Odds and Ends

Patch 4.0.1 is a week old, and there seem to be lot of little things to talk about. The game is always a little frustrating after a big patch, but 4.0.1 was especially big and was particularly frustrating for me. I'll get more into that later, but lets take a look at the big topics of the week.

My Gear list:

I've said this a couple of places before, but I keep getting questions so I will say it again. No, I am not updating my gear list for patch 4.0.1.

I realize that the patch changed the way we gear quite a bit. However, I don't think it's worth the effort for several reasons. First, Cataclysm is going to be released in less then two months, and very little progression raiding will be done during that time. Second, it's not a simple matter of changing the weights and getting rid of the cloth gear. The stats on all of it changed to some extent, and would require a lot of data entry. Third, if you made the right choices before the patch most of your choices after the patch will be the same.

I realize that some of you like a clear and decisive list to go by, but I can't provide that to you at this time. Though here are a few simple rules you can follow that should help you make your choices along with the suggestions I made in my 4.0.1 guide.

• No Cloth: Think of it this way. One piece of cloth is likely to cost you 75 to 100 Int if you have ICC level gear. Also, our gear was redesigned assuming we would have the Leather Specialization buff. Not having means we are weaker in some respects then we were before the patch. Using Cloth gear would only make sense if you were making big jumps in ilevel.
  


• The Hit Cap: The new hit cap is 446 hit rating. It doesn't matter if you're Horde or Alliance. It doesn't matter what your raid comp is. The hit cap is 446 for every moonkin and I think every caster period.
  
  The hit cap is a lot higher then we are used to, but there is good news. We have a lot more tools now to try and get to the hit cap. First, Balance of Power converts Spirit to Hit Rating. Most of the leather gear we avoided now has a benefit to us. Also, Reforging is also a god send for hit capping. Our Blue Gem sockets are now more valuable and there are several enchants with Spirit that are helpful.
  


• The Equation: When in doubt remember the stat equation:
  
  Int > Hit > Haste > SP > Crit > Mastery.
  If you are having a hard time choosing between two items, compare the stats in relation to the stat equation. If you do that you can't go too horribly wrong.

Moonkin Nerfs and Hamlet's post:

As most of you know, moonkin came out of 4.0.1 hugely overpowered. If you looked at the WoL rankings you saw several moonkin competing with fire mages and other specs for the top spot. While I'm sure this was fun for a lot of people, I don't think anyone expected it to last and blizzard soon responded with:

Balance Druids – we lowered the base points and coefficients of several Balance spells, especially Insect Swarm.

Hamlet then spent a good amount of time to test the changes and posted his analysis on his EJ blog.

As many people have noticed by now, a number of hotfixes went in after the first night or two of 4.0 raiding, to adjust the wildly disparate DPS values of some classes. I spent a long time last night retesting essentially all of the Balance spells to see how they'd been affected. Here are the results:

--Insect Swarm base damage and coefficient reduced by 50% (122 base damage per tick, 0.13 coefficient). This one many people noticed right away.
--The other big one: Moonfury is now giving only a 15% bonus to most spells. To every spell in fact, except for IS and the MF DoT.
--Also Moonfury is stacking additively with all other additive buffs (Glyph of IS, Glyph of MF, Gale Winds, Blessing of the Grove, probably Glyph of Wrath and Glyph of Focus as well). Not sure if this is new, I may have just missed it before.
--I heard reports of a Thorns nerf, but I'm not seeing any evidence of that. 0.421 coefficient seems fine. I think people were confusing this with the reported changes on the beta.
--Typhoon coefficient seems to be up to 0.126.
--Sunfire is now affected by haste, but is still on a 3 second base tick period.
--Sunfire does identical damage to Moonfire and is affected by the same buffs. I've a seen a lot of comments on this so I want to clarify.

You should be able to verify all these if you want, but they predict my damage on live perfectly. A new spreadsheet will be shortly attached to the guide which includes all of these changes.

I think if we can be honest with each other we would all admit that the Balance tree was overpowered right after 4.0.1 came out. Moonkin were all over the WoL rankings for almost every boss. I'm not saying Moonkin should be weak, but we shouldn't shoot to the top like that either. The question then becomes how should Blizzard ton Moonkin DPS down.

The first way is obvious. Insect Swarm needed a nerf, and I expect that it will never get as powerful as it was right after the patch. I realize that DoTs are supposed to be powerful, but Insect Swarm was easily 5 times as powerful as our nukes and that just seems out of wack to me.
The other nerfs seem fair. By just changing how Moonfury impacts our DPS they aren't changing the rotation at all. They are just toning down our DPS. What's nice about this is that it shows how easy it is to to adjust DPS now. If you assume that Blizzard has found a set of mechanics that they like then they can leave them untouched and adjust Moonfury to get our DPS where they want it to be. This is good news for the future because they can change it back if they find we are underpowered at level 85.

First impressions

I haven't raided since the patch, but I have tried to test/practice the new rotation on target dummies. Overall, I'm not real happy about having a 5th button in my rotation, and it's going to take some getting used to.

At the moment if feels awkward. Managing Eclipse and two DoTs requires a lot of attention. Adding a random proc on a cooldown spell like Starsurge just adds another thing to look at. I think I'm getting over it with the use of Power Auras, but I need to get into a raid to really test it out.

The other issue I'm having is DoTs. I've gotten used to not making them a priority. Getting back into the habit of watching timers is a little more difficult then I expected. I think this is really a function of not having my UI set up right yet. With Squawk and Awe, I had my DoT timer and my Eclipse bar all in one convenient spot. Which made it easy to watch all three. Right now they are a little spread out, I'll have to make some adjustments to see if that helps.

Changed Guilds

The other big news of the week for me is that I changed Guilds. I love my old guild Lords of Eternity, but I felt a need for a change and joined the guild Skunkworks on Balnazzar.

First and foremost, I recommend that you don't try and transfer any toons the day of a major patch like 4.0.1. I started the transfer Tuesday afternoon, but didn't get access to Graylo until Saturday afternoon due to a variety of issues. It was frustrating because I didn't get to experience the OPness of Moonkin while it lasted. I also couldn't get in and test.

The other big part of the change is that I am now a Horde toon on a PvP server. Having always played Alliance toons on a PvE server this is a pretty big change in my mind. In reality, it's probably not that big of a deal since Balnazzar is a low pop server that is Horde dominated. However, figuring out where things are is strange. I haven't walked into the wrong inn in Dalaran yet, but finding Auction Houses and target dummies took a little bit.

Anyway, I am excited by the change. Hopefully it will work out.

Raid Tools: WoWGlory.com

Lets see if this sounds familiar to you. You've been running ICC for several months, and as a guild you are getting close to completing all of the achievements needed to complete the meta achievement and get your drakes. Unfortunately over that time, some people went on vacation, you added a couple of recruits, and others are missing individual achievements like Once Bitten, Twice Shy. At this point you don't know who needs what achievement, and you're not looking forward to combing through the armory to figure it out.

If this sounds familiar to you then you're going to love WoWGlory.com.

Back when we were progressing through, Ulduar a guildie of mine wrote a small webpage that pulled together all the achievements needed by players of a certain guild rank within our guild. It greatly simplified the process of figuring out what achievements were needed by what players, and helped us get our drakes with fewer headaches.

The good news for you guys is that he has expanded the website to display more then just my guild. If you go to WoWGlory.com you can find all of your guilds Raiding Meta Achievement needs. It can search both US and EU servers, and you can also select the ranks you would like it to pull to exclude the alt and non-raider ranks. If it's the first time your guild has been searched for it will take a little while to pull all of the information, but I have never had to wait for more then five minutes. The site is fairly new. If you have any suggestions on how to improve it, he has also provided a simple and clear way to provide feed back.

Rant: Ninja Gquitters are Cowards

We are in difficult times. ICC and the last major content patch of WotLK has been released. The Cataclysm alpha is currently being tested and I wouldn't be surprised if the Beta was made available within a few weeks. On top of all that summer is fast approaching and we all know that plays havoc on raid availability. Times are hard for raiders and raiding guilds.

In times like these guild rosters are heavily influx. Some guilds fall apart. Others need to recruit heavily to fill spots. It is not unexpected for raiders to look for greener pastures in this situation. In fact, all three of my guild moves occurred during the summer, so I understand the situation very well. That said there is a right way to make a change and a wrong way, and in my opinion ninja quitters are a bunch of cowards.

It's Not about Loyalty:

At this point many bloggers would go on a rant about guild loyalty and such. I won't. I think the concept of guild loyalty is overblown quite often and in general I think guild members owe very little to their guilds in the long run. No one is paying my 15 dollars for me, and no one can tell me went to play, what to play, or who to play with.

I know it sucks when a valued guild member leaves the guild or goes casual. I've had quite a lot of experience with it lately in fact. Not only have many of our veteran raiders gone casual, but we have also lost a couple of leaders who decided to quit the game or go casual. I don't begrudge them their rights to do so. I just think here is, or at least should be, an etiquette for making this transition.

The Etiquette of Leaving:

Give Notice: Though it may feel like it at times WoW is not a job. I am not suggesting that you give your guild 2 weeks notice though it would be nice. However, every guild does deserve some notice even if it is only a couple of minutes. Take for example the inspiration for this post. Last night two of our raiders didn't show up for raid. We waited a little bit but started without them in hopes that they would show up soon. However, after about an hour someone noticed that neither of them were on the guild roster any longer. They had ninja quit without saying anything on the forums or cancelling their raid sign up. As a result we raided short most of the night.

Some of you may be thinking "what's the big deal?" If we had the people available to replace them we would have. Since we didn't, it probably wouldn't have mattered if they and told us a head of time. I disagree.

First off, at the very least it wastes the guilds time. We used valuable raid time wondering where they were and trying to replace them. Second, who knows what could have been done in a days time. I know we are getting apps to the guild still. Even with very little time a couple of those could be approved and included in raid. Third, we have several member ranked guildies that are available for raid on occasion and are willing to fill in when necessary if they can. By ninja quitting you don't allow any of these things to happen and as a result waste the time of 24 other people.

Be Considerate: As said before I think guildies owe their guilds very little, and in general I don't think they owe anything for the gear they receive. If your their for the fight, you earned it just like everyone else. However, some guild assign specific jobs to guildies like being the guild crafter. These people are given preference for patterns and mats. With in reason, I think these people should repay the guild for some of the things they receive. Certainly return any mats you are given, and if possible provide compensation for the patterns you receive, especially if you are quitting the game and giving away all of your gold.

Conclusion:

I know I am drawing a fine line here and some of you may not see the difference. I will admit that some of my comments are coming from the bitterness I feel over wasted raid time last night. To some extent I am probably blowing this out of proportion. However, just because I am angry and possibly a little irrational doesn't mean I'm completely wrong. If you are thinking of making a guild change I wish you good luck, just be considerate in how you leave.

Yes, we are Recruiting:

If you hadn't guessed my guild is recruiting again. We have spots for a Feral Druid, almost any Ranged DPS (included a moonkin, damn you Murmurs), and hybrid healers. If you're looking for a focus guild that gets a lot done in just 9 hours a week, the LoE may be the place for you. You can find more info here.

ICC Moonkin Raiding Gear: Now with Hard Modes

PLEASE NOTE: This list WILL NOT be updated for 4.0.1. That would require a lot of work and isn't really worth it for a 1 or 2 month period where most people don't care about raiding anyway. That said all the links should update when WoWhead converts only so It is a good source to see what is available. Just avoid the cloth.

Arthas and the Hard Modes have been available for a couple of weeks and I need to stop being slack. Here is the updated list that should take us to Cataclysm. Please read over the sections below before looking at the lists. The comments I make here should answer a lot of the questions you may have.

Special Thanks:
Once again Cowtarus on Stormscale-US helped me out in producing this list. He did all of the data entry for the new instances saving me a lot of time and sanity. So if you appreciate the existence of this list please send him thanks as well. I know I appreciate it.

Format Changes:
Once again, I’ve had to make some changes in how I build the list.

1. Names: The list will only include the Alliance names for the ToC gear. I apologize if anyone has a huge problem with that, but you’re going to have to deal with it. I will not be producing a separate Horde list. At this point in time you should already know what gear you want out of ToC and ToGC. If you don’t, the old lists should be ok for helping you find the available gear.



2. Purges: No one seemed to object to my purges last time, and no one gave me any reason to keep the Ulduar gear. Therefore, I am dropping it from this list as well as all 5man gear. ToC is easily pugable, therefore I doubt anyone is doing major progression in Ulduar. If you would like to see rankings from earlier instances please look at my earlier lists.
   
   There are a couple of exceptions that I still included despite falling into one of that categories above. I think all of the exceptions were trinkets.

A few comments:

1. This list is a tool, not a blue print for how to gear. I’ve never intended these lists to be the definitive guide on how to gear a raiding moonkin. I don’t want to see any comments anywhere that say “item X is the best because it’s ranked number one on Graylo’s list.”



2. The use of this list requires some thought. It is a general ranking intended to give you an idea on how items relate to each other.
   
   Please realize that these values are estimates based upon my gear level. Two items with a similar value, can be assumed to be relatively equal. Also, realize that if you are at a different gear level then me, you may value the stats differently. I highly suggest you look at this post to determine how you value stats and weigh your options accordingly.



3. It is up to you to manage your Hit, Haste, and Crit caps. Do not take every number one item on the list.



4. These rankings are purely based upon DPS. Yes, Stamina and mana regen have value, but there is no way to directly translate them into DPS. By the same token Intelligence and Spirit have both mana and DPS benefits, but only the DPS is considered.



5. Procs are particularly hard to quantify. Trinkets and other items that have procs or on use abilities are estimated in the list. However, it is likely that some of them are wrong given that we know very little about some of the procs. I will update them if I can, but I make no guarentees.

Assumptions:

1. To rank these items I used the following weights Hit Rating - 2.103, Spell Power - 1, Haste Rating - 0.6748, Crit Rating - 0.6014. To be completely honest, I struggled a little with what weights to use for this guide. In the end I went with what SimulationCraft spit out for me. It assumes you are over both the haste cap and the crit cap, and a gear level around a full set of 264 ilevel.



2. I assume that all socket bonus will be met using Eqic quality gems. This is how I socket each gem: Meta = [Chaotic Skyflare Diamond], Red = [Runed Cardinal Ruby], Yellow = [Reckless Ametrine], Blue = [Purified Dreadstone]. Yes, ignoring socket bonus will improve some of the items. However, the shifts would be small and it's easier manage this way.

A Comment on Going Off Set:
We all know that the primary reason for using our Tier Sets in the past has been for the set bonuses. They have always been good enough for us to ignore poor itemization. However, you only need 4 peices to complete the set. So, in the past we have always been able to pick a slot that is poorly itemized and find a better itemized not tier piece to up grade our gear but still have the Tier bonuses.

I don't think this situation holds for ICC. It depended on some of our gear to be poorly itemized, but the entire T10 gear set is very well itemized. Finding an upgrade out side of the tier set is much more difficult this time around. Most people say that they want to drop one of the hit pieces for something without hit, but even then you're causing yourself to lose DPS stats some where else. In the end, I'm infavor of using all 5 tier pieces, because the gain for going off set in tier 10 is very small if it exists at all. That is just my opinion though.

Ranking Legend:
Black - DPS stat ranking
Red - DPS stat ranking minus Hit rating

Legs:

Leather of Stitched Scourge Parts (H)	Festergut - 25H	407.3	407.3
Kilt of Untreated Wounds (H)	Festergut - 10H	397.4	397.4
Leggings of Woven Death	Crafting	394.9	394.9
Plaguebringer's Stained Pants (H)	Festergut - 25H	597.1	378.4
Leggings of the Refracted Mind (H)	Valithria - 10H	373.6	373.6
Legwraps of the Awakening	Anubarak 25 - H	373.2	373.2
Sanctified Lasherweave Trousers (H)	95 EoF + Conq Mark + H	589	366.1
Legwraps of Unleashed Nature	Crafting	360.5	360.5
Lightweave Leggings	Crafting	358.3	358.3
Leggings of Unrelenting Blood (H)	Saurfang - 10H	358.2	358.2
Kilt of Untreated Wounds	Festergut - 10	355.1	355.1
Leather of Stitched Scourge Parts	Festergut - 25	345.8	345.8
Leggings of the Soothing Touch	Jaraxxus 25 - H	344.3	344.3
Leggings of the Refracted Mind	Valithria - 10	335.4	335.4
Plaguebringer's Stained Pants	Festergut - 25	534.6	328.6
Sanctified Lasherweave Trousers	95 EoF + Conq Mark	521.5	328.1
Legwraps of the Awakening	Anubarak 25	326.9	326.9
Leggings of Unrelenting Blood	Saurfang - 10	319.1	319.1
Leggings of the Deepening Void	Anubarak 25 - H	507.4	309.7
Leggings of the Demonic Messenger	Jaraxxus 10 - H	297.8	297.8
Leggings of the Soothing Touch	Jaraxxus 25	294.3	294.3
Lasherweave Trousers	95 EoF	462.1	293.9
Malfurion's Trousers of Triumph - H	1 RotGV	489.7	275.2
Leggings of the Deepening Void	Anubarak 25	443.4	271
Leggings of the Demonic Messenger	Jaraxxus 10	248.6	248.6
Malfurion's Trousers of Triumph	75 EoT + 1 ToC	435.9	246.6
Malfurion's Trousers of Conquest	50 EoT	389.6	221.3

There will be some debate on what is best from this slot. As I said before I prefer the Tier pieces. If you are able to get the Heroic legs and are a Night Elf then this gives you a really easy way to get hit capped. Even if you can only get the 264 ilevel set, Night Elfs can easily hit cap with a couple of Vieled gems. Others will say that the Crafted legs are best, because they are very well itemized. However, they do not have a heroic equivalent, and it forces you to pick up the hit else where.

Head:

Sanctified Lasherweave Cover (H)	95 EoF + Conq Mark + H	553.5	553.5
Corp'rethar Ceremonial Crown (H)	Gunship - 25H	511.3	511.3
Sanctified Lasherweave Cover	95 EoF + Conq Mark	506	506
Helm of the Elder Moon (H)	Rotface - 25H	505.3	505.3
Cowl of Malefic Repose (H)	Queen Lanathel - 10H	499.6	499.6
Thaumaturge's Crackling Cowl (H)	Saurfang - 10H	475.5	475.5
Helm of the Elder Moon	Rotface - 25	468.5	468.5
Sister Svalna's Spangenhelm (H)	Valithria - 10H	465.9	465.9
Lasherweave Cover	95 EoF	463.8	463.8
Cowl of Malefic Repose	Queen Lanathel - 10	457.3	457.3
Stormrage Crown	Onyxia25	455.9	455.9
Corp'rethar Ceremonial Crown	Gunship - 25	438.3	438.3
Thaumaturge's Crackling Cowl	Saurfang - 10	436.4	436.4
Sister Svalna's Spangenhelm	Valithria - 10	432.5	432.5
Stormrage Antlers	Onyxia10	420.3	420.3
Helm of Abundant Growth	75 EoT	419	419
Malfurion's Cover of Triumph - H	1 RotGV	615.5	417.8
Stormrage Cover	Onyxia25	416.4	416.4
Helm of the Snowy Grotto	Twin Valkyrs 10 - H	411.5	411.5
Helm of Clouded Sight	75 EoT	411.5	411.5
Hood of Fiery Aftermath	75 EoT	549.1	393.5
Malfurion's Cover of Triumph	75 EoT + 1 ToC	558.5	386
Stormrage Hood	Onyxia10	385.3	385.3
Helm of the Snowy Grotto	Twin Valkyrs 10	380.5	380.5
Malfurion's Cover of Conquest	50 EoT	509.5	358.1

The tier helms are a clear choice again. I don't think anyone will debate that.

Shoulders:

Sanctified Lasherweave Mantle (H)	60 EoF + Conq Mark + H	323.8	323.8
Shoulders of Frost-Tipped Thorns (H)	Blood Princess - 25H	305.3	305.3
Sanctified Lasherweave Mantle	60 EoF + Conq Mark	289.1	289.1
Shoulders of Mercy Killing (H)	Deathwhisper - 25H	438	282.4
Shoulderpads of the Searing Kiss (H)	Queen Lanathel - 10H	267.3	267.3
Stiffened Corpse Shoulderpads	Trash - 25	264.3	264.3
Shoulders of Frost-Tipped Thorns	Blood Princess - 25	263.7	263.7
Bloodstained Surgeon's Shoulderguards (H)	Festergut - 10H	257.8	257.8
Lasherweave Mantle	60 EoF	257.8	257.8
Shoulders of Ruinous Senility (H)	Putricide - 10H	417.5	249.3
Malfurion's Mantle of Triumph - H	1 RotGV	244.5	244.5
Shoulderpads of the Glacial Wilds	Northrend Beasts 10 - H	243.3	243.3
Shoulders of Mercy Killing	Deathwhisper - 25	390.2	238.8
Shoulderpads of the Searing Kiss	Queen Lanathel - 10	236.6	236.6
Bloodstained Surgeon's Shoulderguards	Festergut - 10	229.8	229.8
Shoulders of Ruinous Senility	Putricide - 10	342.6	227
Pauldrons of Revered Mortality	45 EoT	218.9	218.9
Shoulders of the Fateful Accord	45 EoT	217.9	217.9
Malfurion's Mantle of Triumph	45 EoT + 1 ToC	217.9	217.9
Shoulderpads of the Glacial Wilds	Northrend Beasts 10	215.5	215.5
Mantle of Catastrophic Emanation	45 EoT	336.3	195.4
Malfurion's Mantle of Conquest	30 EoT	195.2	195.2

Pretty much the same thing I said for the head slot.

Chest:

Sanctified Lasherweave Vestment (H)	95 EoF + Conq Mark + H	437.6	437.6
Sanguine Silk Robes (H)	Blood Princes - 25H	408.3	408.3
Robes of Azure Downfall (H)	Sindragosa - 10H	401.5	401.5
Meteor Chaser's Raiment	95 EoF	394.9	394.9
Sanctified Lasherweave Vestment	95 EoF + Conq Mark	390.1	390.1
Deathwhisper Chestpiece (H)	Deathwhisper - 25H	383.1	383.1
Bloodsoul Raiment (H)	Blood Princes - 10H	378.2	378.2
Robe of the Waking Nightmare (H)	Valithria - 25H	580.6	374.5
Vestments of Spruce and Fir	95 EoF	372.6	372.6
Malfurion's Vestments of Triumph - H	1 RotGV	366.8	366.8
Ermine Coronation Robes	95 EoF	364.7	364.7
Chestguard of the Failed Experiment (H)	Rotface - 10H	360.5	360.5
Sanguine Silk Robes	Blood Princes - 25	358.2	358.2
Deathwhisper Chestpiece	Deathwhisper - 25	351.4	351.4
Robes of Azure Downfall	Sindragosa - 10	350.2	350.2
Flowing Vestments of Ascent	Northrend Beasts 25 - H	347.7	347.7
Vestments of the Shattered Fellowship	Faction Champs 25 - H	345	345
Robe of the Waking Nightmare	Valithria - 25	513.1	336.4
Merlin's Robe	Pattern from 25man	333.8	333.8
Lasherweave Vestment	95 EoF	331.7	331.7
Bloodsoul Raiment	Blood Princes - 10	330.2	330.2
Malfurion's Vestments of Triumph	75 EoT + 1 ToC	326.9	326.9
Chestguard of the Failed Experiment	Rotface - 10	326.5	326.5
Skyweaver Robes	Twin Valkyrs 25 - H	502.3	321.4
Lunar Eclipse Chestguard	Pattern from 25man	305.5	305.5
Flowing Vestments of Ascent	Northrend Beasts 25	305.3	305.3
Royal Moonshroud Robe	Pattern from 25man	303.4	303.4
Vestments of the Shattered Fellowship	Faction Champs 25	301.9	301.9
Malfurion's Vestments of Conquest	50 EoT	292.3	292.3
Skyweaver Robes	Twin Valkyrs 25	445.2	272.8
Vestments of the Sleepless	Anubarak 10 - H	463.4	261.6
Vestments of the Sleepless	Anubarak 10	403.3	222.5

The tier set’s itemization wins again.

Hands:

Handguards of Winter's Respite (H)	Marrowgar - 25H	305.3	305.3
San'layn Ritualist Gloves (H)	Blood Princes - 25H	303.1	303.1
Gloves of False Gestures	60 EoF	290.2	290.2
Gunship Captain's Mittens (H)	Gunship - 25H	438	282.4
Gloves of the Great Horned Owl	60 EoF	281.5	281.5
Gloves of the Lifeless Touch	Anubarak 25 - H	277.1	277.1
Gloves of Broken Fingers (H)	Rotface - 10H	271	271
Sanctified Lasherweave Gloves (H)	60 EoF + Conq Mark + H	440.9	268.4
San'layn Ritualist Gloves	Blood Princes - 25	266.4	266.4
Gloves of Ambivalence	60 EoF	264.3	264.3
Handguards of Winter's Respite	Marrowgar - 25	263.7	263.7
Icicle Shapers (H)	Sindragosa - 10H	260.7	260.7
Malfurion's Gloves of Triumph - H	1 RotGV	256.5	256.5
Sister's Handshrouds (H)	Deathwhisper - 10H	410.4	242.1
Sanctified Lasherweave Gloves	60 EoF + Conq Mark	392	240.5
Gloves of Broken Fingers	Rotface - 10	239.7	239.7
Gunship Captain's Mittens	Gunship - 25	390.2	238.8
Gloves of the Lifeless Touch	Anubarak 25	237.2	237.2
Icicle Shapers	Sindragosa - 10	236.7	236.7
Malfurion's Gloves of Triumph	45 EoT + 1 ToC	229.2	229.2
Gloves of Looming Shadow	Twin Valkyrs 10 - H	331.6	224.3
Sister's Handshrouds	Deathwhisper - 10	365.5	216.2
Lasherweave Gloves	60 EoF	347.7	215.3
Malfurion's Gloves of Conquest	30 EoT	206	206
Gloves of Looming Shadow	Twin Valkyrs 10	296	203.4

The gloves are the other tier 10 piece with Hit Rating. It may make it a little easier for horde to hit cap by going offset here, but I think most people will use the tier gloves.

Wrists:

Bracers of Eternal Dreaming (H)	Valithria - 25H	216.8	216.8
Death Surgeon's Sleeves (H)	Rotface - 25H	216.8	216.8
The Lady's Brittle Bracers (H)	Deathwhisper - 25H	314.5	205.1
Ether-Soaked Bracers (H)	Rotface - 10H	275.8	195.9
Bracers of Eternal Dreaming	Valithria - 25	193.2	193.2
Death Surgeon's Sleeves	Rotface - 25	193.2	193.2
Wrists of Septic Shock (H)	Festergut - 10H	191.5	191.5
Bracers of Dark Blessings (H)	Deathwhisper - 10H	189.4	189.4
Bracers of the Autumn Willow	Jaraxxus 25 - H	189.2	189.2
Armbands of the Ashen Saint	Anubarak 25 - H	186.5	186.5
Bejeweled Wizard's Bracers	Pattern from 25man	179.8	179.8
Bindings of Dark Essence	Twin Valkyrs 25 - H	262.4	171.9
The Lady's Brittle Bracers	Deathwhisper - 25	280.9	169.4
Bracers of Dark Blessings	Deathwhisper - 10	168.6	168.6
Moonshadow Armguards	Pattern from 25man	166.3	166.3
Wrists of Septic Shock	Festergut - 10	163.8	163.8
Royal Moonshroud Bracers	Pattern from 25man	162.9	162.9
Armbands of the Ashen Saint	Anubarak 25	160	160
Bracers of the Autumn Willow	Jaraxxus 25	160	160
Felspark Bindings	Jaraxxus 10 - H	228.8	159.4
Ether-Soaked Bracers	Rotface - 10	240.8	156.7
Bindings of Dark Essence	Twin Valkyrs 25	224.2	144.3
Felspark Bindings	Jaraxxus 10	205.4	129.7

There really aren't any good bracers in ICC, and that is one of the arguements for going offset at the leg slot. All of the caster bracers have either Spirit or Hit rating on them. I wasn't able to come up with a good set to get close to the hit cap with hit bracers and dropping the Tier legs, so I am sticking with spirit. The Bracers of Eternal Dreaming are your best bet if you go with spirit. The Death Surgeon's Sleeves have the exact same itemization but are cloth, therefore, I would pass them to any cloth who wants them before I would take them.

Belt:

Crushing Coldwraith Belt (H)	Marrowgar - 25H	326.9	326.9
Professor's Bloodied Smock (H)	Putricide - 25H	310.7	310.7
Lingering Illness (H)	Festergut - 25H	299.9	299.9
Belt of Petrified Ivy	60 EoF	294.5	294.5
Crushing Coldwraith Belt	Marrowgar - 25	292.3	292.3
Cauterized Cord (H)	Putricide - 10H	291.3	291.3
Circle of Ossus	60 EoF	275.3	275.3
Professor's Bloodied Smock	Putricide - 25	271.7	271.7
Cord of the Patronizing Practitioner (H)	Marrowgar - 10H	269	269
Lingering Illness	Festergut - 25	268.6	268.6
Cauterized Cord	Putricide - 10	260	260
Cord of Pale Thorns	Twin Valkyrs 25 - H	259.1	259.1
Cord of Dark Suffering (H)	Gunship - 10H	256	256
Cord of the Tenebrous Mist	Northrend Beasts 25 - H	255.8	255.8
Belt of Omission	60 EoF	382.5	247.9
Cord of the Patronizing Practitioner	Marrowgar - 10	239.7	239.7
Cord of Biting Cold	Faction Champs 25 - H	355.6	233.6
Cord of Dark Suffering	Gunship - 10	232.6	232.6
Cord of Pale Thorns	Twin Valkyrs 25	222.3	222.3
Cord of the Tenebrous Mist	Northrend Beasts 25	218.9	218.9
Belt of the Winter Solstice	Jaraxxus 10 - H	218.7	218.7
Cinch of the Undying	Anubarak 10 - H	216.4	216.4
Icehowl Cinch	Northrend Beasts 10 - H	341.9	213.6
Cord of Biting Cold	Faction Champs 25	313.1	205.8
Belt of the Winter Solstice	Jaraxxus 10	193.4	193.4
Cinch of the Undying	Anubarak 10	193.3	193.3
Icehowl Cinch	Northrend Beasts 10	300	180.1

The Belt of Petrified Ivy is because you can buy it with Emblems. However, it does not have a heroic version, and the Crushing Coldwraith Belt drops off of Marrowgar. If you have access to Hard modes then the Marrowgar belt will be best in slot if you can roll on cloth.

Boots:

Plague Scientist's Boots (H)	Festergut - 25H	326.9	326.9
Boots of Unnatural Growth (H)	Gunship - 25H	304.1	304.1
Plague Scientist's Boots	Festergut - 25	292.3	292.3
Boots of the Frozen Seed (H)	Deathwhisper - 10H	290.3	290.3
Boots of Unnatural Growth	Gunship - 25	273.5	273.5
Blessed Cenarion Boots	Crafting	271.7	271.7
Boots of the Mourning Widow	Faction Champs 25 - H	271.2	271.2
Sandals of Consecration	Crafting	264.3	264.3
Pale Corpse Boots (H)	Blood Princes - 10H	260.2	260.2
Boots of the Frozen Seed	Deathwhisper - 10	258.9	258.9
Boots of the Unrelenting Storm	Northrend Beasts 25 - H	254.7	254.7
Deathfrost Boots	Crafting	382.5	247.9
Icecrown Spire Sandals (H)	Saurfang - 10H	360.8	247.3
Footpads of the Icy Floe	Anubarak 25 - H	367.1	241
Pale Corpse Boots	Blood Princes - 10	229.9	229.9
Icecrown Spire Sandals	Saurfang - 10	318.1	221.4
Boots of the Unrelenting Storm	Northrend Beasts 25	220	220
Boots of the Mourning Widow	Faction Champs 25	218.9	218.9
Sandals of the Silver Magus	Faction Champs 10 - H	316.2	217.3
Boots of the Grieving Soul	Twin Valkyrs 10 - H	216.8	216.8
Footpads of the Icy Floe	Anubarak 25	325.8	201.7
Boots of the Grieving Soul	Twin Valkyrs 10	185	185
Sandals of the Silver Magus	Faction Champs 10	268.1	184

The Plague Scientist's Boots are the best boots available, but Boots of Unnatural Growth and Boots of the Frozen Seed are ver nice as well. You will ultimately want the cloth boots, but keep an eye out for the leather ones because they are likely easier to get.

Back:

Frostbinder's Shredded Cape (H)	Valithria - 25H	242.6	242.6
Jaina's Radiance	Tribute Chest 25 - H	236.6	236.6
Greatcloak of the Turned Champion (H)	Saurfang - 25H	221.2	221.2
Bolvar's Devotion	Tribute Chest 25 - H	219.4	219.4
Frostbinder's Shredded Cape	Valithria - 25	216.2	216.2
Lich Wrappings (H)	Valithria - 10H	213	213
Drape of Bitter Incantation	Tribute Chest 10 - H	209.3	209.3
Volde's Cloak of the Night Sky	50 EoF	196.5	196.5
Shawl of Fervent Crusader	Tribute Chest 10 - H	194.2	194.2
Greatcloak of the Turned Champion	Saurfang - 25	191	191
Shawl of the Refreshing Winds	Northrend Beasts 25 - H	189.9	189.9
Cloak of Displacement	Faction Champs 25 - H	279.2	176.1
Lich Wrappings	Valithria - 10	249.3	163
Flowing Sapphiron Drape	Onyxia25	161.7	161.7
Shawl of the Refreshing Winds	Northrend Beasts 25	160	160
Cloak of Displacement	Faction Champs 25	248.3	143.2
Fluttering Sapphiron Drape	Onyxia10	141.6	141.6

Cloaks have been very hard to obtain in WotLK. ICC does provide some very nice options and the ToGC tribute cloaks are still very nice if you have one. My guess is that we will see a lot of people wearing Volde's Cloak of the Night Sky since it is purchasable with emblems.

Neck:

Blood Queen's Crimson Choker (H)	Queen Lanathel - 25H	240.8	240.8
Bone Sentinel's Amulet (H)	Marrowgar - 25H	221.2	221.2
Soulcleave Pendant (H)	Saurfang - 10H	215.4	215.4
Blood Queen's Crimson Choker	Queen Lanathel - 25	215.1	215.1
Amulet of the Silent Eulogy (H)	Gunship - 25H	333.3	207.1
Wail of the Val'kyr	Twin Valkyrs 25 - H	201	201
Bone Sentinel's Amulet	Marrowgar - 25	197	197
Soulcleave Pendant	Saurfang - 10	192.3	192.3
Amulet of the Silent Eulogy	Gunship - 25	294.9	185.6
Pendant of Split Veins (H)	Putricide - 10H	286.8	177.4
Wail of the Val'kyr	Twin Valkyrs 25	170	170
Pendant of Split Veins	Putricide - 10	248	153.4
Darkbane Pendant	Twin Valkyrs 10 - H	236.8	148.5
Darkbane Pendant	Twin Valkyrs 10	207.1	131.4

Blood Queen's Crimson Choker is clearly the best option. Plus, it's even BoE so you may be able to find it on your Auction House but I wouldn't expect it. It is clearly the best in slot neck for a lot of classes, and there will be a fight for it. If you’re running the 10mans, the Soulcleave Pendant is very nice, or you may want to consider picking up one of the multiple spirit necks if you can do so cheaply.

Trinket:

Phylactery of the Nameless Lich (H)	Sindragosa - 25H	357.4	357.4
Dislodged Foreign Object (H)	Rotface - 25H	336.7	336.7
Reign of the Unliving	Anubarak 25 - H	331	331
Phylactery of the Nameless Lich	Sindragosa - 25	317.4	317.4
Dislodged Foreign Object	Rotface - 25	297.6	297.6
Reign of the Unliving	Anubarak 25	295	295
Muradin's Spyglass (H)	Gunship - 10H	291.4	291.4
Muradin's Spyglass	Gunship - 10	258.8	258.8
Flare of the Heavens	General Vezax25 H	213.8	213.8
Illustration of the Dragon Soul	Sartharion25	200	200
Sliver of Pure Ice (H)	Marrowgar - 10H	178	178
Eye of the Broodmother	Razorscale10	177.3	177.3
Scales of Fates	Thorim25	173.6	173.6
Pandora's Plea	Mimiron25	172.1	172.1
Solace of the Defeated	Jaraxxus 25 - H	168	168
Sundial of the Exiled	40 EoH	157.9	157.9
Abyssal Rune	Eadric's Cache	156.7	156.7
Shiny Shard of the Flame #	Onyxia25	150	150
Shiny Shard of the Scale #	Onyxia25	150	150
Solace of the Defeated	Jaraxxus 25	150	150
Nevermelting Ice Crystal	Tyrannus - H 5man	147.1	147.1
Talisman of Resurgence	50 EoT	145.1	145.1
Purified Shard of the Flame #	Onyxia10	134	134
Purified Shard of the Scale #	Onyxia10	134	134
Maghia's Misguided Quill	60 EoF	439.7	120
Talisman of Volatile Power	Faction Champs 10 - H	118.3	118.3
Talisman of Volatile Power	Faction Champs 10	104.3	104.3
Elemental Focus Stone	Auriaya10	314.1	87
Living Flame	Razorscale25	309	84
Shard of the Crystal Heart	50 EoT	325.2	56

To be completely honest, I don't really know what to tell you about trinkets. Up until a couple of weeks ago I was sure DFO was horrible for moonkin, and that the Reign Trinkets were remain the best trinkets available. The numbers above indicate that might be true, and I am not entirely confident in them. All that said, I have an idea for a post on trinkets that will likely change this ranking to some degree.

# The value of the Onyxia trinkets is the value of the set divided by 2. If you do not have the set, these trinkets are virtually worthless in terms of DPS. On top of that I don't have any hard numbers on the damage proc. I assumed the DoT has a 25% uptime.

Rings:

Ring of Rapid Ascent (H)	Gunship - 25H	239.2	239.2
Memory of Malygos (H)	Sindragosa - 25H	224.6	224.6
Ashen Band of Endless Destruction	Ashen Verdict Exalted	330.9	223.7
Ring of Maddening Whispers (H)	Deathwhisper - 25H	220.2	220.2
Cerise Coiled Ring (H)	Blood Princes - 10H	217.6	217.6
Ring of Rapid Ascent	Gunship - 25	212.9	212.9
Valanar's Other Signet Ring (H)	Blood princes - 25H	303	210.5
Loop of the Endless Labyrinth (H)	Marrowgar - 25H	311.1	201.8
Ashen Band of Unmatched Destruction	Ashen Verdict Revered	306.3	201.1
Memory of Malygos	Sindragosa - 25	200.4	200.4
Cerise Coiled Ring	Blood Princes - 10	189	189
Ring of Maddening Whispers	Deathwhisper - 25	186.6	186.6
Band of Deplorable Violence	Anubarak 25 - H	186.4	186.4
Runed Signet of the Kirin Tor	10,750 Gold	181.3	181.3
Loop of the Endless Labyrinth	Marrowgar - 25	275.4	180.8
Valanar's Other Signet Ring	Blood princes - 25	273.6	176.9
Ashen Band of Greater Destruction	Ashen Verdict Honored	271.3	166.1
Band of the Invoker	35 EoT	160	160
Band of Deplorable Violence	Anubarak 25	156.7	156.7
Ashen Band of Destruction	Ashen Verdict Friendly	252.8	154
Polished Dragonslayer's Signet	Onyxia Head	152.7	152.7
Firestorm Ring	Jaraxxus 10 - H	266.4	148.6
Firestorm Ring	Jaraxxus 10	223.1	118

I feel like half of this choice was made for us with the introduction of the Rep rings. It sucks to some extent because I hate having to pick up Hit or Mp5, but it is also clear that these rings are pretty awesome. They have a gem socket, an awesome proc, and they are relatively easy to get.

For the second ring it’s pretty clear that the Ring of Rapid Ascent is the best choice. It’s the only ring without Spirit or Hit rating on it.

Off Hand:

Shadow Silk Spindle (H)	Blood Princes - 25H	233.3	233.3
Sundial of Eternal Dusk (H)	Sindragosa - 25H	215.3	215.3
Shadow Silk Spindle	Blood Princes - 25	206.9	206.9
Sundial of Eternal Dusk	Sindragosa - 25	191	191
Chalice of Searing Light	Twin Valkyrs 25 - H	176.4	176.4
Scourgelord's Baton (H)	Deathwhisper - 10H	313.1	176.4
Chalice of Benedictus	Twin Valkyrs 10 - H	248	157.6
Symbol of Transgression	Jaraxxus 25 - H	277.1	157.2
Chalice of Searing Light	Twin Valkyrs 25	156.3	156.3
Scourgelord's Baton	Deathwhisper - 10	263.6	143.8
Chalice of Benedictus	Twin Valkyrs 10	217.8	140
Symbol of Transgression	Jaraxxus 25	244.7	139.5
Antediluvian Cornerstone Grimoire	Onyxia25	113.7	113.7
Antique Cornerstone Grimoire	Onyxia10	97.6	97.6

A MH/OH combo is clearly a better choice if you have access to Arthas weapons. Therefore, going after the Shadow Silk Spindle should be a priority. However, a case can be made for Nibelung, and you may be dening a great offhand to another raider without upgrading yourself much. Be careful how you make this choice.

Main Hand:

Royal Scepter of Terenas II (H)	Lich King - 25H	1041.4	1041.4
Frozen Bonespike (H)	Marrowgar -25	935.1	935.1
Tel'thas, Dagger of the Blood King (H)	Lich King - 10H	921.7	921.7
Royal Scepter of Terenas II (H)	Lich King - 25	897.4	897.4
Frozen Bonespike	Marrowgar -25	820	820
Bleak Coldarra Carver (H)	Sindragosa - 10H	963.3	818.2
Tel'thas, Dagger of the Blood King	Lich King - 10	798.4	798.4
Misery's End	Anubarak 25 - H	795.3	795.3
Blade of Terasque	Northrend Beasts 25 - H	881	773.7
Hammer of Purified Flame	5man Quests	750.1	750.1
Heartcrusher	Tribute Chest 10 - H	727.5	727.5
Blade of the Silver Disciple	Faction Champs 10 - H	725.1	725.1
Bleak Coldarra Carver	Sindragosa - 10	835.1	706.8
Misery's End	Anubarak 25	704	704
Blade of Terasque	Northrend Beasts 25	775.2	680.6
Blade of the Silver Disciple	Faction Champs 10	644.9	644.9

The Arthas weapons are awesome, but that fight is not a push over. Expect a lot of competition. The Frozen Bonespike is the only good MH option that doesn't drop off of Arthas if you are ignoring the staff options.

Two Handed Weapon:

Archus, Greatstaff of Antonidas (H)	Lich King - 25H	1187.5	1187.5
Nibelung (H)	Deathwhisper - 25H	1148.7	1148.7
Halion, Staff of Forgotten Love (H)	Lich King - 10H	1120.7	1120.7
Dying Light (H)	Queen Lanathel - 25H	1115.7	1115.7
Archus, Greatstaff of Antonidas (H)	Lich King - 25	1073.6	1073.6
Nibelung	Deathwhisper - 25	1010.1	1010.1
Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff (H)	Saurfang - 10H	1004.9	1004.9
Dying Light	Queen Lanathel - 25	978.5	978.5
Halion, Staff of Forgotten Love	Lich King - 10	976.1	976.1
Abracadaver (H)	Festergut - 10H	1204.8	971.4
Sister Svalna's Aether Staff (H)	Valithria - 10H	1263.6	948.2
Clemency	Tribute Chest 25 - H	922.6	922.6
Enlightenment	Twin Valkyrs 10 - H	885.9	885.9
Cold Convergence	Anubarak 10 - H	870.2	870.2
Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff	Saurfang - 10	848.2	848.2
Abracadaver	Festergut - 10	1028.3	815.9
Sister Svalna's Aether Staff	Valithria - 10	1066.9	780.9
Enlightenment	Twin Valkyrs 10	779.4	779.4
Cold Convergence	Anubarak 10	759.8	759.8

Obviously the Arthas staff is great, but it is difficult to get. We all know that most of the staff debate will center around Nibelung.

Let me put this up front. I am pro-Nibelung, but it is really hard to accurately model. The Val'kyr put out significant damage, but there will always be a little debate about their survivability. I haven't had a big problem with them dying. Their healing mechanic will even keep them up during BQL, but they are stupid. They will stand in fires and die. Therefore, eventhough the simulations say it is an upgrade for me, I have a hard time trusting them entirely.

That said, here is why I like Nibelung. Due to our scaling issues, Moonkin is just about the only spec that Nibelung is good for. Simulations say that it is it is at least equal to MH/OH combos of a similar item level. This means that we can get a decent weapon that no one else will want for very cheap. It's not ideal in the long run, but the other options will be significantly more difficult to obtain.

Relic/Idol:
At this point you should only be thinking about two idols. The [Idol of Lunar Eclipse] is the best and it is purchasable with Emblems of Frost. However, you may be saving your Emblems for your Tier Set or another item. In such a case you should at least have the [Idol of Lunar Fury]. It is purchase able with Emblems of Triumph. Since it is incredibly easy to farm EoTs at the moment, using anything less then the Idol of Lunar Fury is pretty stupid.

Notes:
Once again, as you can see there are a lot of links and values in this post. It is quite possible that some of them are incorrect. If you find an incorrect link or a valuation just doesn't look right, please let me know so that I can correct it.