Rep Rewards

So you are affliction speced and you're looking to see what rep you should grind to make sure you have access to some of the sweetest goodness in the game? Well, unfortunately, most of the best Affliction lock gear is going to be quested or drops in instances/raids. Remember that as an affliction lock, +spell crit does very little for us because most of our dps is coming from DOT which will NOT crit. So, you need +spell dmg gear. Your other two primary stats to look for are +stam and then +int. Remember that Health = Mana for us... (thank you bliz for not changing that around), so the more stam we can build, the more casting time we have thanks to life tap. So, with that said, let's look at what there is by way of gear for us Afflic. lockies in the wide world of rep:

Top of the List

Okay, these items might actually be worth the LONG, (and for the most part we are talking exalted rewards here), rep grinds that they require to get... but some seriously sweet items can be had if you are willing to work for it. And here I'm talking about endgame stuff for the most part.

Honor Hold (exalted) - Blade of the Archmage [sword] -- Incredible spell damage bonus for a single-handed weapon. At +159 spell damage, this thing seriously brings the pain. Most of the Blue quality, but nice staffs that you'll get will only get you +120 spell damage, so this thing is nice. So... why don't more warlocks have them? Because the only way you are getting to exalted is by running shattered halls... again, and again.. and again... That's why.

The Consortium (exalted) - Nether Runner's Cowl [head] -- That's a LOT of stam and a LOT of intel. It has a place for a meta and a yellow and gives you +4 spell damage with the socket bonus. You'll probably find better out there if you are taking the time to get up to exalted with consortium, but fortunately, there's lots of quests and things you can do to make this happen. So, might be worth it if you don't have a group to go instancing with and you don't want to PvP. Because those are some crazy head pieces there my brother.

Ogri'la (exalted) - Crystal Orb of Enlightenment [off-hand] -- Nice. Stam and Int. Our fav. Plus it has spell damage. Let's just say you put this up with your new and shiny Blade of the Archmage. Throw on the +40 spell damage enchant on your main weapon and lookie, lookie: 232 spell damage from JUST YOUR WEAPONS! OMFG WTF BBQ?!?!

Shattered Sun Offensive (exalted) - Shattered Sun Pendant of Acumen [neck] -- It's a pretty nice pendant. And for all those 70s who've been doing the dailies like it's their job. Or wishing it was their job so they didn't have to go to their real one, this is a nice'un. the +37 spell damage brings our Archmage/Orb combo up to +269. Wow... we're really making it happen. For the record, I have no idea what it means to call down the power of the arcane. Anyone? Ideas?

Scryer (exalted) - Seer's Signet [ring] -- This is the ring that makes me wish I went Scryer. I think about it a lot actually. It's alright though. I'll get all the rewards and then just basilisk my way back the other way... yeah right. It's a fantastic lock ring. All stam and +34 spell damage. We like it! Orb+Blade+Acumen+Signet now equal = 303. That's not bad from rep only. (of course, was the grind really worth getting exalted in all four of those factions?)

Cenarion Expedition (exalted) - Ashyen's Gift [ring] -- Dude... That's a pretty nice ring. +30 stam and +21 spell hit, +23 spell dmg. I dig it. This is a nice compliment to the Seer's Signet if you went Scryer or a nice consolation if you missed out on that.

Sha'tar (revered) - Glyph of Power [head enchant] -- Mmmm. Head enchant with spell damage. That's what we're talking about. + Spell Hit too, which is that elusive stat that no one ever remembers to stack until they find it on something they liked for another reason. This is a good one to work towards, especially when you consider your other options.

Shattered Sun Offensive [SSO] (revered) - Archmage's Guile [sword] -- This is a nicer version of the sword below with a sweet +130 spell damage. Grind, grind, grind and get those daily quests in. This sword will be yours! The stam is less than the below Keeper's sword, but you also have the +crit on this one. It's certainly not a bad choice by any means.

Keepers of Time (revered) - Continuum Blade [sword] -- This is definitely something you can and should get. The sword + off-hand combo is almost always better for the Afflic. lock, and this one is pretty easily accessible with a few CoT and BM runs under your belt. You'll also snag some nice gear by doing the instances anyway. Do it! +121 spell damage is what you are getting from most blue staves, and that's without an off-hand. The +hit instead of crit on this sword makes it a nice option for locks as opposed to the above sword, plus the considerably more substantial +stam. You might find yourself making a choice here. Which instances do you like running more?

Good to work towards along the way

There are some items that really are nice things to grab until you have to replace them. I picked up a lot of these items as I was finishing off my level 70 and early on in the end game game. (redundant, I know. It's redundant). There's some good stuff, but you're probably going to replace a lot of it with quest rewards and instance drops.

Honor Hold (honored) - Sage's Band [ring] -- As soon as you have the rep, get this. It's better than the rings you crossed over with and it'll last you a while. It's a nice ring. +18 spell damage is nothing to sneeze at and there's nothing wrong with having one piece that does not help your stam. Int gives you mana too... and mana you don't have to tap for. So, no biggie. Get it, love it, replace it once you can.

Aldor (honored) - Anchorite's Robes [chest] -- I picked these up pretty soon after I dinged 70 on my lock. They are nice robes and are a good stand in until you get the Robe of Oblivion.

Sporeggar (honored) - Muck-Covered Drape [back] -- Isn't this curious? If you are having trouble pulling agro off your tank in groups... 1) have your tank gear up. 2) play smart. 3) get this cape... hey... threat reduction: why not. If you've got nothing better to stack.

Scryer (revered) - Scryer's Bloodgem [trinket] -- +150 spell damage on use is good and it gives you some +spell hit. Why not. If you are going there to get the ring, get this along the way.

Sha'tar (revered) - Xiri's Gift [trinket] -- Here's your standard +150 spell damage use trinket. The thing with this one is though, that it increases Spell Crit passively. That's not entirely helpful to us, so if you remember to pop that trinket a lot, then awesome. Get this to upgrade from your +120 or whatever spell damage on use trinket... but I might pass on this one.

Mmmm... Alright... worth the effort? maybe...

Other items might be worth it if you really want this for the particular look or you think it'll be better in the long run and you are grinding the rep anyway. However... I wouldn't go for these explicitly if I were you. You're going to be able to do better for the most part with less effort than it would take to get you these, so consider your options before you choose to grind faction x just for one of these rewards:

Aldor (revered) - Auchenai Staff [two-hand] -- magey staff, +121 spell damage. You have better options.

Aldor (exalted) - Medallion of the Lightbearer [neck] -- magey/healy necklace. Okay if you haven't found something better, but there are better things.

SSO (revered) - Glyph of the Gladiator [head enchant] -- Sure... If you PvP, get this. the +20 stam and the resil bonus is really nice for that. You need to not get critted and you need to not get killed because you have no health, so stack stam and resil. Totally worth it for that reason. Put this on your PvP helm and put the Glyph of Power on your PvE one.

Sha'tari Skyguard (revered) - Skywitch's Drape [back] -- +30 spell damage is nice, and the reduction of falling speed on use is interesting. = mage slow fall, so if you have a mage alt and want the effect, get it. + int only makes me a sad panda though.

Ogri'la (revered) - Cerulean Crystal Rod [wand] -- This is fine. Damage is okay, Stats are okay, pick it up if you are going there anyway and it's better than what you have. I consider it a side step to the Shadow Labs Wand of the Netherwing that everyone seems to get when they run that instance. The Int and Stam are nice if you feel like your mana pool is suffering but you'll loose a little health and a little +dmg for that bonus.

Kurenai (exalted) - Cloak of the Ancient Spirits [back] -- Magey cloak. Heavier on int and it gives you the MP5 stat. That's what life tap is for.

So...

So, if you want to grind some rep, that's where I'd do it. Take a look at the list, see what quests seem doable to you and what is worth the effort and then make a break for exalted. You'll mostly be getting accessories through this method. Your main pieces are coming from PvP or PvE settings. These grinds should just be in addition to what you are already working on to get your gear. You'll be epiced out in no time... and/or a lot of time because it takes forever to hit exalted. Good luck peeps!

If you want to find more information on how to gain rep with any of these factions, check out wowwiki's entries on the following:

Cenarion Expedition, Honor Hold, Kurenai, Ogri'la, Sporeggar, The Consortium, Shattered Sun Offensive, The Aldor, The Scryers, The Sha'tar, The Keepers of Time