Pre-Heroics Gear

[Seligen]

As soon as my gear was all a wholesome hue of midnight blue I dove headfirst into heroics and ran into a brick wall. A boss down here or there, one fully completed with a competent pug guild run, but mostly wipe after wipe after wipe. I've found it interesting to say the least, however there's one last thing I want to collect on before I run back in there like some sort of masochistic freak with glowing fingers.

I'm looking for a pre-heroics headpiece for priest healers. I haven't seen anything at all like this. The closest I can find is a cloth headpiece dropped from the last boss of Halls of Origination that has this gorgeous, sexy metagem slot. Unfortunately, it's DPS gear as the glaring smudge of oily black hit rating staining it's brilliance so helpfully suggests. Glancing about atlas loot I'm forced to conclude that I either have to get lucky on a heroic drop or just hoard away my justice points. Unless I've missed something, the justice points option seems the only viable one, as the heroic versions of mentioned pre-heroic dungeons mostly just carry the same upgraded gear.

So feel free to enlighten me with any bits and tatters of overlooked knowledge as to gear I can pick up. Or I suppose you could just kick me in the balls and tell me exactly what I don't want to hear. Yeah. You'll probably do that last one.

[Caetlan]

There's a whole guide on the plusheal.com forums. I haven't really checked it as I was well into heroics by the time it was posted but it just got stickied so I'd assume its accurate.

There's a tailoring helm, Spiritmend Cowl, but it hasn't got a meta gem slot.

[Noakh]

If you're looking to avoid hit and get a meta, it looks like you've only got about one option, the Crown of Enfeebled Bodies from Erudax in Grim Batol

[Seligen]

Spiritmend Cowl is currently the glorified paper sack that currently rests atop my head cutting off my air supply. However, with this I'm once again the child who has to go to school with his hand-me-down linens from his sister, while all the other kids make fun of me with their stupid extra spirit, and their stupid metagems. STUPID KIDS.

I suppose if you count the bonus 40 spirit from wearing another piece of the set, an honor that I currently unfortunately sport, then all we're left with is that shiny metagem I don't get. While I don't actually need it with my competent healing, I mostly figured it would be nice to pick up an upgrade from a quick run or two.

EDIT:

If you're looking to avoid hit and get a meta, it looks like you've only got about one option, the Crown of Enfeebled Bodies from Erudax in Grim Batol

Ah, I had overlooked that.

[Zeuq]

Between the Spiritmend Cowl and the Crown of Enfeebled Bodies, I wouldn't worry a whole lot about a hat because the JP one, Mask of New Snow, is generally going to be one of your first purchases precisely because there's not any other very good options and it's BIS pre-raid. In fact, I wouldn't bother with the Crown of Enfeebled Bodies because you'll replace it quickly, so it's an expensive cost to gem it just to replace it soon thereafter.

[Seligen]

Between the Spiritmend Cowl and the Crown of Enfeebled Bodies, I wouldn't worry a whole lot about a hat because the JP one, Mask of New Snow, is generally going to be one of your first purchases precisely because there's not any other very good options and it's BIS pre-raid. In fact, I wouldn't bother with the Crown of Enfeebled Bodies because you'll replace it quickly, so it's an expensive cost to gem it just to replace it soon thereafter.

Not exactly. You're assuming I run with a guild, which would be incorrect. In actuality I run alone because my work schedule is so piss-poor that I would feel bad applying to any kind of raiding guild that didn't raid at the hours of between one in the morning to anywhere in the area of five as there is actually never any guarantee that I'll have any given planned raiding day off. Nor is there any guarantee as to when I'll usually be available except around the aforementioned hours when my workplace doesn't have it's decrepit talons lodged into my flesh.

So any upgrade I get will, sadly, be with me for a while, as I am entirely reliant on pick-up groups for anything. And as many have found, pick-up groups are hardly savvy and skilled affairs.

[Zeuq]

I wasn't talking about raiding, I was talking about JP you get from Heroics or even random Normals upon completion. All I'm really trying to say is that if you're trying to gear up to run heroics, I would put the upgrand from Spirtmend to Enfeebled as low priority because it's really more of a sidegrade than an upgrade, it's expensive because meta-gems are expensive right now, and it will be quickly replaced because neither has spirit and the JP hat is one of your best slots to spend JP on.

In short, if you're undergeared for Heroics, because you have a decent hat already, even if it isn't quite the best available before Heroics, don't spend your time farming for that alternative since, chances are, you have other slots that are in greater need of an upgrade. Once you can get into Heroics with more consistent success, the JP will come quickly and you can just skip all that time, effort, and money farming and enchanting it.