Mail Transmog: Grunt’s Chestpiece

mailtransmog-grunt-display

I’m-a bee, I’m-a bee, I’m a freakin’ bumblebee.

Head: N/A
Shoulders: Cataclysm Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Craterflame Spaulders
Back: N/A
Chest: World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Grunt’s Chestpiece
Hands: Crafted Item Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Felscale Gloves
Waist:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Wicked Chain Waistbelt
Legs:  Cataclysm Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Thoracic Flame Kilt
Feet: World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Black Ogre Kickers

Main-Hand: Burning Crusade Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Arcanite Steam-Pistol
Off-Hand: N/A

View the whole set on Wowhead.

Yellow’s not exactly in my comfort zone, but combining  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Grunt’s Chestpiece with Crafted Item Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Felscale Gloves is my happy accident for the week.

Mail Transmog: Banded Armor

Mail Transmog - Banded Armor - Female Blood ElfHead: Vendor - Honor Points Titan-Forged Chain Helm of Triumph
Shoulders: Wrath of the Lich King Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Spaulders of Incoherence
Back: Quest Reward Wolfsfur Greatcloak (Horde Only)
Chest: World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Banded Armor
Hands: Quest Reward Prankster’s Fingers
Waist:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Banded Girdle
Legs: Crafted Item Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Deathscale Leggings
Feet: World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Steelmaw’s Stompers 

Main-Hand: World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Expert’s Longbow
Off-Hand: N/A

View the whole set on Wowhead.

So again, there’s something a little unfair about tagging an outfit as “Shaman-friendly” when the model is carrying around a hulking great bow in all the example images. But apart from that — and, let’s face it, finding a replacement by way of a large bronze stick with spikes coming out of it isn’t especially hard — this mail transmog set is free of class-specific and faction-specific limitations, thank heavens for that.Mail Transmog - Banded Armor - Back

Quest Reward Wolfsfur Greatcloak (Horde Only)

Okay, apart from that one.

The cloak is a quest reward from Frostfire Ridge, a zone that stubbornly insists on being the stomping ground of the Horde. If you’re Alliance and Durotan’s not willing to give you the time of day, or you’re a Hordie whose already quested through Frostfire Ridge because, well, who hasn’t these days, you’re out of luck.

What can I say, kids? Better luck next time.

Mail Transmog: Black Bow of the Betrayer

mailtransmog-blackbow-displayHead: N/A
Shoulders: Mists of Pandaria Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop  Abandoned Spaulders of Arrowflight

Back: N/A
Chest:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Fenclaw Armor
Hands: Crafted Item Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal  Enchanted Felscale Gloves
Waist:    Cataclysm Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Lifecycle Waistguard
Legs: Wrath of the Lich King Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Ironscale Leggings
Feet:  Wrath of the Lich King Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Furious Gladiator’s Sabatons of Triumph

Main-Hand: Burning Crusade Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop Black Bow of the Betrayer
Off-Hand: N/A

Here’s the full set on Wowhead.

Okay, so maybe it’s a little unfair to tag a set built around a rather large bow as “Shaman-friendly,” but I’m sticking to my guns, here. Even without the large projectile-lobbing accessory at your side, the set still works. More than anything, I’m in love with those shoulders.  Mists of Pandaria Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop  Abandoned Spaulders of Arrowflight are a fantastic, if frustratingly rare, addition to your void stora, and for the Shamans in the audience there’s a Shaman-locked alternative available to double your odds.

If you’re a Shaman and you’re desperate for a similar look, the raid_warlords Kromog’s Protecting Palm or Crafted Item Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Elementium Stoneshield paired with the Skullthumper of Trials (unsurprisingly, available from the Proving Grounds) might help move you in the right direction.

Mail Transmog: Mantle of the Sea Wolf

Mail Transmog - Mantle of the Sea Wolf - DraeneiHead: N/A
Shoulders: Vendor - Gold Mantle of the Sea Wolf 

Back: N/A
Chest:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops  Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Steadfast Breastplate
Hands:   Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Crystalhide Handwraps
Waist:    World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Steadfast Girdle
Legs:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Kilt of Elemental Mending
Feet: World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Abyssal Mail Greaves 

Main-Hand:  Quest Reward Ironfeather Longbow
Off-Hand: N/A

Here’s the full set on Wowhead.

Okay, so I normally try to be funny (note that I don’t generally succeed), but there’s not much to say about this outfit. It does have the benefit of letting hunters and shamans alike have access to the Shaman Tier 2 shoulder model, though, which for Horde players has the added bonus of dredging up feelings of resentment re: wolves and lightning and quest-related combinations of the same while lagging heavily in Frostfire Ridge.

As for the gear, Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Crystalhide Handwraps  is a tough one to explain. It’s the result of one of Burning Crusade’s more obscure mechanics: first, grind 50 Apexis Shards from mobs in Blade’s Edge Mountains and score a copy of not-apparently-BoE Depleted Mail Gauntlets. Similarly, Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Abyssal Mail Greaves has its own story to tell — it’s a potential drop from a rare lurking around Shadowmoon Valley, making it a theoretically easier grind from its fellow world drops.

Oh yeah, and World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Kilt of Elemental Mending? Not a kilt. So there’s that.

EDIT: Hey, shamans! It’s been brought to my attention that you’d rather not raid using a bow and arrows, so on request I’ve come up with a few staff alternates that work with this set. The three I’m thinking of are Archus, Greatstaff of Antonidas (heroic version), Engraved Gargoyle Femur, and Cold Convergence (Alliance version).

Or you can toy with all three and decide what you like best on Wowhead.

Mail Transmog: Armor of the Single Cloud (Shaman)

mailtransmog-cloudshaman-preview

Head: N/A
Shoulders:  Mists of Pandaria Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop  Shoulderguards of Dark Meditations (Shaman)
Back: N/A
Chest:  Mists of Pandaria Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop  Armor of the Single Cloud (Shaman)
Hands: Quest Reward  Fastfuse Gloves
Waist:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Girdle of Gale Force
Legs:  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Lord’s Legguards
Feet:  Quest Reward Treads of Youth

Main-Hand: Vendor - Honor Points Ruthless Gladiator’s Battle Staff

Off-Hand: N/A

View the whole set on Wowhead.

Okay, I’d be lying if I said  Mists of Pandaria Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop  Armor of the Single Cloud wasn’t the sole inspiration for the creation of my female Draenei shaman. It’s beautiful, it’s blue, and it manages to look skimpy on both genders, a rare feat given Blizzard’s usual fashion double-standards. It also looks great with  Mists of Pandaria Raid Drop - Boss Loot or Raid Trash Drop  Shoulderguards of Dark Meditations, one of the few pieces to come out of Tier 16 that I actually like.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for your sexy male shaman to show some skin, your good luck ends there: for reasons known only to Blizzard’s art department,  World Drop - Includes Zone-Specific Drops Auction House - Click Here For Undermine Journal Lord’s Legguards is less revealing on male toons.

Don’t like it? Write to your congressman!