I've been getting an extraordinary number of requests to update our older posts on how to spec and gear a fresh bear, cat and tree at 80. At this point in Wrath, the information should stay fairly accurate through the end of the expansion, and I agree that this would be a great time to do it. For the next few weeks, we'll examine how to get a new feral or restoration druid into fighting shape.

When we first started out, I split gear into categories like best drop, best reputation piece, best quest piece, etc., and I don't think it's necessary to do that anymore. It's so much easier to get high-quality gear by running dungeons or hunting around for some crafted drops or PvP pieces. In particular, it needs to be said that a lot of really good bear pieces can be had from PvP. If you've got a pile of Stone Keeper's Shards lying around (and many players do at this point), buy Wintergrasp Commendations with them when your faction has Wintergrasp, convert them to honor on your druid, and voila -- you've got currency for some ridiculously good pieces.

 
A few notes before we start:

• I'm assuming you don't have access to ICC-10 or -25, at least not on a regular basis. For all I know, maybe you play on a realm where bored players are pugging heroic Lich King-25, but that's not the situation most bears new to 80 will be in. When it comes to pugging raids, tanks tend to be subjected to more scrutiny than other players, and it's my assumption that you are interested in gearing a bear in order to tank rather than looking for pieces relevant to content you're already doing.
• I'm assuming you probably have access to Onyxia, Vault of Archavon and (maybe) some ToC. Most servers have PUGs running this content fairly regularly (if not, start one!). Trial of the Crusader is a sticky wicket, but after waffling over my "Must not assume they're raiding! Must not assume they're raiding!" rule, I've compromised and listed the ilevel 245, tier 9 pieces available if you get your hands on a Trophy of the Crusade. With many players upgrading to tier 10 right now, there is much less competition for these.
• I'm not assuming you're an arena star: Everyone can get Relentless and Furious gear these days with a little elbow grease, but Wrathful set pieces still require an arena rating to get, so screw that.
• This is not a comprehensive list. There are a lot of PvP pieces here, but I've listed only the Furious or above pieces. I think it's a waste of time to grind honor toward anything below that. I've also eliminated most of the pieces we've previously covered in our February 2009 guide to bear gear. You may want to take a look at that if you're still leveling your bear (it'll give you some tips on good reputation pieces and quest rewards), but otherwise I consider much of the information obsolete ("I never look back, darling; it distracts from the now." -- Edna Mode).
• I am a huge cheapskate. I've pointed out alternatives to the more expensive choices where possible. The only exception to this is the weapon slot, which is problematic if you don't or can't raid. If you're going to drop money anywhere, make it here and/or the boot and chest slots.
• For anyone without a very good Emblem of Frost income who wants to prioritize the order in which they get their pieces, I would buy the cloak first (you won't replace it until well into Cataclysm), then the idol, and then the gloves, legs, helm and shoulders. If you're running Vault of Archavon every week, you may want to buy the head and shoulders first, as Toravon has a chance to drop the gloves and legs.

A note on set bonuses

As with just about any tier of content you could name, non-set pieces may be better than their tier-set counterparts on an individual basis. A lot of the attraction of a tier piece lies in how good the corresponding set bonuses are. Tier 10 bonuses for bears are very, very good; the four-piece is essentially an additional Barkskin every minute, and the two-piece is a meaty damage boost to both single-target and AoE threat. I highly recommend getting the four-piece when you can and using an Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder for the chest.

By contrast, tier 9 is take-it-or-leave-it territory, especially if you only have access to the ilevel 232 version. The four-piece bonus to Barkskin is nice if you find yourself tanking for any PUG raids at all, but that's really about it. Don't bother gearing around retaining it.

No matter what you do, if you have any combination of the following, you should consider yourself well geared.

 Helm

To be frank, there aren't a lot of outstanding options in this slot outside of raids. Fortunately, every option allows you to socket a meta gem, and the top six options are relatively close to each other.

Enchant: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector (requires Argent Crusade revered)

Meta Gem: Austere Earthsiege Diamond

• Lasherweave Headguard: Available for 95 Emblems of Frost.
• Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Helm: Available for 95 Emblems of Frost or 13,200 honor and 770 arena points.
• Runetotem's Headguard of Triumph/Malfurion's Headguard of Triumph: The ilevel 245, tier 9 head available for 75 Emblems of Triumph and 1 Trophy of the Crusade.
• Stormrage Coverlet: Dropped by Onyxia-25.
• Hood of Lethal Intent/Mask of Lethal Intent: The ilevel 245 non-set melee leather helm available for 75 Emblems of Triumph.
• Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Helm: Available for 75 Emblems of Triumph or 54,500 honor.
• Malfurion's Headguard of Triumph (Alliance)/Runetotem's Headguard of Triumph (Horde): The ilevel 232, tier 9 helm available for 50 Emblems of Triumph.
• Stormrage Helm: Dropped by Onyxia-10.
• Frayed Scoundrel's Cap: Dropped by Devourer of Souls in heroic Forge of Souls.
• Mask of Distant Memory: Dropped by the Black Knight in heroic Trial of the Champion.

Neck

I was surprised to discover just how empty this slot still is; all of the really worthwhile stuff comes from raid. Actually, for the top pick, that's still kinda true.

• Wodin's Lucky Necklace: A BoE drop from ICC-25, but availability varies by realm. A raiding guild that's been in ICC for a while is probably sick of seeing these things drop, so just shop around.
• Eskhandar's Links: Dropped by Onyxia-25. Both this and the 10-man version have some nice +expertise, which can be tough for bears to get.
• Eskhandar's Choker: Dropped by Onyxia-10.
• Shard of the Crystal Forest: Available for 19 Emblems of Conquest.
• Titanium Earthguard Chain: Jewelcrafting BoE.
• Sparkling Onyxia Tooth Pendant: Available from the questline started by the Head of Onyxia drop from (where else?) Onyxia.

Shoulders

Assuming you can get an Ikfirus' Sack of Wonder (see below), you'll want to buy the tier shoulders eventually in the interests of rocking four-piece tier 10. However, until that point, the Titan-Forged shoulders are an excellent choice.

Enchant: You have a few different options here. The classic tanking choice would be Greater Inscription of the Pinnacle from Sons of Hodir exalted (or, if you're a scribe, Master's Inscription of the Pinnacle), but if you prefer more health, you can use Greater Inscription of the Gladiator (available for 10,000 honor).

If you want to go for a more offensively-oriented enchant, use Greater Inscription of the Axe from Sons of Hodir exalted (or Master's Inscription of the Axe for scribes).

• Titan-Forged Spaulders of Triumph: Available for 40 Wintergrasp Marks of Honor. A really impressive piece, and pretty close to the ToGC-25 heroic tier shoulders, and even the ICC-10H shoulders.
• Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders: Available for 60 Emblems of Frost or 10,550 honor and 600 arena points.
• Lasherweave Shoulderpads: Available for 60 Emblems of Frost.
• Duskstalker Pauldrons (Alliance)/Duskstalker Shoulderpads (Horde): The ilevel 245, non-set melee leather shoulders available for 45 Emblems of Triumph.
• Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Triumph (Alliance)/Runetotem's Shoulderpads of Triumph (Horde): The ilevel 245, tier 9 shoulders available for 45 Emblems of Triumph and 1 Trophy of the Crusade.
• Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Spaulders: Available for 50 Emblems of Triumph or 34,700 honor.
• Malfurion's Shoulderpads of Conquest (Alliance)/Runetotem's Shoulderpads of Conquest (Horde): The ilevel 232, tier 9 shoulders available for 30 Emblems of Triumph.
• Spaulders of Black Betrayal: Dropped by Falric in heroic Halls of Reflection.

Cloak

This slot's a little on the odd side. The bear's best-in-slot piece is available for Frost badges (and second best-in-slot, as well) -- and then after that, it's a damn long drop to number three unless you have options from raids.

Enchant: Enchant Cloak -- Major Agility. If you're an engineer, you'll want a Flexweave Underlay here.

• Sentinel's Winter Cloak: Available for 50 Emblems of Frost. Armor, baby, armor! This is the best cloak in the game for bears, period. Get this and wear it with pride.
• Recovered Scarlet Onslaught Cape: Available for 50 Emblems of Frost. Yes, this would be the melee DPS frost emblem cloak. While the Sentinel's Cloak is waaaaaaay ahead, I will grudgingly allow you to buy this, slap an agility enchant on it, and use it as both a hybrid bear/cat cloak if your Frost emblem income is on the smallish side.
• Titan-Forged Cloak of Victory: Available for 25 Wintergrasp Marks of Honor. What makes this ilevel 245 piece better than the 264 Wrathful piece below? See that socket?
• Wrathful Gladiator's Cloak of Victory: Available for 52,200 honor.
• Wrathful Gladiator's Cloak of Triumph: This one exchanges the Victory cloak's +hit for +crit. If you're already close to or over the +hit cap (263 hit), get this instead of VIctory.
• Gale-Proof Cloak: If you can find a PUG bum-rushing a Sarth-10 3D kill, this is a good (albeit early) piece.
• Platinum Mesh Cloak: Available for 25 Emblems of Valor.
• Eerie Runeblade Polisher: If all else fails, you can try for this zone drop from normal Halls of Reflection, but the +parry on it is obviously wasted on a bear.

Chest

Don't buy the tier chest piece. It's not that it's a bad piece, but the non-set pieces are just so friggin' wonderful that the tier piece is a waste of emblems.

Enchant: Enchant Chest -- Powerful Stats.

• Ikfirus' Sack of Wonder: This is amazing. It's a BoE drop from the easiest "boss" in ICC-25, Faction Gunships. The odds of finding a druid or rogue from another raid willing to sell this to you are small, but try for it anyway. Incidentally, the heroic version is best in slot (and thus naturally refuses to drop for me). Bribe everyone on your server, break hearts, punt gnomes, do whatever you have to do, but get one.
• Shadow Seeker's Tunic: Available for 95 Emblems of Frost. Ikfirus has definitely gotten more press than the badge piece, but that's got a lot to do with the scarcity of +hit and particularly +expertise on Icecrown leather. In the interests of full disclosure, Shadow Seeker's is ever so slightly better than the ilevel 264 Ikfirus if you compare the two in a vacuum, but you'll almost certainly still want the latter if for no other reason than getting closer to the hard +expertise cap (56).
• Lasherweave Raiment: Why are you looking at this? You're wasting valuable time that could be spent getting a Sack! It's available for 95 Emblems of Frost if you insist on buying it, but I will be very disappointed in you if you do.
• Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Robes: Available for 95 Emblems of Frost or 13,200 honor and 770 arena points. Gee, that sounds like a lot of trouble to go farm up. Why don't you go buy a Sack?
• Knightbane Carapace (Alliance)/Knightbane Carapace (Horde): Leatherworking BoE from tier 9. It's quite good, but still pretty expensive to have made. If I were you, I'd put your money toward a Sack.
• Malfurion's Raiments of Triumph (Alliance)/Runetotem's Raiments of Triumph (Horde): The ilevel 245, tier 9 chest, and I am extremely put out that you are sill here reading this instead of going out and getting a Sack.
• Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Robes: Available for 75 Emblems of Triumph or 54,500 honor. Sackety-sack sack.
• Malfurion's Raiments of Conquest (Alliance)/Runetotem's Raiments of Conquest (Horde): The ilevel 232, tier 9 chest, available for 50 Emblems of Triumph. Saaaaaaaaaaaack.
• Choking Hauberk: Drops from Marwyn in heroic Halls of Reflection. While you're killing him, ask him if he knows anyone with a Sack to sell.
• Blackened Geist Ribs: Drops from the Captain's Chest in normal Halls of Reflection, and WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE INSTEAD OF AT YOUR SERVER'S AUCTION HOUSE?

Bracers

There aren't a lot of compelling pieces in this slot, but fortunately the really good pieces are all fairly easy to get.

Enchant: Enchant Bracers -- Major Stamina. If you're a leatherworker, use Fur Lining -- Stamina.

• Toskk's Maximized Wristguards: I'm going to break my self-imposed rule concerning raid loot to point these out. They're named for the player who pioneered Toskk's DPS gear method for feral druids. They drop from Deathbringer Saurfang-25 (the heroic version is best-in-slot for bears ... and, judging from the number of rolls I see, everyone else too), and because a lot of PUGs do make it that far (and because they honor a famous druid player), I really wanted to note that here. On a somewhat uglier note, be prepared for a lot of competition.
• Wrathful Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph: A really fantastic PvP piece that's within a whisper of Toskk's. It'll run you 43,400 honor.
• Bracers of Swift Death (Alliance)/Bracers of Swift Death (Horde): These are a lot cheaper than they used to be, but if gold is a problem, just farm up the honor for the Wrathful bracers.
• Chewed Leather Wristguards: Drops from Ick and Krick in heroic Pit of Saron. Good for a pinch, but they are far below the quality of the above three pieces.

Gloves

I would ordinarily recommend making the gloves the first tier 10 piece you buy, but both the gloves and the legs have a chance to drop off Toravon. I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law, so I'm a little ambivalent over recommending that you dump badges into a piece that may very well drop off your weekly VoA run. This one's up to you.

Enchant: Enchant Gloves -- Major Agility, or Reticulated Armor Webbing if you're an engineer.

• Cat Burglar's Grips: Available for 60 Emblems of Frost, but don't bother. Buy the tier instead.
• Lasherweave Handgrips: The tier gloves are really lovely. Available for 60 Emblems of Frost, or (more rarely) dropped by Toravon.
• Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves: Dropped by Koralon and Toravon, and also available for 60 Emblems of Frost or 8,000 honor and 440 arena points.
• Malfurion's Handgrips of Triumph (Alliance)/Runetotem's Handggrips of Triumph (Horde): The ilevel 245, tier 9 gloves, available for 45 Emblems of Triumph and 1 Trophy of the Crusade.
• Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Gloves: Dropped by Emalon and Koralon, and also available for 50 Emblems of Triumph or 43,300 honor.
• Malfurion's Handgrips of Conquest (Alliance)/Runetotem's Handgrips of Conquest (Horde): The ilevel 232, tier 9 gloves, available for 30 Emblems of Triumph.
• Gloves of the Argent Fanatic: Drops from Eadric/Argent Confessor's cache (i.e. second boss) in normal Trial of the Champion.
• Carpal Tunnelers: Frankly, these aren't that great for a bear, but they'll tide you over until you get something better. Drops from Marwyn in normal Halls of Reflection.

Belt

Another slot with a PvP piece playing a starring role!

Enchant: Not an enchant as such, but you'll want an Eternal Belt Buckle.

• Vengeful Noose: Available for 60 Emblems of Frost. This is another piece I would really hesitate to drop the badges on, however. The Wrathful belt is pretty close to them.
• Relentless Gladiator's Belt of Triumph: Yep, folks, this isn't that far off either. Drops from Koralon and Toravon, or available for 34,100 honor. Honestly, I'd just farm toward the Wrathful belt.
• Death-warmed Belt: Leatherworking BoE.
• Belt of the Twilight Assassin: Available for 28 Emblems of Conquest.
• Flayer's Black Belt: Drops from Forgemaster Garfrost in normal Pit of Saron.

Legs

As stated earlier, these have a chance to drop off Toravon, and so I'm a little antsy over recommending that you run out and buy them with your Frost Emblems as a result. However, the tier 10 legs are also very good, so if they drop off Toravon the week after you dump 95 badges into them, try not to scream.

Enchant: Frosthide Leg Armor.

• Bladeborn Leggings: Leatherworking BoE. Better as an individual piece than the ilevel 251 tier legs, but hellishly expensive to have made. And you do have an Ikfirus, right? Just buy the tier.
• Lasherweave Legguards: Available for 95 Emblems of Frost.
• Relentless Gladiator's Dragonhide Legguards: Dropped by Koralon and Toravon, or available for 95 Emblems of Frost or 13,200 honor and 770 arena points.
• Malfurion's Leggings of Triumph (Alliance)/Runetotem's Legguards of Triumph (Horde): The ilevel 245, tier 9 legs, available for 75 Emblems of Triumph and 1 Trophy of the Crusade.
• Titan-Forged Leather Legguards of Triumph: Available for 40 Wintergrasp Marks of Honor.
• Furious Gladiator's Dragonhide Legguards: Dropped by Emalon and Koralon, or available for 75 Emblems of Triumph or 34,700 honor.
• Malfurion's Legguards of Conquest (Alliance)/Runetotem's Legguards of Conquest (Horde): Available for 40 Emblems of Triumph.
• Leggings of Wavering Shadow: Available for 39 Emblems of Conquest.
• Fleshwerk Leggings: Drops from Scourgelord Tyrannus in heroic Pit of Saron.