TBC Classic Affliction Warlock Pre-Raid Gear

This is a list of gear that is considered to be the best in each slot prior to entering Phase 1 / Tier 4 Raids. The list is created using the stat priority recommended in this guide, as well as only using gear that drops outside of the first tier of raids. For gemming you have three options: Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone. Use whichever one fits your current Spell Hit situation. Gem for Hit until you have reached Hit cap — 202 Spell Hit rating, 190 if you are Alliance. Once at the Spell Hit cap, use Runed Living Ruby. Only use Glowing Nightseye for Blue Sockets to complete your Meta Socket in the future.

If your character is ready to jump into Phase 5 / Tier 6 content, then see our current best in slot list. If you wish to go through the content of Tiers 4 or 5 instead, then please see their respective lists below.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Spellstrike Hood	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Spellstrike Hood — Tailoring
Option	Mag'hari Ritualist's Horns		Hero of the Mag'har
Option	Evoker's Helmet of Second Sight	3 x Runed Living Ruby	Teron Gorefiend, I am... / Teron Gorefiend, I am...

Spellstrike Hood is your best helm. However, it is very expensive and you will replace it in Karazhan with Voidheart Crown. Mag'hari Ritualist's Horns and Evoker's Helmet of Second Sight are both great options and are fairly easy to obtain.

Rank	Item	Source
Best	Brooch of Heightened Potential	Blackheart the Inciter — Shadow Labyrinth
Option	Amulet of Vek'nilash	Emperor Vek'nilash — AQ40
Option	Hydra-fang Necklace	Ghaz'an — Heroic The Underbog

If you need Spell Hit use Brooch of Heightened Potential. Use Amulet of Vek'nilash instead if you have it and do not need Spell Hit. Hydra-fang Necklace is good for more Spell Hit, but lacks Crit and is from a Heroic.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Frozen Shadoweave Shoulders	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Frozen Shadoweave Shoulders — Tailoring
Option	Mantle of Three Terrors		Chrono Lord Deja — The Black Morass
Option	Spaulders of the Torn-heart		The Cipher of Damnation - The Third Fragment Recovered
Option	Plagueheart Shoulderpads		Patchwerk, Grobbulus, or Gluth — Naxxramas

Frozen Shadoweave Shoulders is BiS. Use Mantle of Three Terrors or Spaulders of the Torn-heart based on your Spell Hit situation. Plagueheart Shoulderpads are really good if you were able to get them in Classic.

Rank	Item	Source
Best	Sethekk Oracle Cloak	Talon King Ikiss — Sethekk Halls
Easy	Cloak of Entropy	BoE World Drop
Option	Cloak of the Necropolis	Sapphiron — Naxxramas
Option	Cloak of the Devoured	C'Thun — AQ40

Sethekk Oracle Cloak is your best Cloak choice for Spell Hit. Cloak of Entropy is a good option that is cheap on the Auction House in the meantime. Cloak of the Necropolis and Cloak of the Devoured are also good if you were able to obtain them in Classic.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Frozen Shadoweave Robe	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Frozen Shadoweave Robe — Tailoring
Option	Auchenai Anchorite's Robe	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Everything Will Be Alright
Option	Robe of Oblivion	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Murmur — Shadow Labyrinth
Easy	Robe of the Crimson Order		BoE World Drop

Frozen Shadoweave Robe is your best option. Auchenai Anchorite's Robe, Robe of Oblivion, and Robe of the Crimson Order are all good options to use while waiting to craft Frozen Shadoweave Robe.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best and Easy	Bracers of Havok	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Bracers of Havok — Tailoring

Bracers of Havok are the only Bracers you need to worry about. They are on the Auction House and cheap.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Anger-Spark Gloves	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Doomwalker — World Boss
Best	Gloves of Pandemonium		BoE World Drop
Option	Manaspark Gloves	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Hungarfen — Underbog
Option	Dark Storm Gauntlets		C'Thun — AQ40

Anger-Spark Gloves are technically BiS, however they drop from a World Boss making them hard to obtain. Gloves of Pandemonium are suggested as they are cheap on the AH and supply Spell Power, Spell Hit, and Crit. Manaspark Gloves are a good option for more Spell Hit and Dark Storm Gauntlets are strong if you were able to obtain them in Classic.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Girdle of Ruination	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Girdle of Ruination — Tailoring
Option	Belt of Depravity		Harbinger Skyriss — Heroic The Arcatraz
Option	Sash of Serpentra		Warlord Kalithresh — The Steamvault
Option	Eyestalk Waist Cord		C'Thun — AQ40

Girdle of Ruination is your best-in-slot, but may be expensive to craft early on. Sash of Serpentra is a great alternative if you are looking to save some gold. Belt of Depravity is great, but drops only in a tough Heroic and Eyestalk Waist Cord is good if you do not need Spell Hit and were able to obtain it in Classic.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Spellstrike Pants	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Spellstrike Pants — Tailoring
Option	Breeches of the Occultist	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Aeonus — Heroic The Black Morass
Option	Trousers of Oblivion	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Talon King Ikiss — Sethekk Halls
Option	Khadgar's Kilt of Abjuration	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Temporus — Black Morass

Spellstrike Pants are your best option, offering high Spell Damage and Spell Hit. They are expensive and can take a while to craft. Use any of the other options in the meantime based upon your current Spell Hit.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Frozen Shadoweave Boots	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Frozen Shadoweave Boots — Tailoring
Easy	Sigil-Laced Boots	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Harbinger Skyriss — The Arcatraz
Easy	Shattrath Jumpers	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Into the Heart of the Labyrinth

Frozen Shadoweave Boots are a massive gear piece, remaining your best-in-slot well into T5 and even into T6. Shattrath Jumpers and Sigil-Laced Boots are an easy-to-get option to use in the meantime.

Rank	Item	Source
Best	Ashyen's Gift	Cenarion Expedition — Exalted
Best	Seal of the Exorcist	Terokkar Forest PvP Vendor
Option	Ring of the Fallen God	The Savior of Kalimdor
Option	Seer's Signet	The Scryers — Exalted
Option	Sparking Arcanite Ring	Epoch Hunter — Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills

Rings in Phase 1 are typically used to help with Spell Hit Rating. Ashyen's Gift and Seal of the Exorcist are fairly easy to obtain and help greatly with your Spell Hit Rating. Sparking Arcanite Ring is great for both Spell Hit and Crit, while Seer's Signet is great if you do not need anymore Spell Hit. Ring of the Fallen God is an amazing Ring if you were able to obtain it in Classic.

Rank	Item	Source
Best	Icon of the Silver Crescent	41 x Badge of Justice
Best	Quagmirran's Eye	Quagmirran — Heroic The Slave Pens
Option	Scryer's Bloodgem	The Scryers — Revered
Option	Arcanist's Stone	Epoch Hunter — Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills
Option	Mark of the Champion	The Fall of Kel'Thuzad

Icon of the Silver Crescent and Quagmirran's Eye will be your ideal trinkets for their great passive Spell Power and on-use/proc effects. Scryer's Bloodgem and Arcanist's Stone are great options to fill in any missing Spell Hit Rating. Mark of the Champion is an insanely good Trinket whenever you are fighting Undead or Demons if you were able to get it in Classic.

Rank	Item	Gems	Source
Best	Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian		Naxxramas
Best	Talon of the Tempest	Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone	Doomwalker — World Boss
Best	Gladiator's Spellblade		PvP Arena
Best	Blade of Wizardry		Eternium Runed Blade — Blacksmithing
Best	Eternium Runed Blade		Eternium Runed Blade — Blacksmithing
Option	Stormcaller / Blade of the Archmage		Thrallmar / Honor Hold — Exalted
Option	Greatsword of Horrid Dreams		Murmur — Shadow Labyrinth
Easy	Continuum Blade		Keepers of Time — Revered

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, while a personal DPS loss, is a very powerful weapon in TBC Classic, as it buff your party members. You should expect to wear this for that reason until T6. Talon of the Tempest is the best weapon, however it is from a World Boss, making this hard for most to obtain. If you have the 1,850 rating requirement, you can get Gladiator's Spellblade. Blade of Wizardry and Eternium Runed Blade are both good weapons, although very expensive and not worth. Stormcaller / Blade of the Archmage are suggested as they are in your control to get and free, while still being very powerful. You can use Greatsword of Horrid Dreams or Continuum Blade in the meantime.

Rank	Item	Source
Best	Orb of the Soul-Eater	25 x Badge of Justice
Option	Lamp of Peaceful Radiance	Harbinger Skyriss — The Arcatraz
Option	Sapphiron's Left Eye	Sapphiron — Naxxramas

Orb of the Soul-Eater is a very strong off-hand for Affliction and extremely easy to obtain, making it easily your best option. You can use Lamp of Peaceful Radiance in the meantime while farming your 25 Badge of Justice. Sapphiron's Left Eye is a very good Offhand if you were able to obtain it in Classic.

Rank	Item	Source
Best	The Black Stalk	The Black Stalker — Heroic Underbog
Option	Nether Core's Control Rod	Dalliah the Doomsayer — The Arcatraz
Option	Wand of Fates	Patchwerk — Naxxramas
Option	Doomfinger	KelThuzad — Naxxramas

The Black Stalk is the best Wand you can get if you do not need any more Spell Hit. Nether Core's Control Rod is a great Wand if you do need Spell Hit.

If you have further questions about gemming and enchanting these items, our Affliction Warlock Enchants and Gems page below provides more information.