So you have finally reached the top in WoW. You have read our leveling guide, and have been grinding quests and mobs until your eyes bleed, but you did it. You are now level 80! There is nothing left for you to do in WoW now, so just head on out and start Raiding with the big boys. Right? Oh, I feel so sorry for youYou have no idea that you have barely scratched
the surface of the madness that is WoW.
You can just go out and start Raiding without having the proper gear. If you show up to a Raid and all you have is a bunch of green and blue quest items, well let just say that I don envy you the mental slap down that a waits. I not saying WoW players can be cruel fanatics about RaidsI am just saying that I have
heard a tale or two about people joining Raids without any decent gear, being found on the bathroom floor in the fetal position, crying. I am going to try and help prevent that from happening to you.
In order to Raid you need good gear, and in order to get good gear you need to RaidYa I know what you are thinking; how the hell does that work? What are you going to do? Il tell you what you are going to do! You are going to roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty in the everlasting quest for purple (epic) gear! We are going to grind, beg, borrow and steal to get enough gear to break through that threshold that takes us from completely sucking to mediocre (if you are really lucky, you might hit average one day, but lets not get ahead of ourselves)!
So the first thing you need to know is, what do you need to Raid, and how will you know when you are ready? There are sites out there that can help you with this, sites that can break down your gear and tell you what you should be capable of tackling. In general though, if you open up your character profile, you want your bonus damage or healing around 1400 to start ten man Raids. If you have crazy skills
maybe you can go a little earlier, and if you are really new to your role, you might need to get yours a little higher, but 1400 is a good guideline.
Second thing you need to know is, what to keep an eye out for. This part is easy; you want level 80 purple itemsOh you want more specifics than that? Ok, keep your eyes open for increases to Spell Power, and +mana over 5 seconds. Also look for better stats in Spirit and Intellect. Auction Houses
By far the fastest and easiest way to get enough gear to Raid is simply buying it at the auction house. Simply search under armor, and buy yourself a few epic pieces. This is also the most expensive way to go, and most people simply won have enough gold to get more than a piece or two. However it still a valuable tool, and one you should check out regularly. Occasionally you can find a real steal on the auction house. Sometimes someone needs gold fast, or might not realize what the item is worth. By all means don go out there and simply camp the auction house hoping to steal an item, but whenever you are in town, always swing by and check it out. I have gotten a couple of epics for about half their normal selling price this way. Just remember,
be patient the deals will come.Crafting
One of the best and most reliable ways to get epic gear is through crafting. Most Tailors and Blacksmiths will craft you really great items like Titansteel Guardian, or Moonshroud Robes for little to no money as long as you provide the materials. Many of which you can grind out, or buy pretty reasonably on the auction house. Enchanters can greatly improve your current gear with enhancements like
Enchant Weapon - Titanguard, and Scroll of Enchant Bracer - Superior Spellpower. This is a cheap way to take your current epic items and really step them up a notch. The great thing about crafting is that you can know exactly what you are going to get and when. You don have to wait and hope for a mob to drop it, or hope that someone will post it on the auction house. Just gather th
