TBC Classic Destruction Warlock Pre-Raid Gear
On this page, you will find the best pre-raid gear for Destruction Warlock in TBC Classic.
Destruction Warlock Pre-Raid Best in Slot List
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.
Other Destruction Warlock Best in Slot Lists
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.
Head
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.
Necklace
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, or Amulet of Vek'nilashif 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.
Shoulder
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, unless you are Fire Destruction; then, use Mantle of Three Terrors or Spaulders of the Torn-heart instead, based on your Spell Hit situation. Plagueheart Shoulderpads are really good as well, if you were able to get them in Classic.
Back
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.
Chest
Rank | Item | Gems | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Best | Frozen Shadoweave Robe | Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone | Frozen Shadoweave Robe — Tailoring |
Best | Spellfire Robe | Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone | Spellfire 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. If you are Fire Destruction use Spellfire Robe instead. Auchenai Anchorite's Robe, Robe of Oblivion, and Robe of the Crimson Order are all good options to use while waiting to craft the more powerful Robes.
Wrist
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.
Hands
Rank | Item | Gems | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Best | Anger-Spark Gloves | Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone | Doomwalker |
Best | Spellfire Gloves | Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone | Spellfire Gloves — Tailoring |
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. Spellfire Gloves are the best if you are Fire Destruction.
Waist
Rank | Item | Gems | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Best | Girdle of Ruination | Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone | Girdle of Ruination — Tailoring |
Best | Spellfire Belt | Runed Living Ruby, Veiled Noble Topaz, or Great Dawnstone | Spellfire Belt — 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. Spellfire Belt is the best if you are Fire Destruction.
Legs
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.
Feet
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.
Finger
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.
Trinket
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.
Main-Hand Weapon
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, 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.
Off-Hand Weapon
Rank | Item | Source |
---|---|---|
Best | Flametongue Seal | 25 x Badge of Justice |
Best | Khadgar's Knapsack | 25 x Badge of Justice |
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 and Khadgar's Knapsack are both very strong off-hands for Destruction and are also extremely easy to obtain, making it easily your best option. Flametongue Seal is best in slot for Fire Destruction. It is suggested to use Khadgar's Knapsack so your Immolate can benefit from it. 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.
Wand
Rank | Item | Source |
---|---|---|
Best | The Black Stalk | The Black Stalker — Heroic Underbog |
Best | Create Firestone | |
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 want to get some Crit. Otherwise use Create Firestone.
Further Enhancements
If you have further questions about gemming and enchanting these items, our Destruction Warlock Enchants and Gems page below provides more information.
Changelog
- 01 Jun. 2021: Guide added.
This guide has been written by Crix, Co-Admin of the Warlock Discord and long time Warlock player. He raids with the guild Fusion and has cleared all WOTLK content as a Warlock, as well as makes Warlock related content on YouTube for Warlocks and streams Warlock gameplay daily over at Twitch.
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