What's in your Pants (WOTLK Style)? -and- Is that a Giant Bug on your Back?

It's time to revisit one of my favorite posts from last year (and to add to it another shortish topic). With the new expansion we have even more exciting things to put into our pants. Let's talk about the new leg armors and spellthreads we have with Wrath.

Leg Permanent Enchants

Tailoring

In the tailoring arena, we have four new spellthreads. Each of these create items that can be sold or traded and can be applied by anyone (of appropriate level). The first two are taught by any tailoring trainer in Northrend. The others require reputation.

1. Shining Spellthread This requires tailoring of 385 to learn from any tailoring trainer. This looks like the healer (or shadowpriest) variety of spellthread.
2. Azure Spellthread This requires tailoring of 395 to learn from any tailoring trainer. To me, this appears as the offensive caster variety.
3. Brilliant Spellthread This requires tailoring of  430. But that's not the tough part. It also requires exalted faction with the Argent Crusade. Better wear a tabard if you want to make this.
4. Sapphire Spellthread This spellthread also requires tailoring of 430. It's the "grown up" version of the Azure Spellthread. Best yet, it requires exalted faction with the Kirin Tor. Again, a tabard is in order.

Leatherworking

In leatherworking, we also have four new leg armors (actually six if you count the armor kits that can go on legs). Again, these armors can be used by anyone and freely traded and sold. Don't try to use these to "twink" low level characters those. These can only be applied to your own pants. If they are applied by a generous high level character to an non-soulbound item, the item will become bound to the applier.

1. Nerubian Leg Armor This requires 400 leatherworking to make and is available at all Northrend trainers. This is preferable to the tanking types.
2. Jormungar Leg Armor Just five points higher in leatherworking and still available at all trainers. This is the one for melee damage classes (and hunters).
3. Frosthide Leg Armor This is the "grown up" version of the Nerubian Leg Armor. It requires 425 leatherworking and is available at all Northrend Trainers. Unlike the better spellthreads which require faction to obtain the recipe, these do not. However, this (and the next) leg armor requires level 80 to apply. The exalted tailoring spellthreads only require level 70.
4. Icescale Leg Armor This is the better version of the Jormungar Leg Armor. It also requires 425 leatherworking to make with the pattern freely available at Northrend trainers
5. Borean Armor Kit This can be applied to chest, legs, hands or feet slots and so technically is a leg enchant. It takes only 350 leatherworking to make.
6. Heavy Borean Armor Kit This is the better version of the Borean Armor Kit above. It takes 375 leatherworking to make.

Back Permanent Enchants

These enchantments can only be applied to the tailors own cloak. I guess this is the parallel to enchanters being able to enchant their own rings (but no one else's). They each require a tailoring of 420. I'm really feeling like Blizzard missed the boat on at least one of these (potentially all of them). You'll see what I mean as we explore them.

1. Darkglow Embroidery This emboridery has a chance to restore 300 mana on spellcast
2. Lightweave Embroidery This embroidery has a chance to inflict 1000-1200 holy damange when you damage an enemy with a spell.
3. Swordguard Embroidery This embroidery has a chance to increase your attack power by 300 for 15 seconds when you do damage with a melee attack.

First of all, these embroideries do not stack with regular cloak enchants. Applying them will overwrite the enchant you do have on there (spell haste, protection, subtlety, etc.). In my opinion, the regular cloak enchants are superior to these rather lackluster abilities. At least the first two fit with the classes that tend to level tailoring however (clothies). I can't think of many reasons for someone who deals mainly melee damage (warriors, protection and retribution paladins, enhancement shamans, rogues and deathknights) to level tailoring. Granted, a tailor of any class can always make bags and now can craft a flying carpet. The swordguard embroidery seems rather substandard as a tailor-only perk for them.

Tailoring Recipe Drops

Time for another installment of trade-skill drop locations. This time, we're going to address the bind-on-pickup recipes for tailoring. For each of the other installments, we've addressed the instance or non-instance portion of the drops.

For tailoring, the non-instance part is easy. There is ONE bind-on-pickup tailoring pattern outside of an instance. That is the casters around Manaforge Coruu who drop the pattern for the Spellfire Bag. This is the enchanting specific bag.

And that's it for the non-instances.

Instance Drops

Blizzard looked kindly on the tailors as far as instances go. Without discussing twenty-five man raids, there are over a dozen patterns scattered out there-all with drop rates around 1%. Here they are, broken down by instance.

The Steamvaults

• Warlord Kalithresh drops the pattern for the Battlecast Hood.
  

Shattered Halls

• Grand Warlock Netherkurse drops the Spellstrike Hood pattern.
  

Shadow Labyrinth

• The final boss, Murmur, drops the pattern for the Spellstrike Pants.
  

Botanica

• Thorngrin the Tender, the third boss, drops the pattern for Battlecast Pants.
• Warp Splinter, the final boss, drops the pattern for the Whitemend Hood.
  

The Arcatraz

• Dalliah the Doomsayer, either the second or third boss depending on which you do first, drops the Whitemend Pants pattern.
• Arcatraz Sentinels (there are several) can drop the pattern for the Arcanoweave Bracers.
  

The Mechanar

• Pathaleon the Calculator, the final boss, drops the pattern for Araanoweave Robe.
• The Arcanoweave Boots pattern can be dropped by Sunseeker Astromages, of which there are several.
  

Magister's Terrace

• Kael'thas Sunstrider can drop the pattern for the Unyielding Girdle.
• Unyielding Bracers pattern, which matches the girdle above, is also dropped by Kael'thas.
  

Karazhan

• Phantom Valets can drop the pattern for the Soulcloth Vest.
• The matching Soulcloth Shoulders recipe is dropped by Phantom Attendants.

Sunwell Plateau

• Trash mobs in Sunwell Plateau drop the pattern for Sunfire Robes. (thanks for the correction in comments)
  

So, if you tailors out there are missing key BOP patterns, don't waste much time in the wide world; crawl into the dungeons instead. There are quite a few patterns to check off your list, and at such low droprates, you're going to be spending a lot of time in there if you want to collect them all.