If Tier Sets Make You Tear-up... Part 1

...Then this post is for you.

Now, I know that, by now, 99.9% of World of Warcraft players have a Level 70 character, and therefore likely know all about Tier Armor sets. So, this post is primarily for that 0.1% of players who don't. That's not to say veterans aren't welcome to read on, I'm just saying it's not likely you'll learn a whole lot.

To begin, What is a Tier Armor set? Well, a Tier armor set is a set of armor (go figure!) that gives the player rewards for having multiple pieces of it. Another bonus they provide is allowing your character's gear to match in a uniform, colour-coded way. There's nothing worse than trying to scare the opposite faction away while wearing 6 different, clashing colours. Tier sets drop in raid instances, and as of now, there are 6 different Tiers in WoW. Tier sets are ALWAYS epic.

Now, the earlier Tier sets were pretty straightforward. They would drop like a regular item, anyone who needed it would roll on it or spend DKP or whatever, and the winner would equip it. Simple.

However, presently it's a little different. Raid bosses drop tokens now, instead of actual Tier pieces. These tokens are class-specific, with each one being "usable" by 3 different classes. As an example, Prince Malchezaar, one of the final bosses in Karazhan, drops the Helmet token for Tier 4. (Prince only drops one token, but other bosses sometimes drop two or three Tier tokens.) These tokens are:
* Helm of the Fallen Defender = Warriors, Priests, and Druids turn this in.
* Helm of the Fallen Champion = Paladins, Rogues, and Shaman.
* Helm of the Fallen Hero = Mages, Warlocks, and Hunters.
Admittedly, this system is not as straightforward as getting an actual item, but it (usually) ensures that someone in the raid can use the drop.

Now, for a closer look at the individual tier sets.

Pre-Burning Crusade Tier Sets:
With pre-BC sets, there was only 1 set for each class, forcing many hybrid characters to make a choice to either not use tier gear, or use it and be forced into a certain spec. Luckily, with the BC token system, Hybrid Classes such as Druids or Paladins have 3 tier sets, one for each spec.

Tier 1 - Drops in Molten Core. Contains 8 pieces. For specific stats, check out http://www.wowwiki.com/Tier_1, and also the individual set pages.

*Druid - "Cenarion Raiment." Suitable for Healing. Some pieces of the set are suitable for Balance DPS.
*Hunter - "Giantstalker Armor." Applies to all Hunter builds and specs, as the class is not a hybrid.
*Mage - "Arcanist Regalia." Applies to all Mage builds and specs.
*Paladin - "Lawbringer Armor." Holy set, but some pieces are ok for Retribution DPS.
*Priest - "Vestments of Prophecy." Healing set, minor Shadow DPS, minor Holy DPS.
*Rogue - "Nightslayer Armor." All Rogue builds.
*Shaman - "Earthfury Raiment." Restoration, minor Elemental DPS.
*Warlock - "Felheart Raiment." All builds.
*Warrior - "Battlegear of Might." Protection.

Tier 2 - Drops from Ragnaros (Molten Core), Onyxia (Onyxia's Lair) and Blackwing Lair. Contains 8 pieces. http://www.wowwiki.com/Tier_2

*Druid - "Stormrage Raiment." For Healing.
*Hunter - "Dragonstalker Armor." Applies to all Hunter builds and specs.
*Mage - "Netherwind Regalia." Applies to all Mage builds and specs.
*Paladin - "Judgement Armor." All builds.
*Priest - "Vestments of Transendence." Healing set, minor Shadow DPS, minor Holy DPS.
*Rogue - "Bloodfang Armor." All Rogue builds.
*Shaman - "The Ten Storms." Restoration/Elemental DPS.
*Warlock - "Nemesis Raiment." All builds.
*Warrior - "Battlegear of Wrath." Protection, some Arms/Fury DPS.

Tier 3 - Tier 3 sets drop in Naxxramas... Sort of. See, save the ring, the set pieces never actually dropped. Instead, you'd get an Epic token and need to turn that in, along with some other common trade items, and Wartorn Cloth Scraps, Leather Scraps, Mail Scraps, or Plate Scraps, to a Quest NPC in Light's Hope Chapel. Not many players actually saw Tier 3, as Naxxramas was fairly difficult, and came out not long before the Burning Crusade expansion. For more info on getting Tier 3, check out http://www.wowwiki.com/Tier_3#How_to_obtain_Tier_3_Armor_Sets

*Druid - "Dreamwalker Raiment." Healing set.
*Hunter - "Cryptstalker Armor." All builds
*Mage - "Frostfire Regalia." All builds.
*Paladin - "Redemption Armor." Healing set.
*Priest - "Vestments of Faith." Healing set.
*Rogue - "Bonescythe Armor." All Rogue builds.
*Shaman - "The Earthshatter." Healing.
*Warlock - "Plagueheart Raiment." All builds.
*Warrior - "Dreadnaught's Battlegear." Protection.


Well, hopefully this post answered atleast some questions folks have about Tier sets. Expect to see the second installment later on, where I'll talk about the Burning Crusade Tier sets, Tiers 4-6.

Until next time.