Put together a protection set
When starting out, you will probably see a lot of items that are upgrades to what you have but are tanking items and not meant for DPS. That is fine, because if no tanks are going to take the item, then go ahead and roll on it. However, since you are only grabbing those things for the upgrades to strength or the extra gem slots, please make sure of three things: 1. no tanks want to roll on it, 2. you are going to actually use it, and 3. Phoenix Dynasty Gold is worth losing any cit, hit or haste you have on current gear. If you meet all three of those, then go ahead and grab it. Besides, you could always put together a protection set for your second spec. Blacksmithing is the most obvious place to grab starter gear. The Savage Serenity set is available at 78, but it is a PVP set and if your goal is PVE, then you will be wasting itemization on resilience that you will not use. For epic quality items in PVE, you will want to start looking at the Spiked Titan steel Helm and Spiked Titan steel Treads. Another big item to grab is a weapon, and the Titan steel Destroyer is an excellent starter weapon until you get into some of the higher-end heroic dungeons.
