Balance Itemization question.

[FourofaKind]

Which combination of tier boni have people noticed to be most effective?

4pc t8

2t8 2t7

4t7 (eww)

I know t9 will change this, but in the meantime, I've caught myself in quite the dilhemma. Also, if anyone really wants to go into specifics, which pieces of what should I go for?
e.g
7.5 Shoulders and pants
8.5 Helm and Chest
or like
8.5 gloves pants
7.5 chest shoulders. Etc
From what I see going 2-8 2-7 the best bet is Helm Shoulders of T7.5 and Glove Pants for 8.5 + Railments of Corrupted. = 269 Hit rating (aka giving you your cap with only 1 pc Cloth letting you take Crit/Haste/Mass spellpower from other slots and taking alt Enchants/Gems Etc)

Is there a better route then this. How much dps does one lose taking the IL 219 robes over BIS robes and what is the drawback of taking those two pcs of t7.5 (especially the helm...) over Uldaur+ alternatives (Is it worth the IS Buff?)

[Deleted]

Basically :
4T7 < 2T7 + 2T8 < 4T8 < 2T8+ 2T9 (and 4T9 should be in the middle somewhere, not sure wether higher or below 4T8, but inferior to 2T8 + 2T9 because 2T8 will be awesome in 3.2)

As for what what pieces to get/change out of, it really depends on what offspec pieces you have access too.
For 4T7 for example, the ideal complement was Leggings of the Wanton Spellcaster, but not necessarily easy to get depending on your guilds loot rules and the number of cloth casters.
When looking at 4T8 with wrath, on non-hard mode, i usually ended up with the helm or chest as offspec for non-hard mode loot (wyrmhunter or umbral brute), and the gloves for hard mode loot. I didn't look at Algalon loot at all, that might change things again.

I'd say the best way to find what works best in each individual's case is to play around with the Rawr optimizer. The hard mode loot system makes loot access conditions too different for a simple BiS loot list to really be possible as it was in T7 content.

[FourofaKind]

On a related issue, if one has 4pc t8, would you say IIS is a definate, or just preferencial?

[Degrador]

On a related issue, if one has 4pc t8, would you say IIS is a definate, or just preferencial?

4T8 has no impact on whether IIS is worth it or not (same goes for the glyph). Whether you've got 4T9 or not, you should have IS up as much as possible, with the exception of refreshing during eclipse.

Edit: Just for clarification, either way IIS is not a must-have talent.

[Deleted]

I think its a pretty safe bet to simply upgrade T7 to T8 to T9. The bonusses are pretty similar across the board, not to mention the added stats for going up a tier.

4T8 has no impact on whether IIS is worth it or not (same goes for the glyph). Whether you've got 4T9 or not, you should have IS up as much as possible, with the exception of refreshing during eclipse.

Edit: Just for clarification, either way IIS is not a must-have talent.

I do like IIS, though. 3% more damage or 3% more crit is quite substancial, as long as you remember that it is NOT benefitting you as much as you'd think. I mean, moonfire will often fall off during eclipse, unless you managed to refresh it just as the proccing spell lands, but at that point you'll have the extra crit from eclipse. I would always try to have 3/3 IIS.

Anyways, if any talent was a "must have" for 4p set bonus, it would be Nature's Splendor (+2 second IS duration) but then again, what self respecting balance druid doesn't have that? :P

[Degrador]

I do like IIS, though. 3% more damage or 3% more crit is quite substancial, as long as you remember that it is NOT benefitting you as much as you'd think. I mean, moonfire will often fall off during eclipse, unless you managed to refresh it just as the proccing spell lands, but at that point you'll have the extra crit from eclipse. I would always try to have 3/3 IIS.

Anyways, if any talent was a "must have" for 4p set bonus, it would be Nature's Splendor (+2 second IS duration) but then again, what self respecting balance druid doesn't have that? :P

Yeah, I'd agree with all of that. Working off a general average of 1% DPS per talent point it doesn't take long to work out that IIS is way less than that. However there are a few points left over once you do take all the 'core' talents, and amongst what's left IIS is pretty good.