Our gear search built this set from items you can get before the first raid opens and whose Forever stats are published: drops, quests, crafts, reputation and vendors. Spell damage drives it, Tailoring crafts fill four or five slots, and a Human wants a sword in the main hand. It averages item level 61.3.

Pre-raid gear

Every row shows the runner-up items for that slot and the DPS you would give up wearing them on this fight. A "level" entry means our runs can't tell the two items apart.

Weapons

Sageblade (94 spell damage, 1 % hit) comes from Blacksmithing and binds on equip, so the auction house is an option. For a Human it also switches on Sword Specialization's 2 % spell crit, which is why every Alliance set keeps it. Dropping to the next Alliance weapon loses 16.1 DPS.

In the off hand, Therazane's Touch and Tome of Shadow Force finish within the noise of each other on one boss, so wear either.

The Horde sets here keep the same sword and an off hand. The Destruction guide's Horde sets wear Ironbark Staff, a Defilers reward at Exalted with 94 spell damage and 2 % crit, enchanted with Mighty Spell Power for 55 more. Our search measured the staff for DS/Ruin only without that enchant, where it reads 13.1 DPS behind the sword on one boss for three minutes. Enchanted, it was worth 24 DPS more to a Troll with identical talents on the one-minute fight (benchmark of 12 October). If you are Horde, the enchanted staff is probably your weapon.

Trinkets

Talisman of Ascendance, a quest reward, does more for this set than any other single item: swapping it for the next trinket costs 24.9 DPS. After you use it, each of your next spells adds up to 40 spell damage, stacking five times, and it comes back every minute. In game it also ends after six spells, which our simulator doesn't count, so its lead is probably a little smaller.

Weakness Analyzer comes from Pix Xizzix. Only its spell damage is simulated: its on-use 5 % crit isn't, so it is worth more than the table shows.

Head, chest and legs

Deathmist Mask brings 1 % hit and 24 Intellect from a quest, and the next helm is 2.4 DPS behind. Robe of the Void is a warlock-only Tailoring craft that binds on pickup, so you have to make it yourself. Without it you lose 6.1 DPS.

Each faction buys its legs from a reputation quartermaster: Sentinel's Silk Leggings from the Silverwing Sentinels, Outrider's Silk Leggings from the Warsong Outriders. The next pair costs 3.8 DPS.

Feet, wand and rings

For the feet, Earthen Silk Slippers and Omnicast Boots finish within the noise of each other. Earthen Silk Slippers, a level-31 Tailoring craft with 24 spell damage, is the cheap one to get.

Brilliant Wand is an Enchanting craft that binds on pickup, and the next two wands are Enchanting crafts too, so this slot assumes you enchant. Our benchmark gives casters Tailoring and Engineering, and its gear search doesn't filter out other professions' crafts yet.

The rings are Brilliant Watcher's Signet, The Watchers' Exalted ring with 1 % crit, and Blessed Band of Light (sold by Pix Xizzix).

Enchants

• Head and legs: Arcanum of Focus. Each one adds 8 spell damage.
• Neck: Spell Power. Forever lets you enchant necklaces.
• Chest and feet: Mystic Rugged Armor Kit, which gives 40 armor alongside 6 spell damage.
• Wrist: Healing Power. Besides its healing it carries 8 spell damage.
• Hands: Minor Haste. Minor Haste, the pick on most fights, is listed as PTR only on Wowhead and may not be in the game at launch.
• Back and weapon: no enchant in these sets.

Consumables

Five consumables matter: Flask of Supreme Power (13.7 %), Elixir of Shadow Power (3.2 %), Greater Arcane Elixir (3.2 %), Major Mana Potion (1.8 %) and Demonic Rune (0.8 %). The flask is the biggest single buy in this guide: Forever's warlock spells do about half their Classic base damage, so more of every cast comes from spell power. We count the Shadow and the Arcane elixir together.

Cerebral Cortex Compound and Runn Tum Tuber Surprise add Intellect, worth 0.5 % and 0.3 %. Mageblood Elixir's mana regeneration adds 0.0 %. Rumsey Rum Black Label adds only Stamina. The Demonic Rune costs you health in game as well as giving mana. Our simulator charges none.