Loading ...The Badge err… Emblem of Heroism Pick Order
Well before we go all crazy with saying who’s more important than who, let’s take a look at our line up from most to least expensive to purchase with Emblems of Heroism. (These are attainable from Heroics, Daily Heroic Quests and the current 10 man raids)
- Chestguard of the Lost Protector - Turns Into (80)
- Gloves of the Lost Protector - Turns Into (60)
- Valor Medal of the First War (40)
- Waistguard of Living Iron (40)
- Crygil’s Discarded Plate Panel (35)
- Chained Military Gorget (25)
1. The Chain
Chained Military Gorget gets the nod as the number 1 pick not only because it’s the cheapest, but also because it simply has inadequate competition. Even though there’s a number of similar level epic items, none are quite as well itemized for early progression as this one. If you already have made Titanium Earthguard Chain then you may consider pushing this one down on the list, but it is still better, so you’ll want to pick up the Gorget regardless. I should also note that you’ll still want to grab Medallion of the Disgraced when it crosses your path for a Block Value set. It’s not better nor worse than the Emblem neckpiece, just different.
2. The Chest
We jump from the cheapest emblem item to the most expensive with our 2nd choice being Chestguard of the Lost Protector with turns into this. There’s only one other similar level epic chestpiece and it’s just not as good. (nor as accessible by a long shot) Obviously since this item is attainable via raiding if your guild is within striking distance of Gluth you may consider holding off on picking up this item at all and instead choose to acquire it that way.
3. The Grips
Still at the hefty mark of 60 emblems, Gloves of the Lost Protector ala Heroes’ Dreadnaught Handguards get the nod for the 3rd spot even with a lot of other epic quality gloves to choose from. They get this spot because they’re simply a whole lot better than the rest and completing the 2 piece T7 set bonus is definitely nothing to scoff at. That being said, these puppies can be acquired via killing Sartharion in 10 man mode and as a result, may move down the list on your priorities if your guild is already consistently killing him. (which with zero drakes up, is fairly easy)
4. The Tube
Coming in at 4th place not because it’s especially bad, but simply because it’s predecessors are better. Waistguard of Living Iron is an excellent belt with really no other like piece. (You’ll still want to get Waistguard of the Tutor down the road though for your Block Value set) While you’re making your way down the list though, I implore you to acquire Ancient Aligned Girdle from Anub’arak in Azjol-Nerub until you’ve got the Emblems to pick up the superior piece.
5. The Toy
The 5th and final (yes, final) piece I’ll be recommending you snag is Valor Medal of the First War otherwise known as the big brother of the ubiquitous pocketwatch that we all loved at 70. Due to a more challenging Defense level required to reach uncrittable (540), you won’t necessarily be able to use this immediately which is part of the reason it’s so far down on the list. Nonetheless, it’s a very nice trinket that you should pick up and will certainly utilize once your Defense allows.
The Shield…
Time for the potentially controversial part…
Don’t pick up the Shield. Why?
The Shield has two relatively easy to obtain competitors that are nearly identical.
Now certainly, if your luck is bad in Stratholme, you can’t afford the Shield Wall and you’ve made it this far down the list by all means take it, but between you and me… let’s just hope that’s not the case.
…and that’s a wrap! Look for the Emblem of Valor pick order in the near future too!
November 28th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Thanks man, I havent hit 80 yet, or heroics, but plan on doing so this weekend. It will be nice to start upgrading more of my damn level 70 gear lol.
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November 28th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
boo to the new pocket watch. 16% dodge for 10 seconds > 8.5% dodge for 20.
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Ivanstone reply on November 29, 2008 9:40 am:
If it were only that good. Diminishing returns ruins most avoidance style trinkets.
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Big Al reply on December 2, 2008 6:37 am:
Isn’t that 16% only applicable at level 70?
Look at the RATING. You get more Dodge Rating for twice as long.
Valor Medal of the First War > Moroes’ Lucky Pocket Watch.
Not to say you can’t use them bothe for 30 seconds of Dodge-tastic avoidance.
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admin reply on December 2, 2008 8:12 am:
What they are comparing is the effect that Pocketwatch offered at 70 to the effect that the Valor Medal offers at 80 which is definitely a valid comparison as they’re both entry level trinkets albeit at different time periods.
…and they are correct the Valor Medal will never have the impact on the game that the Pocketwatch did because it’s usage is not as powerful and the effect of gross amounts of avoidance just as Ivanstone says… just isn’t as good anymore b/c of Diminishing Returns.
That being said, we were spoiled before. It didn’t make sense that an entry level trinket was still one of the best (if not the best… blah blah Kavtor blah blah Rochelle blah) trinkets in the game at the end of the game. Valor Medal will never be what Pocketwatch was, but that doesn’t make it bad by any means either. It’s just entry level.
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November 28th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I have the BS shield already which I bought off the AH. Once I hit 80 im gonna farm up all the mats for my Goggles and Titanium Plated Shotgun. Then Wyrmrest rep here I come.
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November 28th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
So I guess I continue to be the only person in the game who thinks the badge shield is actually the best of the 3 for anyone not struggling for def cap?
It has more strength, stam, avoidance, and threat than the Titanstield, and identical stats to the Royal Crest except higher avoidance. Did I go to sleep and wake up in a world where “Dodge Rating” is a profanity?
I’ll stick with the Royal Crest regardless I’m just wondering why almost every other tank I speak to has decided the order is Titanstield > Royal Crest > Crygil’s when I personally see it as the exact opposite.
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admin reply on November 28, 2008 4:17 pm:
Hitting the Defense cap is a priority and nothing does it better than Titansteel. There’s also the case that Defense is right straight better than Dodge now offering nearly the same avoidance plus Block rating. (which isn’t affected by Diminishing Returns and is actually quite good now)
None of the 3 are bad obviously since there’s so little difference between the 3 which is why it makes so little sense to use Emblems on an item that’s equal to others when you could instead use Emblems on an item that’s better than others.
I did edit my post though because I definitely was making it sound like there was a larger difference between the 3 than there actually is.
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Djiss reply on December 1, 2008 8:54 am:
I took Titansteel shieldwall for the simple reason that I could have it made in 2min and will have it the second I would hit 80. While the 2 other require to farm heroic or hope for a drop.
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Djiss reply on December 1, 2008 8:55 am:
And the titansteel can be relativly cheap to make if you’re miner. I’ve seen them go for 2k+ gold in AH while it costed me like 200g to buy the remaining mat I didn’t farmed myself while leveling/questing.
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Talisman reply on December 1, 2008 8:49 pm:
It’s a common misconception that if you farm something it’s free. If you farm something you have the option of selling it or using it. Using it therefore effectively costs the same as whatever you would have been able to sell it for.
I can see the reasoning though, it’s just that I was very lucky and got the Crest shortly after hitting 80 at a time when the total mat cost for the Shield Wall was still up around 5k gold.
Chet reply on December 5, 2008 5:52 am:
@Talisman
I don’t think that misconception is as common as you think. When people farm something I think they understand the cost vs. price argument on some level, they just use the wrong terminology. While it’s true that the cost is relatively similar to buying it, sometimes the price is a big factor, especially if you’re spending a lot of gold on other things, and don’t have much to spare.
Hao reply on December 10, 2008 2:24 pm:
Tal, I’m not sure what you mean by “effective cost”, but I’m guessing time and effort put in to get the mats? Or is it the money you could’ve gotten if you auctioned it? If so, we are talking mainly about the amount we would’ve spent if we just bought the mats and didn’t do the work to farm. I farmed mats while I was questing in northrend so I got the shield wall almost immediately after I got to 80.
I have to say this lastly for engineers… USE THE ZAPTHROTTLE MOTE EXTRACTOR.
darlan reply on March 5, 2009 11:23 am:
I’ve been 80 for about a week, I had the titansteel shield from the AH… And Im gonna go get this shield, I definately agree with the first guy here, that it > Titansteel/strat shield….
Im also grumpy cause the strat shield never drops oO
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November 28th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I am thinking that I’m going to grab the gloves first, just for the fact that I have lost a lot of my expertise, as more gear now has turned to hit for some reason. E.g Red Sword of Courage, Deflection Band, Ground Tremor Helm, and Abomination Shoulderblades (another is the Lord shield which is mentioned above, but I am currently using Skull of Ruin) These are all pieces I have managed to attain thus far. Did I miss something, or did Hit all of a sudden become better for threat than expertise?
PS - T7 Helm also has hit. The gloves are the only piece of T7 that has expertise.
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Jumbobut reply on November 30, 2008 3:33 am:
Expertise is still better until you hit soft cap, and my engineering goggles have ton of it.
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November 29th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I’ve pretty much picked up all of the listed, I do think the belt from AN is better then the badges one for a main set, the dodge is… simply huge. I’m in the process of picking up the t7 chest + the gloves. Also as a JC I get better trinkets. http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37220 is a pimping trinket imo, picked it up from one of my first heroics. Also eng can make the sickest shotguns for tanks, The mats are pretty inexpensive too, good way to get your defense capped.
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Ravencrest&n=Lostaggro
Mostly heroics gear, I’m interested if you have anything to say about the new enchants, I’ve been trying to find something for my gear yet nothing.
So far all I need to replace are my boots and my chest + gloves with badges gear. Also going for this JC really sick ring and the dragonhide cape. If you have any enchanting suggestions, or should I just wait till they bring out more recipies? I really don’t know.
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November 29th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Would you reccomend picking up some of the blue crafted pieces until I get the rep to get stuff from Wyrmcrest etc.?
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megagrogan reply on November 29, 2008 3:24 pm:
probably not mate, you can get the rep pretty quickly, prob not worth it
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November 29th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Thanks, was waiting for this.
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November 29th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I think Darraxus was talking about the Tempered Saronite Set. I have the warrior shield and belt to replace my T4/Badge items. Maybe make another thread about this set for entry level heroics?
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December 1st, 2008 at 5:11 am
i agree with your your choice and order of quality.. but im asking myself is it really wise to grab the 80 badge piece for 2nd? afterall thats a whole lot of grinding heroics with the “bad” gear.. i might have followed your list if it had been up in time for me (took a week off work when the addon hit :>), but back then i prefered having more epics faster (some heroic instances are still pretty hard and im happy about every bit of gear i can offer), so im right now grinding for the chestguard, having everything else ready.
since i saw no post from vene about it yet and i took some time to fly around and figure it out, heres some words about reputation and fractions:
4 fractions i was interested in: wyrm (for blue tanking gear), kirin tor (epic (tanking?) gear), argentum (helmet glyphe) and sons of hodir (shoulder glyph). only kirin tor (instance-grind) and sons of hodir (dailys only) need the highest reputation.
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December 1st, 2008 at 7:39 am
Personally i 100% agree with your list. I would however go for the waist before the chest just due to it being to much cheaper and a very likely upgrade for many people.
I have however followed the list since I managed to get the gloves from the Sartharion 10 man event and wanted the 2xT7 set-bonus. Also the chest is the best item in the slot pre-25 man raiding.
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December 1st, 2008 at 7:49 am
There is a tanking chest piece from the last boss in Heroic Drak keep which I used before I got my chest from Naxx.
Drak Keep is one of the easier heroics out there imo. So check it out if you don’t wanna blow your emblems or can’t decide yet.
If you are unlucky with the shield. There is a 7k+ Armor shield from the last boss in Nexus. Almost comparable to the epic ones.
I’m a DPS warrior for raids but I respec prot to get some heroic 5man action. I’ve literally spent my first 205 Emblems on DPS gear ^^ but while doing it I got some nice tanking upgrades from heroics and 10man naxx.
Emblem of Valor
Get the ring first. Period. It’s 25 Valor pretty easy. If you are tanking for your naxx chances are they have passed gear to you =P so this is the next obvious choice.
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December 1st, 2008 at 8:46 am
Thank you for addressing this subject. I see that you prefer the badge belt over the drop from heroic Ajzol-Nerub. Now, I’ve been largely utilizing this gear ranking guide on Tankspot while planning my gear path:
http://www.tankspot.com/forums/f97/39462-wotlk-tanking-gear-list.html#post99083
This guide lists the belt from heroic Ajzol-Nerub as the best in the game and far superior to the badge belt. My question is, why do you favor the badge belt over the belt from heroic Ajzol-Nerub?
My guess is that it is due to the diminishing returns on avoidance, and perhaps it’s just that you don’t give dodge as high a rating as does the author of the Tankspot article (in which case, is the badge trinket really that good compared to some of the blue trinket drops out there?).
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admin reply on December 1, 2008 9:56 am:
Ya, with a 16 Defense gem in the badge belt, it breaks down to:
19 Strength
32 Parry
12 Defense
vs
5 Stamina
41 Dodge
So much gear stacks Dodge so fast, that I’m happy with some pieces that sport Parry and most importantly Defense so as to not get destroyed by Diminishing Returns. I also prefer this belt because the higher defense allows for easier customization in other slots as 540 Defense is a real strain on creativity.
The badge trinket is last b/c as you say, there are blue trinkets that are better for a number of situations. That still doesn’t change that the badge trinket is useful at times though. Some encounters Dodge is going to be more valuable… some encounters Stamina is going to be more valuable. I’d rather have more tools at my disposal than less.
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December 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am
The valor medal is a waste of badges and a disgrace to the legacy of the pocket watch. Between diminishing returns and the overall lower levels of avoidance, it needs to give more dodge % at 80 than the pocket watch did at 70 in order to be as effective as the pocket watch was. Instead, it gives half as much. If there is ever a fight where I need a trinket that gives a mediocre amount of dodge on demand, the pocket watch is only marginally behind (0.5%) the valor medal and it doesn’t cost 40 badges.
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Veneretio reply on December 1, 2008 9:42 am:
Which is why you pick it up last
…and with only so many decent trinkets with Passive effects to choose from, the real reason you’d be picking this up is for the 84 Dodge Rating and not so much for the usage. That being said… the usage is better than nothing albeit it not nearly as powerful as the Pocketwatch was.
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rochelle reply on December 1, 2008 10:20 pm:
The passive effects is nice, but its nothing you can’t get with other gear. Nobody every wore the pocket watch for the passive effects, it was all about the use effect. Since the use effect on the valor medal is so lackluster and the passive dodge, while nice, is far from essential, I think you are better off spending the badges on the DPS gear.
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December 1st, 2008 at 9:50 am
Given DR on avoidance, I’d almost opt for trinkets with +HP or +ARMOR on usage for “panic buttons”.
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admin reply on December 1, 2008 9:57 am:
Armor has always had DR on it too, ya know
What it amounts to is it’s nice to have the option of an Avoidance trinket. So, you pick this one up last once you’ve got the really important stuff.
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December 1st, 2008 at 11:11 am
I made myself an 88 stamine engineering trinket
Also made my goggles. Next up is my shotgun.
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Tankette reply on December 1, 2008 11:39 am:
My son made that trinket for me only to find out I can’t use it because I’m not an engineer. At least he got a skillup from it. I did get the shotgun though. It is nice to have at least one piece of gear that may never get replaced.
I started WoTLK with a stash of 21K gold so I bought the Titansteel Shieldwall, Tempered Titansteel Treads, Tempered Titansteel Helm, the Shotgun and the Titanium Earthguard Ring. I am only waiting on a guildie to get the recipie and I was going to get the Titanium Earthguard Necklace. Now I’m thinking maybe I’ll just get the badge neck. Not sure.
I’ve only got 19 badges so far and they have been tough to earn. Heroics have been challenging and we haven’t been to Naxx yet. I;m leaning towards saving emblems for the T7 chest and going ahead and getting the Titanium Earthguard neck crafted. I’ve already got most of the mats.
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December 1st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
my first badge purchase was the neck! woot.
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December 2nd, 2008 at 12:59 am
Gluth isn’t the best boss for farming anything, as his loot is random. Four Horsemen drops regularly the Chest Token.
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December 2nd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Nice list, =)
I think I like the Crest from Culling a lot better than the Emblem shield, anyway. I can certainly see the other being great, especially with the dodge on there, though.
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December 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I am going to have to disagree with you in the order of purchase and say chest first. I will choose the chest because it offers the biggest upgrade over the items you are able to obtain at this level. Most of the other epic quality items can be crafted or obtained in heroics from drops, except for a chest piece. Your other options for a neck are far greater than your options for a chest piece at this level. Go for the chest, Gem it up, enchant it, and it will far outweigh the stats you gain from the neck.
Neckpieces are an accessory you can swap out for min/max, depending on the fight.
This chest you will have on for most of your battles until a lot further in progression.
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December 5th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Any thoughts on what order you should purchase items with Emblems of Valor?
I assume the order would be affected by what items you have from the emblem of heroism list?
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December 5th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I decided to save for the T7 chest as my first badge gear becuase when a T7 piece drops in a raid I’ll have hunters and shamans to roll against. Our runs always have a lot of those two classes.
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December 5th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
My first purchase was the chest, my second was the Polished Spaulders of Valor for my lowbie ret paladin LOLOL!
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December 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Personally, I went with the Waistguard first and i’ll explain why. With a blacksmithing socket that you can add to your waist, and the YELLOW socket that it already has, allows you to customize your stats a little bit more. PLUS, requires HALF the Emblems. Earlier ability to BOOST your stats bigtime! Look to get Revered with Wyrmrest quick and get the chestpiece there, or settle with the enormous defense from Utgarde Pinnacle quest reward Silver-Plated Chestpiece.
Cheers.
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December 6th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Those who are looking at buying the chest/gloves from badges should consider looking into the 10man vault of archavon (http://www.wowhead.com/?zone=4603)
When your side owns wintersgrasp you can go in with 10 people and he randomly drops 2 pieces (not tokens) of teir 7 or pvp gear.
Once a week cooldown, very easy to do with a smart group.
I’ll be skipping down to the belt for my 2nd buy and hope for my luck in the vault.
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admin reply on December 6, 2008 2:28 pm:
The odds of getting the item you need are terrible b/c as you said… it’s not a token that drops. Hoping to get lucky on a worse than 1 to 20 chance once/week is not what I call a viable strategy.
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December 10th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I am going to go out on a limb and guess that I will eventually be swimming in badges. I am going to go witth Crygil’s simply because it has a more norhtern and horde-esque look to the uber clean and alliance skewed other two options.
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December 12th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I picked up the chest first for 1 simple reason. I never got any Tier chest. Never.
Back in wow vanilla, they were going to MT and I was dps.
Back in BC, our guild downed Mag after I got the badge chest and then I always passed to let other people get it. We never downed Kael in TK so not luck here and we never gone deep in BT so luck here too.
Once in a while, I try to go back in old raid to get the previous Tier set, just for the fun of collecting them, even tho I know I’ll never have T3
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December 12th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
We need a second part to the list for the Emblems of Valor. Since I’m starting to accumulate both it complicates things a little.
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December 16th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
can you please also write one for emblem of valor? thanks
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December 17th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
for valor the best place to start is always the cloak.. purely cause its 1 of teh cheapest, but also cause there is no real competition out there for it.. the ring is also ok, but H naxx r close to it if not better
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December 18th, 2008 at 7:21 am
The cloak is quite nice, not much to choose from between that and the cloak of shadowed sun.
The ring is ranked 5th on the gear list, probably not worth spending the badges on an item that would be easily upgraded.
My Emblem of Valor order:
1) Kyzocs ground stompers would probably be my first choice
2) Cloak
3) The legs.
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February 2nd, 2009 at 10:05 am
Nice blog but…………..
By the time you get enough emblems to pick up the gloves you should already have The Horned Tipped Gauntlets or The Fireproven Gauntlets from Kirin Tor rep. I did get the chest and the Shield, the shield only because I still haven’t gotten the one in CoS to drop and the Titansteel (while it has a ton defense) does not have the other stats I needed and the lack of defense can be made up for with other gear, gems and enchants. The trinket is a good call I guess but if you are running dungeons regularly and have the good luck for the Essence of Gossamer and Laventhor’s Talisman to drop I wouldn’t pick it up. Therefore I am saving my emblems so I can buy a Mammoth for the Achievement.
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February 17th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Ok, I got lucky and I am rocking the essence of gossamer and my alchy stone. Is there any better trinkets out there or am I good? I have seen a list on tankspot that says those are the 2 to get.
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Veneretio reply on February 17, 2009 10:14 am:
Repelling Charge from Thaddius in Naxx10 would be a great addition to your lineup, but you’ve definitely already gotten 2 amazing trinkets. If I were you, I’d be tempted to pick up Mirror of Truth once you’ve got excess emblems as it’s an amazing Threat/DPS trinket.
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March 25th, 2009 at 11:21 am
How would you rank the Waistguard of Living Iron against the Fleshless Girdle? It appears to be an issue Block Rating vs Parry Rating.
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Veneretio reply on March 25, 2009 12:09 pm:
Waistguard
13 Sta
8 Defense
32 Parry
1 Sockets
vs
Girdle
18 Str
32 Armor
3 Dodge
50 Block
The Waistguard is the superior EH and Avoidance piece. The Girdle is the superior Block piece. Both have their place. (You can expect the Girdle to gain some Stamina come patch 3.1, but it won’t change the comparison)
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