WANT... PURPLES...

I downed Gruul last night. No, that's not entirely true. My guild downed Gruul while I lay there as a useless corpse, watching helplessly. See, I'd been unlucky and ended up near way too many other players during his first Ground Strike / Shatter -- and I didn't have the hit points to withstand it, and apparently also didn't have the DPS to justify a battle rez. So I died after landing about 5 dots on him and then just sat there while my guild 24-manned it without me.

But whatever, I looted anyway -- the Collar of Cho'gall, woo!

So, I have some ultimate loot goals which I've outlined in previous wish-list posts, but today I just want to think about how quickly I can, if not max out my gear, at least get to the point where I'm all purples or very high blues.

Here's what's left that's old and outdated:

Neck: Still wanting one of the neckpieces from Kara (Moroes or trash).
Back: Ruby Drape of the Mysticant from the Prince. -- Dropped last night (5/16)!
Waist: Belt of Divine Inspiration from the High King.
Gloves: Handwraps of Flowing Thought from Attumen or Voidheart Gloves from Curator.
Trinket: Icon of the Silver Crescent for 41 badges.
Weapon: Really, any of the one-handed daggers or swords that drop from the Prince, Gruul, or in Zul'Aman. I'm not picky. They're all drool-worthy.
Off-Hand: Orb of the Soul-Eater for 25 badges. Delicious.
Wand: Carved Witch-Doctor's Stick for 25 badges.

I'm favoring badge gear over random raid-boss drops because you only get to kill the boss once per week, you never know if he's going to drop the item when you kill him, and there are plenty of other warlocks/mages rolling against me in this guild. On the other hand, badges are guaranteed. Too bad I'll now need 91 of them.

A Gruuling Raid

So my wishlist the other day was made up almost entirely of either badge loot or Kara loot, and yet it seems that the guild we are playing with at the moment is more focused on Gruul's Lair (or at least, it has more slots available). I was surprised that MaxDPS hadn't suggested any Gruul's loot for me, so I took another look.

Honestly, there's not much at all for a warlock in GL -- the following are the sum-total of anything useful from the King:

- Belt of Divine Inspiration
- Brute Cloak of the Ogre Magi
- Tier 4 shoulders

and from Gruul:

- Bloodmaw Magus Blade
- Collar of Cho'gall
- Tier 4 legs

The belt, if it dropped, would be better than the Girdle of Ruination not only in DPS but stats as well (and is ranked #3 overall by MaxDPS), so I definitely would want that. Need.

The cloak is far below either of the cloaks I could get from Kara, but would be a vast improvement over what I'm wearing now, so I'd roll on it if it turned up, but then feel guilty because I'd be hoping to replace it quickly. Greed.

MaxDPS puts the Voidheart Mantle above the Frozen Shadoweave Shoulders for DPS, but I respectfully disagree (I wonder whether that ranking is scaled down based on the fact that FS only improves your shadow spells). Besides, I don't need the Voidheart Mantle for the (2) set bonus, and frankly I love the Shadoweave set bonus -- it would take a lot more than an extra 3.5 dps to get me to break up that set. Pass.

Gruul's sword is only slightly above the Staff of Infinite Mysteries from Kara in dps -- less than a point -- and the staff has significantly better stats. Of course, if you're only wielding a 1-hander then you have an off-hand available, but for now, I feel ambivalent about the Bloodmaw Magus Blade. Greed.

The Gruul head piece is below the Voidheart Crown for DPS and doesn't have the Voidheart Raiment set bonus, but until I get the Voidheart Gloves and a diamond for the meta-slot, the crown is inferior. So, I'd take the Collar of Cho'gall, but would expect to replace it. Need (for now).

The Voidheart Leggings are not as good as my newly-acquired Trial-Fire Trousers. Pass.

See, that's why I'm more excited about Kara than Gruul's Lair. Friday night, anyone?