I don’t update for a while and WordPress gets super-weird on me. I guess it’s just another thing to get used to. On to the post. I’ll update about Dru later.

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Wowhead is unbelievably helpful. If you don’t think so, you’re doing it wrong. I’m here to help, though. When we’re through, you’ll be a pro. You’ll never have to go into an instance clueless about whether or not there are drops for you. You’ll also have the know-how to find out what dungeons you need to be running to get rid of those Kara drops and move on to the big-boy section of Northrend gear. You can also use wowhead to find out what rep you need to be grinding, and what rep to not bother wasting time with. Trust me. This will save you time. Make smart choices, don’t run dungeons that don’t have drops for you more than once, unless someone else needs to go and you’re feeling generous. And for heaven’s sake, if you’re doing that, wear your rep-appropriate tabard so you can be getting rep while helping people out.

I can’t teach you everything though, so for starters, you’ll need to know a thing or two about your class and spec. You’ll need to know your favorite stats. DPS, it’s probably not dodge or parry rating. Tanks, it’s probably not spirit. Healers, it probably isn’t strength. I like to pick 2, but for a lot of people, what stats are your favorite depends a lot on what you already have, especially when it comes to things like getting hit capped, etc. Talk to other people who are really good at your class or to people who are good at figuring stuff out and knowing whether or not something is good.

On to the good stuff…
http://www.wowhead.com/ – your new best friend. I know, I know, you have other friends that you really like hanging out with. Ditch ‘em.

Under database, click on items. Just items, not any of that other fancy stuff just yet.
You should now be overwhelmed with over 31,000 items. On the right, click “Create a filter”

Now you’ve got some real options. Let’s find out what sort of rep you’ll need first. So, under the race option, there’s a blank pull-down menu. Click on that, and choose “Added in Wrath of the Lich King” and “Yes,” then click on “Add another filter” and click “Requires reputation with…” and “any.” Now, add yet another filter and add your favorite stat. My personal favorite is Spell Power, and leave it at >0. Now, let’s search. Click “Apply filter” and we’ll be off. Now I’ve narrowed it down to a mere 47 items! However, these aren’t really all things I can use. For example, some of them are plate. To fix this, I can do a couple things. I can either go to the leather armor section, and loose all the trinkets, weapons, and enchants, or I can create a weight scale. I don’t like the weight scale that much, since it tends to give me a lot of items with crit and hit, and cloth stuff. So I go through and use the box to the right to just show me the trinkets and then rings, etc. then I go over to the leather armor section and filter through that. But if you want to use the weight scale, just click on “Create a weight scale” and click your class and spec, and then “Apply filter” once more. So when I create a weight scale, I’m down to 23 items, and I’ve still got my weapons and other goodies, as well as only the armor that I can wear. Now I’m looking over my list and some of this stuff looks pretty boomkin-y, even though I said I was resto, so I’m going to go back up and add another filter. But not before I check all the trinkets and rings and stuff, since those don’t usually have my second favorite stat on ‘em. Next I’m adding Spirit, you add your second favorite stat here. Bam! Here’s all your rep gear.

Don’t forget to go check your profession rep stuff though!
If you want to do that, just roll over “Database” and go to “Items” then to “Recipes” and then click whatever profession you’re working on. Create a new filter “Requires reputation with…” and that’ll tell you what rep you need to get a move on with your crafting.

Really, that’s basically how you use wowhead. Just figure out what you need to find (recipes, cloaks, etc.), and then add filters. Toward the bottom of the filter list is “sources” where you’ll find “Drops in…(normal)” and “Drops in…(heroic)” and “Rewarded by a quest.” So you can know exactly what quests will give you upgrades (hopefully blue ones), and what dungeons you need to be running to get geared up for heroics, Naxx, and beyond.

If something is unclear, feel free to ask!

Of course, finding it is only the first step. WRITE DOWN what gear you need and where it comes from. If it’s crafted, write down what mats you need to be working on and find out who can make it for you. Especially if it’s a recipe that comes from rep. So when people ask “who wants to run something” You can say, “I’d love to run X. I need Y off of Z.” And you can stay in LFG while you’re out questing or farming in case someone comes along who’s running what you need and you aren’t afraid of pugs.

Alternatively you could just depend on other bloggers/forum posters to tell you where gear drops for your class/spec, but where’s the fun in that?