The competitive
field guide.
Everything you need to compete in Warfronts — gearing priority, stat caps, Planar Attunement paths, consumables, and the addons that separate good players from great ones. Written for all callings.
🛡️ Gear Slot Visualizer
Click any slot on the warrior or a row in the list to see the BiS item, source, and augments. Color indicates where the gear comes from.
⚔️ Gearing Up for PvP
Gearing in RIFT PvP is a mix of store-bought PvP pieces, specific PvE drops, and augments like Dream Orbs and Runes. The goal is to hit your stat caps, maintain your set bonuses, and have the right weapons equipped before you step into a Warfront competitively.
PvP vs PvE Gear
PvP store gear (Slayer's Garb) is your baseline. PvE gear either gets downgraded or bolstered when you enter a Warfront — meaning some PvE pieces end up BiS after bolstering, while others become dead weight. Bolstered/downgraded gear also does not benefit from Dream Orbs or Runes, which is a major reason to prioritize real PvP gear.
BiS Gear Slot Priority
- HeadSlayer's + BiS Dream Orb
- CapeCOA Cape + Rune + Dream Orb
- ShouldersCOA Armor + Rune + Dream Orb
- Chest988 main stat upgrade from WF box (914 base)
- GlovesSlayer's
- BeltSlayer's + Dream Orb
- Legs988 main stat upgrade from WF box + Rune
- FeetSlayer's
- EarringsOverlord PvE earrings (Intel Cache)
- NeckNightmare Tide neck (any) + Rune + Dream Orb
- TrinketsWarmonger's Charm — collect all 3, swap as needed
- Rings621 main stat from Reaper's Box
- SealAgile Slayer's Seal (Rift Store) + Rune
- WeaponsSlayer's weapons (Challenger's Marks) + Prophetic Runes
- FocusChallenger's Focus of Assault + all PvP 495 main stat essences with Crit Power tertiary
Dream Orbs & Runes
Prophetic Dream Orbs are your best augments. Helm orb gives 335 main stat + 182 Endurance. Belt orb gives 252 main stat + 137 Endurance.
Best-in-Slot Runes drop from the dungeon Enclave of Anhket and are labeled "Integrated." You must unsocket them from dropped gear to use.
- Legs/Shoulders: Integrated Finesse Rune — 612 main stat / 383 Endurance
- Weapons/Seal: Integrated Cataclysm Rune — 460 Crit Power
Crafted runes are a solid alternative if you don't run dungeons. Note that most competitive players run the Crit Power rune on both weapons, though some prefer the Prophetic Starfall mainhand for its proc.
💎 Synergy Crystals
Synergy Crystals provide set bonuses at 0, 2, 3, and 4 pieces of matching gear equipped. The bonuses scale with piece count — getting to 4 pieces is always the goal.
| Crystal | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Combatant's Crystal | Single-target DPS | Same bonuses as Martial Crystal — usable in PvE but PvP gear has less stats |
| Warmongering Salver's Crystal | Single-target Healing | Best for dedicated support specs |
| Warmongering Medico's Crystal | AoE Healing | For cleave heal specs in group content |
PvP crystals can technically be used in PvE, but since PvP gear has lower base stats than PvE equivalents, this is usually a downgrade outside of Warfronts.
📊 Stats & Caps
Understanding which stats to stack — and where their soft and hard caps are — is the difference between good and great PvP performance. Stats past the soft cap suffer diminishing returns, meaning each additional point is worth a fraction of what it was before.
Primary Stats by Calling
| Calling | Primary Stat | Secondary Stat | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚔️ Warrior | Strength | Dexterity | 0.75 Attack Power per primary point |
| 🏹 Rogue | Dexterity | Strength | 0.75 AP + 0.5 Physical Crit per point |
| 🔮 Mage | Intelligence | Wisdom | Spell Power + Spell Crit scaling |
| ✨ Cleric | Wisdom | Intelligence | Spell Power + healing output scaling |
| 🦈 Primalist | Varies by spec | — | Check your soul tree's primary scaling |
Offensive Stat Caps (DPS)
| Stat | Soft Cap | Hard Cap | DR Past Soft Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crit Power | 40% (≈8,540 unbuffed / 9,074 raid buffed) | 50% | Worth 1/5th per point |
| Physical/Spell Crit | 45% | 60% | Worth 1/5th per point |
| Attack Power | No cap | No cap | Linear always |
Defensive Stat Caps (Tanks / Survivability)
| Stat | Soft Cap | Hard Cap | DR Past Soft Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block | 45% | 60% | Worth 1/3rd per point |
| Guard | 10% (4,419 rating) | 12% (8,831 rating) | 20% less effective per point |
| Dodge | None | 40% | Linear (but lowest priority) |
Endurance & Armor
Endurance gives 10 HP per point. At 6,000 Endurance you gain 60,000 HP. In PvP, survivability is often more valuable than raw DPS — don't neglect it entirely chasing offensive caps.
Armor reduces physical damage taken based on attacker level. Hover over your Armor stat in your character sheet to see the exact mitigation percentage.
Block causes blocked attacks to deal 40% less damage. Significantly more reliable than Dodge, which only applies to physical attacks and has a low proc rate.
Guard reduces incoming damage for both you and nearby allies while Guardian Phase is active — making it the most team-oriented defensive stat.
🌀 Planar Attunement
Planar Attunement (PA) is an alternate advancement system that activates at level 50. You earn PA experience from questing, mob kills, and dungeon clears. At level 70, your normal XP bar is fully replaced by the PA bar. The cap is 1,709 PA levels.
What Each Tree Gives
| Tree | Key Stats | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| War | +40 Armor, +60 End, +30 main stat, +15 CP | Gives Cleanse Soul — removes all debuffs. Fill first always. |
| Air | +45 main stat (+24 AP bow/gun/dagger) | High value for ranged DPS callings |
| Water | +45 main stat (+24 AP hammer/axe/dagger/mace) | High value for melee DPS |
| Earth | +57 End, +12 Str, +12 main stat (+24 AP hammer/sword/axe) | Good for survivability stack |
| Fire | +25 Str (+24 AP bow/gun/sword) | Unlocks Steam with Water |
| Life | +45 End (+24 AP hammer/bow/gun/axe/mace) | Required for Nature combo |
| Storm 🟡 | +6 End, +6 Str, +151 main stat, +24 AP | Requires Air + Water complete |
| Dust 🟡 | +107 End, +22 Str, +107 main stat, +72 AP | Requires Air + Earth complete |
| Steam 🟡 | +72 AP, +10 End, +95 Str, +95 main stat | Requires Fire + Water complete |
| Nature 🟡 | +32 AP, +120 Armor, +163 End, +18 Str, +18 main stat | Requires Earth + Life complete |
| Cinder 🟡 | +6 End, +151 Str, +6 main stat, +32 AP | Requires Fire + Death complete |
| Dusk 🟡 | +72 AP, +95 End, +95 Str, +10 main stat | Requires Life + Death complete |
🟡 = Combo tree, requires two base trees fully completed to unlock.
DPS PA Path (All Callings)
Maximizes Attack Power and primary stat. Follow this order:
Tank PA Path
Maximizes Endurance and armor mitigation. Follow this order:
🔷 Planar Fragments
Introduced with Planes of Prophecy, Planar Fragments replaced tertiary stats on gear. Stats like Attack Power, Crit Power, and Physical Crit no longer appear directly on armor — they come exclusively from Fragments slotted into your Fragment Inventory.
Fragment Rarity
Higher rarity means more guaranteed secondary stats and less RNG per infusion level:
Safe Infusion Levels
Infusing past these levels risks failure and wastes Platinum. Stop here unless you're prepared to gamble:
| Rarity | Safe Infusion Cap |
|---|---|
| Common | Level 2 |
| Uncommon | Level 5 |
| Rare | Level 8 |
| Epic | Level 11 |
| Relic | Level 15 (max) |
/recycleallplanarfragments to mass-recycle junk fragments. This gives Elemental Cores to upgrade keepers. Move anything you want to keep to your main inventory first.
PvP Fragments (War Fragments)
PvP fragments drop from Reaper Supply Caches and always have "War" in the title. The catch: PvP fragments are NOT bolstered in Warfronts — PvE fragments get boosted to the equivalent of infusion level 7. This means starting with PvE fragments and upgrading PvP ones simultaneously is the optimal path.
Also note: Tier 1 War fragments do not drop in PvP. Instead of a T1 Crit Power/Death fragment, you'll use a T2 main stat/Death equivalent.
⚗️ Consumables
Consumables are the edge that separates a prepared player from a dead one. Stack as many as you can before a serious Warfront push. Some require guild perks — make sure your guild has them unlocked.
Guild Perks (Requires Silver Artifact)
Silver Artifacts are purchased from Guild Charter Magistrates in Meridian, Sanctum, or Tempest Bay.
Must-Have Consumables
Planar Attunement Consumables
These are obtained through the PA system. Several don't share cooldowns with their 4.0 counterparts — run both simultaneously for maximum effect.
🔧 Essential Addons
RIFT's addon system via Curse gives you a meaningful edge in PvP. These three are non-negotiable for competitive play.
Rift Meter
Tracks your damage, healing, damage taken, and death log in real time — for yourself and everyone in your group. Essential for monitoring your own output and identifying what's killing you. Switch between modes mid-fight to get the full picture.
Karuul Alert (KAlert)
Tracks DoTs, debuffs, buffs, and ability cooldowns with customizable visual alerts on screen. Critical for tracking procs and knowing exactly when your key abilities reset. Setup: type /kalert in chat → File → Import Set → paste the import string → click Import → drag alerts where you want them on screen.
Target Casting Bar (TCB)
Shows a cast bar for your current target. In PvP this lets you interrupt heals and key abilities reliably instead of guessing. One of the highest value addons for flag-carrier killers and interrupt-heavy specs.