4 responses to “What is the difference between the armor sets in World of Warcraft?”

1. 

   Zeer March 13th, 2008 at 18:54

   Quality. So like, Tier 1, 2, and 3 are pre-BC armor sets. Their stats increase the higher the tier. Tier 4, 5, and 6 are Burning Crusade dungeon raid sets, and their stats get better the higher the tier, so a tier 6 piece would trump a tier 4 piece every time.

   Dungeon sets (D3) are blue quality pieces of gear with decent stats for people who are just starting to run instances. They’re usually better than any quest gear you can pick up, and their set bonuses (bonuses you get by wearing multiple pieces of the set) are usually pretty worthwhile. They can usually be pretty easily replaced.

   As for pvp sets, S1 is considered 100% welfare epics (as in, you can get them with little effort). S2 and S3 are also easy to get but require you play arena games, rather than battlegrounds. S4 is extremely difficult because it requires that you play arenas AND you get a high rank (you need to win most of your games).

   The difference between PVP and PVE gear:
   PVP gear usually has a LOT more stamina and resiliance for survival.
   PVE gear relies heavily on stats and damage increasing numbers.

2. 

   Paranoid March 17th, 2008 at 06:05

   There are two key types of equipment in WoW - PvE and PvP. PvE, which stands for Player vs. Environment, gear focuses on practical stats for fighting computer AI. For a damage-dealer, stats like HP and armor are not important, as the tank will be taking damage in endgame raids. PvP gear focuses more on stats that let you survive alone, as your tank can’t force the other team to attack him. Therefore, PvP gear gives stats such as resilience and stamina, which aren’t so useful for damage-dealing classes. The same rules apply to tanks and healers.

   Tier gear is considered some of the best armor in the game. It is acquired by getting tokens out of raids and trading them in to rare vendors. Tier 1 is the worst, stat-wise, but easiest to get. Tier 2 makes improvements, but is harder to acquire, and Tier 3 is the hardest to get. However, when the Burning Crusade was released, these sets became obsolete, replaced by Tier 4, 5, and 6.

   PvP sets - Worst to best…
   Gladiator’s gear.
   Merciless Gladiator’s gear.
   Vengeful Gladiator’s gear.
   Brutal Gladiator’s gear.
   NOTE: Gladiator’s gear is no longer attainable.

3. 

   perfectsixthsense March 20th, 2008 at 01:41

   Hi,

   There are several ways of acquiring gear in World of Warcraft. Initially you start by getting it through quests. Although some quest rewards are very good even later in the game, instance loot is generally better. Heroic instances are more difficult but also provide better loot/equipment for your character. After 5 man dungeons/instances, there come 10 man and 25 man raids. These instances have progressive difficulty and, the more difficult they become, the better the armor (equipment) you can get.

   Sets are available starting with 5 man instance sets and continuing with raid sets. In general, the sets you get from 25 man instances are significantly better than those from 5 man dungeons (better stats mean that you will do more damage, healing, or have more survivability).

   PvP armor and sets are generally aimed at those players who prefer a player-versus-player playstyle. In PvP, stats like survivability (health) or resilience are superior to damage or healing, meaning that they provide more survivability than they do offensive stats. Whereas PvP armor can be used in PvE, this gear is easily replaceable by PvE loot due to what we know as item budget.

   Item budget basically means that each item has a number of stats (each carefully calculated) that it can get. For example, a PvP armor for a Mage will focus the item budget on stamina and resilience, and some spell damage/spell crit. The item budget on a PvE armor will mostly have spell damage/hit/crit/haste, and less survivability stats. If you use PvP armor in PvE encounters, your damage will suffer because your extra health and resilience will rarely help you against bosses where healers are doing their job.

   Hope this helps.

4. 

   odenrocks March 21st, 2008 at 16:14

   Sets were numbered in complexity of content in which they can be obtained. Tier 1 of any set being the introductory set. Moving upwards. As of the current content there are 3 Dungeon tiers and 6 Raid tiers. PvP isn’t commonly labeled as tier but as seasons and by level.

   Dungeon sets referred to the normal dungeons which only required 5 people to tackle.
   D1 or Dungeon set 1 could be found among level 60 instances.
   D2 could only be obtained by questing for upgrading version of D1.
   D3 can be found scattered throughout the level 70 instances in Outland.

   Raid sets referred to the sets obtained through instances that required a larger group, sometimes 10 people, 25, or 40. When people mention tier they are usually talking about these sets.
   Tier 1-3 are found throughout the level 60 raids.
   Tier 4-6 are found throughout the level 70 raids.

   PvP is a little more different.
   You have one set that is associated with Arathi Basin that is high 50-ish level.
   There are the old level 60 & 70 battleground PvP sets that were identical in look. The 70 level set is no longer obtainable.
   There is a reputation PvP set that is a default introductory set to level 70 PvP.
   Now you have the bread & butter of PvP gear which is the arena sets. Labeled by season. Season 1 used to be unobtainable after season 2 but recently opened back up through tier tokens. WoW is in its fourth season of arenas.