With Cataclysm out and the raids fast approaching, we’ve got to get geared up fast so we can get inside. The biggest thing standing between us and that loot, though, is not going to be Deathwing’s Flames. Instead, it’s going to be burning out from so many reputations, the long leveling grind to 85, and the insanely expensive level 85 items.

Minimizing Burnout

That’s why you need to get raid ready in the minimum number of steps, so you don’t burn out for good. Every single Cataclysm fan is going to want to enter those raids on May 30th. Phase one of Cataclysm is bringing some of the best raids in the expansion.

Bastion of Twilight

Bastion of Twilight brings us on a collision course with the legendary Cho’gall. Even certified Cataclysm dislikers have to admit that Cho’gall’s Twilight Hammer is one of the coolest-looking weapons in WoW history.

Getting the Right Gear

If you don’t want to be on the bench during Blackwing Descent and Onyxia 2 Reloaded, you’re going to need some BiS gear. Your raid leader is not going to let you inside with anything less than 346 item level pre-BiS gear. Don’t worry, though. I want to get you geared up in record time so you can get in your raid and you don’t get burned out either.

For Hardcore WoW Fans

Hardcore WoW fans with the aspiration to clear heroics the first week are going to have a much more burnout-inducing route. Those players will even have to go for 359 item level BiS gear from Archaeology and reputations.

Using WoWhead

During this process, I recommend pulling up a second tab for your WoWhead pre-BiS list from the guide section on the homepage. Then, go down the list of slots and pick the item that makes the most sense for your week one goals. Prioritize the normal modes week one for a chill gearing process, or prioritize doing heroic raids the first week for a more intense gearing process.

Getting Ready for 359 Gear

The 359 gear is going to be way more tedious, so let’s talk about normal players first—the ones that want to avoid spontaneous burnout the first week. Those players are going to want to add 346 item level gear from Heroic dungeons to their 60 Upgrades list.

Normal Mode Players

Normal mode players should also add any sort of crafted gear, focusing on the cheapest possible options, and plan out farming to get those materials themselves. For example, the Dreamless Belt is an excellent item that can be bought, saving a lot of time and reducing the need to run Blackrock Caverns heroics.

Reputation Pieces

Skipping exalted pieces the first week can prevent burnout. Additionally, I do not recommend doing Archaeology if you’re going for a more casual route. Normal mode players should also pick a couple of Justice Point pieces to add to their 60 Upgrades list, especially for the most annoying slots. For instance, my Resto Druid will buy Justice Point gear for the helmet due to poor helmet options.

Heroic Mode Raiders

Now let’s talk about heroic mode raiders for the first week—the legends of our sport. They will need to add true pre-BiS items to their 60 Upgrades in every slot possible. An insane eight of my Mage’s 359 item level pre-BiS options are BoE. This means if you’ve got hundreds of thousands of gold, going full pre-BiS is not as hard as it seems. This includes the expensive Darkmoon Deck, like the Volcano Deck, which everyone will want this phase.

Darkmoon Cards

I know everyone will want a Darkmoon card this phase. Which one are you aiming for, or are you skipping them because they’re too expensive? On top of viable items, heroic raiders will want to push for a minimum of revered with their specific factions.

Faction Reputation

This is essential not only for the 359 item level gear but also for the enchants. For example, on my Mage, I will prioritize revered with the Guardians of Hyjal to grab my head enchant immediately. If you’re looking to be a heroic gamer, be prepared to invest time in gaining Faction reputation quickly.

Maximizing Your 359 Gear

You’re going to want to add even more 359 items to your list from exalted reputations too. That’s not all; pro heroic players will also want to complete their Archaeology for key weapons like Zen’rokh, the Staff of Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan. Do you think it was Deathwing who designed Archaeology to ruin our lives?

Creating Your Pre-BiS List

So, you’ve got your pre-BiS list done in 60 Upgrades. Now it’s time to make a list of all the revered factions or, in the case of heroic raiders, the exalted factions you’re going to be working towards. I’d also recommend adding the Heroic dungeons you want to prioritize running.

Organizing Your Tasks

In my case, I just made a Google Doc with a checklist, making everything in Cataclysm much easier to complete. Our first order of business, after all our planning, is to hit level 85. I highly recommend using all your bonus RF experience per week and prioritizing all the dungeon quests.

Gaining Faction Reputation

If you’re still not 85 between dungeons, you’ll definitely want to quest to gain Faction reputation. For instance, I went straight for Hyjal reputation, questing near Hyjal as my ultimate priority. The reason is I wanted to get the tabard at Friendly to blast dungeons at 85 for maximum rep.

Hitting Item Level 329

Our next goal after reaching level 85 is to hit a 329 item level as fast as possible. This allows us to queue for random dungeon finder heroics for the pre-BiS gear we’ve planned. I recommend putting on the tabard of one of the factions you noted on your checklist. For me, it’s the Hyjal tabard.

Running Dungeons and Gaining Reputation

While queuing for normal dungeons, you’ll be getting pieces up to 333 item level. At the same time, with your tabard on, you’ll also be working towards free gear from the reputation vendors. You’ll need six to eight pieces of 333 item level gear, so mix between normal dungeons and reputation gear.

Crafted Gear Options

Unfortunately for poorer players, or perhaps fortunately for the rich ones, there is a lot of crafted gear you can get if you just have gold. Every single epic 359 piece you get is going to be crucial for your progress.

Strategies for Efficient Gear Acquisition

Saving you a ton of time in those normal mode spams, an alternative trick for savvy players is to bypass the RDF system entirely. You can actually just run heroics as a group, and every single drop will be those 346 pieces you desperately need. The trade-off is that those heroics are really, really hard, so you better have a great group.

Reaching Item Level 329

So, now we’ve hit the 329 item level and can finally queue for heroics and spam them. That’s basically our life now for the rest of Cata. We’re going to pick a reputation for one of our pre-BiS pieces or enchants, wear the tabard for the needed reputation, and spam heroics that give us those pre-BiS pieces.

The Role of Archaeology

In between, if you’re a heroic raider, you should be digging as much as humanly possible until the raids come out. Personally, I’m skipping Archaeology; it’s just too RNG and not worth it for me. But I’m curious about you guys. Are you going to be blasting Archaeology in Cataclysm?

Acquiring BoE Gear

Whether you are or not, you should definitely attempt to acquire BoE gear as cheaply as you can, by haggling or farming materials yourself. This is pretty much the entire gearing process. Ultimately, planning your gear is the most crucial step because if you have 60 Upgrades and a document of all the reputations to work on, it makes it straightforward to know what to do next.

Sticking to Your Plan

Then, it’s just a matter of sticking to your plan and going down your checklist one by one. If you repeat this process with all your reputations and all the gear you need from heroics, you’ll be ready for raids in no time, without burning out.

Preparing for Raids

Whether you’re going for 346 item level gear or 359 to slay the heroics, you’re going to have everything you need for Onyxia 3 Revolutions or whatever other boss you want to fight. Thank you so much for reading. Subscriptions won’t bring back Mankrik’s wife, but we’ve got to try.

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