MoP Classic Phase 5 Gearing Guide

The item level ceiling in Phase 5 is ilvl 566 Heroic SoO for raid gear, ilvl 535 for Timeless Isle tokens upgraded with a Burden of Eternity, and ilvl 496 for base Timeless tokens. The Legendary Cloak itself is a separate slot and counts as Best-in-Slot for its slot for every single spec in the game, without exception, with no debate permitted.

MoP Classic Phase 5 gearing priority, in order: Finish Legendary Cloak questline. Farm Timeless Isle for 496 tokens and one free 535 Burden piece. Stack SoO lockouts: both Flexible and Normal are separate. Push Heroic for 566 ceiling. Kill Ordos weekly (Legendary Cloak required). Collect Tier 16 2pc and 4pc bonuses as the primary power objective.

The ilvl breakdown by source is not complicated: it is a ladder, and you climb it. Timeless Isle hands you 496 gear for breathing in its general direction. The raid hands you 528 Normal, 553 Heroic, and 566 Heroic on select Garrosh pieces. The Warforged system: which appeared in Throne of Thunder: also applies here, allowing Normal pieces to randomly upgrade to Heroic ilvl. Whether you benefit from this will depend entirely on dice that do not care about your feelings.

Tier 16 is the BiS armor for every spec in the game. The 2-piece and 4-piece bonuses are power increases significant enough that obtaining them is the primary gear objective of Phase 5, above individual slot optimization. Tier 16 tokens drop from SoO bosses and are exchanged at the quartermaster near the raid entrance. The quartermaster is located at the same coordinates as the raid entrance: eastern Vale of Eternal Blossoms, 55, 74, accessible from the Shrine of Seven Stars for Alliance and the Shrine of Two Moons for Horde by flying southeast.

Because Flexible and Normal share separate lockouts, a full reset can yield two token rolls per slot before Heroic is factored in. Prioritize your 4-piece first. The 2-piece bonus is relevant on pull; the 4-piece reshapes rotational priorities for most specs, which means wearing the wrong 4 pieces is worse than wearing the right 4 pieces with lower item level. If your guild is on Normal progression, do not break your 4-piece for a 553 off-set piece unless the secondary stat gains are so extreme that a simulator confirms it. They usually do not confirm it. Run the sim anyway.

Tier 16 Item Levels by Difficulty

The Warforged system applies to both Normal and Heroic: a Normal piece can proc to 566, matching Heroic. This is a random proc at loot generation, not something you can influence. It is the game's way of ensuring the BiS list is never entirely stable and that someone in your raid is always inexplicably wearing a 566 piece from a Normal pug. Accept this. Move on.

Legendary Cloak: Wrathion's Questline, Phase 5 Conclusion

The Legendary Cloak questline concludes in Phase 5 with Chapter V: Heart of the Thunder King, which sends you to the Timeless Isle and transforms your epic cloak into its Legendary form. The final cloak is assigned by spec: agility DPS, strength DPS, caster DPS, healing, and two tank variants. All variants are BiS for their respective roles without exception. The cloak also grants access to Ordos and to the Ordon Sanctuary on the Isle, which is physically inaccessible to players who have not completed the questline.

If you are reading this in Phase 5 without a completed questline, the situation is recoverable but not comfortable. The questline runs through every phase, accumulating requirements from earlier content. The most time-gated component is the Lightning Lance and Secrets of the Empire step from Throne of Thunder, which requires 20 Secrets of the Empire and is capped by raid kills. This step can now be completed via older content, which is available. Complete it before engaging with any other Phase 5 priority. Every week without an Ordos kill is a week of free 553 loot forfeited due to a quest you did not finish.

Warforged Seals: Purchasable with Timeless Coins at the Celestial Court on the Isle. Used for bonus rolls on all SoO bosses, Celestial world bosses, and Ordos. Cap your Timeless Coins weekly, buy Seals, and bonus roll on the specific bosses holding the BiS pieces your spec needs. Do not hoard coins. Coins held in your currency tab do not upgrade your character.

Spec-by-Spec Stat Priorities: The Part You Skipped Straight To

Below is the condensed stat priority for every spec entering Phase 5. These priorities apply to reforging decisions once your 4-piece Tier 16 is assembled. Before the 4-piece, follow your Phase 4 reforge until tier bonuses alter your rotation. Every spec should be using ReforgeLite, which automates reforging to stat caps and priority weights and costs roughly 50g per pass, which is not a meaningful gold expenditure at this point in the expansion.

Arms / Fury Warrior

Hit (7.5% cap) > Expertise (7.5%) > Crit (Arms) or Hit > Expertise > Haste > Crit (Fury) > Mastery last for both.

Protection Warrior

Reach Hit and Expertise caps, then stack Haste to smooth rage generation. Mastery provides block value; Dodge and Parry via reforge from excess secondaries.

Balance Druid

Hit (15% cap) > Crit (soft cap Eclipse cycling) > Haste past Eclipse breakpoints > Mastery last. Eclipse mechanics make breakpoint math mandatory.

Feral Druid

Hit > Expertise > Crit > Haste > Mastery. The 4pc Tier 16 bonus alters energy pooling; Crit scales dramatically with set bonus in place.

Restoration Druid

Spirit to comfort > Haste breakpoints > Crit > Mastery. Haste at 3,721 or 6,652 breakpoints; choose based on mana profile for your specific encounter list.

BM / MM / SV Hunter

Hit (7.5%) > Expertise (rarely needed) > Crit (BM/MM) or Haste (SV) > Mastery. All three specs use Agility as their primary throughput stat.

Arcane / Fire / Frost Mage

Hit (15%) > Haste (Arcane breakpoints critical) > Crit (Fire pyro procs) > Mastery (Frost). All three specs diverge meaningfully at this tier.

Brewmaster Monk

Hit and Expertise caps mandatory for active mitigation uptime. Then Haste > Crit for Elusive Brew stacking. Mastery is passive avoidance; useful but not the priority.

Mistweaver Monk

Spirit (mana floor) > Haste breakpoints > Crit > Mastery. Haste at 3,585 for a meaningful Uplift breakpoint. The 4pc Tier 16 bonus warps the Renewing Mist priority significantly.

Windwalker Monk

Hit (7.5%) > Expertise (15% for Blackout Kick) > Crit > Haste > Mastery. Expertise soft cap at 15% is spec-defining; do not ignore it.

Holy / Ret / Prot Paladin

Holy: Haste > Crit > Mastery. Ret: Hit > Exp > Haste > Mastery. Prot: Hit cap > Exp cap > Haste > Mastery > Dodge/Parry as needed.

Shadow / Discipline / Holy Priest

Shadow: Hit (15%) > Crit > Mastery > Haste. Disc: Spirit > Haste > Crit > Mastery. Holy: Spirit > Haste breakpoints > Crit.

Assassination / Combat / Sub Rogue

Hit (7.5%) > Expertise (7.5%) > Haste (Assassination) or Crit (Combat, Sub) > Mastery varies by spec. Sub at this tier benefits from Crit > Mastery for Shadow Dance burst.

Elemental / Enhancement Shaman

Ele: Hit (15%) > Haste breakpoints > Crit > Mastery. Enh: Hit > Expertise (both caps) > Agility > Crit > Haste > Mastery.

Affliction / Demonology / Destruction Warlock

Hit (15%) mandatory for all three. Affliction: Haste > Crit > Mastery. Demo: Mastery > Haste > Crit. Destro: Crit > Haste > Mastery.

Blood / Frost / Unholy Death Knight

Blood: Hit/Exp caps > Haste > Mastery. Frost: Hit > Exp > Mastery (2H) or Haste (DW) > Crit. Unholy: Hit > Exp > Haste > Crit > Mastery.