On the heels of my 10-man guide to shadow priest gear upgrades available in Ulduar, I bring you this heroic 25-man version. (it's going to be hard to retrain myself on that one.)
As previously noted, I'm not a math geek so I am not going to argue BiS (best in Slot) with the maths here. Rather, I am going to discuss your gearing up opportunities by boss, to help you prep your wish list. If you want to see BiS across all available 10-man and 25-man raids, including Ulduar hard mode boss drops, shadowpriest.com has an excellent list. With more math than you can shake a stick at.
Words of Caution: Much of the Ulduar loot lacks hit. So don't be quick to shard or sell your existing gear when you receive an upgrade. You may have to swap gear around for raids to ensure you stay hit capped.
Your boss-by-boss gear guide, after the jump.
Flame Leviathan
a.k.a. the Roomba Boss.
- Constructor's Handwraps. Not the best gloves in Ulduar, but a decent upgrade in most cases.
- Embrace of the Leviathan. Your best belt upgrade drop (unless you have the Malygos 25 belt), until you get to Algalon.
- Glowing Ring of Reclamation. Expect a fight for this one as all the other spirit using casters will want this too. Neck-and-Neck in quality with the Lost Jewel from Naxx 25.
- Leviathan Fueling Manual. Good offhands are hard to come by and always hard-won. If you lost out on Naxx 25 offhands, this will be an upgrade in most cases.
Razorscale
- Collar of the Wyrmhunter. Good upgrade unless you have the Malygos 25 helm. Sharing the same model as many other cloth helms in Ulduar, this is not going to cause most folks to click "show helm.". Unless you are impersonating a Christmas tree.
- Living Flame. While a hit trinket may not seem sexy at first glance, this is definitely good to have on hand for swapping in and out of your set as your ability to meet your hit cap fluctuates as you gear up.
- Shackles of the Odalisque. Your best bracer upgrade from Ulduar.
XT-002 Deconstructor
- Mantle of Wavering Calm. Good shoulder upgrade though you will want to replace it with your tier 8 or 8.5 set piece.
- Sandals of Rash Temperament. Good entry-level upgrade from your Naxx 25 or badge feet.
- Quartz Crystal Wand. Unlikely to be an upgrade unless you have had incredibly bad luck (Heroic AN and Naxx 10 KT wand are both better for this slot.)
Ignis the Furnace Master
- Pyrelight Circle. Your best ring drop from Ulduar unless you do hard modes.
- Soot Covered Mantle. Good entry level shoulder upgrade that thanks to the hit rating should be a little easier to come by.
- Intensity. Pretty staff but unlikely to beat the offhand/main hand combination you already have.
- Scepter of Creation. Second best wand from Ulduar 25.
Assembly of Iron
- Overload Legwraps. Your 7.5 legs or the Leggings of Mortal Arrogance from Kel'Thuzad are much better.
- Raiments of the Iron Council. Second only to the robes from Kolgarn.
- Rapture. A staff that is worth equipping if you don't have Kel'Thuzad's Torch of Holy Fire.
- Unblinking Eye. An upgrade to Cosmic Lights and your best neck upgrade unless you do hard mode.
Kologarn
(Cache of Living Stone holds his loot)
- Bracers of Unleashed Magic. Thanks to the hit on these, less competition. The best bracers with hit; you can find non-hit bracers in 10 and 25 Ulduar that will be upgrades.
- Handwraps of Plentiful Recovery. Decent gloves but their haste (versus crit) makes them not quite as good as Constructor's Handwraps.
- Ironmender. The haste would technically make this better for a healer than for you, but it's the second best offhand in Ulduar, second to one from Algalon, so it needs to be on your wish list.
- Robes of the Umbral Brute. Your best chest in game.
Auriaya
- Cowl of the Absolute. A good item to keep on hand for swapping in/out to manage your hit rating.
- Sandals of the Ancient Keeper. Solid feet upgrade.
Mimiron
(Cache of Innovation contains his loot)
- Asimov's Drape. You'd want this cloak for its name alone. But it's also your best non hard mode Ulduar drop for this slot.
- Pandora's Plea. Your best Ulduar 25 trinket until hard mode.
- Conqueror's Handwraps of Sanctification. Third best gloves in Ulduar 25.
Thorim
(Cache of Storms holds his loot)
- Conqueror's Circlet of Sanctification. Your Tier 8.5 headpiece, and best in slot.
- Leggings of Lost Love. Good leg upgrade if you don't have the Leggings of Mortal Arrogance from Kel'Thuzad.
- Scale of the Fates. Great spellpower trinket.
Hodir
(Cache of Winter holds his loot)
- Frozen Loop. A good item to keep on hand for swapping in/out to manage your hit rating.
- Conqueror's Raiments of Sanctification.Third best chest in Ulduar 25.
Freya
(Freya's Gift holds her loot)
- Conqueror's Pants of Sanctification. Your Tier 8.5 pants. Both the Tier 8 pants and the Tier 8.5 healer pants both have more spellpower, causing those two items to be considered a bit better than these pants.
- Boots of the Servant. Your best Ulduar 25 non-hard mode feet.
- The Lifebinder. A small upgrade to an offhand plus Kel'Thuzad's Torch of Holy Fire.
- Leggings of the Enslaved Idol.Your best pants in game.
General Vezax
- Belt of the Dark Speaker. One of the your best belts with hit.
- Mantle of the Unknowing. Excellent shoulder upgrade.
- Ring of the Vacant Eye. Decent ring to keep on hand for swapping in/out to manage your hit rating.
- Scepter of Lost Souls. Your best wand in game.
Yogg-Saron
- Conqueror's Mantle of Sanctification. Your best shoulders unless you kill Yogg in 10-man hard mode.
- Cowl of Dark Whispers. Good helm upgrade if you don't have your Tier 8.5.
- Shawl of Haunted Memories.Good cloak though the Deathchill crafted cloak is still considered to be better.
- Soulscribe. Your best main hand Ulduar 25 weapon until you kill Algalon.
Algalon the Observer
(gift of the Observer holds his loot)
- Pharos Gloves. Your best gloves in game.
- Starwatcher's Binding. Your best waist in game.
- Starshard Edge. Your best non-hard mode Ulduar mainhand drop.
- Cosmos. Your best offhand in game.
Trash Drops
- Grips of Chaos. Hit gloves that are not likely to be an upgrade.
- Pendant of Focused Energies. Hit necklace not likely to be an upgrade.