YJMark wrote:
I'm not sure how you justify ignoring gems. Some gemmed T6/6.5 gear is superior to some blues. So why would you replace it?
Did you miss the line where I said
Theophastus wrote:
granted, sockets are underbudgeted so the SWP pieces win out
or read it and ignore it? I was just showing the lowest-level pieces I could find whose item budgets were on par with Sunwell gear. I'm sure people will carry some 70 epics into Naxx like how some people wore 60 epics into Kara, but my money is on everything in BC having a replacement before Naxx (whether or not you get the drop you need or grind the rep or whatever for that replacement is another thing).
You could be right about healing stuff, not my thing so I didn't look into it, but I expect that leveling gear in Wrath will be like 1-59 or 61-69 gear was, mostly heavy on the basic stats (you didn't see much hit/crit/MP5 until 60, for example, or any ArP/expertise/haste until BT and later ZA/badge). I also suspect that we will have to load up on the basic stats (enough defense to be uncrittable, enough spellpower to to be able to put out enough HPS, etc.) before going back to the fancily itemized stuff we became used to.
jeromesima wrote:
For Pally Tanks, it does look like even Kara/T4/Badge gear may well last until at least level 78 and in some cases into 80.
Every piece of T4 and most badge gear can (and should) be replaced by Tempered Saronite stuff (http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?search=tempered+saronite) as soon as you know a BS that can craft it. You WILL need the defense rating to get uncrittable (689 def rating to be uncrittable at 80, you won't be able to comfortably look at stats like dodge and block rating until you're raiding T7/8. Uncrittable is like uncrushable was in BC).