Hello all,

I'm almost certain this is my first time posting, unless I've just totally forgetten some other post or posts I might have made. :)

I posted some of this on the WoW Druid board and didn't really get any replies. It's basically two fairly simple questions that I can't seem to find the answers to. So I figured I would try my luck here and hope for the best.

Here is some quick info on my character, talent build, and playstyle to aid in answering the questions below.

NElf Druid lvl53 with a Feral Heavy Build. I solo roughly 95% of the time, and group mainly when I need help on a quest or someone needs help on a quest. I don't raid at the moment nor am I a part of any quild. I use Cat Form for the majority of my soloing and switch to Bear if I pull adds, find myself in a bad situation, or am about to engage a tough quest mob.

Here are my two questions and I already feel the need to apologize for the long post...sorry. :shuffle:

1. (Main Question)
I currently wear this Chest piece: Righteous Armor of the Bear http://www.thottbot.com/?i=19286 and these Leggings:Serpentskin Leggings http://www.thottbot.com/?i=5341
I was curious if these two items would be considered upgrades. Stormshroud Armor http://www.thottbot.com/?i=25540 and Stromshroud Pants http://www.thottbot.com/?i=18575
They add some extra Armor and the + to crit and dodge in addition to the set bonus for 2 pieces, but I'm losing some Str and Sta.
Im basically interested in ppls opinions as to whether they consider those items upgrades or not.

2. Does the Feral Talent "Leader of the Pack" work if you are not grouped or is it a group only "Aura" type spell? I'm still able to grab that Talent if I want, but have held off since I can't find any info about whether or not it works on someone soloing.

Hopefully I've provided enough info and I look forward in reading some suggestions and comments.

Thanks in advance,
Enderswolf-NE-Greymane

I just noticed my post count. I quess I have posted here before. :crazy:

I don't know much about feral gearing, sorry.

LotP does benefit you while you are solo, however it will not effect other nearby players unless they are in your group. (In a raid for example, only the 5 people in your group [including you] will benefit).

But, LoTP is a great addition for you. It helps the MT and DPS far greater than anyother party buff for damage. I was recently in an instance with a moonie and the two of use buffered all party members for 3% of all attack types, melee, ranged and spells (healing and attack). This combo was a definite boost to our overall sucess. Pick this up if you are going feral.

think you got your answer for the Lotp part.
As for the gear part. I must say comparing stats with crit and dodge is not easy.
serpentskin legs in cat adss 13*2.4 +16= 47ar with 14ar=1dps
also it adds 0.8 dodge and crit and 32ac
so you get less crit and dodge but it adss some dps.
For me the only good upgrade are the abyssal leather pants of striking which you can buy at AH

as for the armour, well there are nicer ones but i would not consider stormshroud a very big upgrade.
i like the nightbrace tunic that drops in ubrs
It also depends on what your current crit rate is

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to say thanks to all that replied and gave suggestions and information. Much appreciated.

I'll more than likely pick up LotP now, thanks Gwmort and Bryne.

Yeah, comparing crit and dodge rates to stat based armor seemed a bit awkward to me also.

I'll check up on those armor suggestions you mentioned Ghortje.

Thanks everyone,
Enderswolf

Run UD Strat and Scholo a bunch. Good stuff in there.

I'm currently wearing Cadaverous Armor. The stats aren't that great, but it's got +60ap.

Ghoulskin Leggings (healing), Death's Clutch (hybrid), Bone Ring Helm (high stam), and some other good druid pieces drop in these two instances.

Hello again

Thanks Claritondeus, I honestly doubt that I will be running those Instances anytime soon, but I appreciate the information on what to look for if I do.

y play-style, as I mention earlier, is based on soloing. I enjoyed it in EQ and I'm loving it more in WoW..considering it's a bit easier in WoW. I understand that by nature most MMORPG's are meant to be played in groups, but I find soloing more enjoyable. I also understand that by doing so I eliminate lots of great gear choices...just call me crazy :crazy: I'm not saying that I'll never group/guild/raid, but right now I'm having fun and I'll probably keep it that way for a while.

Anyway....I just wanted to thank you for the ideas Clariton.

And I also wanted to mention that upon checking the info on the Abyssal Leather Pants of Striking, it shows a required lvl of 57. I don't lvl incredible slow, but it might take me a few weeks to reach that...in between work and such. So I'll keep those in the back of my mind and since I don't do raids/instances, the Nightbrace Tunic might be hard to come by since I saw that it comes from ubrs. But I appreciate the reply and the info, Ghortje, none the less.

Thanks again everyone...I have some things to look for now.

Enderswolf--Greymane

No problem Enders :) I really liked solo'ing too. Thats mainly how I leveld. And druids are really good solo'ing classes. Grouping gets more fun when you get in your mid to high 50's, as it makes a lot of the content easier. And the environment and challenges in some of the instances are really fun.

ain thing is to just have fun. Enjoy leveling and take it slow - the game changes quite a bit once you hit 60 (for the better IMO, just a lot different, with more emphasis on grouping and farming areas for materials and gear to help you kill bigger and bigger dragons, or help you kill that gnarly warrior that keeps smashing you up in the battle grounds). Which is why I've started so many alts - pleasant refuge from the mindless grinding / raiding that my druid does three to five nights a week :)

Thanks again Cla :p

I'm off the next three days, starting right now :) , and I'm about to log in and check on some gear ideas.

Then I'm going to finish up the last part of the Un'goro Crater Linken Quest and snag me a Boomerang :elfbiggri http://www.thottbot.com/?i=4832

I'll make sure to ask you some more questions sometime soon. Hehe

Later,
Enderswolf

Well, the Stormshroud sets aren't going to raise your AP but it will improve your dps. Theres a certain formula for every 1% to hit (to the %hit limit) adds 15 dps and every 1%to crit adds 30dps...or something like that/ Not sure on the numbers though/

Hello all and thanks Trixtaa.

I spent some time looking over various armor pieces and sets last night and still haven't really come up with anything yet. It's hard to choose.

I appreciate your input and information.

I did pick up two pieces of the Valcanic Set since I was about to try Blazerunner. The Chest and the Legs:
http://www.thottbot.com/?i=15846
http://www.thottbot.com/?i=8321
They were priced real low and the armor on them was great, plus I figured the save vs Fire would help...all I can say is that...the armor was great :P Things didn't go so well solo, so I'm going to try again tonight and grab a partner or two. :)

Thanks again Everyone for the replies,
Enderswolf--Greymane

Get 60 and feralheart set . Telling you this cause as you said you are not in any guild so right now you can just dream of some tier set . Get 60 and feralheart set and get self a guild .

Thanks for the info Hyp3R.

I've had several offers to join Guilds and I think I have a potential one picked out. It seems like a laid back one to me...just my style. :)

I'll check out the FeralHeart set, thanks.

Enderswolf--Greymane

:) np buddy , try to find some endgame guild so you can start with aq20/40 , mc , ony , naxx , zg so you will gear up really soon. Good luck and have fun :)

Hello Hyp3R,

I'm going to try and find a guild composed of mature, casual players. I'm not much for the hardcore guilds or the ones with 400 preteen to teenage members.

That's one thing I miss about EQ...the player base seemed to be more mature and less ZOMG L3WT...which WoW seems to have in abundance.

I went ahead and picked up Leader of the Pack, but haven't played with it yet. I just found out last night when I dinged 54 that I had totally missed all of my 52 spells. I must of been sleepy that night. :)

I'm logging in right now to finish off my Timbermaw-->neutral faction.

Thanks again everyone for the input and information on this rather meandering post. :)

Enderswolf--Greymane