Though the calculations involved--which assign point ratings to things like armor, stamina and agility--can be complex, using Rawr is a breeze. It pulls all your character data and gear in from the World of Warcraft Armory, including current armor enhancements such as enchants, applied armor kits and gems.
When you look at the list of available chest gear, for example, you'll see how your equipment stacks up in terms of survivability (ability to endure a beating) and mitigation (ability to avoid the beating). You might get a little confused when you see the same piece of gear listed multiple times with a different rating; that's gear with different gem combinations. You can also peruse lists of gems, enchants and buffs on their own to see which help the most.
The current 9a beta doesn't come with an installer - unzip the .zip download into its own destination folder and double-click Rawr.exe to run the program. You'll need to have already installed the free Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.
If you're particularly technical and/or security-conscious, you can check the program's source code, included by the author (Astrylian) with the download.
This download link will download the most recent Rawr version from the author's site. Astrylian frequently updates the program, and plans to soon add the ability to rate gear for use in the druid's cat form, so be sure to occasionally check the program site for upgrades after installing.
--Erik Larkin
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