Level 52 warrior - gearing advice going forward?

[Soothsayer]

I hit level 52 the other day (which was one of my more significant goals, since evasive discipline is absurdly good), so now I'm wondering what sort of equipment upgrades I should be on the lookout for heading into Karnor / raids / etc. Ideally, I'm looking for upgrades that don't cost a fortune. As much as I'd love to have a runebranded girdle... [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] well, let's just say earning money as a warrior is relatively difficult.

Here's my current setup. I'm at 980 displayed AC unbuffed with 2520 HP.

Head: Custom Champion's Helm
Face: Grotesque Alloy Mask
Ears: Cougar Claw Earrings
Vambraces: Champion's Vambraces
Chest: Champion's Breastplate
Legs: Champion's Greaves
Boots: Crystal Chitin Boots
Wrists: Ice Forged Shackles, Bracer of Scavenging
Belt: Mithril Plated Girth
Hands: SCHW
Neck: Spider Fur Collar
Shoulders: Barbed Dragonscale Pauldrons
Back: Cloak of the Maelstrom

My neck and bracer items are fairly cheap, but I'm struggling to find replacements. The collar has a fantastic 10 AC, and the belt adds a nice chunk of stats and decent AC.

Edit: Weapons are Frostbringer MH and Sarnak Warhammer OH.

[Sonderbeast]

What race?

[Soothsayer]

Originally Posted by Sonderbeast [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What race?

Human. ^^

[Robbintha Hood]

I'd dump the Bracer of Scavenging for Silver Chitin Wristband. I'd also look to get a +6 neck from Western Wastes.

If it's within your budget, I'd also upgrade haste item to either waist or back item.

[Soothsayer]

Originally Posted by Robbintha Hood [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'd dump the Bracer of Scavenging for Silver Chitin Wristband. I'd also look to get a +6 neck from Western Wastes.

If it's within your budget, I'd also upgrade haste item to either waist or back item.

The only belt I know of aside from the skyplane haste belt is runebranded girdle, and even that is painfully expensive. FBSS and dragonborn sash offer next to no stats or AC, so replacing SCHW with those feels more like a downgrade.

[Sonderbeast]

Next step upgrades at this point are mostly free, which can open up some plat for better items elsewhere. You will need a good group or raid to get them though.

Crap sky rot belt and silver steel gaunts is better than schw and mith girdle/spider belt imo (also free)

Barbed dragonscale boots net you like 120hp, get em.

SCWB ×2 are solid items to work towards. Great AC and HP for wrists, Champ wrists are almost as good, but will cost you like 1800 in gems that you will never get back. SCWB are an easy resell.

There arent many good options for masks, crystal spider eyes are 8 ac and 35 hp, but enshrouded veil has that +10 FR.

Go get a +5 or +6 dragon neck as soon as you can... and don't pay for it... those dragons are always up.

[Jmcwrestling]

If you replace your hand haste item you can get Silver Steel Gauntlets for free with a couple friends. 80hp gloves for free , warrior only so people can't steal them from you.

[Jimjam]

I think you are in a very good way for your level!

Make friends in Western Wastes, kill +6 dragons for a necklace and to farm heads. Join the Scout party that happens every 10 hours for your bracers of battle.

Get your giant factioned friend who collected the dragon heads to turn in for barbed dragonscale boots for you.

Also watch out for people going into Dragon Necropolis; you could offer to help in exchange for a rotting infestation.

WW has hot and cold times, you can't spend all the time there. You could do ABC in Seb at your level for a chance at haste belt and truncheon of doom. You'll find groups more reliably in KC though. Reasonable money to be made at hands if you want to purchase upgrades.

[Soothsayer]

Originally Posted by Jimjam [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I think you are in a very good way for your level!

Make friends in Western Wastes, kill +6 dragons for a necklace and to farm heads. Join the Scout party that happens every 10 hours for your bracers of battle.

Get your giant factioned friend who collected the dragon heads to turn in for barbed dragonscale boots for you.

Also watch out for people going into Dragon Necropolis; you could offer to help in exchange for a rotting infestation.

WW has hot and cold times, you can't spend all the time there. You could do ABC in Seb at your level for a chance at haste belt and truncheon of doom. You'll find groups more reliably in KC though. Reasonable money to be made at hands if you want to purchase upgrades.

Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, what are bracers of battle? The only bracers of battle I've heard of drop in Crushbone, and those are... [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Also, the dragon necklaces mentioned give less AC than my current neck. How do I know when to sacrifice AC for HP and vice versa? If 4 AC makes an enemy hit for 15 damage instead of 150 slightly more often, is AC not the clear winner in most cases?

[Jimjam]

Originally Posted by Soothsayer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, what are bracers of battle? The only bracers of battle I've heard of drop in Crushbone, and those are... [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Also, the dragon necklaces mentioned give less AC than my current neck. How do I know when to sacrifice AC for HP and vice versa? If 4 AC makes an enemy hit for 15 damage instead of 150 slightly more often, is AC not the clear winner in most cases?

I'm going to play the dyslexic card on this one, where in truth my WPM exceeds my thoughts per minute [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.].

I meant BoB = Bracers of Benevolence. Basically every 10 hours an adhoc raid forms up, everyone /random 1000 and the winner gets to hand in their scout tools in WW and then all the attendees team up to kill the spawned mob (the winner of the /ran 1000 also gets to loot the prize).

It's hard to balance the relative worth of AC and HP. In the case of the dragon necks they add a tonne of other stats too. As a tank in the 50s it is nice to have a decent reserve of HP to shrug off ice comets and such (see resists too!).


Also consider, in the 50s the stuff you are fighting for XP might be quite a few levels lower than you. As such you mitigate them decently even with mediocre AC, but they have pretty substantial minimum hits, so medium AC, high HP means you can absorb more minimum hits before requiring your next cheal.

From my own findings, pretty much any 51+ melee with half decent AC (even rangers) will take an average hit of 70 against level 50ish mobs in KC. Adding more AC doesn't really make a significant difference, whereas the hp and/or resists let you deal with bad rounds or avoid slow (ganking your dps/aggro).