Thursday, January 10, 2008

Retribution weapon rundown (Part 2: Outland)

A Retribution Paladin's damage is only as good as their weapon. We need killer weapons with awesome damage or we, quite simply, suck.

Last installment we went over what makes a great Retribution weapon. I gave you a long and well-thought out list on the best drops that came to mind (you're welcome).

This installment will be no different! But now we're onto the REALLY good stuff, Outland Loot! We will assume that since Burning Crusade was released that the pre-expansion raid dungeons are now useless and require far too much effort. I have heard that this is arguable and some would disagree with me. But at level 66 I've already replaced every single level 60 epic item I had, to include Tier 1 and 2 set pieces. All except one item, and it isn't even epic, Blackhand's Breadth (maybe that's a hint, and maybe you should chase one down too, because maybe it will last you a while in Outland before you find a suitable upgrade).

So, pre-expansion raid epics are useless! Onto the loot!

Hellreaver
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Polearm
187 - 281 Damage
Speed 3.40
(68.8 damage per second)
+30 Strength
+27 Stamina
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 60
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 25 (1.1%).
Item Level 85
Source: Drop - Hellfire Ramparts [Reinforced Fel Iron Chest]
Face it, you are noob if you don't get one these, or its near-twin the Blade of Misfortune. Consider Hellreaver to be a wake up call for all Ret Paladins newly arrived in Outland. This is the first MUST HAVE item that you will need to get if you are to carve any kind of damage out out here. DO NOT STOP RUNNING HELLFIRE RAMPARTS UNTIL YOU HAVE GOTTEN ONE OF THESE (unless of course, you are lucky enough to get a Blade of Misfortune to randomly drop or want to shell out around 100g on the AH). Hellreaver is the best thing that a DPS Paladin can get when first arriving in Outland. It sets the standard, or the "jumping off" point for all other Outland weapons to follow. Once you are level 60 and have Hellreaver under your belt, you are ready to be a Retribution Paladin in Outland.

Blade of Misfortune
Binds when equipped
Two-Hand Sword
187 - 281 Damage
Speed 3.40
(68.8 damage per second)
+29 Strength
+28 Stamina
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 60
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 45 (2.0%).
Item Level 85
Source: Drop - Random World
Yeah, I know that I just got ranting and raving about Hellreaver. But I like this thing much better. First, Arcten is Human. So I got an ADDITIONAL 1% to my Crit Rating with this because it was a sword (so for Humans, that's an equip bonus of 3% total). The DPS is the same as Hellreaver, as well as the speed and max damage. You do miss out on 2 Attack Power by choosing this (ohnoes!). But in exchange, you get a whole 1% more Crit Rating. 1% Crit is far better than 2 Attack Power. The other drawback to this versus Hellreaver? It's a random drop that binds on equip. These things are selling for about 100g on the AH in Draenor. Hellreaver is far easier to get (or more reliable to drop anyway) and will still suit you just fine. If you have Hellreaver and get a lucky drop on this thing, I'd equip it or bank it and give it to a Ret Paladin colleague.

Hatebringer
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Mace
212 - 318 Damage
Speed 3.60
(73.6 damage per second)
+25 Strength
+21 Stamina
Red Socket
Yellow Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +4 Strength
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 63
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 22 (1.0%).
Item Level 94
Source: Drop - The Underbog [Ghaz'an]
Hellreaver or Misfortune will easily last you 3 levels. Hell, I don't think you'll get a quest reward that is an upgrade between levels 60 and 63 either. So this beast is your next upgrade. Customize with gems to your liking. I for one, enjoy getting my socket bonuses. But it's been hard for me to find blue-colored melee gems. So I usually set my Ret gear blue slots with Jagged Deep Peridot or Infused Shadow Draenite. But it's just a suggestion.

Great Earthforged Hammer
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Mace
220 - 330 Damage
Speed 3.50
(78.6 damage per second)
+60 Stamina
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 65
Requires Master Hammersmith
Equip: Increases attack power by 70.
Item Level 100
Source: Recipe
I ran and ran and ran Underbogs some more until Hatebringer dropped for my other Paladin, Runic. With Arcten, however, I ran Underbogs many times and never had Hatebringer drop. Now the item from Underbogs that took me over a month to have drop with Runic was the Truth Bearer Shoulderguards. I was dreading chasing those down with Arcten. Luckily, those shoulders dropped for me on my second trip through Underbog, but Hatebringer did not. I was frustrated and already level 65 and ready to move on to other instances. But I still wanted a weapon upgrade something fierce, I just didn't want to keep running Underbogs for it. Originally Arcten was an Armorsmith, but that didn't help my weapon situation. Then I remembered that Humans get a +1% Crit with Maces and Swords (and some Hit Rating too, but the exact number escapes me). So I figured, "Hey! What the hell?" I'll take the do-it-yourself route. It worked well enough for Runic, who was a Swordsmith. So I looked over the Weaponsmithing choices again and the bind-on-pickup crafted epic weapons. I did a little bit of number crunching (theorycraft, lol) and came to the conclusion that Seal of Command would not do as much damage with the epic crafted 2h swords as it would with the 2h axes or 2h maces. Now axes are for Orcs, as they have the same weapon racial that Humans do with swords and maces. And while Orcs are pretty awesome, Arcten was not one of them. So I went with Hammersmith and gathered mats for this guy, which I thought was cooler than Hatebringer anyway (though with the right gems, the damage difference between the two is almost negligible). And seeing as how Hatebringer didn't even drop for me, it was either this or no upgrade. So I got a good level's worth out of this hammer and a bit of honor from it, though it was only one level it didn't cost me THAT much to make (I think I only spent like 15g on one of the Primals Required to craft it).

Halaani Claymore
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Sword
231 - 347 Damage
Speed 3.60
(80.3 damage per second)
+28 Strength
+42 Stamina
Durability 85 / 85
Requires Level 66
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 27 (1.2%).
Item Level 114
Source: Vendor - Blade Merchant [Halaa]
I simply cannot believe how amazing this sword is. And it's a GREEN! And that's not even commenting on how friggin EASY it was to get. Here's how you get this sword. Step 1, get a PvP group together and take Halaa in Nagrand (or just stop in the zone once in a while to see if someone else took it). Step 2, go spend 10g at the Blade Merchant there. The Blade Merchant has 3 on stock every time she spawns, just don't be the poor fool who got in line last and didn't get to buy one (oh, of note, you might want to buy a Don Amancio's Heart while you're there, just a suggestion). Seriously, I had this beast with Runic and I made it a point to get it again with Arcten. I think I spent more money on one mat to craft the Great Earthforged Hammer (meaning a primal earth) than I did on this entire sword. Again, it's a sword, and again I have a 1% to Crit Racial with it. Yay Humans!

The Oathkeeper
Binds when equipped
Two-Hand Mace
252 - 420 Damage
Speed 3.60
(93.3 damage per second)
+35 Strength
+24 Stamina
+32 Intellect
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 68
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 30.
Item Level 115
Vendor value: 10 Gold 53 Silver 51 Copper
Source: Drop - Random World
I had one of these on Runic and I remembered how awesome it was and so I broke down and bought one for Arcten. There's really no reason not to! Runic, on Shandris, a server with low population and (at the time) low dungeon progression had a friend buy this for him for 80g, and it was worth every bit of it (I paid him back, of course). I was pleasantly surprised with Arcten, however, to see a plethora of these on the Auction House, running for about 20g each! TWENTY gold! For our newer players, in Outland, 20g is chump change (so now go run around Stormwind asking everyone level 65+ for gold)! Anyhow... so... yeah... cheap and hellaciously awesome! Sure, it's a random world drop, and there's no guarantee that you will find one in drops or on the AH, but when I went shopping, like I said, there were three available to purchase. So it's worth checking the AH once in a while when you hit 68. Furtherore, this will likely be the LAST weapon any Retribution Paladin needs before level 70. Seriously! There's simply nothing else with that high of a max damage until then.

So congratulations! You've now hit level 70 with your Oathkeeper in Hand! What now? Well now you take up Weaponsmithing. Farm mats and chose a Bind-on-Pickup Epic weapon. You have 3 choices, and from those 3 choices, you can then craft 2 more weapons. So listed here are the first weapons of each type in their respective series. Then, you grind more mats, run some heroics, and then you'll use these weapons as materials in crafting their upgraded forms (the original weapon will be consumed as a material when you craft the next stage of the series). Some will say that each of these weapons serve a different purpose are are intended for different classes. I disagree. I think all three of these make absolutely great Retribution weapons, but there are different reasons to pick over the other, and in my opinion, I think it boils down to Racial Abilities.

Lionheart Blade
Binds when picked up
Unique
Two-Hand Sword
315 - 474 Damage
Speed 3.60
(109.6 damage per second)
+47 Strength
+42 Agility
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 70
Requires Master Swordsmith
Equip: Increases your chance to resist Fear effects by 5%.
Item Level 107
Source: Recipe
Use: Recipe

Thunder
Binds when picked up
Unique
Two-Hand Mace
333 - 500 Damage
Speed 3.80
(109.6 damage per second)
+37 Strength
+37 Agility
+55 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 70
Requires Master Hammersmith
Item Level 107
Source: Recipe
Use: Recipe

Lunar Crescent
Binds when picked up
Unique
Two-Hand Axe
324 - 487 Damage
Speed 3.70
(109.6 damage per second)
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 70
Requires Master Axesmith
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 47 (2.1%).
Equip: Increases attack power by 96.
Item Level 107
Source: Recipe
Use: Recipe
Of the three of them, Lionheart Blade is the fastest and has the lowest max damage. This could potentially be problematic using Seal of Command (well, not really, since it's still an awesome weapon, and you'll dig it if you like swords). But where this weapon really shines is on a Blood Elf using Seal of Blood. It's still got sizable damage, absolutely amazing stats, and when you're doing an additional 35% of your Weapon Damage with every single swing, that damage is going to add up quickly. If you're using Seal of Blood with this, you might want to have a healer though. You can probably still survive any single encounter, maybe even 2 or 3 in a row, but you'll probably need to take breaks to bandage yourself if you're going to be using Seal of Blood all the time (it does do some damage against you in proportion to how much damage you are dishing out). Humans will also benefit from our Racial affinity for swords (screw hit rating, I'm all about that extra 1% Crit), but we don't have Seal of Blood, and I think we could better make use of Seal of Command with the next option.

Thunder, to me, is the ideal Human Retribution weapon (of the BoP craftables). Of the three, it has the slowest speed and highest max damage (and it remains proportionate like this for the next 2 stages of each of these weapons). Arguably, it's ideal for any race using Seal of Command due to its slow speed (slow especially by Outland standards) and high max damage, `nuff said.

So if Thunder is the best SoCo weapon, why bother with the Lunar Crescent? Racials, that's why! Humans get an innate 1% Crit with maces but Draenei and Dwarves receive no such thing (nor Blood Elves, but they can capitalize with the Lionheart's speed with SoB, so I'm not going to bother with them). Now at level 70, 1% Crit isn't all that special, right? I disagree! It's a whole 1 PERCENT, not "rating". Instant gratification for more crits! And the poor Draenei and Dwarves don't get that.

The Lunar Crescent has 96 Attack Power. Thunder has 37 STR, which, at 2 points Attack Power per point of STR (for Paladins), Thunder actually gives you 37 x 2 = 74 Attack Power.

Yes, 96 AP is better than 74 AP, but that will come out to very similar numbers in pure damage, once you factor in weapon damage. So, for Bind on Pickup craftable Epic weapons, I have the opinion that we Retributors should equip thusly:

Lionheart Blade: Blood Elf (with SoB)
Thunder: Human
Lunar Crescent: Draenei, Dwarf

Besides, I'd like to see some diversity among the Paladin community in terms of epic weapons. Because seeing every single Paladin running around with Thunder, is, well... kinda boring.

But wait! You don't WANT to be a Weaponsmith? What do you mean you've already worked long and hard on building up a different profession and have no intentions of switching now?

Well fine, then, be difficult. If Weaponsmithing isn't your thing, perhaps PvP is. Yes, go into Battlegrounds, find an Arena Team that is better than you are and join them.

I like PvP to a degree, but not enough to grind it out for weeks at a time in hopes of making enough honor to spend on phatty lewts. I'd rather gear up on heroics and get keyed for Karazhan and find a decent Gruul Raid. What can I say? I enjoy PvE!

Gorehowl
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Axe
345 - 518 Damage
Speed 3.60
(119.9 damage per second)
+49 Strength
+43 Agility
+51 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 70
"The axe of Grom Hellscream has sown terror across hundreds of battlefields."
Item Level 125
Source: Drop - Karazhan [Prince Malchezaar]
Lionheart Blade (with Runic) is officially the best weapon I have ever gotten. Maybe I suck, or maybe I can simply chalk it up to being on a low population server where Karazhan progression is almost nonexistant (a few months ago at least). However, if I WERE in a guild that had Karazhan on clear. I would definately roll on, spend DKP, or whatever for this axe. As Human, I would admit temptation for holding out for the next entry however (though in sheer damage dealing potential, I'm thinking Gorehowl tops this next easy, unless some hefty STR gems are thrown in there, then the difference is negligable).

Hammer of the Naaru
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Mace
345 - 518 Damage
Speed 3.60
(119.9 damage per second)
+30 Strength
+41 Stamina
+37 Intellect
Red Socket
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +4 Intellect
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 70
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 33.
Item Level 125
Source: Drop - Gruul's Lair [High King Maulgar]
This seems like the quintissential Ret Paladin weapon. Blizzard appears to agree, as this is what the Dreanei Paladin in Justicar Armor in the opening intro movie for Burning Crusade is wielding (lore, lol). What I like about this is the high damage. In fact, this has the same DPS and max damage as Gorehowl does. Only problem is that Gorehowl, innately, with its STR and AGI bonuses will still do more damage in the long run, even if you do enchant and socket Hammer of the Naaru for max damage. I have not sat down and gone through the bonuses of every single blue and purple-quality gem, nor do I intend to. But I'm thinking that even with Rare and Epic gems socketed in this thing to boost its damage potential, Gorehowl will still put out more pure damage. So Arcten, why get it then? Why not skip Hammer of the Naaru entirely and stick with Gorehowl? Because of your raidmates, you selfish jerk! Stop thinking only about yourself! Some raid leaders are jerks too, not all of them, but a large portion of the raid leaders I've met would say "HELL NO! GOREHOWL IS NOT GOING TO A PALADIN"! Now I may disagree with his hateful spite towards my class and my choice of loot, but I can tolerate it (to a degree), as that is somewhat the nature of the raiding beast. However, a raid leader would be hard-pressed NOT to let a Paladin roll on or spend DKP or whatever for this weapon, the INT here is actually our saving grace. I can say with certainty that I've never heard of a Paladin getting c0ckbl0cked and not allowed to roll on Hammer of the Naaru. It's still a decent weapon in it's own right, and with the proper gems and enchants, it can still put out a good chunk of damage. It's also certainly better than having nothing, in the event of the above loot c0ckbl0cking. And besides, it's a mace! +1% Crit! Yay Humans! Laugh all you want but I have a crappy Racial and I'll be DAMNED if I don't make use of it. I'd be half tempted to throw in 3 Bold Living Ruby (or 2 and a Don Amancio's Heart), for an additional gem bonus of 24 STR. That would bring Hammer of the Naaru's total STR to 54, versus Gorehowl's STR of 49.

49 x 2 = 98 Attack Power (Gorehowl)54 x 2 = 108 Attack Power (Hammer of the Naaru w/+8 STR Gems x3)


It's a not huge step over, and you still won't have the Crit % from Gorehowl's AGI, but you're still putting out about the same base damage.

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