Every World of Warcraft expansion has at least one item that remains strong throughout most, if not all, of the expansion’s lifespan. In WoW Dragonflight, there have already been a handful of items that have dominated the meta, including the Elemental Lariat and Undulating Sporecloak. But no item has had more of a widespread impact on itemization throughout the player base than the Onyx Annulet.
Introduced in Patch 10.0.7, the Onyx Annulet is a highly customizable ring with multiple sockets, and each of the gems that you place into it have interactions with each other. Some of the passive interactions include AoE damage, lifesteal, and damage-over-time effects. The ring was upgradable to a maximum item level of 424, but now that that threshold has been surpassed by some higher-level items, players are itching to replace the Annulet.
In Patch 10.1.5, though, it’s likely that you’ll be in the market for a new ring because the Onyx Annulet is receiving a heavy nerf that should take it out of the meta for most specs.
Is the Onyx Annulet still good in Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5?
As Dragonflight season two rolls on, most of the gear that you earned in the first half of the season will remain relevant until the end of the season. But this won’t necessarily include the Onyx Annulet moving forward (in most cases).
Following the release of Patch 10.1.5 on July 11, the ring will be replaceable for most specs in the game. Since any Primordial Stone that deals damage is getting hit with a 40 percent nerf when the patch goes live, you’re going to feel an immediate decrease in overall DPS if you’ve been relying on the Annulet and its stones for damage thus far throughout season two.
With the Onyx Annulet’s nerf in mind, players will also be able to finally bring that item slot that’s been lagging behind at item level 424 up to the more common endgame mark of 441.
Related: WoW Dragonflight’s Dawn of the Infinite megadungeon: Release date, bosses, and more
Since gear was relatively easy to come by in the first few weeks of season two, it’s likely that your characters are still running the same builds and loadouts that they were when the season started. Thankfully, gear is still easy to come by (and to upgrade), especially if you’re constantly running Aberrus and Mythic+ dungeons. Rings are one of the most common item types in the game, with most Mythic+ dungeons dropping multiple options for each spec. If you need to replace the Onyx Annulet, we recommend taking a ring from your Great Vault, or targeting specific Mythic+ dungeons so that you can get your best-in-slot item.
When the patch goes live, we recommend using any addons or data-focused sites to research and sim your character—as well as the builds that top players are using—to be sure of your future with the Onyx Annulet. It’s best to keep the item in your bank, just in case it makes a resurgence later in the expansion (although that seems unlikely with its nerfs in mind).
