dying Curse
- This trinket drops off of four different bosses in Heroic Naxxramas - Maexxna, Gothik the Harvester, Heigan the Unclean and Grobbulus.

Trinket 2:
Illustration of the Dragon Soul
- This trinket drops off Sartharion in Heroic The Obsidian Sanctum

Weapon:
Torch of Holy Fire
- This drops from Kel’Thuzad in Heroic Naxxramas

Shield:
Voice of Reason
- This drops from Kel’Thuzad in Heroic Naxxramas

Relic:
Totem of Hex
- This drops from Patchwerk in Heroic Naaxramas

Elemental

• 2 Piece Bonus: The periodic damage dealt by your Flame Shock can now be critical strikes.
• 4 Piece Bonus: Your critical Strikes from Lightning Bolt cause the target to take nature damage equal to 8% of the Lightning Bolt’s damage over until canceled sec. (I take it this should read “over X amount of seconds or until canceled”. I report it as I get it though and that is how the info I got read)

Restoration

• 2 Piece Bonus: Reduces the cooldown on Riptide by 1 sec.
• 4 Piece Bonus: Reduces the cast time of Chain Heal by 0.2 sec.

Enhancement

• Enhancement 2 Piece Bonus: Increases the damage done by Lava Lash and Stormstrike by 20%.
• Enhancement 4 Piece Bonus: Increases the frequency of Maelstrom Weapon being triggered by your melee weapon attacks by 20%.

I just dinged level 78 today.. a significant level for myself as I had a metric tonne of crafted gear waiting patiently for me to hit that level so as to be able to wear it. A good portion of this gear was the Stormhide set (pictured to the left). The Stormhide set is a level 78, blue quality, restoration shaman set that is crafted by leather workers. With all the resilience it has on it, it is primarily a PVP set, but with its other nice stats it is equally as useful for PVE. It beats, hands down, the cruddy quest rewards you are probably wearing, and aside from a couple of items, there isn’t too much that can beat it at this level. It really is like just stepping into a full set of dungeon blues and I fully recommend building the set if you are a leather worker, or getting a leather working friend to do it for you if you are not.

Here is what you will gain with the set:

• 6734 Armor
• 448 Stamina
• 300 Intellect
• 526 Spellpower
• 120 MP5
• 300 Resilience

As you can see, the stats are nothing to sneeze at. My PVE healing set contains a good chunk of Stormhide, four pieces in fact, and I currently sit around 1400 +healing, 270 mp5 whilst casting, and 20% crit with Earthliving weapon and Water Shield on. Not too shabby for a level 78 considering the general consensus is that 1300 +heal, 275 mp5, and 20% crit is suitable for entry level Heroic dungeons. In PVP I run the full set of Stormhide and I must say that I have noticed a huge improvement in my survivability, not to mention I no longer have mana problems in things like Wintergrasp or other lengthy PVP encounters. It was a major jump forward on my previous PVP gear.

The best thing about the set though is that it is relatively easy and cheap to make. To make the entire set you are looking at 84 x Heavy Borean Leather (ie 504 x Borean Leather) and 8 x Eternal Water. That’s it! So what are you waiting for..get yerself ‘a craftin’!

The Stormhide set is comprised of:
Stormhide Belt
Stormhide Wristguards
Stormhide Crown
Stormhide Grips
Stormhide Hauberk
Stormhide Legguards
Stormhide Shoulders
Stormhide Stompers