Lakini's guide on gearing your balance/resto druid in ICC

Raiding ICC as both resto and balance has been challenging on the gear front.  I want to make sure that I can do great dps and be capable of filling any healing roll needed.  I have made a balance and resto gear list.  It isn't perfect or meant to be taken as the "Bible" on what gear to get, it's just my list.  This is all available to you if you raid 10 man ICC long enough and can handle spending honor and or gold on gear for pve

List Balance

Helm Lasherweave Cover
Neck Soulcleave Pendant
Shoulders Lasherweave Mantle
Cloak Volde's Cloak of the Night Sky
Chest Lasherweave Vestment
Bracer Bejeweled Wizard's Bracers or Wrists of Septic Shock
Weapon Tel'thas, Dagger of the Blood King, Scourgelord's Baton
Idol Idol of the Lunar Eclipse
Gloves Lasherweave Gloves
Belt Belt of Petrified Ivy
Pants Lasherweave Trousers
Boots Boots of the Frozen Seed
Rings Ashen Band of Endless Destruction/Cerise Coiled Ring
Trinkets Muradin's Spyglass/Whatever you can outside of toc 10

The dps really is pretty self explaintory, you'll have 250 hit, use a +20 hit gem to reach the cap.  Use ONLY 2 blue gems for the meta, stamina spell, or spirit spell, really doesn't matter which.   Red slots use 23 spell power, yellow get 12 spell, 10 crit if the set bonus is worth it and like I said you'll need one hit gem.

Resto

Helm Thaumaturge's Crackling Cowl
Neck Soulcleave Pendant/Choker of Filthy Diamonds
Shoulders Shoulderpads of the Searing Kiss
Cloak Wrathful Gladiator's Cloak of Subjugation or Heartsick Mender's Cape
Chest Vestments of Spruce and Fir
Bracer Bejeweled Wizard's Bracers
Weapon Halion, Staff of Forgotten Love
Idol Idol of the Black Willow
Gloves Lasherweave Gauntlets
Belt Belt of Petrified Ivy
Pants Lasherweave Legplates
Boots Boots of the Frozen Seed or Blessed Cenarion Boots
Rings Ashen Band of Endless Destruction/Signet of Putrefaction
Trinkets Sliver of Pure Ice/Purified Lunar Dust

The resto set is a bit more complicated.  I don't see the four piece set bonus which isn't very good as a reason to pick up poorly itemized gear.  This set should take celestial focus out of your spec unless you have zero haste buffs in your group.  Well, it should put you close enough with buffs that you can socket your way out of it.  This is made with a dps first mind set as far the ring goes.  If you are more attached to your healing ring, switch in Ether-Soaked Bracers into your dps set and find another spot for a 12 spell 10 hit gem.

I made a post earlier stating I was going to stop spending emblems on my balance gear to focus on my resto gear.  I have discovered this is a pretty bad way to go about it.  So IF you are counted on to dps on progression I think you should buy the balance gear first even if you are main spec resto.  Maybe it's just the balance druid in me, and I'm biased.  The set bonuses for balance are very good, the ones for resto are not.  The itemization for balance tier 10 is pretty much perfect, two of the five resto pieces are very good the other three are not.  I will never have 5/5 tier 10 resto, even if I was never going to dps again I wouldn't buy them.

Aside for them set bonus thing, gear for resto drops that is equivalent to tier gear, having that gear drop after buying resto tier 10 while rocking your 232 balance gear fails.  I was going to pick up my tier 10 resto pants instead of my tier 10 balance helm, but decided there is no other way to get the helm.  Tier pants drop from voa and there are the pants off of Saurfang that are just as good.  Saurfang dropped the pants (not his pants) two weeks later.

What your "main" spec isn't relevant.  If you are switching roles on progression bosses and your offspec gear/spec/gems enchants are fail you are doing a disservice to the other raiders.  I know those lazy mages and rogues don't have to spend the gold to keep up different sets of gear, but that's why they sit when you have 11 or 12 raiders they are expendable, no offense.

I'm not going to give a specific order to spend badges on, there are too many variables that go into it.  Just remember that tier gloves and pants drop in voa, you probably won't replace ilevel 264 badge gear.  Spirit crit items are fail for resto, but decent for balance and Maghia's Misguided Quill is fail for everyone. So there you go, not much in the way of sarcasm and pictures, but that's how these things go.  Maybe if I can find away to hide identities I'll grab random moonkins off the armory and mock and ridicule their gear choices, people love that.  That's all.