Holy Paladin Best In Slot List for Wrath of the Lich King
Here is the well awaited Best In Slot Gear Guide for Holy Paladins. Enjoy!
Ok, first it should be noted that I have a major preference for Haste/Crit gear instead of haste/mp5 gear. While you’re more than fine to go any other way that you prefer in this regard here is my best in slot list. This is the list of gear that I’ve either got or I’m chasing!
Head:
Sanctified Lightsworn Headpiece (heroic) and Sanctified Lightsworn Headpiece. These both drop from Icecrown Citadel 25 man raids from final bosses in each wing. The heroic drops from the hard mode version.
Lightsworn Headpiece is the easy to get version of all of these. You get these from the a vendor inside Icecrown Citadel for only Frost Badges. Since you can farm Random Heroic Dailies for frost badges, no one really has any excuse to have a head piece worse than this.
Neck:
Blood Queen's Crimson Choker (heroic) which drops from Blood-Queen in Icecrown Citadel 25 man hard mode. This is your best in slot.
Directly below that is a BOE version of the Blood Queen's Crimson Choker. It comes in the sack of Frosty Treasures from doing the weekly Icecrown Citadel quest. While it does have a very low drop rate, you can find it occasionally on the Auction House.
Your 10 man versions of this loot are Soulcleave Pendant (heroic) from 10 man Gunship Battle 10 man heroic and Soulcleave Pendant from the normal version of Gunship Battle 10 man.
Shoulders:
Shoulders are very similar to the head pieces where the Tier gear is just too good (and too easy to get compared to everything else) to even bother looking at other stuff.
This makes Sanctified Lightsworn Spaulders (heroic) the best in slot which drops from the final bosses in 25 man Icecrown Citadel hard modes. The normal version Sanctified Lightsworn Spaulders drops from normal versions of the same encounters.
Lightsworn Spaulders is the easy to get version of all of these. You get these from the a vendor inside Icecrown Citadel for only Frost Badges. Since you can farm Random Heroic Dailies for frost badges, no one really has any excuse to have a head piece worse than this. (Same as your head piece).
Back:
Cloaks are very tough to get usually. Luckily they don’t have a bunch of stats on them, but you still want to fight tooth and nail to get a cloak, especially since most casters also want the same cloak that you want.
Cloak of Burning Dusk (heroic) is the undisputed champion of the cloak best in slot list. This drops from the hard mode version of Ruby Sanctum 25 man. I’ll also mention that Frostbinder's Shredded Cape drops from the hard mode version of Dreamwalker 25 man.
I’ll mention that next on the list is Jaina's Radiance and Aethas' Intensity which are TOC Tribute to Insanity Tribute runs for 25 mans. Unfortunately if you don’t have them already you’re unlikely to see them but they’re still worth a mention.
Cloak of Burning Dusk becomes your normal mode 25 man best in slot cape. It also drops from Ruby Sanctum. Frostbinder's Shredded Cape also deserves a mention that drops from normal mode Dreamwalker.
Heartsick Mender's Cape is your best in slot for 10 mans. It drops from hard mode Blood Princes in Icecrown Citadel 10 man.
If you’re not going to be able to do the hard mode 10 mans then you should really only look at your vendor cloak (Drape of the Violet Tower). It’s not greatly itemized but it’s a good choice for those who don’t do 25 mans.
Chest:
Chest pieces are virtually identical to the Head piece. It’s all about your tier pieces. So it’s no surprise that Sanctified Lightsworn Tunic (heroic) is the best in slot. Followed by the normal version of Sanctified Lightsworn Tunic. These both drop from the final bosses in each wing in Icecrown Citadel 25 man. The heroic version drops from hard mode and the normal version drops from the easy mode version.
One extra thing needs to be mentioned about whether or not you're going for your 4 piece bonus or not. A chunk of the more difficult hard mode stuff has you running around a lot and on the face of it, the .3 sec reduction of cast time for your Holy Light looks very appealing. In the end, you're not going to get anywhere near that .3 of a sec time saving after casting your holy shock. It's going to be more like .12 to .14 of a sec of time saving with the way that haste is calculated. It's still nice, but something to consider if you're pushing towards the 4 piece bonus.
Also worth a mention in the 25 man category is Rot-Resistant Breastplate (heroic) and Rot-Resistant Breastplate. These are excellent pieces. The only problem is that the Tier piece is so nice, it’s hard to pass up. The decision on which way you go is up to you. I went for the tier piece. [I've also had feedback that noted that these also have an extra gem slot and I didn't point this out. This will slide some people over to this choice].
As with the head pieces, the other chest piece for 10 man is Lightsworn Tunic which you can get for Frost Badges.
Wrist:
Crypt Keeper's Bracers (heroic) and Crypt Keeper's Bracers are your best in slot plate items. They drop from the Blood Princes in Icecrown Citadel. Heroic from hard mode of course. The really cool thing is that the 264 version is BOE and they’re not too expensive on the Auction House, which also means it’s going to be the BIS for 10 man too.
Now to complicate matters somewhat. Bracers of Fiery Night (heroic) and Phaseshifter's Bracers (heroic) are higher level items that drop from Ruby Sanctum with the Fiery night’s stats being slightly better. They’re not haste/crit items but they are essentially the best in slot for you. So what’s the issue? They’re Cloth and Leather, so you’re going to have to fight others to get them.
Bracers of Fiery Night and Phaseshifter's Bracers are your normal mode versions of the above.
Weapon:
Weapons have always been my bugbear to get. They always seem to be the one item that I personally have the most trouble getting. (They only seem to drop when I’m subbed out).
Anyway, the best in slot weapon is fairly obvious. Royal Scepter of Terenas II (heroic) and Bloodsurge, Kel'Thuzad's Blade of Agony (heroic) are your two best weapons you’ll get. They both drop from the Lich King 25 man hard mode.
The Royal Scepter of Terenas II and Bloodsurge, Kel'Thuzad's Blade of Agony are the normal mode versions of the above. They also drop from The Lich King in Icecrown Citadel.
Your 10 man best in slot is Valius, Gavel of the Lightbringer which drops from The Lich King hard mode and Valius, Gavel of the Lightbringer drops from the normal mode of the Lich King 10 man. Personally if you’re thinking of the normal version I’d go for Quel'Delar, Lens of the Mind instead. It has better stats and it’s also easier to get. It’s a quest drop that you can easily pick up in the Auction house. The quest chain should take you about 40 minutes to complete.
Shield:
The undisputed winner in the shield category is Bulwark of Smouldering Steel (heroic) which drops from 25 man Lord Marrowgar in Icrcrown Citadel. It’s a really easy encounter so even half decent pugs should be able to do this one. Bulwark of Smouldering Steel is going to be your best for normal mode 25 mans.
Your 10 man best in slots are Lost Pavise of the Blue Flight (heroic) and Lost Pavise of the Blue Flight. They both drop from Sindragosa in Icecrown Citadel with the first one from hard mode. On a side note, who names this items? I have to submit this to have one of the worst names of BIS gear in a long while.
While I hate to go down as low as heroic modes, some people are just going to have a hard time getting Sindy 10 man down in pugs. Protector of Frigid Souls can be your option that drops from Scourgelord Tyrannus in Pit of Saron.
Relics:
Now we come to relics. This is well…. Horrible, horrible, horrible. First of all, there’s so many people so concerned about their gear score they put on a relic with the highest item level. It’s just so wrong! Stop doing it. Every time I see some holy paladin applying to our guild without the best in slot relic, it just makes me want to cry.
Libram of Renewal is your best in slot. Hands down, no exception. It’s sad though that this level 200 item is still our best in slot. You get this relic from the heroism badge vendor for 15 badges. If you don’t have it, you should be shot, it’s that simple! Can I be any blunter than that?
Libram of Veracity is a pretty bad option. It rocks for the Dreamwalker encounter so you’re going to want to have one, but it’s not going to be an item that you use most of the time. You also get this from the badge vendor for 25 badges.
For you Flash of Light players out there. If you continue to maintain that Flash of Light is the way to go then you must have Wrathful Gladiator’s Libram of Justice. For that you’re going to have to do some serious PVP’ing. I suppose you could go the poor mans version of the Relentless Gladiator’s Libram of Justice but that’s just accepting defeat. In all seriousness even the Holy Light spammers should consider getting this trinket since you can change relics during combat. It can be helpful in phases where you’re pretty much only going to cast Flash of Light and then switch to Holy Light on a later phase.
Trinkets:
The problem with trinkets is that they are so difficult to compare unlike other pieces of equipment. I suppose that’s what makes them so interesting to play around with.
Unfortunately Meteorite Crystal is still your best in slot. The down side to this is the difficulty of getting this trinket. Groups aren’t going back to Ulduar to farm Algalon in 10 mans. If you get the opportunity to go and get this, it’s well worth your time.
The next best two trinkets you can get drop from Toc 25. Solace of the Defeated (heroic) and Solace of the Defeated. They drop from Lord Jaraxxus in hard mode and normal modes. Solace of the Fallen is the horde version of these trinkets with the same stats.
Outside these, you’ve pretty much have to choose your trinket based on your mana requirements. If you’re spamming Holy Light without any issues of mana you can look at switching away from your intellect trinkets. If you’re having mana issues, try working out a balance of just putting in 2 intellect trinkets.
Here is a list of trinkets that you can consider for use:
Purified Lunar Dust (badge vendor item)
Glowing Twilight Scale (heroic) and Glowing Twilight Scale from Ruby Sanctum. I'm unsure whether you can use both of these at the same time but my best guess is that you cannot. I understand that only the Toc trinkets you can wear both versions.
Talisman of Resurgence (Badge vendor item)
Pandora's Plea (from Miniron in Ulduar 25 man)
Tears of the Vanquished (TOC 5 man)
Darkmoon Card: Greatness (Comes from the nobles deck which is made through inscription. Look at the auction house for this if you have the spare gold. Should cost about 3k-4k these days)
Rings:
Ring of Phased Regeneration (heroic) would have to be the best in slot for Rings. It drops from hard mode Ruby Sanctum. The normal version is a different configuration of stats which is really odd, so the normal version is in my opinion a fairly bad ring to get. [Correction - Ring of Phased Regeneration has the same configuration of specs, which puts it in the best in slot for normal mode 25 man rings. Either the stats I saw were wrong or I totally looked at the wrong item when writing this]
Ring of Rapid Ascent (heroic) is your second best in slot for rings in hard modes. It drops from Gunship Battles in Icecrown Citadel 25 man hard mode.
This item is so easy to get. Ashen Band of Endless Wisdom is pretty much a must have and a really easy to get item. Just run Icecrown Citadel heaps, run up your reputation and you’ll get this ring from the quest guy just inside the door in Icecrown Citadel. It easily becomes the best in slot for 25 normal modes and 10 mans too.
Normal mode 25 mans it’s Ring of Rapid Ascent is your must get item. The encounter is so easy to do, every man and his dog can do the Gunship battles normal mode in Icecrown Citadel with their eyes closed… I’m sure some people in pugs actually do it with their eyes closed with the way that some play.
For everyone else, Runed Signet of the Kirin Tor is something you should pick up. With gold so easy to get there is no reason to skimp on shelling out for this item if you have rings worse. To get to the end, it should cost you in the area of 10k.
Boots:
Foreshadow Steps (heroic) are your best in slot. They drop from hard mode Ruby Sanctum 25 man. Foreshadow Steps also become your best in slot for normal mode 25 man loot.
Outside these two best in slots, the next best item is Protectors of Life. It’s item level 264 and they’re a crafted item. Just grab yourself 5 Primordial Saronite’s, 8 Titansteel bars and 12 Eternal Earths, find yourself a Blacksmith and get them made. These quickly become the entry level item for boots and make it not worth your time farming for anything else. If I see a Holy Paladin with any less it's hard to take them seriously.
Legs:
Unfortunately legs is a really lackluster slot for Holy Paladins and I’m torn between two items which is actually the best. It’s between Sanctified Lightsworn Greaves (heroic) and Puresteel Legplates. They are really the only two choices for this slot.
I’d have to say that the Sanctified Lightsworn Greaves (heroic) probably win out in the end due to the higher intellect count, but most people aren’t going to get these in quick time. Their heroic tokens are going to be used on their Chest, Helm and shoulders and then the legs. The next issue is that you need the normal T10 piece before you can get these so you’re going to have a useless piece of gear in your bags for the mean time. Another reason the legs win out is for the 4 piece bonus. The hands have a better option than the T10 gloves but legs don’t.
Before you get your top of the line T10 legs, you’re going to use your Puresteel Legplates. They’re a crafted item made by Blacksmiths. If you’re only playing 10 mans or easy modes get these. They’ll last you for ages. They will cost you 8 Primordial Saronite’s, 12 Titansteel bars and 20 Eternal Air’s but they’re well worth it.
Belt:
Split Shape Belt (heroic) is your best in slot item, unfortunately it’s Mail so you’re going to have to share it with the non-plate casters. This drops from Ruby Sanctum 25 man hard mode. There is a normal mode version of Split Shape Belt and it is nice too.
Surrogate Belt (heroic) is your best in slot for 10 mans. It drops from hard mode Ruby Sanctum 10 man.
After that Belt of the Lonely Noble is your go to belt. It’s a BOE that drops from trash. In fact it drops so often and there’s so few people who use it it’s probably the second cheapest 264 BOE on the auction house. There’s no reason to look any lower than this item.
Gloves:
Fallen Lord's Handguards (heroic) is your best in slot for gloves. It drops from Lady Deathwhisper in 25 man Icecrown Citadel hard mode.
Sanctified Lightsworn Gloves seem to be a really bad option for gloves. With the fact that there are better options available the gloves just don’t really make the cut.
After that you really only have two choices depending on which way you’re going to get them.
You could go the route of Fallen Lord's Handguards which drop from normal Lady Deathwhisper normal 25 man in Icrcrown Citadel
…or you can go the badge gear route. Gauntlets of Overexposure which will cost you 60 Frost badges to get will last you until you get your best in slot item. I personally went the badge option a long time ago. I’ve been running Icecrown Citadel from the week it came out and I haven’t seen the plate gloves drop from Lady Deathwhisper. She must be one stingy girl.
From Cèlèstial:
"Hey mate, your guide looks great. It would have been different from mine (where Haste/Mp5 would be preferred). If you think it's worth it you could maybe mention the Mp5 alternatives or something along those lines. Many players will think that the BiS list will limit them and they may pass on gear that has the potential to be much better. It's up to you though, and we can discuss it further if you believe it's a good idea."
While I didn't include the haste/mp5 gear, Celestial's a great player and well worth listening to his wise words.
You’ll notice that if there’s a vendor badge option or a crafted option I don’t go any lower. If you want to be cheap (or too poor) on the gold or don’t want to put in the time to farm badges then you’re on your own to find out where you get your upgrades!
Well that’s it for the best in slot guide. I hope you can now make an informed decision on to which upgrades you’re going to spend your hard earned DKP on and which items you’re going to pass on.
Best of luck in raiding, I wish you the best!
Send us Your Feedback:
