The purpose of this article is to go over the best in slot pieces for DPS warriors, and help you to make some of the tough decisions you will face as that new gera begins flowing in. It’s all to be taken with ag rain of salt, but hopefully it can help you sort through some boss loot tables and figure out what you want on your next raid night.
Note: This list may be in flux as more Hammerknell loot is solidified.
There is a lot of sway to be had here for AP or Crit focus, and different pieces will cater to different styles of play. This list is just intended to be what’s “best”. Also, Leather gear is going to be avoided here; because as of 1.5 it’s much harder to justify leather for warriors.
Also, as far as the PvP gear and Tier goes. I might bounce around from using the Defiant or Guardian name. If this is the case, and you’re confused, just look at the source of the item, and it should point you in the right direction.
Helm:
Rasmolov’s Rune-Sharpened Helm — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Helm — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Slaughter-Forged Faceplate — Source: Murdantix, First boss of Hammerknell
Conqueror’s Great Helm — Source: PvP Rank 8
Dhel’s Sinister Greathelm — Source: Mark of Ascension Vendor
Here, it should be pointed out that Conqueror’s Great Helm has a little ground on Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Helm in general, but I’m giving hit a little bit of priority due to the sheer amount on it, and that required for Hammerknell. For someone entirely hit capped, the order of those two might change.
Further, if you are not aware; the method for getting the legendary level of the Hammerknell raid tier gear involves you getting the epic piece, and a token that has a chance to drop from many bosses in the instance.
Neck:
Amulet of Recrimination — Source: Hammerknell — Unknown
Gorget of Lies — Source: Hammerknell — Unknown
Nihilist’s Medallion — Source: PvP Rank 8
Ice Shard Pendant — Source: Drowned Halls — Isskal
Vanguard’s Pendant — Source: PvP Rank 8
If you aren’t noticing a pattern yet, prepare to. There’s a lot of PvP gear that will be in the top 5 of each slot. Again, this list isn’t the end-all be-all for what you should have in each slot, evaluate for your own needs based on hit, crit cap, and so on.
Shoulders:
Rasmolov’s Rune-Sharpened Spaulders — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Spaulders — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Pauldrons of Trapped Souls — Source: Hammerknell — Soulrender Zilas
Vanguard’s Shoulderguards — Source: PvP Rank 8
Dhel’s Furious Shoulderplates — Source: Mark of Ascension Vendor
Pauldrons of Trapped Souls are weird. Basically they have no dex, but instead give raw stats that Dex would. The way the math works out they actually are better than the prestige rank 7 shoulders. Have fun on Zilas.
Chest:
Rasmolov’s Rune-Sharpened Warplate — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Warplate — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Screaming Soul Hauberk — Source: Hammerknell — Sicaron
Vanguard’s Breastplate — Source: PvP Rank 8
Dhel’s Furious Breastplate — Source: Mark of Ascension Vendor
There might be some play with the PvP Chest and the Raid Tier 1 chest depending on being a Crit or Attack Power focused build.
Gloves:
Rasmolov’s Rune-Sharpened Gauntlets — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Gauntlets — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Gauntlets of Unholy Birth — Source: Hammerknell — Matron Zamira
Vanguard’s Gauntlets — Source: PvP Rank 7
Dhel’s Furious Gauntlets — Source: Mark of Ascension Vendor
Again, there’s room for shuffling around the PvP based on your current need for hit, or various other stats you might see.
Belt:
Rasmolov’s rune-Sharpened Fury — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Runic Vengeance Girdle — Source: Hammerknell — Rune King/Prince
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Fury — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Vanguard’s Belt — Source: PvP Rank 7
Ravagers Bindings — Source: River of Souls — Dark Focus
Pants:
Rasmolov’s Rune-Sharpened Leggings — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Leggings — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Soulgreaves of Sicaron — Source: Hammerknell — Sicaron
Vanguard’s Greaves — Source: PvP Rank 8
Dhel’s Sinister Greaves — Source: Mark of Ascension
Looking at the leggings from Sicaron, we see the same thing we did earlier; no dexterity! It’s weird, but you’ll see this on a handful of items in Hammerknell. Again, the math works out as if they had a decent amount of dexterity.
Boots:
Rasmolov’s rune-Sharpened Sabatons — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor (with additional token)
Rasmolov’s Rune-Etched Sabatons — Source: Greater Mark of Ascension Vendor
Death’s Advance — Source: Hammerknell — Murdantix
Vanguard’s Boots — Source: PvP Rank 7
Dhel’s Sinister Sabatons — Source: Mark of Ascension
Two-Handed Weapon:
Vanguard’s Battle Axe — Source: PvP Rank 8
Conqueror’s Great SWord — Source: PvP Rank 8
Greatsword of Ancient Betrayal — Source: Hammerknell — Estrode
Bonegrinder of Necrotic Ooze — Source: Hammerknell — Grugonim
Sylvan Greatblade — Source: Greenscale
The Soul Reaper — Source: River of Souls — Alsbeth
I went to 6 here because it seemed a poor choice to not show both two handed PvP Rank 8 weapons, but they are virtually the same aside from swing speed (and therefore DPS), and I wanted to make sure both Relics from T1 raids got their due place. Additionally, I know the weapons we’ve seen here and there, relics from Hammerknell, are not shown. These are not confirmed to be obtainable yet. When they are, this should have an update to show them.
One-Handed Weapon:
Dollin’s Royal Blade — Source: Rune King/Prince
Nihilist’s Shiv — Source: PvP Rank 8
Bonefused Blade — Source: Sicaron
Garau’s Claw — Source: Hammerknell — Unknown
Conqueror’s Longsword — Source: PvP Rank 8
Again, no unconfirmed Hammerknell relic weapons.
Ranged Weapon:
Nihilist’s Rifle — Source: PvP Rank 8
Sailor’s Lament — Source: Hammerknell — Inquisitor Garau
Lightning’s Kiss — Source: Hammerknell — Inwar Darktide
Godslayer Bow of Durnes — Source: Quest, Guardian Defiant
Double Barreled Problem Solver — Source: Hammerknell — Murdantix
And if you aren’t rank 8 yet, you begin to realize why it would be very beneficial to you.
Trinket:
Token of Stolen Souls — Source: River of Souls — Alsbeth
The Cold Heart — Source: Drowned Halls (10 man) — High Priestess Hydriss
Words of War — Source: Eldritch Seekers (Revered) — PvP
— Source: Greenscale’s Blight — Prince Hylas
Shard of Planes — Source: Runic Descent (Expert) — Warden Falidor
It should also be noted that Golem Inductor drops from Inquisitor Gaaru in Hammerknell Fortress. I honestly on’t know enough about this or its uptime to rank it. Assuming it would be at 5, you’re looking at 150 AP. depending on its uptime at 5 stacks it could be fantastic. If it gets to 5, falls off after 20, then has some crazy internal cooldown, it might not be. We’ll see when we get people owning it doing some numbers.
With the recent nerf of the codex trinket it is not nearly as powerful for PvE as it once was. It’s pretty nice though, and if you’re already revered with the faction to get it, and are still sporting some T1 Trinket, by all means, jump for it.
Trinkets as a whole are hard to properly rank, you’ll get conflicting parses, parses of opportunity, and just plain old superstition. The list above is by no means perfect due to this. With trinkets especially, they might vary entirely from one spec to another, in how well they perform.
