Gear in TBC Classic can be a challenge, but we have several tools to help you out.
- Best in Bags: find top-performing gear from all of the items in your bags (TBC tutorial)
- Upgrade Finder: identifies the best places to find better gear (TBC tutorial)
- Best in Slot: More than a static list, we offer a customizable tool that takes your talents and other preferences into account
- Worst in Bags: identifies gear you no longer need to keep around, so you can vendor or disenchant it (Tutorial for retail but is the same for TBC and Classic)
If you’re new to our website, keep reading for an overview of each of the features, followed by links for the full tutorials.
It’s also worth checking out “Tips to optimize TBC like a pro” – even if you are familiar with our features already. All tanks, healers, Warriors, Mages, and Rogues should definitely read it, as you all have special handling in the TBC optimizer.
Best in Bags: what’s best for me now?
If you’re new to best in bags, it’s a bit like Best in Slot, but using gear that you currently own.
“Back in the day, I built several of the spreadsheets that floated around on Elitist Jerks. Over the years, I’ve become addicted to the Best in Bags functionality. I feel it can be extremely useful in classic – especially if the recommendations change based on player talent choices and chosen roles.”
Response from our Classic survey
The Best in Bags tool looks at all of the items in your inventory and chooses a best set for you right now. It takes into account your race, talents, and any personal preferences you set.
Mr. Robot does this for all of your specs at once, favoring the best items for your primary spec then optimizing your off specs with the remaining items.
On the left is this player’s currently equipped gear. On the right are Mr. Robot’s suggestions:
- Swap out the level 88 wrist for the level 62 which has better stats (not something us humans would likely have caught, but this is why computers are great for gearing)
- Equip the level 115 legs over the level 88 because it has more stats
- Add gems and enchants
Sometimes trinkets and other items are more of a personal preference. If you want a specific item, you can lock it in and Mr. Robot will optimize around it. Click on any item in the list to select it and the lock icon will turn orange as shown above with Neltharion’s Tear.
This player also probably doesn’t have gems and enchants because they are still farming gear. Best in Bags can accommodate all sorts of personal preferences in the setup step. If this player doesn’t want enchants, they could set the “Enchant Quality” filter to None as shown below. Mr. Robot will keep any enchants you have (removing them would be silly), but he won’t add any new ones.
Once you are happy with your Best in Bags gear recommendations, you can export it to our addon. Get a more in-depth walkthrough for all of these features on Best in Bags tutorial for TBC Classic.
Important note: Warriors, rogues, mages, and all tanks and healer roles should read our Tips to optimize for Classic like a pro. Warriors are handled in a special way because you can tank in almost any ‘spec.’ All tanks get a ‘toughness’ control. Healers get special customizations as well. Rogues and mages are also a bit special.
Upgrade Finder: where can I find better gear?
The feature does exactly what you’re thinking: it tells you where to find upgrades around the vast world of Warcraft. You can search several sources from PvP rewards to crafted items to boss loot from dungeons and raids.
Below is an example of what results might look like for a search across all dungeons.
Get the full Upgrade Finder Tutorial.
TBC Classic Best in Slot Tool
You can find any number of BiS lists for TBC. We have one too, and it is completely customizable.
“Isn’t BiS simple though, there’s just one list?” Glad you asked – yes and no! Yes, a list can be mathematically determined. But what’s best changes as you deviate from the assumptions used to make a static list, for example:
- What if you have off-meta talents?
- What if you don’t have all of the raid buffs?
- What fight length was used to determine the best items?
- What is BiS for the current phase?
Below are the filters we let you set to generate a BiS list tailored to you. It also automatically takes your talents into account (which you can also change).
As you can see, our Best in Slot list isn’t a static list, it’s a tool. Customize it how you want and Mr. Robot will tell you the best gear to get.
Worst in Bags: reclaim some space
Warcraft has added a lot of nice things to help us manage our inventory throughout the expansions. So going back to TBC in Warcraft makes inventory management much more important.
“Bag space is more limited in Classic. I need to know what works best so I can toss/sell/DE the rest.”
Response from our Classic survey
The Worst in Bags feature is here to help: Mr. Robot identifies items you don’t need so you can safely disenchant or vendor them.
You can customize the aggressiveness of this list with options like “guaranteed to be junk” which finds exact duplicates that you aren’t using, or “very likely junk” which looks for items that are lower iLevel and not ranking well.
Learn more on the Worst in Bags detailed writeup.
Get the TBC Classic Upgrade
You can start using TBC Classic with a free 1-week trial (no credit card required). If you like it, and we hope you do, you can upgrade with the $10 one-time Classic Upgrade payment.
Classic, TBC, and Retail are covered by the same subscription ($12 a year, or $2 a month). So if you are already a subscriber, you just need to make the $10 one-time payment.
The TBC Upgrade lasts a lifetime. This means if you cancel your subscription, if you later re-subscribe, you still have access to TBC. You will not have to pay the $10 TBC Upgrade fee again. Below is a screenshot of how your account’s billing page would look if you had a monthly subscription and paid for the TBC Classic Upgrade.
I wrote a blog post that talks about the process of making Classic and the decisions behind the pricing for those of you who are curious.