Hi there. I’ve been focusing on the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, so I haven’t really been looking at the new gear in AQ 20 and 40, but that’s all finished now. I’m looking at the new items, and set bonuses, and I have some thoughts and some pressing questions.
First of all, what is with items like Grace of Earth and Belt of the Inquisition? The first has 2% hit and 55 healing, and the second has 1% hit and 55 healing. Who are these for? What class and spec needs hit chance and healing together? The best I can figure is boomkin healing, but then why would it be cloth? Healing mages don’t need +healing, or +hit. Healing priests don’t need hit, and shadow priests don’t need healing or hit.
Moving on to set bonuses. The four piece arcane enigma set is useful (+50% power to our wards and mana shield, as well as applying a temporal beacon to the target), and would make a great rune. Or something you could add to the Advanced Warding rune. But it doesn’t compete with the BWL 6-piece (Mass Regen beacon lasts 21 seconds). So we’ll never use it, unless we’re healing dungeons or soloing. Which only leaves us a choice between the MC two piece (20% longer beacons), or the AQ two piece (arcane blast increases dmg by 10% more). The MC one gives us 20% more healing, with longer beacons. The AQ one gives us a situational bonus; if we’re just casting arcane blast into missile barrage or arcane barrage, it’s a 10% damage bonus on half of our spells, so kind of ~5% increase to damage or healing.
There’s no comparison. 5% or 20%. So… what, we don’t get new gear for the entire phase? Yes, the stats on the gear is better, and there are some new wands and weapons and enchants, so there are things in there to get… But I already have my bis 8 piece, and we haven’t even started.