Should I still be using the Onyx Annulet in patch 10.1?

It seems like just yesterday that we were all diving into the Zskera Vaults to create and upgrade our Onyx Annulet rings. Naturally, with the launch of a new patch almost immediately after, people are wondering if it’s still worth using those fancy rings with their shiny Primordial Stones that we put a lot of time into — or perhaps, if you’re just catching up, wondering if it’s worth pursuing the rings and their upgrades in 10.1. The answer, unfortunately, is not so simple.

Whether or not the Onyx Annulet is still worth using is going to depend on if you have the optimal setup of stones, how far you upgraded each stone, what class you’re playing, what spec you’re playing, whether you’re primarily focused on single-target cases like raids or AOE situations like Mythic+ dungeons, and whether or not you’re focused on primarily damage or something else (like healing throughput for healers, or survivability for tanks). Whew — that’s a lot to consider! Luckily, you have a few options. If you want to put your trust in cold hard math, simulator sites like Raidbots and Ask Mr. Robot are fully up-to-date for 10.1 and can give you a calculated answer on when those stones will be outpaced — at least, if you’re DPS. If that sounds like a lot of work, or if you’re a healer or tank, all of the Wowhead class guides (and probably associated Discords and other sources of class information) have been updated with general guidance for each spec — and we’ve gathered that guidance here.

Yes, use the Onyx Annulet in patch 10.1

These are the specs that unequivocally should still take the time to grind out an optimal and fully-upgraded Onyx Annulet because they will likely wear it for the entirety of this season, barring nerfs.

• Blood Death Knight
• Fire Mage
• All three specs of Rogue (and it’s very likely Outlaw and Subtlety will continue wearing them for even longer)
• Retribution Paladin — but only for raid; you will want to replace it ASAP with a well-itemized ring for Mythic+ dungeons.
• Demonology Warlock — same deal; wear it for single-target, replace it as soon as possible for AOE.
• Windwalker Monk — same as Retribution Paladin, but it’s recommended you sim yourself to see if it’s worth replacing in Mythic+.

Yes, if you’re a non-DPS spec focused on damage

These are primarily healing and tank specs that can opt to make tradeoffs to do more damage at the cost of healing throughput or survivability. For these specs, the Annulet is replaceable at a certain point for those purposes, but you should keep using the Annulet for damage. We’ve also noted what item level of ring you can consider replacing the Annulet with a well-itemized for throughput or survivability.

• Mistweaver Monk — replace with a 428+ ring
• Restoration Shaman — replace with a 430+ ring
• Holy Paladin — replace with a 435+ ring
• Protection Paladin — replace with a 441+ ring
• Preservation Evoker — replace with a 430+ ring
• Discipline and Holy Priest — replace with a ring equivalent to Heroic or Mythic Aberrus

No, don’t use the Onyx Annulet in patch 10.1

These are the specs that can easily replace the Onyx Annulet with something like upgraded world-drop gear, or for whom it was a poor performer in the first place. Replace it at your earliest convenience if you have it, or skip the grind if you don’t.

• Unholy Death Knight
• Frost Death Knight — this one is a special case; the Annulet is probably not an upgrade, but it’s best to sim yourself to be sure
• Frost Mage
• Elemental and Enhancement Shaman
• Balance Druid
• Destruction Warlock
• Devastation Evoker
• Shadow Priest
• Beast Mastery Hunter

Yes, for now, or yes, situationally

For the rest of the specializations, there is a point at which it will become optimal to replace your Onyx Annulet. This may differ between raid and Mythic+ dungeons.

• Arcane Mage — replace with a ring of 435+ with a socket
• Havoc and Vengeance Demon Hunter — replace with a ring of 447+
• Brewmaster Monk — replace with a 450+ ring in raid, or a 440+ ring in Mythic+
• Feral Druid — replace with a 447+ ring in raid, but replace it ASAP for Mythic+
• Protection Warrior – replace with a 445+ ring in raid, or a 435+ ring in Mythic+
• Marksmanship Hunter — replace it with a 441+ ring with a socket
• Survival Hunter — replace it with a 441 ring

Keep in mind that all these answers assume you have a fully-upgraded set of stones and are using the optimal stone setup. If you have suboptimal stones or non-upgraded stones, and your spec is looking to replace the ring anyway, then you may not want to pursue the grind any further if you think you can replace it soon. On the other hand, if you’re a Rogue, you almost definitely want to continue to grind out those optimal fully-upgraded Primordial Stones — Outlaw and Subtlety especially, since the ring effects are equivalent to item levels we don’t even have in game yet.