There is quite a bit of shiny new gear in Magisters’ Terrace, and initially I wanted to do a more “all class inclusive” list, but there are just too many things to look at! So we’ll take a quick gander at some of the drops that might appeal to the healing-inclined Druids out there. I’ll split it up between the regular mode drops and the heroic mode drops.

Normal Mode

[Cord of Reconstruction] is actually a quite nice healing belt drop. Sure, it’s cloth, but armor doesn’t matter all that much to a resto druid anyhow. Let’s face it, in most cases, if we get aggro we go down as easily as any cloth wearer in the wrong situation. Now, it isn’t nearly as nice as our [Windhawk Belt], but not everyone out there has taken up Leatherworking. Like most drops from MagT in normal mode, this is a real nice piece for a healer who’s still trying to gear up for Kara.

[Boots of Resuscitation]. These dropped for me the very first time I hit up the instance, on patch day. I do still have them banked, and have kicked around the idea of using them in place of my [Boots of the Incorrupt]. Again, I’m looking at an epic item in comparison to a blue, but overall the blue boots compare pretty well. Sure, you’re losing the intellect entirely and losing some stamina and spirit, but you’re also gaining two gem slots to play with. I could offset some of the stat losses with gems. Or, I could just go all out for +heal, and carry them around for those nasty fights where I need all the +heal I can get. Overall, these are VERY nice boots for blue!

[Robes of Summer Flame] is the last normal mode drop I’ll look at. Again, I’m finding that it doesn’t compare all that unfavorably to an epic from Kara, [Stonebough Jerkin]. You’re losing 19 stamina, 17 intellect, 5 spirit, 9 MP5 and 4 heal, but you gain 3 slots for flexibility. With a little bit of cheap gemming, [Teardrop Living Ruby], [Luminous Noble Topaz] and [Solid Star of Elune], we’re not losing ALL that much off the epic, probably getting it sooner, and actually gain 23 +heal. For me, Druids are ALL ABOUT +heal. I rarely have mana problems! It’s not going to replace my [Windhawk Hauberk], but if you’re not yet into Kara, this is a GREAT chest to try to pick up.

Heroic Mode

Now, I know you didn’t come here to talk about blues. Let’s look at that shiny purple gear from the tough version!

First, [Vial of the Sunwell]. This is one of the first drops I heard tell of, and one of the most interesting. As a tree druid, one of my greatest challenges is overcoming spike damage. If the tank or multiple party members suffer a few huge blows in a row, I might be in trouble. The Tree Druid is designed to ease those hits, not erase them immediately like some of our healing brethren. With this item, I could finally have an additional instant heal to throw out in times of duress. Tantalizing! The added MP5 is a bonus, and it’s just too bad they didn’t stick some +heal on it just for kicks. Still, this is an awesome trinket for just about any healer, and I hope to get one soon.

[Rod of the Blazing Light] is an excellent healing staff, and when gemmed easily surpasses [Nightstaff of the Everliving] that drops in Karazhan. The new staff gives 3 additional stamina and 3 sockets, but loses 2 intellect and 14 spirit. That can EASILY be made up with even green gems if you so choose. I personally have no interest in this staff, as I’m nearly fully Kara geared and sporting the [Shard of the Virtuous] and [Aran's Soothing Sapphire]. If I were still trudging around with a blue like [The Essence Focuser], I’d take a hard look at this staff. If for no other reason, I love the flexibility of slots. You could make this the ultimate +spirit Innervate staff with 3 [Sparkling Empyrean Sapphire]s and a +spirit enchant. Uber mana regen.

[Eversong Cuffs]. This is the first pair of bracers I’ve seen in awhile that make me consider switching out my [Windhawk Bracers]. I lose a bit in stamina, but gain some intellect and spirit. And, as I’ve said before, I’m all about +heal and these are an upgrade, though mild, in that department. I would probably hold off on them until I could replace the other pieces of my Windhawk set, as once I break it up the set bonus of +8 MP5 is history. Still, these are very nice bracers and won’t cost you a single badge. You just have to get through heroic MagT to get them!

[Kharmaa's Ring of Fate] is one of the most intriguing pieces in the instance for any healer. From what I’ve read on Wowhead, there aren’t very many rings with sockets. Throw a [Teardrop Crimson Spinel] in these bad boys and you’re looking at +70 heal. It gets even better if your an enchanter and can bump that by another 20 +heal for a whopping 90 +heal out of a ring slot. Wow. I could finally retire my pumpkin ring from the Halloween event.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. Those are the highlights, and I hope I’ve given you some goals to shoot for as far as drops in the new instance. If you’re a freshly minted 70 druid or healer type, you could do a lot worse than the stuff that drops in regular mode. If you’re fully Kara geared like myself, you still might find some nice upgrades in Heroic. Overall, I believe Blizzard did a great job itemizing this particular instance.  They just get better and better at itemization, and it makes me anxious to see what they will do in Wrath.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention [Sun Touched Satchel] and the [Phoenix Hatchling]. Anybody would want those!

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Druid, Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.