5 loot ranking sites to check out
by Natalie Mootz 
Jun 19th 2008 at 8:00PM
I am often flummoxed when trying to decide which piece of loot to take from a quest or to purchase for an upgrade. I end up doing math on index cards or, if I'm really desperate, cranking out Excel and going for full-on geekery. Sometimes, though, this seems like way too much trouble and I will probably end up dumping the thing soon anyway. Although the Armory offers a "find an upgrade" tool, it's simply a list of items with stats. I still end up doing the math. So I went searching for some easier ways to figure out my next best loot options and here I share them with you.- Kaliban's Class Loot Lists - Probably considered the gold standard of loot resource sites. Choose your class and then slice and dice until you find your perfect match. I found loot for level 68+.
- Loot Rank - Lets you enter complex stat requirements and weight the stats you like best. It seems targeted to endgame players for the most part.
- Lootzor - Lets you choose any level gear and even normal instance gear. Weighted stats.
- ShadowPanther - Rogues R us. Breaks down recommendations by every category imaginable.
- Druid Wiki - Recommendations for druids of all specs, including a section called "Must have quest rewards."
Filed under: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior, Items, Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Quests, Guides, Enchants, Battlegrounds, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Memzer Jun 19th 2008 8:05PM
For the DPS classes out there you'll probably want to check out:
http://www.maxdps.com/
Alexisonfire Jun 20th 2008 3:24AM
Yeah, maxdps is pretty snazzy. It's not the end all be all best option, but it gives you a great outline of what you can get. Though what is up with Swords being listed for shamans? :P
Thorn Jun 20th 2008 9:59AM
First time I used MaxDPS, my mage was 2 points under hit cap. It suggested gear and gemmings that put me WAY over the cap. Turned me off right there, and kept disappointing me the few times I've given it another chance. So if you use it, take its advice with caution.
PeeWee Jun 19th 2008 8:15PM
Or compare the items' stat weights for your spec on www.wowhead.com and see what you get.
Kaphik Jun 19th 2008 8:19PM
Don't forget: http://www.warcrafter.net/
You can actually see how the loot, enchants, etc. will change your characters stats.
matt Jun 19th 2008 8:22PM
Mages: what's the fastest way to figure out what you should spend your arena points on next? Say I've got a few rep pieces still, and want to replace some with S3/S4.
In the past, I've just gone to wowhead and added all the stats, but it's pretty laborious. Shadow Panter just does all the work for rogues, and I'm wondering if there's a site for lazy mages like me. :)
ErsatzPotato Jun 20th 2008 3:14AM
For raiding mages, I'd go with http://www.manoutoftime.org/staticpages/index.php/tcom. Best short of firing up a spreadsheet.
It's not a gear guide per se. You'ld have to manually plug in numbers for the new piece(s) over the set from armory for the tool to do the crunching, but it will give you stat weighting per point given your existing gear from an armory pull which allows much easier eyeballing of new pieces (particularly when combined in-game with Ratingbuster).
Btw, for frost mages or arc mages using frost as a nuke, any numbers you get endgame from Maxdps are going to be off. It doesn't account for ghost hit which makes all the numbers way off on gear rankings. Stay away. (I've no idea how good it is for non-mages; probably varies class/spec.)
Sephran Jun 19th 2008 8:24PM
0o why dont you just use equip compare or some other addon?
Natalie Mootz Jun 19th 2008 8:42PM
Hi Sephran, I do use EquipCompare. However, "eyeballing" doesn't always help me choose a piece of loot. For example, how will 2 more points of Intellect compare with 5 more points of spell damage? There's math involved there and using the loot ranking sites helps me figure it out without crunching all the numbers.
Sephran Jun 19th 2008 11:25PM
@ Natalie. Oh trust me I understand that. But for instance.. the sites will tell you that 15 spell dmg over 3 spell hit. Would probably be a better upgrade.
But if your lacking spell hit then 15 spell damage is actually a downgrade. At a certain point in your WoW Carrer you have to know what stats are an upgrade for you or not.
(not implying you dont. Just implying the sites generaly can't tell you that).
One instance of this is. +6 stats enchant on chest or 15 spirit for a mage. If you need more mana regen then obviously 15 spirit is for you. But if your fine on mana then 6 stats is the way to go. (yes i know its not gear, but same principles).
Natalie Mootz Jun 20th 2008 12:14AM
LOL... Don't give me that much credit! I need all the help I can get. Lewtz is not my strong point... hence my need for rankings. /grin
Brownjohn Jun 19th 2008 8:42PM
There is an addon called RatingBuster that lets you compare new gear with what you currently have equipped.
nelfer Jun 19th 2008 9:13PM
How could you leave out the best one?
www.warcrafter.net
Green Jun 19th 2008 11:43PM
http://dwarfpriest.com/2008/03/16/the-best-priest-healing-gear-24/
Fishy Jun 20th 2008 2:12AM
@Green:
That site is amazing. I wish there would be something similar for resto shamans. I'm not a math wizz, so lootrank and lootzor don't quite do the trick for me.
Angus Jun 20th 2008 9:10AM
Fishy:
http://www.resto4now.blogspot.com/
WARNING: Loot rank has not been updated for 2.4 gear.
It also severly undervalues spell haste.
One that wasn't mentioned is using Wowhead's stat ranking search function.
http://www.wowhead.com/?items=4&filter=ub=7;cr=119;crs=1;crv=0;preset=7.pve.resto#0+7-17+1
This is shaman armor. Lot's of stuff is missing, but you can refine it further to things like this...
http://www.wowhead.com/?items=4&filter=sl=5;ub=7;cr=119;crs=1;crv=0;preset=7.pve.resto;gm=3
I believe they use elitist jerk's stat weights.
elitistjerks.com/f47/t24796-shaman_restoration/ (add the www part I ran out of links)
Angus Jun 20th 2008 9:17AM
www.elitistjerks.com/f47/t24796-shaman_restoration/
They have your stat weights. Using that you can do something like this using Wowhead's new stat weighing function. Their presets are all set to T4 level.
http://www.wowhead.com/?items=4&filter=sl=5;ub=7;cr=119;crs=1;crv=0;preset=7.pve.resto;gm=3
This is Chest armor. You can change the weights according to your gear level to get a better understanding of what is better for you.
http://resto4now.blogspot.com/2007/11/healing-gear-table-of-contents.html
Used to be a very good guide for us. But it hasn't been touched since February and the rankings did not properly take haste into account. I'd go with wowhead.
Hoho Jun 20th 2008 3:12AM
For shadowpriests there are two lists:
Best casual gear and
Best raiding gear. Nothing in the world is even remotely comparable to those two lists :)
Hoho Jun 20th 2008 3:13AM
Sorry, for some reason the links got cut away so here they are again:
http://www.shadowpriest.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9844
http://shadowpriest.com/viewtopic.php?t=5327
zvix Jun 20th 2008 5:53AM
http://wowmb.net/
Got some very decent topics with loot item for locks.