by Allison Robert @ wowinsider

As stated on our previous guides, this is how I’m organizing gear:

Best overall: If there’s one piece that’s just better than anything else you can get, I’ll have it listed here. Most of these will cost you Emblems of Heroism, a truckload of gold, or a hideous amount of honor, however.

Best drop/s: Self-explanatory, the best (typically heroic) 5-man drops you can get.

Best quest piece: Also self-explanatory, but fair warning — if you’re looking to get most of your pieces outside of 5-mans, many of the quests rewarding the best pieces are linked to dungeons or group quests.

Best faction piece: If a quartermaster offers a usable piece, it’ll be here. You’ll get convenience at the cost of having to deal with pieces that are usually a dog’s breakfast of stats, though.

Runner-up: This is kind of a catch-all term for good, usable, or even excellent pieces you can get by other means. If there’s a blue or epic BoE piece floating around the AH, or a workhorse 5-man drop you can also use, it’ll be here. Some of the pieces in the runner-up slot may seem odd for inclusion there (e.g. epics like raid BoE’s), but as far as I’m concerned, if it’s going to cost you a ton of gold to get them, they are firmly optional. You do not need to be equipped in full epics to raid as long as you’re not lazy about enchants and gems.

Enchant: Just in case you have any gold left after gearing up.

This gear set assumes you are using the standard 0/60/11 or similar feral tanking spec, or at least a spec with max-rank Primal Precision, Natural Reaction, Thick Hide, Feral Swiftness, Survival of the Fittest, and Protector of the Pack.

EDIT: An incorrect built was previously linked here — the link has now been fixed.

A quick word about PvP gear: if you wind up with any of the Savage, Hateful, or especially Deadly pieces, you’re probably fine to use those in lieu of some of the gear here, particularly Hateful or Deadly. Hateful is i-level 200, Deadly is i-level 213, which is equivalent to 10-man and 25-man raid loot respectively. If you’re using a lot of PvP gear, the main difference you’d note between a PvE-geared and PvP-geared bear would be threat generation. PvE gear is much better for this, and I suspect that’s because most of the stat allocation for resilience on PvP gear is coming out of attack power.

Would this be a problem early on? Probably not. Between 70 and 80, or while gearing DPS at 80, you are unlikely to encounter threat issues. But you will have to work harder, particularly in 5-mans, to maintain threat as your DPS gets gear. People who scoff and say you don’t have obviously never tried tanking for trigger-happy Naxx-25 Mages specced into Hot Streak. God, I hate that talent.

And before anyone asks, yes, you can get the Polar Set made, socket it full of stamina or other goodies, and use it to tank until something else drops, but it’s generally not a good idea to use it for all-purpose tanking in the long term because your avoidance will be abysmal and your healers will hate you. Healers who hate you often “forget” to press their Guardian Spirit buttons while Sartharion charges up a 70,000 damage Flame Breath.

HELM

Best overall: Titan-Forged Leather Helm of Triumph, available for 40 Wintergrasp marks. As much as it absolutely kills me to say this and I am at my computer dying a slow, painful death, this is an extraordinarily good i-level 200 helm and it isn’t light-years behind the best raid piece, Hood of the Exodus from Naxx-25.

Best drop: Mask of the Watcher, from the cache of Eregos in heroic Oculus, or Shroud of Darkness off Zuramat the Obliterator in heroic Violet Hold.

Best quest piece: Headguard of Retaliation, from the quest Vengeance Be Mine! in Utgarde Pinnacle.

Best faction piece: n/a.

Runner-up: Eviscerator’s Facemask, a Leatherworking BoE.

Enchant: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector, available at revered with the Argent Crusade.

Meta: For almost every situation you’ll want the Austere Earthsiege Diamond. However, if you’re one of the many Druids now tanking Sartharion with 3 drakes up for your guild, try to find a Jewelcrafter with the Effulgent Skyflare Diamond recipe. However, fair warning: a tester on EJ found that the Effulgent Skyflare may not quite work the way we thought it did…

NECK

Best overall: Titanium Earthguard Chain, a Jewelcrafting BoE.

Best drop: Shadowseeker’s Pendant, off Jedoga Shadowseeker in heroic Ahn’kahet, or Amulet of Wills, off Sjonnir the Ironshaper in normal Halls of Stone.

Best quest piece: Betrayer’s Choker, from the quest Betrayal in Zul’drak, but this is a relatively early piece.

Best faction piece: n/a.

Runner-up: Chained Military Gorget, available for 25 emblems of heroism. Since the changes to bear armor contribution from non-leather/cloth items went live, the Gorget and the Earthguard Chain are now a lot closer to each other. In a pinch, try the AH for the world drop BoE Torta’s Oversized Choker.

SHOULDERS

Best overall: Trollwoven Spaulders, a Leatherworking BoE.

Best drop: Sprinting Shoulderpads, off Elder Nadox in heroic Ahn’kahet, or Spaulders of the Careless Thief off Grand Magus Telestra in heroic Nexus.

Best quest piece: Shoulderpads of Fleshwerks, from the quest The Flesh Giant Champion in Icecrown, or Charred Leather Shoulderguards, from the quest Diametrically Opposed in Halls of Lightning.

Best faction piece: Not amazing for bears, but in a pinch you can use Spaulders of Frozen Knives, available at honored with the Sons of Hodir.

Runner-up: Eviscerator’s Shoulderpads, a Leatherworking BoE, or you can try the AH off the very unlikely chance that a Naxx-25 guild is selling the raid BoE Spaulders of Egotism.

Enchant: Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle, available at exalted with the Sons of Hodir. If you have at least 400 Inscription, you’ll want Master’s Inscription of the Pinnacle instead.

CLOAK

Best overall: Durable Nerubhide Cape, a Leatherworking BoE.

Best drop: Because we do get the additional AC from this slot, Flowing Cloak of Command off Salramm the Fleshcrafter in normal Culling of Stratholme is technically best here. However, Cloak of the Gushing Wound off Erekem in heroic Violet Hold and Shroud of Reverberation off Volkhan in heroic Halls of Lightning are also surprisingly good, I think because of the meaty stamina allocation on both and the chance to get some +hit on the former and +expertise on the latter.

Best quest piece: Bloodbane’s Resolve, from the quest The Fate of Bloodbane in Icecrown.

Best faction piece: Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions, available at honored with the Wyrmrest Accord.

Runner-up: Cloak of Tormented Skies, a Leatherworking BoE.

Enchant: Enchant Cloak – Major Agility.

CHEST

Best overall: Heroes’ Dreamwalker Raiments, available for 80 emblems of heroism.

Best drop: Crystal-Infused Tunic, off Keristrasza in heroic Nexus, or Drake-Rider’s Tunic off Skadi the Ruthless in heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.

Best quest piece: Exotic Leather Tunic, from the quest Junk in My Trunk in Utgarde Pinnacle.

Best faction piece: Darkheart Chestguard, available at exalted with the Ebon Blade.

Runner-up: Much as it kills me (again) to have to write this, Savage Gladiator’s Dragonhide Robes (available for 60,000 honor or 45 emblems of heroism) are extremely good, and are actually better than your options from quests, factions, and drops, but frankly you’re better off saving emblems toward Dreamwalker.

Enchant: Enchant Chest – Powerful Stats is usually the way to go, but if you’re hurting for stamina or just stacking the motherloving snot out of it for Sarth 3D, use a Heavy Borean Armor Kit.

BRACERS

Best overall and best drop: Bindings of the Tunneler, off Skarvald the Constructor in heroic Utgarde Keep. These are really excellent and not that far below drops in Naxx-25. Keep farming heroic UK until it drops. If it doesn’t, you may want to try for some PvP bracers.

Best quest piece: Njorndar Furywraps, from the quest Not-So-Honorable Combat in Icecrown.

Best faction piece: Dragonfriend Bracers, available at exalted with the Wyrmrest Accord.

Runner-up: Drake-Champion’s Bracers, a BoE trash drop in Oculus. If you don’t see this on a run, keep checking the AH, but this is one of the tougher BoE’s to get because Oculus is a fairly unpopular instance. Eviscerator’s Bindings, a Leatherworking BoE, are fairly close to them in time-to-live calculations, however.

Enchant: Until the patch it was easily Enchant Bracer – Greater Stats or Enchant Bracer – Expertise. Now you’ll almost certainly want Enchant Bracer – Major Stamina.

GLOVES

Best overall: Heroes’ Dreamwalker Handgrips, available for 60 emblems of heroism.

Best drop: Charged-Bolt Grips, off Ionar in heroic Halls of Lightning, or Bile-Cured Gloves, off Meathook in heroic Culling of Stratholme (although if you’re already doing CoT you should really just use the quest gloves).

Best quest piece: Handwraps of Preserved History, from the quest A Royal Escort in Culling of Stratholme. These got a heavy nerf recently and are no longer the best-in-slot item (yes, better than Tier 7.5) they were, but they’re still pretty damn good.

Best faction piece: n/a.

Runner-up: The odds of this showing up on the AH are astronomically low, but check around for the Naxx-25 BoE Gloves of Fast Reactions.

Enchant: This is arguably the most customizable slot for enchants. Enchant Gloves — Major Agility, Enchant Gloves — Expertise, Enchant Gloves — Precision, or a Heavy Borean Armor Kit are all possibilities here. While Major Agility is the best overall enchant for most bears, use Rawr to find out if one of the other options is better for your current gear set

BELT

Best overall: Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt, off Ingvar the Plunderer in heroic Utgarde Keep. Trollwoven Girdle is very close to Sharp-Barbed stats-wise and easy to get made. Jorach’s Crocolisk-Skin Belt is also pretty close but not, in my opinion, worth shelling out 40 emblems if you can get Trollwoven. These three pieces are way better than anything else you can put in this slot barring the Deadly Gladiator’s Belt of Triumph, so at the very least count on having Trollwoven made if you can’t get Sharp-Barbed to drop.

Best drop: Batrider’s Cord off Trollgore in heroic Drak’tharon Keep.

Best quest piece: Honestly, there’s not much here. The best I could find was Strange Voodoo Belt, from the quest Gal’darah Must Pay in Gun’drak.

Best faction piece: Glitterscale Wrap, available at revered with the Oracles.

Runner-up: Yet another Oculus BoE shows up in this slot, the Ley-Whelphide Belt. Other BoE’s include Eviscerator’s Waistguard, a Leatherworking BoE, and Treasure Seeker’s Belt, a heroic Azjol-Nerub BoE, although Treasure Seeker’s agility is a little low for my taste.

Enchant: Not an enchant as such, but you’ll want to add another socket with an Eternal Belt Buckle.

PANTS

Best overall: Savage Gladiator’s Dragonhide Legguards, available for 60,000 honor or 45 emblems of heroism.

Best drop: Legguards of Swarming Attacks off Amanitar in heroic Ahn’kahet, or Ravenous Leggings of the Furbolg off Gortok Palehoof in heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.

Best quest piece: As with the belt slot, there’s not much here, but Tattooed Deerskin Leggings from the fairly early quest Containment in Violet Hold are the best you’ll get from questing.

Best faction piece: Mind-Expanding Leggings, available at revered with the Kirin Tor. If you don’t have the necessary rep for these but the Frenzyheart like you just fine, try the Azure Strappy Pants, available at revered with them.

Runner-up: Gored Hide Legguards off Gal’darah in heroic Gun’drak. Gored Hide, Mind-Expanding Leggings, Legguards of Swarming Attacks, and Ravenous Leggings are pretty close to each other once socketed and enchanted, just FYI. If your loot luck is even worse than mine and all of the game’s factions hate you, fall back on Eviscerator’s Legguards, a Leatherworking BoE, or Chain Gang Legguards, a BoE trash drop from heroic Violet Hold.

Enchant: Frosthide Leg Armor.

FEET

Best overall: Titan-forged Boots of Triumph, available for 15 Wintergrasp marks. /sigh.

Best drop: Slag Footguards, off Volkhan in heroic Halls of Lightning. Boots of the Whirling Mist off Sjonnir in heroic Halls of Stone are fairly similar but unfortunately lack a socket. Gorloc Muddy Footwraps off Eck the Ferocious in heroic Gun’drak are also usable, though not quite as good as Slag.

Best quest piece: Rhino Hide Kneeboots, from the quest One of a Kind in Gun’drak.

Best faction piece: Boots of the Neverending Path, available at exalted with the Argent Crusade. It’s actually relatively tough to get +hit on bear-oriented gear and this has a ton of it.

Runner-up: Boots of Captain Ellis, available for 40 emblems.

Enchant: Most raiding bears swear by Tuskarr’s Vitality, but you may want to use Enchant Boots – Superior Agility, Enchant Boots – Greater Fortitude, or Enchant Boots – Icewalker depending on your current gear set.

RINGS

Best overall: Keystone Great-Ring, from the Prophet Tharon’ja in heroic Drak’tharon Keep. This is really an excellent piece; try to get this if at all possible.

Best drop: Band of Torture, off Drakos the Interrogator in heroic Oculus, or Nerubian Shield Ring, off Elder Nadox in heroic Ahn’kahet.

Best quest piece: Iceforged Battle Ring, from the quest Forging the Keystone in Storm Peaks.

Best faction piece: n/a.

Runner-up: Titanium Earthguard Ring, a Jewelcrafting BoE, or Ring of Earthen Might, another Jewelcrafting BoE.

Enchant: If you’re an Enchanter, you’ll want Enchant Ring – Stamina.

TRINKETS

Best overall: Hands down it’s Darkmoon Card: Greatness. You may very well go your entire span of time in Wrath without ever replacing this trinket for your avoidance set. Slit throats, break hearts, bribe everyone in sight, do whatever you have to do, but GET IT.

Best drop: Essence of Gossamer, off Hadronox in heroic Azjol-Nerub. Offering of Sacrifice, off Gal’darah in heroic Gun’drak, is no longer as good as it once was primarily because we don’t get bonus AC from trinkets anymore and the proc isn’t anywhere near as good as what you’d get on the Naxx-25 Defender’s Code. Numbers-wise it’s even inferior to Badge of Tenacity once the proc is taken into consideration, which is somewhat sad. Probably the piece of gear most affected by the 3.0.8 changes.

Best quest piece: Actually, I’m kind of stumped here. If you have a Badge of Tenacity and a Commendation of Kael’thas or Shard of Contempt coming into Wrath, you could theoretically go all the way to heroics at 80 without replacing either one. Thoughts?

Best faction piece: The only things available in this slot are the Oracle Talisman of Ablution and the Frenzyheart Insignia of Fury. Not really great, but I’m somewhat curious to see how the Oracle trinket will work in conjunction with the upcoming Savage Defense ability.

Runner-up: Valor Medal of the First War, available for 40 emblems of heroism, is excellent, and should probably be purchased no matter what for your avoidance set. Jewelcrafters will want to have a Figurine – Monarch Crab and a Figurine – Ruby Hare prepped; Alchemists will want an Indestructible Alchemist’s Stone for their stamina set.

WEAPON

Before anyone else asks me, the best of the “new” tanking weapons now available to Druids is Inevitable Defeat, a rare BoP trash drop in Naxx-25, and the next best is Black Ice, off Malygos-10. However, before raids most of your best options are still going to be pieces that were Druid-specific pre-3.0.8 (and the best tanking weapon in the game remains Origin of Nightmares, which steadfastly refuses to drop for me in much the same manner that Pillar of Ferocity did).

Best overall: Even with the changes to AC from weapons and the new availability of polearms, you’ll still want an Enraged Feral Staff off Ingvar the Plunderer in heroic Utgarde Keep.

Best drop: Staff of Trickery, off Cyanigosa in heroic Violet Hold. Your next option is Witch Doctor’s Wildstaff off Slad’ran in normal Gun’drak.

Best quest piece: Eh. You’ll find plenty of usable pieces while questing, but they all pale in comparison to what you can get in heroics.

Best faction piece: Stave of Shrouded Mysteries, available at revered with the Kirin Tor, or — I cannot believe I am writing this — Whale-Stick Harpoon, available at revered with the Kalu’ak.

Runner-up: Bloodwood Greatstaff is a rare world-drop BoE, but it suffers pretty badly from a lack of stats aside from 700 armor. The Savage and Hateful Gladiator’s staves are very good (Hateful clocks in above Staff of Trickery but below Enraged Feral), and the Deadly Gladiator’s Staff is now the second-best tanking staff in the game (much to my despair).

Enchant: Enchant Weapon – Mongoose is the way to go. Some still prefer the reliability of Enchant 2H Weapon – Major Agility, however, but both are going to become even less useful as time goes on and bear dodge approaches more diminishing returns on agility. I agree that axing Titanguard was ultimately a good idea, but it does kind of suck that we don’t yet have a Wrath-level tanking enchant or idol

Related posts:

1. Feral Druid Guide – Gearing your bear tank from 70 to Karazhan! by John Patricelli   Gearing up as a bear tank...
2. WoW Druid Guide: Gearing a new bear at 80 by Allison Robert When we first started out, I split...
3. Gearing your Balance Druid at 80 by Allison Robert @ wowinsider As a number of people...
4. WoW Druid Guide: Gearing a new cat druid at 80 by Allison Robert Cats, on the other hand, tend to...
5. Gearing your Cat Druid at 80 by Dan O’Halloran @ wowinsider First, a word on gems...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: austere-earthsiege-diamond, big-bear-butt, druid-tank, druid-tanking, feral, feral-druid, feral-gear-guide, feral-tank, feral-tanking, gear, gearing-up, rawr, shifting-perspectives, tank, tanking, tanks, thinktank, toskk