It's Just The Gear You Want, Part 1

It's been about a week since patch 3.3 dropped, and by now I'm sure all the level 80s out there are well aware that what truly lies inside the Frozen Halls is delicious, delicious lewts. Bosses in Normal mode drop iLevel 219 epics, with a jump to 232 in Heroic mode, making this an excellent place for casuals or players who just plain haven't been lucky with drops to do some make-up work. Here's a breakdown of what my Ebon Blade brethren will want to roll Need on:

Normal Mode:

• Tanks will want to be on the lookout for the ridiculously oversized [Lucky Old Sun] from Bronjahm, the Godfather of Souls in the first part of the instance chain, the Forge of Souls. He also drops the [Minister's Number One Legplates], with the delicious Hit and Crit that Frosty DPSers need. And be sure to turn up his music while you're there.


• The next stop is the Devourer of Souls, who drops the [Legplates of Frozen Granite] for tanks with great Hit for DWers and the [Lost Reliquary Chestguard] with more of that Hit-and-Crit perfect for Frost DPS. He also drops the [Sollerets of Suffering], but the Shield Block makes it less than ideal for DKs, and the [Accursed Crawling Cape], which is fine as a general DPS cloak but the Agility makes it better for non-Strength-based classes.


• Also keep an eye out for the [Plated Grips of Korth'azz], which are a BoP trash drop. You may also encounter the [Titanium Links of Lore], but again, the Shield Block makes it less than perfect.


• Going through the portal to the Pit of Saron, we find Forgemaster Garfrost, who drops [Garfrost's Two-Ton Hammer] for those of a two-hander inclination. He also drops the [Ring of Carnelian and Bone], but again, it's more of a general DPS item than a plate-specific one. Hold out for...


• ...The next boss, Ick, who has an actual plate DPS ring, the [Purloined Wedding Ring]. He also drops the [Bent Gold Belt] for DPS types. Both of these have Crit and Haste, which is not bad at all for Frost DPS.


• At the end of this instance we get to our brother in Death Knighthood, Scourgelord Tyrannus. Sadly, he's a bastard and won't drop the T10 he's wearing. What he does drop is the [Scourgelord's Frigid Chestplate], which is interesting for a tanking piece as it doesn't actually have any Defense on it. It does have Expertise on it, great for a DW tank, so if you can spare the Defense or make it up elsewhere (maybe the new Rune of the Nerubian Carapace?) this is excellent. He also drops the [Painfully Sharp Choker] for plate DPS, with Armor Pen that's especially good for Blood and Unholy types.


• I'm not going to spoil the Halls of Reflection for you, but the first boss you'll fight will be Falric. The only thing of interest from him is the one-handed sword [Ghoulslicer]. His fellow captain Marwyn drops nothing of interest to DKs on Normal.


• At the end of the instance (which I will not spoil!) you have a chance for [Mourning Malice], an amazing-looking two-handed sword with Crit and Expertise, or the [Hate-Forged Cleaver] for DWers. The [Tapestry of the Frozen Throne] is an excellent plate DPS cloak, with Crit/Hit. The [Crystalline Citadel Gauntlets] also drop at the end, but note the Shield Block.


• Also keep an eye out for the [Eerie Runeblade Polisher], another BoP trash drop, and a perfect cloak for DK tanks to use to, uh, polish their runeblades.

Tomorrow I'll be back with a run-down of all the loot you can't live without from the Heroic version of these dungeons, and later in the week I'll get into some of the lore of the place. Stay tuned!