PVP Gear in Arena Season 6

As with the last arena season, Dagreatwhite and I are having fun with arena battles! We are both very competitive people and when you combine that with my addiction for gear researching, you get this post.

I have been trying to decide which pieces of PVP gear to buy and wanted to share the information that I have found. I hope that this helps players that are looking to gear up for PVP.

For those who are just starting in arenas and PVP, crafters can make an 8-piece set for any class.

· Plate - Blacksmiths
· Leather and Mail - Leatherworkers
· Cloth - Tailors

These all have the same set bonuses no matter the set.

· 4 pieces = +75 Stamina
· 6 pieces = +50 Resilience Rating

These sets are not the best but it is a start.

All of the Gladiator sets available after the starter set, share the same set bonuses and each piece, no matter what set it is from, counts towards the following bonuses.

• 2 pieces = +50 Resilience Rating
• 4 pieces = Class Specific Bonus

The first set is Savage Gladiator. This set is better than the previous set, but the fact that you can only buy it with Emblems of Heroism this season, makes it a poor choice unless you just have too many emblems laying around.

The second available set this season is Hateful Gladiator. For Season 6, Hateful gear has been made available through just honor points. No arena rating is required unlike last season. This set is a very good upgrade from your starter set, but if you are doing arenas, I would suggest buying the head and shoulder slot pieces first. These two slots require the higher arena ratings to upgrade to the next set and will more then likely be the last pieces you replace as you move up in rating during the season.

The next upgrade from Hateful is Deadly. Deadly Gladiator set pieces require arena rating along with honor and arena points to purchase. One exception to this rule are the non set epic belt, boots, bracers and accessories such as necklace, cloak and rings. The only other way to bypass the arena rating is when you use Emblems of Conquest.

From Deadly we move to Furious. Furious Gladiator is now the best PVP gear you can get and because of that fact it also requires the highest arena ratings and acquiring it through arena participation will take a lot of hard work. This set also includes the only PVP weapons available this season.

Wrath of the Lich King brought with it a new PVP zone, Lake Wintergrasp. Participating in the these battles will earn you Wintergrasp Marks of Honor. This marks allow you to purchase certain PVP rewards only available from vendors inside the zone when you control the Wintergrasp Fortress. The Titan-Forged helm and boots you can purchase are almost identical to the Hateful Gladiator pieces for the same slots with the equip bonuses being the only difference. The Titan-Forged Belt and chest share the same similarities to the Deadly Gladiator. Just remember that these do not count towards the Gladiator set bonuses and equipping more then one will not allow you to receive those bonuses.

Every season a new gladiator set is released and a rotation is performed changing the way each set is purchased. For example, last season Savage was available for honor only purchase, or a combination of honor and arena points without an arena rating. Hateful was purchased using a combination of honor and arena points, but required an arena rating. Deadly was similar to hateful but the required arena ratings were much higher since Deadly was the top of the line. At the beginning of this season savage was rotated out of the honor only purchase and hateful took it place causing Deadly to drop down the list making room for Furious at the top.

Before I wrap this up, I would like to mention that arena combat is not the only way to acquire Gladiator gear. Some sets are available for purchase using Emblems obtained from heroics and raids and also from the bosses in Vault of Archavon, a 10/25 man raid available to the faction that currently controls Wintergrasp. Some people question this decision by Blizzard ,but there isn't much that can be done. For me arena combat is the most fun and satisfying way, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. You will find a spreadsheet below listing the different costs of each set of gear. Feel free to share it with anyone you feel will benefit from it and till next time, HAVE FUN!

PVP Gear Season 6 on Google Docs


Season 6 PVP Gear Available as of 08/24/09