Dungeon Sets 101 - Episode 6: Lightforge!

Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis back with the 6th installment of Dungeon Sets 101 - my guides for how to get your character his or her Classic dungeon set as efficiently as possible.

So far, I've covered 5 sets - Devout, Valor, Shadowcraft, Magister's, and Beaststalker - so since there's only 4 more to choose from, I felt like today I'd go with the set of my brother's favorite class, the paladin. So, pick up your hammers, buff your party, and spam Flash of Light as we explore how to acquire the Lightforge Armor!


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The Set

There are 8 pieces to the Lightforge set with set bonuses for equipping 2, 4, 6, and 8 pieces. Like most of the dungeon sets, the bonuses aren't amazing considering the traditional role of the class, but for soloing, it's actually not too bad. And it looks pretty badass too!

Here's a quick rundown of where to find each item:

The Lightforge Armor

Head:

Lightforge Helm - Scholomance (Gandling)

Shoulders:

Lightforge Spaulders - UBRS (The Beast)

Chest:

Lightforge Breastplate - UBRS (Drakkisath)

Wrists:

Lightforge Bracers - Scholo (Trash & Alexi Barov)

Hands:

Lightforge Gauntlets - Strat Live (Timmy)

Waist:

Lightforge Belt - Strat (Trash)

Legs:

Lightforge Legplates - Strat UD (Rivendare)

Feet:

Lightforge Boots - Strat Live (Balnazzar)

So, as you can see, you're going to have to run 4 different dungeons fully to complete this set - Strat Live, Strat UD, Scholo, and UBRS. Luckily, however, you've got a good chance at getting all of the BoE items along the way, so you might not have to visit the auction house like some of the other classes. But anyway, now that we know where to go, let's talk about how to get them...

Stratholme

There are four pieces of the set that drop in Stratholme - two in Live, one in UD, and one from trash in both. The trash drop is the Belt and it typically drops from gargoyles in the undead portion, and the humans in the live portion (Crimson Gallants and Guardsmen, mostly), so you're pretty much guaranteed to see it at least once as you grind the two wings over and over for the other items.

Crimson Gallants drop the belt.

Gargoyles drop the belt too!

Timmy the Cruel drops the gloves.

Let's start with Live Strat first. Not including the belt, the two pieces to aim for here are the Gauntlets, which drop from Timmy the Cruel just outside the Scarlet Bastion, and the Boots which drop from Balnazzar at the end of the dungeon. As usual, clear the dungeon until you get to the entrance of the Scarlet Bastion. To have a shot at the gloves, you'll need to spawn Timmy the Cruel. He is an optional boss that only comes out after ALL Scarlet enemies standing outside the entrance to the Bastion have been defeated, so be mindful of that. Also, keep in mind that he'll spawn either to the left or the right side of the room, so I'd recommend finishing off the final enemy either up the stairs, or somewhere in the middle of the room.

As a paladin, this fight is pretty easy - just a tank and spank. Timmy hits hard, though, so make sure he dies fast and hope for your gloves.

Balnazzar drops the boots.

Continue through the Bastion until the final boss. Balnazzar drops the boots to the Lightforge set, but he's a tricky boss to be sure. The fight starts as a simple tank and spank against Grand Crusader Dathrohan. Around 50% HP, though, he turns into his true dreadlord form, complete with mind controls, fears, and sleeps. As a paladin, cleanse any and every debuff that comes up and do your best not to die - especially if you're healing! When he falls, pray to RNGeesus for your boots, then head over to the undead side...

Baron Rivendare drops the legs.

Other than the belt, there's only one piece of the set you can acquire in Strat UD - the Legplates from Baron Rivendare. This fight will vary depending on what role you're playing as a paladin, but assuming you're healing (like a good pally should), you should stand as far away as possible, out of range of the ticking AoE aura. When skellies spawn, consider swapping to Concentration Aura to avoid pushback on your spells. When the Baron falls, pick up your new swagtastic legplates! Or...run the whole dungeon again...

Scholomance

Next up is Scholomance. There are 2 pieces of the set you can get here - the Bracers and the Helm from Alexi Barov and the trash mobs in his room and Darkmaster Gandling respectively.

So, run the dungeon as normal until you get to the final large chamber with 6 small rooms around it. Lord Alexi Barov is downstairs directly in front of the hallway you entered from. Defeat the two trash mobs first, then get ready for a tough fight.

Lord Alexi Barov drops the bracers.

As a paladin, you'll need to use Turn Undead on one of the guards while everyone focuses either on the boss or on the other add first. Depending on your strategy, you may need to re-apply this crowd control mid-fight, so keep an eye out for when it breaks. Assuming you're healing, you should stand as far away as possible to avoid his pulsing AoE - Unholy Aura. Also, ask your mage or druid (if you have one) to decurse the tank in order to properly keep him alive. If you don't have someone who can decurse, be ready to spam the hell out of Flash of Light to keep him alive. Good luck getting your bracers. But remember, you can always buy them from the auction house too!

Darkmaster Gandling drops the helm.

After all six rooms are cleared, Darkmaster Gandling will spawn. Just like all the other classes, be mindful of the teleport - especially if you're healing! When teleported, make use of Turn Undead and Exorcism to kill the non-elite skeletons as quickly and safely as possible. As a paladin, that's really all there is to this fight, so good luck getting your helm!

UBRS

The final two set pieces, both BoP items, drop from bosses in UBRS. The Spaulders drop from The Beast, and the Breastplate drops, of course, from General Drakkisath at the end of the run.

The Beast drops the shoulders.

Go through the dungeon as normal until you get to the large room housing the core hound. Be sure to clear out any and all nearby mobs, including the assassins that lurk around inside his space. As a paladin, this fight is pretty simple (if you're healing, anyway) - stand at max range to avoid the fear and mind your positioning for the charge. If you're tanking, keep your back to a wall to avoid knockbacks. And if you're DPSing as a paladin...you're doing something wrong...just saying...

Anyway, grab your shoulders and head over to the final room of the dungeon to face the General.

General Drakkisath drops the chest.

In order to get your chest and complete your set, you'll need to kill General Drakkisath. As a paladin, this fight is pretty simple. The hunter pulls the boss away, your group takes out the two adds, then everyone burns the boss when he's back. As a healer, be wary of the boss when he returns, as you might get healing aggro. Make sure to keep the tank(s) up, especially during Conflagration, and you should be good to go. If you're tanking...good luck picking up the boss when he comes back...

Here's hoping you get your chest!

Final Thoughts

And there you have it. All in all, the Lightforge Armor really isn't that difficult to obtain in my opinion. There's no need to run LBRS, and all of the BoE pieces can easily be picked up while you focus on the BoP pieces. As always, you can grab the bracers, gloves, and belt from the auction house if you somehow missed out, but I doubt that'll happen...unless you get REALLY lucky with the BoP drops.

Anyway, that's it for today. If you liked this guide or found it useful, let me know by leaving a comment down below. Follow my blog here for more content in the future, and check out my videos over on YouTube as well. As always, you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates on what I'm doing in Classic, or support me on Patreon if you would like to help me bring more content in the future. But for now, and as always, thanks for reading and...

Take it easy!

Dungeon Sets 101 - Episode 5: Beaststalker!

Hey dudes! Silvite Soltis here and I'm back again with the next lesson of Dungeon Sets 101 - a simplified guide for how you can get your class's dungeon set in World of Warcraft: Classic!

Today we're moving on to the first of the two mail sets, the Beaststalker Armor. So, check to make sure your pet is well-fed and set to Passive, because it's time to gear up your hunter!




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The Set

The Beaststalker Armor consists of 8 items spread across 4 dungeons - Stratholme Undead, Scholomance, UBRS, and LBRS. And while it's not ideal to have to fully clear four dungeons, it is necessary. Here's a basic rundown:

The Beaststalker Armor

Head:

Beaststalker's Cap - Scholo (Gandling)

Shoulders:

Beaststalker's Mantle - LBRS (Wyrmthalak)

Chest:

Beaststalker's Tunic - UBRS (Drakkisath) 

Wrists:

Beaststalker's Bindings - Strat Live&UD (Trash)

Hands:

Beaststalker's Gloves - LBRS (Voone)

Waist:

Beaststalker's Belt - LBRS (Trash)

Legs:

Beaststalker's Pants - Strat UD (Rivendare) 

Feet:

Beaststalker's Boots - Strat UD (Nerub'enkan)

Alright, now let's get right into how to track down each item, shall we?

Stratholme Undead

Let's start with Stratholme. The order of the dungeons really doesn't matter too much for collectors of the Beaststalker Armor, but since you can pick up 3 items here and two of them are BoP, it's a good place to start. The three items you can grab here are the Bindings, the Boots, and the Pants, from trash mobs, Nerub'enkan, and Baron Rivendare respectively.


First off, keep an eye out for the bracers off random ghouls as you go through the dungeon. They have a low drop chance, but might drop.

Nerub'enkan drops the boots.

Ok, next up is the boots. After passing through the 3rd gate of the undead side - the one that starts the infamous 45-minute Baron run - turn left and clear the trash to the first ziggurat. Atop the stairs sits Nerub'enkan - the spider boss of the dungeon. He's a pushover. Just be mindful of any Eye of Naxxramas ghosts that might pop up nearby as you kill him.

Baron Rivendare drops the legs.

Continue through the dungeon until you face the Baron himself. This boss drops the Beaststalker's Pants, along with all of the other dungeon set legs, so wish for luck as you shoot him from a distance. If possible, try to place a freezing trap (the one that slows enemies when they step over it) by the healer so they can run away from the skeletons if they start getting attacked, and try to help kill them from range if you can. All in all, it's an easy enough fight for dps, so don't sweat it too much. If you're lucky, you can put on some new pants to go with your boots and bracers!

Lower Blackrock Spire

Next up, head over to LBRS to try and collect your Belt, Gloves, and Mantle. You'll notice that two of these items are BoEs, meaning that you might get lucky and only have to run this dungeon once. However, the shoulders are a drop from the final boss, meaning that if you aren't lucky you can almost guarantee that you'll pick them up in a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th run.

War Master Voone drops the gloves.

To start off, the belt is a drop from trash mobs throughout the dungeon. There's not much more to say about that. The gloves are a bit more specific, though, only dropping from War Master Voone in the troll section of the dungeon. He doesn't do (or drop) much, and is a boss required for the a few quests, so you'll probably knock him out anyway on your way to Wyrmthalak. If you're lucky, you'll save a few gold on your waist and hand slots.

Overlord Wyrmthalak drops the shoulders.

Ok, now for the big one - the shoulders. Work your way through the dungeon, making sure that your pet doesn't pull any random trash along the way (actually, probably just don't use it in this dungeon since it's more trouble than it's worth). When you get to Overlord Wyrmthalak, note that he'll spawn adds that will come up from behind the group. Help cc (place one before combat!) and/or kill them as necessary, but make sure you know which strategy your group will go with. Hopefully, you get lucky and get your Mantle the first time around. If not...run it again!

I'll also note that there is a shortcut to skip part of the dungeon to get to Wyrmthalak faster. See the comment by Kathucka on this page to learn that, if you'd rather just buy the BoE pieces...

Upper Blackrock Spire

Ok, almost there. Hopefully you're 6/8 and only need the chest and the helm! Well, let's round it out with trips to UBRS and Scholo.

General Drakkisath drops the chest.

As with all of the dungeon sets, these two items drop from the final bosses of these dungeons - General Drakkisath and Darkmaster Gandling. Both bosses are quite difficult, but Drak is definitely more interesting for hunters, so...here it goes...

To get the Tunic, clear the entire final area of UBRS - all enemies after Rend Blackhand should be dead, so make sure you checked all of the corners for assassins. When your group is ready to pull, it's your job as a hunter to start the encounter. From max distance off to the right of your group, pull Drakkisath with Distracting Shot and Arcane Shot. Then, kite him as far away as you can.

There are two kiting paths you can take, depending on how good you are at kiting. You can either take him up the stairs and back to Rend's Arena, assuming you cleared out the trash overlooking it. Or, more common, you could kite him around the edges of The Beast's room. It's up to you, really, but just make sure you watch chat while kiting so that you know when to either run back with him, feign death, or, if you're bad, die. Your job is the most important for this fight, so don't screw it up if you want to be allowed to roll on your chest piece.

Scholomance

Darkmaster Gandling drops the helm.

Alright, the final piece...head over to Scholomance for a shot at your Cap. Just like UBRS, this drops from the final boss of the dungeon, Darkmaster Gandling. However, for a hunter, there's a lot less to worry about. When you eventually clear the rest of the dungeon, just engage the boss, be mindful of the teleport, and let the arrows fly until he's dead. If you're lucky, you'll have a shiny new mask to show off to everyone!

Final Thoughts

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide, and good luck tracking down and collecting the full Beaststalker set! As always, if you somehow miss out on the BoE items during the dungeon runs, pick them up from the auction house, but don't feel obligated to get them until you're done collecting the BoP ones first. Either way, I hope you can get them all soon!

If you liked this guide, let me know by leaving a comment down below and by adding yourself to my mailing list. Also, check out my video guides and other content over on YouTube. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates, and consider supporting me over on Patreon as well. Thanks again for reading! Have an awesome day. And as always...

Take it easy!

Dungeon Sets 101 - Episode 4: Magister!

Hey dudes! Silvite Soltis here with another installment of Dungeon Sets 101 for you.

So far, we've covered the priest, warrior, and rogue dungeon sets - Devout, Valor, and Shadowcraft. Well today, we're gonna get back to our classic wizard trope class, the Mage. So, conjure some water, cast Arcane Intellect, and get ready to cast Frostbolt and Polymorph as we explore the easiest way in which to collect the Magister's Regalia!


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The Set

There are 8 pieces to the Magister's Regalia, just like most of the dungeon and tier sets. And though the bonuses aren't spectacular (again, like most of the dungeon set bonuses), it does look very appropriate for a badass fantasy wizard.

So, if you're planning on getting the set, you should probably first know where to look...

Head:

Magister's Regalia

Magister's Crown - Scholo (Gandling)

Shoulders:

Magister's Mantle - Scholo (Ras)

Chest:

Magister's Robes - UBRS (Drakkisath)

Wrists:

Magister's Bindings - LBRS (Trash) or AH

Hands:

Magister's Gloves - Scholo (Doctor) or AH

Waist:

Magister's Belt - LBRS / Strat Live (Trash) or AH

Legs:

Magister's Leggings - Strat UD (Rivendare)

Feet:

Magister's Boots - Strat Live (Hearthsinger)

Now that we know where the items drop, let's talk about how you should get them...

Scholomance

The first stop in your quest for the Magister's set is Scholomance. There are three pieces to collect here - the Gloves, Mantle, and Crown - making it the dungeon with the most pieces in one place. That's not the only reason to start here though - you also have a chance at two other fantastic mage items from the boss Ras Frostwhisper - the Freezing Lich Robes and the Shivery Handwraps. Of course, you're aiming for the full Magister's set, but these items are very good for frost mages and will make the later dungeons that much easier to run. Plus, they both drop off of Ras Frostwhisper, the boss that drops the shoulders anyway. So you've got a really good chance of obtaining SOMETHING in the dungeon.

Ras Frostwhisper drops the shoulders.

Anyway, let's start with the shoulders, since they're the first piece you can obtain here. Go through the dungeon as efficiently as possible until you get to the room with all of the students (just past the locked door in the zombie room). Go through the hall at the bottom of this room to find Ras Frostwhisper's chamber. Clear it out and fight the boss. He periodically casts AoE Frostbolts and Fear, so be mindful of your HP and position as a mage. Otherwise, it's not too bad. Kill him, collect your loot, and move on to the final area of the dungeon.

Doctor Theolen Krastinov drops the gloves.

The gloves are a drop from some trash mobs in the 6 mini-boss rooms, as well as Doctor Theolen Krastinov. So, keep an eye out for them as you work through the rooms to get the Darkmaster to spawn. Krastinov is a tank&spank with heavy melee damage. So as a mage, it's your job to make sure he dies ASAP. Pop a cooldown or two and get him dead before he eats your tank. Hopefully, you'll see the Magister's Gloves drop - whether it be from trash or the doctor himself...

Darkmaster Gandling drops the helm.

Finally, the helm. After clearing all of the rooms around the final chamber, Darkmaster Gandling will spawn. This boss isn't too difficult for DPS, but as a mage you need to help out by decursing your tank. Be mindful of the teleport, since it can catch you off-guard fairly easily and get you killed if you're not ready. Other than that, though, it's pretty simple. When he falls, pick up your crown (if you're lucky) and move on to the next step!

Stratholme

Next up for mages is a fan-favorite dungeon, Stratholme. Now, unfortunately, mages have a similar problem to rogues in this dungeon - with the Boots and Belt dropping on the Live side and the Leggings on the Undead. But it's no use crying over it, so let's get right into it.

Hearthsinger Forresten drops the boots.

Starting with the Live portion of the dungeon, clear the trash around the square while keeping an eye out for Hearthsinger Forresten - a rare spawn mini-boss that drops the boots. He's pretty much a pushover, but has several different spawn locations and is almost certainly located near some trash, so remember to clear around him first.

Crimson Battle Mages MAY drop the belt.

To get the belt, clear up to the Scarlet Bastion and clear through the building. If you're lucky, you'll get the belt from trash - particularly Crimson Battle Mages. Note that it is not necessary to finish this dungeon to complete the set, but there is a lot of potential for gold in Righteous Orb farming and the possibility to obtain an Archivist Cape of Frozen Wrath toward the end, so choose whether or not you want to try for that after trying for your boots. If you don't think it's worth it, maybe consider setting up a trash/Hearthsinger farming group instead...

Baron Rivendare drops the legs.

Anyway, moving on to the Undead portion, there's only one set piece to obtain here - the legs. As with all of the dungeon set legs, they drop from Baron Rivendare at the end, so make your way through the entire dungeon to his encounter. As a mage, this is a super easy fight, but still be ready for it. Stand at max distance with your healer spamming your dps abilities (Frostbolt) to avoid the pulsing AoE. When skeletons spawn, wait for them to come to the healer and you, then freeze them in place and AoE them down ASAP. Easy-peasy. Good luck getting the right legs!

Upper Blackrock Spire

General Drakkisath drops the chest.

Finally, the last dungeon you'll HAVE to run for the Magister's Regalia is UBRS. The only set piece that drops here is, of course, the Robes from General Drakkisath. I bet you see now why I said to do Scholomance first, right? The Freezing Lich Robes will have served you well until this point!

Anyway, clear the dungeon as normal. For extended guides about each boss and how to handle them, I'd suggest taking a look at this guide over on wowhead. For our purposes, though, I'll just discuss how to handle the final boss as a mage.

Wait for your hunter to pull the boss away, then kill both of the large bodyguards according to the kill order provided. When the boss returns, let the tank get enough aggro on him before opening up, then just spam the hell out of your Frostbolt (assuming you're Frost) and hope your robes drop. It's really...really easy for a mage...

Final Thoughts

And there you have it. All in all, getting the Magister's Regalia is pretty simple for a mage, albeit VERY time consuming. If you're missing any of the BoE pieces, such as the Bracers which drop from LBRS trash, pick them up from the auction house and save yourself the trouble of running more dungeons. But in general you should be fine so long as you can find groups. And so long as you're playing a mage and performing your role as a sheep and water master, it should be pretty easy.

Anyway, that's it for today. If you liked this guide or found it useful, let me know by leaving a comment down below and/or by adding yourself to my mailing list. Also, check out my video guides over on YouTube - especially if you're a more visual person. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates, as well as to have any discussions about WoW Classic. But yeah. That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and, as always...

Take it easy!

Dungeon Sets 101 - Episode 3: Shadowcraft!

Hey dudes! Silvite Soltis back again with another Dungeon Sets 101 for you.

So far, we've covered the priest and warrior dungeon sets - the Vestments of the Devout and Battlegear of Valor. Well today we're going to continue with a leather set for a class that is actually viable. That's right! Let's step into the shadows so I can tell you how the get the dungeon set for rogues, the Shadowcraft Armor.

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The Shadowcraft Armor

As with the others, there are 8 pieces to this set. The legs, chest, and helm drop from the same bosses as all the others - Baron Rivendare, General Drakkisath, and Darkmaster Gandling respectively. But, since the other pieces drop from completely different bosses than the rest, I'll have to give a rundown here as always:

Head:
Shadowcraft Cap - Scholo (Gandling)

Shoulders:
Shadowcraft Spaulders - Strat Live (Cannon Master)

Chest:
Shadowcraft Tunic - UBRS (Drakkisath)

Wrists:
Shadowcraft Bracers - Scholo (Malicia and Trash) or AH

Hands:
Shadowcraft Gloves - LBRS (Vosh'gajin) or AH

Waist:
Shadowcraft Belt - UBRS and LBRS (Trash) or AH

Legs:
Shadowcraft Pants - Strat UD (Rivendare)

Feet:
Shadowcraft Boots - Scholo (Rattlegore)

As you can see, rogues have a bit of a tough time collecting their set, since there are BoP items in 4 different dungeons (as opposed to 3 for priests and warriors), but that's only the beginning. Anyway, now that we have an idea of where these items are, let's talk about how to collect them...

Scholomance

Honestly, it really doesn't matter which dungeon you do first, since you'll need to run Scholo, Strat UD, Strat Live, and UBRS all eventually, but since Scholomance has 3 of the set pieces, it makes sense to start here. The three Shadowcraft pieces to collect here are the Bracers, Boots, and Cap, from trash (and a mini-boss), Rattlegore, and Darkmaster Gandling respectively.

Rattlegore drops the boots.

First off, progress through the dungeon as normal until you get to the room with the plagued whelps. Rattlegore is just beneath them, so clear it out with your party and make your way down. Once in the basement, clear the skeletons carefully, making sure to clear the all of the ones around the entrance and up to him. As a rogue, this boss is easy - just an occasional stun to worry about. Stabby stab until dead, then hopefully get your boots.

Malicia and trash mobs MIGHT drop the bracers.

Head back up and continue through the dungeon until the final chamber - the one with 6 mini-bosses in different rooms. Clear the rooms and defeat the mini-bosses. The bracers can drop from trash mobs here, as well as Instructor Malicia. But again, they are BoE, so don't worry if you don't get them along the way.

Gandling drops the helm.

Once the final room is cleared, Darkmaster Gandling will spawn. Again, an easy encounter as a rogue. Just remember to keep Evasion handy in case you need it during the teleport - especially if the tank gets ported. If you're lucky, he'll drop your helm.

UBRS

Drakkisath drops the chest.

Next up is Upper Blackrock Spire. The two items you're looking for here are the Belt, which drops from Blackhand Assassins in the 2nd half of the dungeon, and the Tunic, which has an 11% chance of dropping from General Drakkisath. Honestly, there's not much more to it than that, and as a rogue, you don't have much to worry about. Just make sure Evasion is up for Drak in case you pull aggro during the Conflagration.

As always, if you don't get your belt from the trash mobs here, you can always buy them from the auction house later.

Blackhand Assassins drop the belt.

Stratholme

Rivendare drops the legs.

Ok, here's where it gets annoying. There are two set pieces in Stratholme - the Pants and the Spaulders. The former is super-simple - clear Strat UD and hope they drop from Baron Rivendare. The problem, however, is that the shoulders drop deep in the other half of the dungeon, Strat Live. Worse still, they are from an annoying optional boss...

Let's start with the pants quick. Clear through the entire dungeon until Baron Rivendare. For this fight, you're going to want to watch your HP as you'll definitely have to deal with the pulsing AoE. Also, watch for the skeletons when they spawn and consider running over to help your healer. After all, he can't heal you if he's constantly getting pushback, and your tank should keep the boss positioned far away if possible. Honestly, this is probably the biggest challenge for rogues - not tunneling on the boss. Kill the Baron and grab his pants!

Willey drops the shoulders.

Now, you've got to run Strat Live. The Shadowcraft Spaulders drop from Cannon Master Willey, deep in the Scarlet Bastion. As I said before, this boss is optional, so good luck convincing a group to do this for you (especially early on before the GOOD items are added to his loot table). For this fight, pick up cannonballs from the pile and fire them at the Scarlet Riflemen that he occasionally spawns. Really though, the challenge is finding a group that will want to do this boss. Good luck getting your shoulders!

Wrapping Up

Head over to the auction house to buy your Gloves, as well as the Belt and Bracers if you didn't manage to collect them along the way. Then, do a /dance in front of the bank with your completed set!

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it - the Shadowcraft Armor. Definitely one of the cooler looking dungeon sets in my opinion, but also a very challenging one to obtain - especially as a DPS class. Either way, good luck collecting the pieces - it's definitely worth it in the end.

That's it for today! If you liked this guide or found it useful, let me know by leaving a comment down below. I'd love to know what you think! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates when new content is released, and consider checking out my channel over on YouTube for video content as well. Finally, if you'd like to help support me in making content like this in the future, consider becoming a patron over on Patreon. I truly appreciate your support, but for now and as always...

Take it easy!

Dungeon Sets 101 - Episode 2: Valor!

Hey dudes! Silvite Soltis back again with another installment of Dungeon Sets 101 - my brief, 9-episode series of how to obtain the dungeon sets in Classic as efficiently as possible.

Today, I'd like to go to the other end of the spectrum - from a class that is renowned as potentially the greatest healer to the one that is considered the greatest tank. So, grab your swords and shields and let's find out how you can get your warrior his or her dungeon set - the Battlegear of Valor!

The Set

Battlegear of Valor

Just like all the dungeon sets, the Battlegear of Valor contains eight pieces - three of which drop from the final bosses of the endgame dungeons Stratholme (Undead), Scholomance, and Upper Blackrock Spire. Fortunately though, four of the other items can also be obtained in those same dungeons.

Plus, warriors are renowned as the best tanks of Classic and are thus in high demand, so you should be able to get a group easily.

Here's a basic rundown of where to get the items:

Head:
Helm of Valor - Scholo (Gandling)

Shoulders:
Spaulders of Valor - UBRS (Rend)

Chest:
Breastplate of Valor - UBRS (Drakkisath)

Wrists
Bracers of Valor - LBRS (Trash) or AH

Hands:
Gauntlets of Valor - Strat UD (Ramstein) or AH

Belt:
Belt of Valor - Strat UD / LBRS (Trash) or AH

Legs:
Legplates of Valor - Strat UD (Rivendare)

Feet:
Boots of Valor - Scholo (Kirtonos)

Now let's get into each dungeon in a bit more detail, shall we?

Stratholme Undead

Patchwork Horrors CAN drop the belt

To begin your quest for the Valor set, head to Stratholme Undead. This dungeon contains three of the items needed with 2 of them being BoEs. Since you'll need to aim for the Legplates here anyway, it makes sense to try and collect the Belt and Gauntlets along the way.

All of the items drop toward the end of the dungeon. The belt can potentially drop from the Abominations, so make sure to kill them all - though you need to anyway to finish, so...yeah. Just pray for luck.

Rammstein the Gorger drops the gloves

The gloves drop from Ramstein the Gorger, which coincidentally is the boss that spawns after clearing the abominations in the courtyard. Just be mindful of your positioning and the healer's mana as you pull the final abomination, then keep yourself well-positioned. Also, remember that after he falls, a bunch of non-elite skeletons will spawn off to the left of the room that will beeline toward the healer.

Baron Rivendare drops the legs

Anyway, after Ramstein and the aftermath have all been cleared out, you can take on the final boss of the dungeon, Baron Rivendare, for a shot at the legs. This boss drops all 9 sets' legs, so you've got about an 11% chance of getting the Valor ones each time you defeat him. For this fight, position the boss where he stands so that ranged and your healer can get far enough away. Also, make sure your healer has a couple of Stratholme Holy Water handy for when the skeletons spawn, as there will no doubt be a couple of skeletons gnawing on his or her face at some point. Kill the Baron, hopefully collect your pants, and make your way to the next stop. Don't worry if you didn't get both BoEs here, as you can always buy them from the auction house later!

Scholomance

You could do either Scholomance or UBRS next - the order really doesn't matter since each dungeon has two pieces. However, since Scholomance has an optional boss (one that not everyone will always want to do), I'd suggest knocking that one out first. The two pieces to get here are the Boots and the Helm, dropping from Kirtonos the Herald and Darkmaster Gandling respectively.

Kirtonos the Herald drops the boots

For the boots, you need to kill the Blood Steward of Kirtonos to loot the Blood of Innocents first. She is located in the first large room of the dungeon, but unfortunately on the opposite side you'll want to go. Either way, clear over to her, kill her, and get the blood. Then, continue until you reach the balcony overlooking the outside of the Caer Darrow. There, use the blood on the altar to summon Kirtonos. This fight itself fairly simple, but as a tank you need to make sure you tank him with your back to a wall, as you can get knocked out of the window and thus out of the dungeon by his knockback ability. Also note that he resets aggro periodically, so be ready to taunt and grab him back. When he falls, hope you get your Boots of Valor.

Darkmaster Gandling drops the helm

Continue through the dungeon until the final boss, Darkmaster Gandling. This boss drops the helms for all 9 sets, so it's imperative that you finish the dungeon. This fight is fairly simple except for one ability - the teleport. Occasionally he will teleport one party member into one of the surrounding rooms with 3 skeletons to kill and lock the door. Make sure to designate a backup tank or healer in case he chooses to teleport one of these two members. If the healer is banished, make use of cooldowns to survive as necessary. Down the boss and pray to RNGeesus for your helm!

Upper Blackrock Spire

Finally, the third dungeon you'll have to run to collect the Valor set is UBRS. There are two pieces that drop here - the Spaulders and the Breastplate from Warchief Rend Blackhand and General Drakkisath respectively.

Warchief Rend Blackhand drops the shoulders

Go through the dungeon as efficiently as possible until you reach the Rend Blackhand event (about halfway through). If you're unlucky, you might have a priest that wants to do the Rookery event for some Devout shoulders, but whether or not you help that poor soul is up to you...and the group, of course. Anyway, for the event, be careful about how you pull the mobs - don't run into the gate because you could get locked in without a healer. Instead, try to use line of sight to your advantage. Clear all the mobs, then work on Gyth. Partway through the boss encounter, Rend will get knocked off of his dragon and you'll have to pick him up before he eats the party. At this point, it's pretty much a tank&spank though, so pray for your shoulders...

General Drakkisath drops the chest

Progress through the dungeon until the final boss fight - General Drakkisath. This boss drops the Breastplate of Valor along with the other 8 set chests. As a tank, have a hunter kite the boss and pick up the adds (facing away from the dps and healers, of course). When the boss comes back (whether due to dead hunter or otherwise), pick him up and hold him. Be mindful of the Conflagration and you should down him pretty easily. If you're lucky, you'll get your chest!

Bracers of Valor (and the other BoEs)

Buy them from the auction house. Unless you're running LBRS anyway, it's not really worth the effort.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it. The dungeon sets all follow pretty similar patterns, so a lot of these guides might be similar, but for the warrior set at least it's nice to know that you can run the main 3 dungeons and still get 7/8 of the set pieces with only one optional boss in the mix.

Anyway that's it for today. If you liked this guide or found it useful, let me know by leaving a comment and add yourself to my mailing list below for more in the future. Check out my YouTube channel for video versions of this content and others as well if you think you'd prefer that format. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for content updates or to hear what I'm doing in game. Finally, if you'd like to help support me in my endeavor to create quality content, consider becoming a Patron over on Patreon. I truly appreciate all of your support - no matter where and how you give it. But for now, and as always...

Take it easy guys!

Dungeon Sets 101 - Episode 1: Devout!

Hey all! Silvite Soltis here and today I'm proud to announce a little mini-series I'm starting.

As we all know, many of us playing Classic are those who played it back in the day. However, times have changed a lot - marriages, families, and work commitments might keep us from enjoying the game as fully as we'd like to. We may not have time to raid hardcore or grind out those battlegrounds for the best gear possible.

But there is one end-game path we CAN take to look badass - collecting the dungeon sets!

So, for those of us who may only be able to do a dungeon or two every week after reaching 60, these guides will help us to look swagtastic. And for others who simply want to collect the gear, it'll help to do it as fast as possible...

Let's get started with my favorite class, the priest...


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Vestments of the Devout

You may already be aware, but in case you aren't there are 8 items in each dungeon set - helm, shoulders, chest, bracers, gloves, belt, legs, and boots. Three of these items - the bracers, gloves, and belt - are Bind-on-Equip, meaning they can often be found in the auction house. The other five, however, are drops from specific dungeon bosses.


As a priest, you will typically want to aim for the Devout set, a blue and lavender set of robes that somewhat resembles pajamas in my opinion. These items are spread throughout 3 instances, though realistically they are in five different dungeons - Stratholme (Live and Undead), Scholomance, and Blackrock Spire (Upper and Lower). Fortunately, you only really NEED to run three, as two dungeons (LBRS and Live Stratholme) contain only the BoE pieces. Still, you can run these dungeons if desired.

Stratholme

Maleki the Pallid drops the boots.

So, to get started hit up Stratholme (Undead) to try and collect the Devout Sandals and Skirt. The feet drop from the boss Maleki the Pallid, typically the third boss encountered in the dungeon, and are a fairly common drop. He's a fairly straightforward tank&spank, like most dungeon bosses in Classic. Just make sure to take out enough trash to not accidentally pull additional mobs.

Baron Rivendare drops the legs.

Progress through the dungeon to Baron Rivendare, the final boss of the undead portion. This boss is the one which drops all of the dungeon set legs, so you've got a one in nine chance of getting your skirt upon victory. When fighting him, remember to stand as far away as possible to avoid his pulsing AoE, and keep Fade ready for when the skeletons spawn.








If you decide to run the live portion of the dungeon, you have a chance to find the Devout Bracers from Crimson Priests, as well as the Devout Gloves from the boss Archivist Galford toward the end of the dungeon. Be careful when healing during this boss, however, as he hits hard. Do note, though, that both Devout items from Live Stratholme are Bind-on-Equip, so it definitely isn't necessary to run it to get them, as you can just buy them from the auction house or get them from a lucky friend or guildmate.

Crimson Priests drop the bracers.

Archivist Galford drops the gloves.

Upper Blackrock Spire

There are three pieces of the Devout set to acquire in UBRS - the Devout Robe, Belt, and Mantle. The first two are fairly straightforward. The shoulders, however, require a bit more planning.

Blackhand Summoners drop the belt.

First, set up a group with the Rookery event in mind. Many groups will want to skip this room because it's generally a pain in the ass. The shoulders drop from the 2nd boss of this dungeon, Solakar Flamewreath, and are one of several possible drops. Before you get there, however, you have a chance to pick up the Devout Belt from Blackhand Summoners in the first room of the dungeon. It's a low chance, but it's the BoE piece you're most likely to encounter since it drops from mobs you need to clear.

Solakar Flamewreath drops the shoulders.

Anyway, onward to the shoulders. Work your way up towards the Rookery for the biggest challenge in completing the set, in my opinion. To briefly summarize, the event requires your group to pop the eggs and kill a bunch of the whelps in the Rookery before starting. Then, one person clicks the crystal at the back of the room, triggering waves of elite dragonkin to start spawning. After what'll seem like ages, Solakar Flamewreath will spawn. Defeat him and hope you get the shoulders.

General Drakkisath drops the chest.

Clear the rest of the dungeon to the final boss, General Drakkisath. This fight is pretty straightforward for priests - heal and hope the hunter(s) know how to kite. Again, keep Fade handy just in case you get targeted by the boss during the Conflagrations. Similar to Baron Rivendare, he drops all nine dungeon set chests, so pray to RNGeesus that yours is the one that drops during your runs.

Scholomance

The third and final dungeon you'll have to run in your adventures to collect the Vestments of the Devout, Scholomance is no walk in the park. Long, filled with bosses, and offering little in terms of useful items for priests, you might wonder if it's worth the effort. Well, if you want your helm, it is.

Darkmaster Gandling drops the helm.

The only piece you'll find here is the Devout Crown, which drops from the final boss of the dungeon, Darkmaster Gandling, along with all of the other dungeon set helms. The good news is that there are several good items for tanks and dps classes here, as well as one of the only alchemy labs in the game (needed to craft flasks for the try-hards), so you'll be able to find groups fairly easily as a priest.

When fighting Gandling, keep in mind that he randomly teleports party members into different rooms to fight small groups of mobs by themselves. As a priest, you can use Shackle Undead on one enemy if this happens to you so that you can burn down the other enemies present. No matter what though, get back to your party ASAP.

One more time, pray to RNGeesus that you get your helm when he falls...

Final Thoughts

So, basically that's the guide. Run Undead Stratholme, UBRS, and Scholomance, then pick up the Gloves and Bracers from the auction house when someone puts them up for cheap. Again, you COULD run Live Stratholme for a shot at the two BoEs there, but it's not really necessary. Either way, best of luck with getting your badass priesty set.

If you liked this guide or found it useful, let me know by following my blog here and leaving a comment down below. Also, check out my YouTube channel where I upload video versions of all of these guides and more on a (mostly) weekly basis! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates, and consider supporting me on Patreon if you'd like to get some additional perks as well.

Thanks for reading. And as always, take it easy! :)

List of set pieces, levels, and locations (courtesy of https://wow.gamepedia.com/Vestments_of_the_Devout)