During Wrath of the Lich King the introduction of the Dungeon Finder tool also introduced the iLevel system, an in-game monitor of a characters average iLevel of gear able to be equipped within the inventory or already being worn by the character (average iLvl and iLvl equipped are separated on the armory). Due to the easiness of the former expansion in terms of gearing this feature was mostly ignored, however, with the launch of Cataclysm the system has been properly introduced with relevance.

As it stands, to queue for a Heroic dungeon it is required to have an average iLvl of 329. While this isn't particularly high the majority of the player-base tends to sit at an average iLvl of 320-323 and this guide aims to provide a proper method of acquiring the minimum iLvl for Heroics without abusing any exploits or resorting to PvP gear. You can find your average iLvl in the stats tab of your character screen (C).


Don't Cheat the System!
There have been numerous methods of boosting the iLvl including holding the arrows from 3.3 and a range of other items as silly as wearing Royal Mageweave Shirts. While Blizzard have stayed on top of this fixing it where needed I can't stress enough to resist cheating the system as Heroics aren't a breeze like they were upon hitting the level cap in the previous expansion. Doing so will more than likely have you removed from the group, wasting a whopping forty minutes in queue if DPS and still resulting in a a waste of time otherwise if you are unable to perform as either a healer or a tank.
Not having the appropriate gear will often mean;
  • You are nowhere near the hit cap (dps and tanks).
  • Very low health and avoidance (tanks).
  • Mana issues (healing can be very mana intensive in quest greens).
- A very fast method of getting yourself removed from a group given the impatience of the modern gamer.

PvP Gear
While nowhere near as bad as the above, try to avoid using PvP gear to enter Heroics. Due to honor gear holding an iLvl of 252 the reality is that the gear will perform better than any quest green through pure stats for the general DPS. However, you are still missing out on those vital stats such as hit rating, dodge rating, parry rating and for all classes and talent trees - a second secondary attribute (critical strike rating/haste rating/spirit/dodge/parry/mastery).

It's very important that you don't simply use PvP gear to tank in Heroics as avoidance is very important with the new combat stat value and the amount of rating or statistic required to acquire an additional % to the stat. You will get slapped around like no tomorrow and cause mana issues for your healer.

Lets Get Gearing!
While it doesn't necessarily take much to reach the iLvl for Heroics there are a few things you can do before exhausting yourself running regular dungeons for hours on end in hopes that the +4 Strength +4 Stam leather belt drops for you. Assuming you quested your way to the level cap for the majority you should of obtained a decent reputation with the factions of Cataclysm. Being honored with these reputations unlocks iLvl 333 (regular dungeon equivalent) gear from the respective factions quartermaster while revered offers iLvl 346 (heroic dungeon equivalent) gear. There is also a range of crafted gear as well as some fairly regular Bind on Equip drops that may be relatively cheap to acquire given a bit of luck with your servers' economy.

Continued on from Wrath of the Lich King, tabards are again available in order to gain reputation with a desired faction while completing dungeon runs while killing both trash and bosses. It is also worth completing quests not finished while leveling as they not only yield reputation but additional gold in place of experience as a result of no longer being able to benefit from experience. There are also dailies available for some of these factions.

The factions in question are as follows:
  • Guardians of Hyjal (Mount Hyjal)
  • The Earthen Ring (Vash'jir and Deepholm)
  • Ramkahen (Uldum)
  • Therazane (Deepholm)
  • Wildhammer Clan [alliance] / Dragonmaw Clan [horde] (Twilight Highlands)
  • Baradin's Wardens [alliance] / Hellscream's Reach [horde] (Tol'Barad)



>>Click any of the above to view the reputation rewards available<<

I would also recommend the add-on, AtlasLoot Enhanced (Curse! - link). This add-on will allow you to view faction rewards in-game by triggering it with either the icon or /atlasloot. You can also view loot available in dungeons, ordered by each boss as well as raid instances and their respective bosses. This is a great tool for finding upgrades and it even allows for you to create a 'wishlist' of gear you desire. AtlasLoot enhanced also offers information on professions and craftable gear.

Justice Points

Justice Points, previously acquired through completing the daily Northrend regular dungeon (once eligible) all the way through defeating raid content late in to the last expansion are still used as currency to obtain gear of its contents iLvl (in this case iLvl 346 - the same as heroic dungeon loot). If you find yourself still sitting on a decent chunk of these points you can use them to get yourself a piece of gear or two.




Tips

Exalted reputations: When grinding reputation make sure to look at the epic gear available (iLvl 359) after achieving exalted with a respective faction. Gear is very important in the current end-game.
Reputation enchantments:
  • HEAD: casters - Guardians of Hyjal, melee(agility) dps - Ramkahen, tank - The Earthen Ring, melee(strength) - Wildhammer Clan/Dragonmaw Clan.
  • SHOULDER: there are shoulder enchants for both reaching Honored and further so Exalted with Therazane.
Enchanting scrolls: With the expansion being relatively new it is possible to pick up an assortment of enchantment scrolls for insane prices if it's used to level up the enchanting skill. Make sure to check the auction house before buying raw materials or buying the enchantment in full off of a another player - you may just get lucky.
Consumables: don't be afraid to waste old consumables to improve performance.
Know the fights!: if you don't want constantly wipe on heroic bosses take it upon yourself to know the encounters. There are a lot of new mechanics and fights that employ multiple mechanics at once so it can get messy. Even if you're one to catch on fast, you can always be the hero who explains the fight and prevents the mage from standing in the beam until he transforms in to a Zealot! For a rundown on all Heroics (as a whole) and individual bosses I recommend Yoggcast Heroic Dungeon Guides. You'll find the collection of complete Heroic guides (trash) and individual boss videos on the side.
BE PATIENT: that is all.

Best of luck in your future adventures. I hope I provided some help in getting ready for them.

---------- Post added 2010-12-28 at 11:00 AM ----------

Comment on guide submission: this would look a lot better given the ability to use the loot table layout seen on MMO-Champion.

Thank you for reading for reading my submission.