Gearing Up: Tiers 1 & 2

Most players will know that as soon as level 58 comes around, there’s a temptation to skip the later classic zones and move straight on to Outland, rich in gear rewards to compensate for those who’d played the level 60 endgame before it. We at Future Tense have taken a daft turn and decided to explore the original dungeon sets; predecessors to that gear we now see bought in exchange for heroic dungeon tokens.

Tier 1 Gear

These items, available for every class except Death Knights, are found purely as dungeon drops. Though the head, chest and leg pieces are bound to specific bosses, the other pieces drop from bosses and some ‘trash mobs’ in Stratholme, Scholomance and Blackrock Spire.

• Head: Darkmaster Gandling, Scholomance
• Shoulders & shoes: ‘bind on pickup’
• Chestpiece: General Drakkisath, Blackrock Spire (upper)
• Bracers, belt & gloves: ‘bind on equip’
• Trousers: Baron Rivendare, Stratholme

All bar the chestpiece drop from 5-man dungeons. The chestpiece for each set will drop from a boss late on in Blackrock Spire’s raid quarter; you will need to form a 10-man party or draw upon some elder characters in order to escort you through the fight and retrieve this random chance drop.

It is generally a good idea to gather most, if not all, of this set before beginning quests to upgrade them to tier 2. The process of upgrading these is staggered, however, meaning you may drop off the upgrade chain any time you choose.

Tier 2 Gear

Tier 2 is obtained only through a lengthy and costly quest chain, and requires you to have gathered pieces from tier 1 (though these may be looted while you work on the tier 2 series too).

1. The chain starts with Mokvar in the Grommash Hold, in which you must provide him with your set’s bracers.
2. You’re then referred to Mux Manascrambler in Gadgetzan, who sets you to creating a device allowing you to speak to ghosts.
3. Mokvar rewards you with upgrades to the belt and gauntlets.
4. You’re then asked to commune with the spirit of Anthion, outside Stratholme.
5. Anthion asks you to complete the dungeon and rescue his wife before referring you on to Falrin Treeshaper of Dire Maul West with a shopping list.
6. Falrin’s tasks send you to Dire Maul North, then hands you another shopping list, some items of which are found in the Scholomance and Dire Maul West.
7. Finally he sends you to an early stage of Blackrock Depths with a challenge for the Ring of Law. This will earn you the upper piece of Lord Valthalak’s amulet.
8. Mokvar will then reward you with upgrades to the boots, leggings and shoulders.
9. Finally, the most complex series of quests is offered by Bodley of the Blackrock Mountain.
10. Bodley asks you to kill Pyroguard Emberseer of Blackrock Spire, Lord Incendious of Blackrock Depths and Cynders, a random spawn from the Cenarion Circle quest events in Silithus. He also asks you for the 120-gold [Hallowed Brazier], sold by the Argent Dawn in the Eastern Plaguelands.
11. Bodley’s next quests earn you the left piece of Lord Valthalak’s amulet and can take one of four forms, sending you either to:
    1. Tyr’s Hand in Eastern Plaguelands, then Scarlet Stratholme
    2. Frostwhisper Gorge in Winterspring, then Dire Maul
    3. Purgation Isle in the Hillsbrad Foothills, then Scholomance
    4. Hive’Regal in Silithus, then Blackrock Spire (lower)
       (Note that only this quest spares you from fighting elite enemies in part 1)
12. Bodley then sends you to Alcaz Island off Dustwallow Marsh, home to more elite enemies.
13. With reagents gathered, you must then roll another pair of quests from step 11 to complete Lord Valthalak’s amulet.
14. Final Preparations involves a journey back into Blackrock Spire (lower), and a potion made by alchemists who’ve looted Ras Frostwhisper in the Scolomance or earned ‘exalted’ status from the keepers of Time.
15. You are attuned to summon Lord Valthalak at long last; the battle, held in the upper Blackrock Spire, is said to challenge a 10-man group.
16. Finally, you are granted the chest and head pieces.

Summary

The chain takes you to the following zones, and may help to frame your various raids and dungeon runs:

Bold indicates a dungeon, while italics highlight a group or elite quest. Zones given in brackets indicate where that quest is handed in.

1. Orgrimmar – Silithus (Orgrimmar)
2. Tanaris
3. Burning Steppes (Tanaris)
4. Silithus, Winterspring & Eastern Plaguelands (Tanaris)
5. Orgrimmar (Eastern Plaguelands)
6. Stratholme (Eastern Plaguelands)
7. Dire Maul West
8. Dire Maul North & Scholomance (Dire Maul West)
9. Blackrock Depths (Eastern Plaguelands)
10. Orgrimmar – Blackrock Mountain
11. Blackrock Depths, Lower Blackrock Spire, Silithus & Eastern Plaguelands (Blackrock Mountain)
12. Random choice of:
    • Eastern Plaguelands & Stratholme
    • Winterspring & Dire Maul
    • Hillsbrad Foothills & Scholomance
    • Silithus & Lower Blackrock Spire
13. Another (non-repeated) choice of:
    • Eastern Plaguelands & Stratholme
    • Winterspring & Dire Maul
    • Hillsbrad Foothills & Scholomance
    • Silithus & Lower Blackrock Spire
14. Dustwallow Marsh (Blackrock Mountain)
15. Lower Blackrock Spire (Blackrock Mountain)
16. Upper Blackrock Spire (Blackrock Mountain)
17. Orgrimmar

You will require the following items (on top of the tier 1 armour pieces) at various points in the chain:

• 180 gold
• 1x [Delicate Arcanite Converter] (engineering):
  • 1x [Arcanite Bar] (alchemy)
    • 1x [Thorium Bar] (mining)
    • 1x [Arcane Crystal] (mining, jewelcrafting)
  • 1x [Ironweb Spider Silk]
• 4x [Greater Eternal Essence] (enchanting)
• 10x [Stonescale Oil] (alchemy):
  • 10x [Stonescale Eel] (fishing)
• 3x [Dark Iron Bar] (mining)
  • 24x [Dark Iron Ore] (mining)
• 3x [Mooncloth] (tailoring)
  • 6x [Felcloth]
• 20x [Enchanted Leather] (enchanting)
  • 20x [Rugged Leather] (skinning)
  • 20x [Lesser Eternal Essence] (enchanting)
• 4x [Cured Rugged Hide] (leatherworking)
  • 4x [Rugged Hide] (skinning)
  • 4x [Refined Deeprock Salt] (leatherworking & engineerng)
    • 4x [Deeprock Salt]
• 8x [Large Brilliant Shard] (enchanting)
• 4x [Dark Rune] (loot from Scholomance)
  One more is required to create a signet of beckoning, below.
• 1x [Flask of Supreme Power] (alchemy, recipe from Ras Frostwhisper or Keepers of Time)
  • 7x [Dreamfoil] (herbalism)
  • 3x [Mountain Silversage] (herbalism)
  • 1x [Black Lotus] (herbalism)
  • 1x [Crystal Vial]
• 1-4x [Twilight Cultist Robe], Mantle & Cowl set
• 3x [Abyssal Crest]
• 1x [Signet of Beckoning: Fire]
  • 1x [Scroll: Create Signet of Beckoning] (from handing bundles of 10 [Encrypted Twilight Text]s to Hermit Ortell in Silithus)
  • 1x [Dark Rune]
  • 5x [Firebloom] (herbalism)

You may also need extra [Goblin Rocket Fuel] with which to gather ectoplasm in Silithus, Winterspring and the Plaguelands. This is alchemy-made, from an engineer-crafted recipe:

• 1x [Firebloom] (herbalism)
• 1x [Volatile Rum]
• 1x [Leaded Vial]