Today I’m proud to announce that the Ratings Calculator Tool has been fully updated for Mod 6 and with the help of it, we’re discussing the Itemization in the upcoming Module.

Generally without any set bonuses, your armor choice outside Tenacity becomes a minor factor in your build, because it contributes under 20% to the stat points of a BiS character. So no matter if you want to be tanky or high voltage, it’s done with the Boons, Artifacts and Enchantments mostly. I think it’s a good approach, because it lifts the limitation of being forced into certain gear and you can freely combine sets.

The downside is that gear in Mod 6 won’t really feature much variety. All DPS classes and the Devoted Cleric get two PVE sets that minorly differentiate between the offensive stat allocations of Power, Recovery, Armor Penetration and Critical Strike and the difference between taking one or the other will be marginal. Only the Scourge Warlock (Life Steal) and Great Weapon Fighter (Deflect) get some true distinction on their Artifact Weapon Sets and can add a nice amount of stats they are not getting from their armor pieces.

Tank classes are getting something to choose from though with one offensive and one defensive set. Especially the Guardian Fighter will be able to start off with a nice amount of Deflect.

The new jewelry is nice and adds more choices all around. Too bad they only have one socket, but the combination of slots and stats is well thought through so some will find those more interesting than the Jewelcrafting ones.

On the contrary, I’m puzzled what purpose the new Black Ice gear should serve to be honest. For PVE it adds little beyond minor Life Steal and for PVP you are better advised to take more Tenacity that comes with the true PVP gear. The empowered T3 values of the Black Ice gear should be able to match the Elemental Burning Sets in total stat points, but Tenacity is such a powerful tool in PVP that I don’t think you get more value per-point from another stat.

Speaking of PVP and the Elemental Burning Sets: They offer a defensive and offensive choice for all classes. The Hunter Ranger get the most Deflect after the tank classes and Control Wizards a healthy dose of Life Steal and Regeneration. Otherwise nothing sticks out really. It should be noted that CON will be contributing significantly less to your overall Hit Points because the new sets add like 50k, so characters other than tanks might be better off shifting their ability scores.

While the sets aren’t as fancy, another facet will add to the variety of builds: No or very little diminishing returns. Imagine a Renegade CW with 70% Crit and Storm Spell going crazy or high deflect builds that utilize the boosted damage of Fey Thistle. A lot seems to be possible and its virtually guaranteed that this won’t go down without some severely overpowered builds. The first weeks surely will be interesting with people testing, theorycrafting and adjusting to the new content.

Anyway, in terms of new sets, the devs took a safe route, went without set bonuses and covered the basic needs of every class with their first round of new gear. That’s not very flashy, but it’s also nothing you can really complain about. A ‘well done’ in my book.