Upgrading items to 4/4 & knowing what to upgrade!

[Ragiousmagus]

Is there a rule to follow for what upgrades I (we as frost mages) should upgrade first?

This is how it all began.

Anyhow, a general consensus has been provided and I intend to share it here in order to quickly make apparent an answer to all.

Akraen's take:

My priority system has been:

If part of my Warforged BiS set: Upgrade Group A
If I'll use it to kill Heroic Garrosh: Upgrade Group B
Otherwise: Upgrade Group C

A > B > C
Within each Upgrade Group, I prioritize:
Weapon > Trinkets > Helm/Legs/Chest > Shoulders/Belt/Boots > Others

Mageski's take:

Weapon is generally your #1 priority as far as DPS is concerned due to the boost you get, not only to your primary/secondary stats, but to raw spell power. Beyond that, I find that PBoI/KTT are worth upgrading next, other trinkets probably not as much since you're going to look to replace them anyway.

Ignoring itemization and looking at purely stat budgets, the list below is your priority for same ilvl gear, best to worst.
Helm/Chest/Legs
Boots
Shoulders/Gloves/belt
Neck/rings/bracers/non legendary cloak

Essentially these say the same two things. Upgrade your weapons first, then trinkets, then prioritize your gear on the basis of what will be replaced and what will be kept in the long run, and also what gives the most stats for the upgrade, as upgrading a 574 item to 582 will give more stats per upgrade than upgrading a 561 to 569.

Weapon > Trinkets > Helm/Legs/Chest > Shoulders/Belt/Boots > Others

Always use your best judgement and ask questions if you are concerned, this thread is here to help with that.

[Akraen]

It varies a lot so if you ask me for specific ideas I will be sure to help you out.

My priority system has been:

If part of my Warforged BiS set: Upgrade Group A
If I'll use it to kill Heroic Garrosh: Upgrade Group B
Otherwise: Upgrade Group C

A > B > C
Within each Upgrade Group, I prioritize:
Weapon > Trinkets > Helm/Legs/Chest > Shoulders/Belt/Boots > Others

[Kver]

What you need to consider is which items you'll be the most likely to replace soon. Your objective should be to not waste valor. So BiS items are the most important, then probably trinkets/weapon. Ignore AMR.

[Ragiousmagus]

My armory is now in my signature, you've helped me with stat priority in the past Akraen. I did hands and shoulders because they're not getting replaced due to their 2pc, and my guild recently broke up prior to any siegecrafter kills. I also upgraded PBoI because <3, but then I upgraded my flex rings for the sole purpose of making them better than the pvp ring I had, a choice which I somewhat regret.

Kver, I've been considering that. I've been raiding as a filler for random heroic groups the past few weeks and have received little to no drops, but I'm still hopeful. I did upgrade my helm and have been focusing on upgrading only my heroic pieces, as I have no heroic warforged as of yet.

[Methusula]

Greetings!

Looks like you are doing a pretty good job of selecting what items to upgrade so far. You are correct with the general rule of thumb wrt weps and trinkets. Other than that, there are so many variables it's hard to give you a solid answer other than, go with the items you know won't be replaced for a while. Generally higher stat budget things like helm, chest, and pants get you more bang for your buck. You also get progressively more stats every time you upgrade a piece, so the higher the ilvl, the more benefit from the upgrade.

[Frosted]

According to AMR, legs > KTT > boots > belt > bracers > neck > dino ring for you currently. I would assume weapon would be above legs if you had a heroic one (mine was and I had HWF legs like you do). Assuming it's saying legs > KTT due to legs being HWF and KTT being normal.

I would personally put bracers after legs, since they are heroic and will not be upgraded soon.

[Kver]

I suppose it loves haste/mastery items then?

[Mageski]

Weapon is generally your #1 priority as far as DPS is concerned due to the boost you get, not only to your primary/secondary stats, but to raw spell power. Beyond that, I find that PBoI/KTT are worth upgrading next, other trinkets probably not as much since you're going to look to replace them anyway.

Ignoring itemization and looking at purely stat budgets, the list below is your priority for same ilvl gear, best to worst.
Helm/Chest/Legs
Boots
Shoulders/Gloves/belt
Neck/rings/bracers/non legendary cloak

I'm not sure where the legendary cloak falls, but it's higher due to having a higher budget and the fact that it will not be replaced.

All of that aside, focus on things that won't be replaced first. In the long run, this means more upgrades being active for longer.

[Komma]

According to AMR, legs > KTT > boots > belt > bracers > neck > dino ring for you currently. I would assume weapon would be above legs if you had a heroic one (mine was and I had HWF legs like you do). Assuming it's saying legs > KTT due to legs being HWF and KTT being normal.

AMR does a bad job of evaluating trinkets, because their way of simulating trinkets is by giving it a static value of haste or mastery or crit for each one. This obviously doesn't model trinkets accurately, and often undervalues them, especially in the case of KTT being a percentage scaling item (multistrike %).

@Kver: The cloak generally falls right behind helm/chest/legs and in front of the other items. This is due to it being a 3 stat item, the very high itemlevel (ilvl offers exponential stat scaling), yet being a low budget item slot (cloaks share the same itembudget as jewelry/bracers as you mentioned).

[Ragiousmagus]

Thank you for all the posts! I have found this to be very helpful and insightful not only to my specific case but including general guidelines for others to follow. I'll update the original post to reflect and represent the consensus, but as of course continue to contribute your findings.

Yay for most viewed post in the frost forums.

[Ragiousmagus]

This should now act as a useful hub for quick referencing and questions pertaining to upgrading options. Post away!

[Bredadegho]

Hello guys, Im here to ask you for a quick question regarding what to upgrade next with my frost mage. Wasn't sure if this was the thread for this, but since it didn't feel right to open a new one...

Armory Link: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/d ... o/advanced" target="_blank

My question is, Should I upgrade my KTT from 551 to 569 , or should I upgrade the Extinguished ember of Galakkras H from 566 to 582 ?

I do belive that stat-wise both upgrades are pretty close, but KTT is a little bit better. Having said that I don't think I will be getting an KTT H anytime soon, yet, I kill Galakkras H every week and I might get the EEoG HW if I'm lucky enough.

Why I said that about the KTT H is because I've yet to kill Shammans H and if the trinket drops, I owe the frist one to our lock so...

But anyways, if you guys could help me with this items I would be really thankful.

[Sturmcantor]

Neither piece is (at least technically, though good luck on WF in 10man) BiS, you say you won't replace the KTT for awhile anyway, and trinket upgrades >>> ring upgrades. I'd upgrade the KTT.

[Emmerde]

My question is, Should I upgrade my KTT from 551 to 569 , or should I upgrade the Extinguished ember of Galakkras H from 566 to 582 ?

Maybe you have to save valor points and upgrade neither of above?

[Komma]

Please avoid replying to threads that are 2 months old.