I still remember hitting 40 on each of my shamans. In each of their cases I'd been running Scarlet Monastery non-stop collecting the mail pieces that dropped off of each of the bosses, and I'd managed to acquire the helmet, shoulder, legs and chestplate before I dinged on my draenei. (I didn't do as well on my orc, I only got the helmet.) When I hit 40 and trained to wear mail, I was ecstatic. No more leather, I swore then and there. No more rogue squishiness without rogue stealth! I went forth to level through the 40's and 50's thrilled with my new gear (I wore that shoulder for a very long time, at least into the mid 50's) and eager to sing the praises of mail. Sure, it's not plate, but it's the second highest armor available, and if you're a shaman you can even equip a shield and get even more armor if you're a healer or ranged DPS, making you even less squishy in those roles.

In short, I love mail for my shaman, and my other shaman. I don't like wearing cloth, or leather armor for elemental or enhancement. (In fact, I really don't recommend wearing cloth for enhancement.) Sometimes, however, you will end up stepping down your gear to leather or even cloth for a variety of reasons. Before we attempt to work up a comprehensive 'this is the leather/cloth gear you want for this role' post, let's discuss the reasons you may find yourself turning to those kinds of armor over mail.

The Brutal Gladiator's Refuge is the armor set for Restoration Druids. It is a kodohide, or leather armor usable only by Druids and is usually matched with Guardian's Kodohide armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall.

The Brutal Gladiator's Sanctuary is the armor set for Feral Druids. It is a dragonhide, or leather armor usable only by Druids and is usually matched with Guardian's Dragonhide armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall.

The Brutal Gladiator's Vestments is the armor set for Rogues. It is a leather armor usable only by Rogues and is usually matched with Guardian's Leather armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall.

Brutal Gladiator's Leather Gloves
The Brutal Gladiator armor piece for the hands are the cheapest and easiest Season 4 Arena gear to obtain. With no personal rating requirements, most players will be able to purchase this piece and is the Arena gear likely to be most widespread as soon as the season begins. The glove bonus to Deadly Throw is one of the best of all PvP gloves. The gloves have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
WoW Insider says: One of the simplest choices a Rogue should make in Season 4. It has the lowest Arena point cost and have no personal ratings requirement, making it sure to be one of the most popular items though the season.


Brutal Gladiator's Leather Legguards
The leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, specially for the Arena-popular Rogue. While not as accessible as the gloves, the leg armor is highly visible on a character and is also likely to be a popular purchase, even at 1875 Arena points. The legguards have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
506 Armor (+35)
+40 Agility (+5)
+74 Stamina (+7)
+17 Hit (+5)
+30 Critical Strike (+5)
+40 Resilience (+0)
+60 Attack Power (+10)
84 Armor Penetration (+0)
Classes: Rogue
WoW Insider says: The highest armor for a leather leg piece, massive Stamina, high critical strike rating and a modest 1550 personal rating make this one of the best buys in Season 4, despite the 1875 Arena point cost.


Brutal Gladiator's Leather Tunic
With three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece, and is the next best purchase after the gloves. Rogues should also have little trouble getting to 1600. In PvE, the chest armor is traditionally a drop from the final boss in a series (Magtheridon drops Tier 4 chest token, Kael'thas drops Tier 5 chest token, Illidan drops Tier 6 chest token, etc.). Arenas are different in this regard, but the item level of the chest is identical to PvE chest pieces. Sunwell Plateau breaks from tradition in that the final boss, Kil'jaeden, does not drop chest tokens or armor. However, the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is equivalent to the drops from Entropius and is the best combination of cost and restriction among all the armor pieces. The tunic has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
569 Armor (+40)
+36 Agility (+5)
+71 Stamina (+7)
+17 Hit (+5)
+22 Critical Strike (+5)
+25 Resilience (+0)
+58 Attack Power (+10)
84 Armor Penetration (+0)

Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience Rating
Classes: Rogue
WoW Insider says: As always, the Arena chest piece is always the best armor piece to get because of its customizability and traditionally high stats. The Brutal Gladiator Leather Tunic is no different. Because of its PvE equivalent, obtaining the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is almost like killing Entropius in Sunwell Plateau. Well, ok not really, but if you don't raid, that's about as close to a raid drop as you're going to get.


Brutal Gladiator's Leather Helm
The helm is very likely the last Brutal Gladiator armor piece that many players will obtain. With the shoulders at an extremely prohibitive 2200, most players will only manage 4/5 of Season 4. Many Rogues will be able to reach 1700 with ease for this helm, which costs the same as the chest and leg armor pieces. With a personal rating attached to it, the Brutal Gladiator helm might be one helm graphic that players would like to leave on. It is also identical in model to the pieces that drop off Kil'jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. The helm has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
475 Armor (+32)
+36 Agility (+5)
+72 Stamina (+7)
+17 Hit (+5)
+26 Critical Strike (+5)
+25 Resilience (+0)
+62 Attack Power (+10)
84 Armor Penetration (+0)

Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience Rating
Classes: Rogue
WoW Insider says: Ironically, many Druids will drool over this helm for its massive armor and stamina. Rogues can take pride in keeping this helm graphic on, as a 1700 personal rating is a small price to pay for one of the best Rogue helms in the game.


Brutal Gladiator's Leather Spaulders
The 2200 personal ratings requirement for the shoulders are almost Gladiator-level for most Battlegroups, and will likely be a very rare sight in most realms. Rogues in 2v2 and 3v3 brackets have been known to hit these ratings. It is the cheapest item after the gloves, but it is also the most difficult to get. Blizzard's reasoning for this is that the shoulders are the most "visually impacting" armor piece, confirming Blizzard's opinion that PvP achievements should be on display. The spaulders have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
430 Armor (+30)
+39 Agility (+4)
+55 Stamina (+4)
+31 Critical Strike (+4)
+25 Resilience (+0)
+38 Attack Power

Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience Rating
Classes: Rogue
WoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator Shoulders are peacock gear. These shoulders are good, decent upgrades from the previous season, but not quite worth the massive 250 rating point differential.
Guardian's Leather Belt
Because it is a visual match for the Brutal Gladiator's Vestments, and because it comes with no personal ratings requirement, the belt is most likely to be the most widely distributed Season 4 gear. It is purchasable with Honor points, so even players who do not participate in Arena PvP can obtain it. The belt has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
280 Armor (+22)
+37 Agility (+5)
+55 Stamina (+6)
+24 Critical Strike (+5)
+30 Resilience (+0)
+48 Attack Power (+8)
Classes: Rogue, Druid
WoW Insider says: With the low Honor cost and no personal ratings restriction, this belt should be among the most widespread Rogue belts come Season 4. If you have the Honor, go buy it.


Guardian's Leather Bracers
The only other Guardian piece with a socket is the amulet, which doesn't have a personal rating requirement. Coupled with the fact that bracers are visually insignificant, being hidden under gloves or robes, most players feel that there's little urgency to get them. A 1575 personal ratings requirement also requires decent performance in Arenas. The bracers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
211 (+17)
+28 Agility (+3)
+37 Stamina (+4)
+15 Critical Strike (+3)
+15 Resilience (+0)
+32 Attack Power (+6)

Socket Bonus: +2 Resilience Rating
Classes: Rogue, Druid
WoW Insider says: Although these are targeted towards Rogues, it's highly likely that many Rogues will be purchasing the "Druid" version Guardian's Dragonhide Bracers. The Red Socket, higher armor and crit all contribute to a conceivably better purchase.


Guardian's Leather Boots
The most visually important match of all Guardian items, specially since almost all Rogues save for Orcs and Trolls have their feet covered up. It's a big jump from a 1575 personal ratings requirement and is as demanding to get as the head piece at 1700 personal ratings, but Rogues have historically gotten to those levels with ease. It is also as expensive to purchase as the belt, which has no ratings requirement. The slippers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
343 Armor (+28)
+33 Agility (+4)
+55 Stamina (+6)
+24 Critical Strike (+5)
+26 Resilience (+0)
+48 Attack Power (+8)
Classes: Rogue, Druid
WoW Insider says: Among the few PvP pieces with "normal" armor levels, there's nothing particularly remarkable about these boots but are the best, if only, choice for Rogues in Season 4.

The Brutal Gladiator's Wildhide is the armor set for Balance Druids. It is a wyrmhide, or leather armor usable only by Druids and is usually matched with Guardian's Wyrmhide armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall.

Today's Phat Loot isn't just one helmet-- it's actually your choice of six available from a neat questline in Outlands. So stick with me here. Things may get a little complicated.

Name: (Overlord's, Shamanistic, Druidic, Stealther's, Evoker's, Stalker's) Helmet of Second Sight
Type: Rare (Cloth, Leather, Mail, Plate) Head
Armor: Varies
Abilities:

• They all have different abilities, of course, according to their title. You can see a list of all the available helmets here (the Scintillating Headdress is not one of the quest rewards, actually). Altogether, if you run this quest, you'll get a pretty nice pre-Epic helmet out of it.
• Also: All the helmets "allow the bearer to see into the ghost world while in Shadowmoon Valley." It's a lore thing, stick with me.
• And if you haven't noticed yet, all the helmets are reskins of the Tier 2 helmets (and in some cases, Tier 1-- see Warrior Helm above) that originally dropped from Onyxia and Molten Core. So if you never got to get your Dragonstalker's Helm or your Helmet of Ten Storms, here's your chance to get a lookalike. With better stats, if you ask me.
  

How to Get It: You've got to do the Teron Gorefiend quest chain in Shadowmoon Valley. It's quite fun, will net you a lot of XP (if you're not 70 yet), a little bit of gold, and your choice of these helmets.

For Alliance, it starts with a quest called "Ghost in the Machine" from Zoram the Judicator (geez, what did his mom have against him?) at Wildhammer Stronghold. Horde go to Chief Apothecary Hildagard in Shadowmoon Village for a quest called "A Haunted History." That chain will take you through about seven quests, most of which are soloable (one of them asks for two players, and one of them requires a full 5man group to do). At the end of the quest chain, you'll meet up with the man himself (and make a "mistake" that really wasn't your problem in the first place.

As for Gorefiend himself, I don't want to spoil anything, but you'll meet up with him later in the Black Temple (I'm not sure if you actually need the helmet to face him, as the questgiver hints, but you might want to keep it anyway). Meanwhile, you'll get a spiffy helmet that will get you ready to start up the level 70 instances at endgame. Grats!

Getting Rid of It: They all sell for different values, from about 2g for the cloth helmet, up to 4g for the plate version. Disenchanting any of them will hook you up with a Large Prismatic Shard.