Where dat gear come from.......

So you have reached 80 and you want some awesome gear.

You also notice the two achievements Blizzard has in place -
Superior - Item level 187 or higher
Epix - Item level 213 or higher

So what is this item level? Item level is an internal number Blizzard assigns to gear.
The higher item level more things they have put into that piece of gear. Each stat, each number on the gear contributes to the item level.

Misconception - Epixs are better than blues. This is not always the case. Many of the blues are item level 200 and they are just as good as Epix counterparts that are the same item level.

Ok, so where does all this stuff come from?

Item Level 187 - Normal Instances that are level 78-80 drop this level gear as well as getting Honored with many factions you can purchase this level gear. There are also crafted pieces that are this item level.

Item Level 200 (Blue and Epix) - This gear drops in Heroic Mode of all the Northrend instances, with one Epix (200) dropping off the final boss. Exalted rep with factions can get you an Epix (200) item as well as crafters can create a few pieces as well. Next there are the Emblem of Heroism Tokens that can purchase this level of Epix gear. Then there is the 10 man Normal difficulty level of raids on Nax (all but the last boss) and Obsidian Sanctum. The pvp raid 10 man, Vault of Archavon, has a chance at dropping the PVE set pieces that are item level 200 and the pvp sets. These are all the locations you can get this level item of gear. Oh and their are some BOE world drops as well. Oh and back to the Emblems, all normal 5 man instances on heroic mode, the bosses drop the Emblems. All 10 man versions of the raids, the bosses drop them as well.

Item Level 213 (Epix) - Ok, now we are talking the better epixs, but not the best, but where do we get on hands on these? First, there are a small subset of crafted pieces that resist gear. Next there are a few BOE items you can get on the AH. Ok, on to raids - the Final boss, Kel'Thuzad, in Normal 10 man Nax drops item level 213 epix gear. The 10 man Eye of Eternity raid drops 213 epix level gear. The Obsidian Sanctum with 2 drakes up drops 1 epix 213 piece of gear. Nax (Heroic) 25 man raid drops item level 213 gear. The Vault of Archavon in heroic 25 man mode drops the pve tier pieces and pvp gear that is 213. Next, you can buy gear using the Emblem of Valor. These drop in all the 25 man raids right now.

Tier 7 and 7.5 - Ok, here is something to consider - T7 is item level 200 and is called Heroism and goes with the Emblem of Heroism. T7.5 is item level 213 and is called Valorous and goes with the Emblems of Valor.... go figure... But wait, there is a better level yet. Item level 226 which goes beyond the Valor.

Item level 226 - This is beyond the epix achievement. This gear drops in the following places -
25 Man Nax, Final Boss, Good Old KT. Eye of Eternity 25 Man. 2 Drakes up in Obsidian Sanctum 25 man.

What is Uldar bringing?

Here is my guess - 10 Man will be item level 213 Valor based. 25 man will be item level 226 and they will introduce a new Emblem and T8. They may make the 10 Man a new item level like 216 or something with 2 new Emblems. Hard to say.

So the question, where does that gear come from? Item level 200, Heroics 5 mans, rep, and the occiasional piece in Nax 10. This will get you your Superior achievement. If you have the Superier Achievement and the majority of the pieces are item level 200 (Blue or Epix), you are set for the 25 man content to get the 213 gear.

** Mod Spotlight **
Rating Buster
This Mod provides more information in the tooltips that allow you to compare gear. It even lists the internal Item Level of the gear! Looks like a great mod to go with this post.