[UPDATE 4.2: No changes were made in this patch that has any impact on this information.]
[UPDATE 4.3: No changes were made in this patch either, so all information remains relevant.]
You can take a look at this Wowhead Link for a full list of heirloom gear.
When I first started writing this I covered every item that was on the 4.1 PTR, which included new heirloom Rings as well as heirloom Legs. With 4.1 going live, we know that neither of those actually exist, so I’ve gone back through and removed them. Originally I wanted to go ahead and include them, not because I thought they would be a part of the patch, but because I wanted this guide to already include those items when they did become available in whichever future patch they happen to come in. However, I decided to remove them anyway both to avoid confusion and to make this reference be completely applicable to the patch as of the date it is published.
When/If the rings and legs do become available, I’ll put out a brand new guide on choosing and enchanting those as well.
If you have a particular class in mind that you want to see the information on, you can click on any of the links below to jump right to the information you’re looking for.
Changes to Heirlooms
Before I really get into the meat of this post, I want to clarify the 4.1 change to heirlooms that make them “Bind to Battle.net Account”. A lot of people, myself included, initially thought that this meant we would finally be able to send heirlooms to other servers, but we were wrong. You cannot send heirlooms to other servers. Instead, this change allows those who have multiple accounts to send them from one account to the other (as long as the two accounts are tied to the same battle.net account), but only on the same server. So the only people who really benefit from this are those who RAF themselves for dual boxing, or people who play together but have their account information tied together into one.
Otherwise heirlooms are the same as they have been, there’s just a lot more of them to choose from now since the last guide I wrote.
Another important note to make, just for completion and clarification sake, is that the new Tanking chest, shoulder, and weapons still only go up to level 80 even though they’re new.
[All of the above information is still applicable to heirlooms in 4.3 as well.]
Using This Guide
I’m going to go with a different format this time than I did last time. Rather than breaking it down for every class and spec in the game, I’m going to build sets of gear (enchants included) and tell you which classes and specs would benefit from it. If you end up with any questions, then of course I’ll be more than happy to answer them. In some cases, I do break it down into more detail for class/spec. For example, a Leather Agility Druid isn’t going to use the same weapons as a Leather Agility Rogue, and a Mail Agility Shaman isn’t going to use the same weapons as a Mail Agility Hunter.
We’re trying to accomplish two things here. First, giving you a guide of which pieces to buy if you have a particular character in mind. Second, giving you the best options for enchanting those heirlooms to get the maximum potential out of them. As far as the enchants are concerned, I’ll give you multiple options for each piece in case you have trouble finding the “best” enchants because they are rare world/raid drops or require reputation grinds.
If you’re the kind of player who feels that heirlooms are already powerful enough in their own right that they make all leveling content a joke, then enchanting them will only make that situation worse. I treat my leveling game like other people do their end game, so I like to have my gear enchanted properly and with the best enchants available. This guide is applicable to people with either point of view.
Cloth Armor Set
All of the cloth classes are casters, so there’s not much wiggle room here. If you’re a Mage, Priest, or Warlock then this is the setup for you. If you’re a Druid, Shaman, or even Paladin caster then you can get by with this set for a time, but I wouldn’t suggest it in the long run unless you just cannot afford the armor pieces that fit your class.
Primary Classes (Specs): Mage, Priest, Warlock
Secondary Classes (Specs): Druid (Balance/Restoration), Shaman (Elemental/Restoration), Paladin (Holy)
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Tattered Dreadmist Mask | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Haste, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Tattered Dreadmist Mantle | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Chest | Tattered Dreadmist Robe | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Main Hand | Dignified Headmaster’s Charge | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
| Trinket 1 | See Below | |
| Trinket 2 | See Below | |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
Trinkets: In general, I would suggest using dual Discerning Eye of the Beast for casters because they offer Intellect as well as restoring 2% of your maximum mana any time you kill a target that grants experience or honor. However, the Swift Hand of Justice offers Haste and restores Health when you kill targets that grant experience or honor, and that Haste is especially useful to some casters (especially those with DoT’s or HoT’s).
So here is my personal preference for caster trinkets by class:
- Mage: Discerning Eye of the Beast x2
- Priest: Discerning Eye of the Beast x2, or one of each
- Warlock: Swift Hand of Justice x2
Leather Agility Set
Agility Leather is one of the strongest in terms of feeling over powered at low levels. The Agility classes already deal really high DPS on their own, but when you stack Agility on them they just multiply into insane one-shotting machines. You’ll do just fine using this gear on a Shaman or Hunter, even though I have them listed as secondary classes. The only difference between the Agility Leather and Agility Mail is that Mail pieces have higher armor values. While that will become an issue for a Shaman who stays in melee range, a Hunter can get by just fine if you can’t get your hands on the Mail pieces.
Primary Classes (Specs): Rogue, Druid (Feral)
Secondary Classes (Specs): Shaman (Enhancement), Hunter
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Stained Shadowcraft Cap | Agility, Stamina, Hit, Crit, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Inherited Cape of the Black Baron | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Stained Shadowcraft Spaulders | Agility, Stamina, Hit, +10% XP |
| Chest | Stained Shadowcraft Tunic | Agility, Stamina, Hit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Druid Main Hand | Repurposed Lava Dredger | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste |
| Rogue Weapons | See Below | |
| Ranged | Charmed Ancient Bone Bow | Agility, Hit, Crit |
| Trinket 1 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Trinket 2 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
Rogue Weapons: Rogues are one of the most weapon-dependent classes in the game, and each of their specs have different priorities for weapon selections. As this is not a Rogue-specific post I’m not going to go into detail. However, I will gladly link you to the most extensive analytical site I’ve ever found for Rogue gear: ShadowPanther.net I’ll go ahead and list my suggestions, though:
- MH Dagger: Balanced Heartseeker Agility, Hit, Crit
- MH Non-Dagger: Venerable Dal’Rend’s Sacred Charge (Agi, Stam, Crit) or Venerable Mass of McGowan (Agi, Stam, Crit, Haste)
- Off Hand: Sharpened Scarlet Kris Agility, Stamina, Resilience
- Ranged: Don’t use one, see Range Weapons below.
Ranged Weapon: This only applies to the Hunters and Rogues here, as Druids and Shamans do not have access to ranged weapons. Maybe one of these days Blizzard will give us heirloom relics and wands to fill that slot on the classes that can’t use ranged weapons. Since Rogues can now apply Poisons to their thrown weapons, you’re actually better off not using the heirloom bow/gun and instead using thrown weapons that you find while questing and running dungeons. If you never use ranged weapons on your Rogue – at all, ever – then go ahead and use the Bow for its stats.
If you would like more information on Rogue-specific heirloom information, you can read ShadowPanther.net’s Guide for leveling Rogues. About 75% of the way down the page you’ll find the section about heirlooms.
Leather Intellect Set
The Intellect Leather was the last set that I purchased before Cataclysm was launched. The nature of casters is to stay out of melee combat which means that Armor is rather low on your priority list, which in turn means that you can get by just fine with the Cloth sets for these classes. However, after 4.0 was released you now miss out on 5% of your primary stat from level 50+ if you’re not wearing the right type of armor for your class. That 5% is really small when you first have access to it, but the higher your level gets the higher that number goes.
Primary Classes (Specs): Druid (Balance/Restoration)
Secondary Classes (Specs): Shaman (Elemental/Restoration), Paladin (Holy)
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Preened Tribal War Feathers | Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Crit, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Preened Ironfeather Shoulders | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Chest | Preened Ironfeather Breastplate | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Main Hand | Dignified Headmaster’s Charge | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
| Trinket 1 | See Below | |
| Trinket 2 | See Below | |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
The staff beats out the one handed options at every level. You can occasionally get higher stats for a level or two when you combine a one-handed BoA caster mace with an Inscription-made off-hand item or a shield, but the staff will top the combination again within a few levels until you get near to not using the 1-80 heirlooms any more anyway.
Trinkets: In general, I would suggest using dual Discerning Eye of the Beast for casters because they offer Intellect as well as restoring 2% of your maximum mana any time you kill a target that grants experience or honor. However, the Swift Hand of Justice offers Haste and restores Health when you kill targets that grant experience or honor, and that Haste is especially useful to some casters (especially those with DoT’s or HoT’s).
So here is my personal preference for caster trinkets by class:
- Druid: Swift Hand of Justice x2
- Paladin: Discerning Eye of the Beast x2
- Shaman: Discerning Eye of the Beast x2, or one of each
Mail Agility Set
With only two classes that can wear the Mail Agility set with any real amount of usefulness, it’s one of the least flexible. The only reason I bought the Mail chest was so that I could stop bothering with having to mail the Leather chest back and forth between my characters all the time. As I mentioned in the Agility Leather section above, you can get by just fine on a Hunter with the Leather gear, but on a Shaman I’d strongly suggest you upgrade to Mail for the added survivability.
Primary Classes (Specs): Shaman (Enhancement), Hunter
Secondary Classes (Specs): none
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Tarnished Raging Berserker’s Helm | Agility, Stamina, Hit, Haste, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Inherited Cape of the Black Baron | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Champion Herod’s Shoulder | Agility, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
| Chest | Champion’s Deathdealer Breastplate | Agility, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Shaman Dual Wield | Venerable Mass of McGowan x2 | Agility, Stamina, Hit, Haste |
| Hunter Dual Wield | Balanced Heart Seeker x2 | Agility, Hit, Crit |
| Ranged | Charmed Ancient Bone Bow | Agility, Hit, Crit |
| Trinket 1 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Trinket 2 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
For some odd reason, Blizzard decided that the 2H Agility weapon should be a mace, which Hunters can’t use, so your best option is going to be Agility one-handers instead.
Ranged Weapon: Note that of the two classes in this category, only Hunters can use ranged weapons.
Mail Intellect Set
The Mail Intellect set is a lot like the Leather Intellect set for me, meaning I don’t put a whole lot of value on it due to the nature of those who’ll use it. Casters don’t get into melee if they can help it so additional armor isn’t necessary. It’s always helpful, but not necessary. I went through 90% of Wrath using the cloth heirlooms on every caster I had for that very reason. But again, from level 50+ you will miss out on a 5% bonus to your Intellect if you’re not using the appropriate armor type so it’s best to stick to what you’re supposed to be using.
Unfortunately for Holy Paladins, there is no Plate Intellect set, so you have the choice of missing out on your 5% bonus from Armor Specialization, or not using heirlooms and missing out on your experience bonus and level-based stats.
Primary Classes (Specs): Shaman (Elemental/Restoration)
Secondary Classes (Specs): Paladin (Holy)
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Mystical Coif of Elements | Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Crit, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Mystical Pauldrons of Elements | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Chest | Mystical Vest of Elements | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Main Hand | Dignified Headmaster’s Charge | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
| Trinket 1 | See Below | |
| Trinket 2 | See Below | |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
Trinkets: In general, I would suggest using dual Discerning Eye of the Beast for casters because they offer Intellect as well as restoring 2% of your maximum mana any time you kill a target that grants experience or honor. However, the Swift Hand of Justice offers Haste and restores Health when you kill targets that grant experience or honor, and that Haste is especially useful to some casters (especially those with DoT’s or HoT’s).
So here is my personal preference for caster trinkets by class:
- Shaman: Discerning Eye of the Beast x2, or one of each
- Paladin: Discerning Eye of the Beast x2
Primary Classes (Specs): Death Knight (Frost/Unholy), Paladin (Retribution), Warrior (Arms/Fury)
Secondary Classes (Specs): Death Knight (Blood), Paladin (Protection), Warrior (Protection)
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Polished Helm of Valor | Strength, Stamina, Hit, Crit, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Worn Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape | Strength, Stamina, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Polished Spaulders of Valor | Strength, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
| Chest | Polished Breastplate of Valor | Strength, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Two-Hand | Bloodied Arcanite Reaper | Strength, Stamina, Crit |
| Dual Wield (1H) | Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver Venerable Mass of McGowan |
Strength, Stamina, Parry Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste |
| Dual Wield (2H) | Bloodied Arcanite Reapers | Strength, Stamina, Crit |
| Ranged | Charmed Ancient Bone Bow | Agility, Hit, Crit |
| Trinket 1 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Trinket 2 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
Even though the Skullforge Reaver is a tanking weapon, it’s the only one-handed heirloom that has Strength on it, and all Plate DPS classes benefit more from Strength than they do Agility, so it gets my personal recommendation if you’re looking for the best you can get. Unfortunately, it’s a Main Hand weapon instead of a One Hand weapon, so you can’t wield two of them. If you can’t get your hands on the new tanking sword, then just go with either the Venerable Maces of McGowen or Venerable Dal’Rend’s Sacred Charge instead.
If you take your Fury Warrior into the Titan Grip talent to wield dual two-handers, then you’ll want a pair of the Arcanite Reapers, though you’ll use the one-handed options before you pick up that talent.
Ranged Weapons: Note that of the classes in this category, only Warriors can use ranged weapons.
Primary Classes (Specs): Death Knight (Blood), Paladin (Protection), Warrior (Protection)
Secondary Classes (Specs): Death Knight (Frost/Unholy), Paladin (Retribution), Warrior (Arms/Fury)
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Burnished Helm of Might | Strength, Stamina, Parry, Expertise, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Ripped Sandstorm Cloak | Strength, Stamina, Dodge, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Burnished Paudrons of Might | Strength, Stamina, Parry, +10% XP |
| Chest | Burnished Breastplate of Might | Strength, Stamina, Dodge, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Main Hand | Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver | Strength, Stamina, Parry |
| Two-Hand | Bloodied Arcanite Reaper | Strength, Stamina, Crit |
| Ranged | Charmed Ancient Bone Bow | Agility, Hit, Crit |
| Trinket 1 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Trinket 2 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
Only the DK will make use of the two-handed tanking weapon, while Paladins and Warriors will both make use of the new tanking sword.
Ranged Weapons: Note that of the classes in this category, only Warriors can use ranged weapons.
Plate Intellect Set
This one’s a bit of a joke as there are almost no Plate caster pieces. There’s only one Plate caster in the game, so I guess I can understand it, but the whole concept of Armor Specialization directly contradicts it. Either you miss out on a bonus to your primary stat or you miss out on bonus experience.
Pieces marked with an asterisk (*) after their name are not Plate pieces. You could fill them with any lesser armor type, but I’ve listed Mail since they’re “the best” due to higher armor values.
Primary Classes (Specs): Paladin (Holy)
Secondary Classes (Specs): none
| Slot | Item Name | Stats |
| Helm | Mystical Coif of Elements* | Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Crit, +10% XP |
| Cloak | Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Haste, +5% XP |
| Shoulder | Pristine Lightforge Spaulders | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Resilience, +10% XP |
| Chest | Mystical Vest of Elements* | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, +10% XP |
| Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
| Main Hand | Devout Aurastone Hammer | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
| Trinket 1 | Discerning Eye of the Beast | Intellect, Kills restore mana |
| Trinket 2 | Discerning Eye of the Beast | Intellect, Kills restore mana |
| Suggested Enchants | ||
I sent the question out on twitter, “Which is more important, Haste or Spirit?” and got pretty mixed answers from the Paladin healers. I’ve listed the Mail pieces here to fill in the empty slots, all of which have Spirit on them, but if you feel like you’d rather go the Haste route for faster casts then I suggest you fill those slots with the Cloth pieces instead as they have Haste instead of Spirit. Personally, I would probably err on the side of Spirit to begin with, but if I’m not having mana issues then I would definitely switch over to the Haste pieces. The same applies to trinkets, if you’d rather have Haste then go with Swift Hands, otherwise the Intellect from Discerning Eye’s is still a great investment, and one of each is perfectly fine as well.
Trinkets: In general, I would suggest using dual Discerning Eye of the Beast for casters because they offer Intellect as well as restoring 2% of your maximum mana any time you kill a target that grants experience or honor. However, the Swift Hand of Justice offers Haste and restores Health when you kill targets that grant experience or honor, and that Haste is especially useful to some casters (especially those with DoT’s or HoT’s). You can mix and match these as you please for a Paladin, though I would personally lean towards the Intellect trinkets since two of your main heals while leveling (Holy Shock and Word of Glory) are both instant casts anyway, and Paladin’s aren’t known for their HoT’s.
Enchanting Heirlooms
Enchanting is one of the things I take a great deal of pleasure in. I’m a collector of enchants and it’s easily my favorite profession in the game. PvP Twinking is something I really enjoy doing, and twinking involves min/maxing your character’s gear and enchants. Coincidentally, the best in slot enchants for level 19 Twinks are also the best in slot enchants for heirlooms, so I’m quite familiar with enchanting gear to maximize your potential.
For those slots that I give multiple options for enchanting I have listed the enchants in the order that I would suggest them. As this guide is directed at leveling, I’m going to put my focus on leveling and not PvP twinking. What this means is, I’m going to lean heavily towards enchants that will benefit you through the entire leveling process as much as possible. If you are looking at this list for your twinks then you shouldn’t necessarily assume that it’s the best enchant for a PvP twink. If you have questions about enchanting heirlooms for your twinks, leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to help.
Enchanting: Important Notes
Many of the enchants that I’m going to list here require you to do reputation grinds to either purchase the pattern for the enchant, or to purchase the item you use for the enchant (like those for head and shoulder enchants). While the enchant themselves may require you to have the reputation to purchase/use them, the reputation is not required to benefit from those enchants. These enchants also do not cause the heirlooms to bind to a specific character.
Since I’ve been asked several times, I’m going to say here – heirlooms are always bound to your account, never to individual characters. It doesn’t matter if you use reputation-only enchants that would normally cause them to become soulbound, or if you use your professions-only enchants that do the same, all heirlooms remain bound to your entire account, no matter what.
Keep in mind though, helm and shoulder enchants both have requirements on them that you have to meet before they become active. In most cases this is a level requirement, so you’ll go the first 60 or so levels with the enchant being inactive and providing you with no benefit at all. If you choose to use professions-based enchants on your shoulders/rings/cloak, then only characters with that profession and a high enough skill in the profession will benefit.
Also, in the case of Head and Shoulder enchants, I want to keep the level requirement for them low so that your leveling toons can benefit as much as possible for as long as possible. Because of this I’m only looking at enchants that require level 60-70 maximum. Heirloom shoulders should be replaced by the time level 80 enchants are available for them, and while Helms do last all the way to 85, benefiting from an enchant for only 5 levels seems like quite a waste to me personally.
Cloth Intellect Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
It’s up to you whether you would rather enchant more for DPS (Arcanum of Power) or Healing (Arcanum of Renewal). Personally, I went with Renewal for mine because I prefer Intellect over Spell Power for leveling because of the additional Mana that it gives as well as spell power. However, there are more DPS clothies than healing clothies, so it’s up to you.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
If you’re wondering where the caster enchants are for cloaks, welcome to the club. Your best choices are professions-specific and will give you no benefit until you’re in your 60′s at the earliest. If you’re a solo player or like to level in PvP, then Stealth and Superior Defense are your best options because they’ll add some survivability. If you prefer to stay in groups then Subtlety is a decent option to help reduce your threat. My personal preference is Stealth, though I do have Subtlety on one of mine and a +5 to All Resistances on another. There just isn’t a good caster option outside of professions.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Discipline in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Weapon: (Return to Gear)
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. In my opinion, Mighty Intellect is the caster heirloom enchant. Now that we get 1:1 Spell Power for Intellect, it’s much better than it was before. You will get a little bit more performance from the other two enchants, but you’re missing out on 7-8 Spell Power in exchange for 330 Mana. While that much mana won’t matter at high levels, that 7-8 Spell Power won’t matter much either. As far as leveling goes, Mighty Intellect wins this race.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
These ring enchants require reputation grinds to purchase the patterns for, they both require you to be an Enchanter to activate them, and they both require character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list these two since they have the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheap to re-enchant it with whatever you want instead.
Leather Agility Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
Ferocity is the clear winner here, as there isn’t an Agility enchant available for you. Outcast is a decent option, though it’s not spectacular since Strength is only half as good as Agility at best, and Intellect only potentially benefits a Druid or Shaman of the classes that are most likely to use your Leather heirlooms.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
Unlike casters, Agility classes make out like a bandit on the cloak enchants. Stealth is by far your best option thanks to the change it received in the Shattering making it what it is today. Superior Defense is a great enchant when you’re at a low level, but the higher you go the less important it becomes, so from a leveling perspective I’d even take +3 Agility over +70 Armor.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Vengeance in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
If you’re a Feral Tank, then you’ll want to look at the last 3 for your tanking stats.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Agility-based classes get more benefit from Stats enchants than anyone else because they get benefits from more than one. Rogues get attack power from agility at 2:1, but also from strength at 1:1. I believe the same is true for feral druids, but I could be wrong.
Weapons: (Return to Gear)
This is where things get tricky, because of the different weapons used by the classes and specs in this category. Rogues I suggest you go with dual +15 Agility enchants as 60 Attack Power all the time is better than 100 Attack Power sometimes (though Crusader’s heal is nice). Druids I think as long as you’re using either +25 Agility or Crusader then you can’t go wrong either way. I’ve played with both of them on my druids and I can’t give a definitive answer as to which one is technically better.
Ranged Weapon: (Return to Gear)
The only enchants for ranged weapons right now are scopes which are crafted by Engineers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an engineer to use them.
The Standard Scope has no level requirement, and that’s the reason why I use it on my own. The Deadly Scope requires level 30, so while you get no benefit for those first 30 levels (not that you need it), you still have another 50 levels to enjoy the extra damage. The Khorium Scope requires level 55, giving you 25 levels of enjoyment.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
This ring enchant requires a reputation grind to purchase the pattern for it, requires you to be an Enchanter to activate it, and requires character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list this one since it has the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheap to re-enchant it with whatever you want instead.
Leather Intellect Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
It’s up to you whether you would rather enchant more for DPS (Arcanum of Power) or Healing (Arcanum of Renewal). Personally, I went with Renewal for mine because I prefer Intellect over Spell Power for leveling because of the additional Mana that it gives as well as spell power. Also, all of the Leather Casters have talents that convert Spirit into Hit for DPS specs, so you get more overall benefit from it.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
If you’re wondering where the caster enchants are for cloaks, welcome to the club. Your best choices are professions-specific and will give you no benefit until you’re in your 60′s at the earliest. If you’re a solo player or like to level in PvP, then Stealth and Superior Defense are your best options because they’ll add some survivability. If you prefer to stay in groups then Subtlety is a decent option to help reduce your threat. My personal preference is Stealth, though I do have Subtlety on one of mine and a +5 to All Resistances on another. There just isn’t a good caster option outside of professions.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Discipline in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Weapon: (Return to Gear)
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. In my opinion, Mighty Intellect is the caster heirloom enchant. Now that we get 1:1 Spell Power for Intellect, it’s much better than it was before. You will get a little bit more performance from the other two enchants, but you’re missing out on 7-8 Spell Power in exchange for 330 Mana. While that much mana won’t matter at high levels, that 7-8 Spell Power won’t matter much either. As far as level goes, Mighty Intellect wins this race.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
These ring enchants require reputation grinds to purchase the patterns for, they both require you to be an Enchanter to activate them, and they both require character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list these two since they have the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheap to re-enchant it with whatever you want instead.
Mail Agility Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
For Hunters, Ferocity is the clear winner here as there isn’t an Agility enchant available for you. Outcast is a decent option, though it’s not spectacular since Strength is only half as good as Agility at best.
For Shamans, I would probably actually lean towards Outcast as Intellect and it’s value in Spell Power does have a direct impact on your performance with how much of Enhancement’s damage is actually spell based. You miss out on 17 Attack Power and some Hit, but you’re trading that for better spell damage, higher spell crit, and better heals.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
Unlike casters, Agility classes make out like a bandit on the cloak enchants. Stealth is by far your best option thanks to the change it received in the Shattering making it what it is today. Superior Defense is a great enchant when you’re at a low level, but the higher you go the less important it becomes, so from a leveling perspective I’d even take +3 Agility over +70 Armor.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Vengeance in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Enhancement Shamans get more use out of Stats enchants than any other class in the game. You get attack power from Agility at 2:1 and Strength at 1:1, but they’re also the only real melee/caster hybrid in actual playstyle, which means you’re also getting extra spell power and spell crit from the bonus to Intellect. Hunters also get a lot of benefit from stats since the stats of their pets are based on their own, just not on the same level as Shamans do.
Weapons: (Return to Gear)
Here again we end up with different priority based on the class you’re playing since I’ve grouped these by armor type and stats rather than class and spec. Hunters since there is no two-hand Agility weapon that you can use, you want to use +15 Agility for both of your weapons. Shaman you need to make a choice here between Crusader’s potential benefits and +15 Agility’s insured benefit. I’ve been running with dual Crusader enchants on my Enhancement Shaman and it’s worked great for me. As long as you’re using any combination of these two, I think you’ll be just fine.
Ranged Weapon: (Return to Gear)
The only enchants for ranged weapons right now are scopes which are crafted by Engineers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an engineer to use them.
The Standard Scope has no level requirement, and that’s the reason why I use it on my own. The Deadly Scope requires level 30, so while you get no benefit for those first 30 levels (not that you need it), you still have another 50 levels to enjoy the extra damage. The Khorium Scope requires level 55, giving you 25 levels of enjoyment.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
This ring enchant requires a reputation grind to purchase the pattern for, requires you to be an Enchanter to activate it, and requires character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list this one since it has the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheap to re-enchant it with whatever you want instead.
Mail Intellect Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
It’s up to you whether you would rather enchant more for DPS (Arcanum of Power) or Healing (Arcanum of Renewal). Personally, I went with Renewal for mine because I prefer Intellect over Spell Power for leveling because of the additional Mana that it gives as well as spell power. Since Mail DPS casters can also spend talent points to turn Spirit into Hit, you get more benefit from it here as well.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
If you’re wondering where the caster enchants are for cloaks, welcome to the club. Your best choices are professions-specific and will give you no benefit until you’re in your 60′s at the earliest. If you’re a solo player or like to level in PvP, then Stealth and Superior Defense are your best options because they’ll add some survivability. If you prefer to stay in groups then Subtlety is a decent option to help reduce your threat. My personal preference is Stealth, though I do have Subtlety on one of mine and a +5 to All Resistances on another. There just isn’t a good caster option outside of professions.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Discipline in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Weapons: (Return to Gear)
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. In my opinion, Mighty Intellect is the caster heirloom enchant. Now that we get 1:1 Spell Power for Intellect, it’s much better than it was before. You will get a little bit more performance from the other two enchants, but you’re missing out on 7-8 Spell Power in exchange for 330 Mana. While that much mana won’t matter at high levels, that 7-8 Spell Power won’t matter much either. As far as level goes, Mighty Intellect wins this race.
Ranged Weapon: (Return to Gear)
The only enchants for ranged weapons right now are scopes which are crafted by Engineers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an engineer to use them.
The Standard Scope has no level requirement, and that’s the reason why I use it on my own. The Deadly Scope requires level 30, so while you get no benefit for those first 30 levels (not that you need it), you still have another 50 levels to enjoy the extra damage. The Khorium Scope requires level 55, giving you 25 levels of enjoyment.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
These ring enchants require reputation grinds to purchase the patterns for, they both require you to be an Enchanter to activate them, and they both require character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list these two since they have the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheat to reenchant it with whatever you want instead.
Plate DPS Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
Ferocity comes out on top as it’s the only one of the Arcanums that benefits all of the classes that can wear the helm. Outcast isn’t bad if you’re a Paladin, but most likely you can use the Hit from Ferocity more than a little extra mana.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
Plate classes are all Strength-based, so you’re similar to the casters in that you’re kind of screwed when it comes to cloak enchants. Your best option is most likely Stealth, which is the one that I use on mine, but even as the best it’s not all that great.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Vengeance in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Weapons: (Return to Gear)
There’s really no contest for these enchants, you want Crusader. Nothing beats a 200 Attack Power proc that also has a built in heal. On a Strength-based class Crusader is the single most powerful enchant in the heirloom world. If you can’t find it, and I hear it’s significantly harder to farm since the expansion was released, then +15 Strength will work.
Ranged Weapon: (Return to Gear)
The only enchants for ranged weapons right now are scopes which are crafted by Engineers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an engineer to use them.
The Standard Scope has no level requirement, and that’s the reason why I use it on my own. The Deadly Scope requires level 30, so while you get no benefit for those first 30 levels (not that you need it), you still have another 50 levels to enjoy the extra damage. The Khorium Scope requires level 55, giving you 25 levels of enjoyment.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
This ring enchant requires a reputation grind to purchase the patterns for, requires you to be an Enchanter to activate, and requires character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list this one since it has the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheat to reenchant it with whatever you want instead.
Plate Tanking Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
Defender is the clear choice for tanks, providing a direct bonus to tanking stats. If you’re not putting this on the actual tanking heirloom, then I would probably still go with Ferocity just because a wider variety of characters would benefit from it, but otherwise go with Defender if you have the reputation for it.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
Even though the Plate tanks are all Strength-based, Stealth is a pretty great option for you here. Superior Defense wouldn’t hurt either, even if that 70 Armor is just a dinky little drop in the bucket of Armor you’re likely to have.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Warding in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Even though it might be tempting to reach for the extra health as a tank, I would still recommend that you go with Stats instead. You miss out on 60 health, but you get better threat from increasing your Strength as well as a small amount of avoidance from the increases in Agility and Strength.
Weapon: (Return to Gear)
There’s really no contest for these enchants, you want Crusader. Nothing beats a 200 Attack Power proc that also has a built in heal. On a Strength-based class Crusader is the single most powerful enchant in the heirloom world. If you can’t find it, and I hear it’s significantly harder to farm since the expansion was released, then +15 Strength will work.
The only reason I bother leaving the Agility enchants up there is because they are a somewhat decent alternative since they provide a small amount of avoidance. I still suggest you go with Crusader above all else, but these could potentially be used in its place.
Ranged Weapon: (Return to Gear)
The only enchants for ranged weapons right now are scopes which are crafted by Engineers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an engineer to use them.
The Standard Scope has no level requirement, and that’s the reason why I use it on my own. The Deadly Scope requires level 30, so while you get no benefit for those first 30 levels (not that you need it), you still have another 50 levels to enjoy the extra damage. The Khorium Scope requires level 55, giving you 25 levels of enjoyment.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
This ring enchant requires a reputation grind to purchase the pattern for, it also requires you to be an Enchanter to activate it, and requires character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list this one since it has the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheap to re-enchant it with whatever you want instead.
Plate Intellect Set
Helm: (Return to Gear)
Both of the Arcanums require you to grind reputation to purchase, and they both have a level requirement of 70. The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
It’s up to you whether you would rather enchant more for DPS (Arcanum of Power) or Healing (Arcanum of Renewal). Personally, I went with Renewal for mine because I prefer Intellect over Spell Power for leveling because of the additional Mana that it gives as well as spell power. Also, the only Plate caster is a healer, and you’ll value Spirit significantly more than Hit.
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
Stealth requires a reputation grind, but has no level requirement. The Embroideries require Tailoring of 400 to activate. Flexweave Underlay requires Engineering 380 to activate and use.
If you’re wondering where the caster enchants are for cloaks, welcome to the club. Your best choices are professions-specific and will give you no benefit until you’re in your 60′s at the earliest. If you’re a solo player or like to level in PvP, then Stealth and Superior Defense are your best options because they’ll add some survivability. If you prefer to stay in groups then Subtlety is a decent option to help reduce your threat, though as Holy Paladin you likely have spells that are far more useful than a dinky enchant if you do happen to get agro. My personal preference is Stealth, though I do have Subtlety on one of mine and a +5 to All Resistances on another. There just isn’t a good caster option outside of professions.
Shoulder: (Return to Gear)
The Inscriptions and Greater Inscriptions (except Gladiator) all require reputation grinds. Inscriptions require level 64 to activate, and Greater Inscriptions require level 70 to activate. Master’s Inscriptions require the Inscription profession and a skill level of 400 to activate.
My personal preference on Shoulder enchants is the level 64 Inscriptions, Vengeance in this case, because it gives me 16 full levels of benefit before I stop wearing the heirloom shoulders. Next up for me would be the Greater Inscriptions to use from 70-80. The Inscription profession is one that gives little benefit to having on more than one character on the same server, so I wouldn’t personally use the Master’s Inscriptions.
Chest: (Return to Gear)
While an extra 100 health or mana is a pretty big deal early on, it doesn’t take long to become nearly worthless. For that reason my personal recommendation is that you go with either the +4 or +3 Stats enchants. With Stats you’re getting 10 health and 15 mana for each point, plus you’re getting that buff to your primary and secondary attribute stats as well.
Weapon: (Return to Gear)
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. In my opinion, Mighty Intellect is the caster heirloom enchant. Now that we get 1:1 Spell Power for Intellect, it’s much better than it was before. You will get a little bit more performance from the other two enchants, but you’re missing out on 7-8 Spell Power in exchange for 330 Mana. While that much mana won’t matter at high levels, that 7-8 Spell Power won’t matter much either. As far as level goes, Mighty Intellect wins this race.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
These ring enchants require reputation grinds to purchase the patterns for, they both require you to be an Enchanter to activate them, and they both require character level 25 to activate. I don’t have the heirloom ring to try it out myself, but there are mixed replies as to whether or not there is an Enchanting skill level requirement to activate them as well, though it would be 300 if so.
Since only enchanters can enchant their own rings, I’m only going to list these two since they have the most benefit with the lowest level requirement. If you level an enchanter high enough to use the other enchants possible, the mats are cheap to re-enchant it with whatever you want instead.
New Entries 
Cynwise
May 2, 2011 at 2:53 PM
Awesome guide. Well done, sir!
nostalgeek
May 2, 2011 at 4:14 PM
Looks like an amazing guide but I have a basic heirloom question.
What are the advantages to heirlooms?
With the new designs, guild perks and such I already feel like i’m outleveling zones too fast so I’m concerned that the XP boost of heirlooms would just make this process even worse.
So are heirlooms really just for altoholics who are going to plow through zones and even skip some just the get to 85 the fastest way possible?
Psynister
May 2, 2011 at 4:54 PM
There are several potential advantages of them, but whether they really are an advantage or not depends on your own views.
To list a few:
Using heirlooms saves you the hassle of hunting down specific gear upgrades for their slots. Have you ever looked at your gear on a non-level capped toon and been kind of shocked that you’re still wearing a piece or two you picked up 20+ levels ago? It happens to me all the time. Having items that scale with your level removes that hassle because the items grown in power with your character.
The experience bonus is a really big advantage to a lot of people who claim they despise the leveling process because they only care for end game. The bonus is also an advantage for those people who don’t have a lot of play time but like to feel more progress during the time they do have, or for people who enjoy rerolling to different classes a lot as it speeds the time it takes to get back to where they were before.
Another advantage is the power trip. A lot of people really enjoy feeling overpowered in the game, and heirlooms can help you get that feeling (especially early on). As you get higher in level the advantage, stats-wise, of heirlooms versus quest rewards and especially dungeon drops, begins to become less and less.
As far as your feeling of out-leveling zones goes; what is it that bothers you about that? Do you not like questing in an area once your quests turn grey? Do you not like feeling overpowered where there’s no challenge? Do you not like missing out on the story? What is it that makes you feel like you have to move on to another zone?
This is an argument that comes up frequently when we talk about heirlooms, especially when we include enchanting them. In almost every case where it becomes an issue, the root of the problem actually has nothing at all to do with heirlooms.
Mel
May 4, 2011 at 8:19 AM
Well you kind of hit it on the head. I have no issues with heirlooms but I’m just not sure they are for me.
I don’t mind so much quests turning grey or feeling overpowered but if you’re too overpowered it just becomes a boring grind, albeit a fast one.
Mostly it’s that I won’t leave a zone until I’ve done most of the quests. I haven’t played through them that much so I soak in the story and lore as much as I can.
So yeah like you said it’s not so much a heirloom problem but the way I play the game.
Psynister
May 4, 2011 at 8:37 AM
Well there are a few different options here. First, you could just not use them and still go about playing the game as you have been.
Second, you could go ahead and use some of the heirlooms, leaving out some or all of the pieces that reward experience bonus (chest, shoulder, cloak, helm – leaving weapons, rings, and trinkets). That still gives you some of the main benefits of the heirlooms without the drawback of extra experience in this case.
Third, you could start turning your experience on/off as desired to experience content at the desired level range. Turning it off and on is a 10g fee each time, but you gain no experience when it’s off. You could do this at level 15 for example and quest until you’re getting into a level 20 zone. Turn your experience back on until you catch up, turn it back off when you get overpowered. I can’t say for sure how many times you’d need to turn it off and on, and it would probably become a hassle over time, but it’s the surest way to force yourself to experience content at the level you want to. And this method allows for full, enchanted heirlooms minus all the potential drawbacks while also providing the benefit of helping you catch up to the next level range you want to be in.
Mhorgrim
May 2, 2011 at 5:16 PM
Psynister,
Thanks for a concise guide. I still like the idea of Hierlooms while I am leveling and or PvPing in the lower zones. The tips and enchants are awesome as well.
Psynister
May 3, 2011 at 9:11 AM
Enchants just make the great things even better.
typhoonandrew
May 2, 2011 at 5:31 PM
Incredible guide Psynister, all my alts thank you.
Psynister
May 3, 2011 at 9:07 AM
Your alts are all most welcome. ;)
Becky Shimko
May 3, 2011 at 10:48 AM
I’m thrilled with your new guide. Up until today I referred back to your original heirloom guide constantly, this will greatly help advising guildies and friends with all the new gear choices. I have only one question about all your advice here. Crusader diminishes in effectiveness rapidly after level 60. What would you advise once you level beyond it’s usefulness?
Psynister
May 3, 2011 at 11:01 AM
The DR on Crusader’s effect is that it procs for +60 Strength instead of +100. The only decent alternative to it for Strength classes is
+20+15 Strength, which is still only30%25% of the proc’s effect.So for Strength classes, don’t change it, just stick with Crusader. For Agility classes, go ahead and switch to the appropriate +15/25 Agility enchants.
aster4jaden
May 24, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Fantastic you sir are beyond amazing. I love heirlooms I collect them, because I love leveling rather than the endgame.
Now i’m just curious, I have the 100+ mana/ health on my chest heirlooms. Could you explain why, greaters stats woukd be better because I don’t understand,
Psynister
May 24, 2011 at 4:15 PM
Aster, thank you for your reply.
As for why +4 Stats is better than +100 Health/Mana, it’s going to come down largely to which class you’re using.
To give you a quick breakdown though, we know the value of 100 Health/Mana as they are static across the board.
Let’s take a closer look at +4 Stats, though:
+4 Strength = +8 Attack Power for Strength-based class/spec or +4 Attack Power for Agility-based class/spec
+4 Agility = +8 Attack Power for Agility-based, a scaling amount of melee crit and (for now) dodge for all classes
+4 Stam = +40 Health for all classes
+4 Intellect = +60 Mana for all classes, +4 Spell Power for casters, a scaling amount of spell crit for all classes
+4 Spirit = passive mana regen for all, converts to Hit rating for hybrid classes who spec for it
The +4 Stats enchant does all of that, to all of the classes, though different classes benefit to different degrees. Pet classes for instance get extra use out of it because pet stats are based on character stats so +4 also buffs your pet while +100 Health does nothing for them.
Agility-based melee classes benefit the most (especially Enhancement Shamans) because they get a total of +12 Attack Power (8 from Agi, 4 from Str) in addition to the 40 Health and 60 Mana (Shaman also benefits from the spell power from 4 Int).
While you’re really, really low in level that the extra 60 Health or 40 Mana might seem like a big deal, but the higher you go the less and less it matters. At level 80 that +100 H/M enchant is basically worthless where a +4 Stats still provides you with a bonus that every class benefits from.
aster4jaden
May 24, 2011 at 5:07 PM
Thank you I ‘m changing to greater stats, much better than health/mana.
1 more question could you explain, why 22 intellect/ mighty intellect is better than 30 spell power please?
Psynister
May 24, 2011 at 5:56 PM
22 Int > 30 SP for basically the same reason.
30 Spell Power is just that, nothing more and nothing less.
22 Intellect though gives you 22 Spell Power, 330 mana, and spell crit.
If SP were your only desire then the +30 wins because that singular value is 8 higher than +22 Int, but the int enchant offers much more overall.
Jamin
August 30, 2011 at 4:49 PM
First comment – THANK YOU SO MUCH!
This must have taken so much work, I really appreciate your effort and dedication. Especially as I take steps into the creation of my first alt character.
Glad I found this blog (via google search for the above topic). Had heard the blog name scattered about the blogosphere a number of times, but had yet to come here. So of course – new subscriber /wave.
Great stuff,
- Jamin
Psynister
August 30, 2011 at 5:08 PM
Always a pleasure to help, Jamin.
It did take a fair amount of time to slap all of that together, but not everyone out there is as obsessive about optimization as I am or have all of the enchants memorized so it’s one of the more useful and reliable guides I could have put out there for people to use.
If you need help with the alt, feel free to send the questions my way. I’ve leveled almost everything you can imagine at one point or another (or several) and have 4.x guides written for quite a few as well.
Alshazari
October 26, 2011 at 1:37 AM
Just wanted to point out that the Venerable Dal’rend’s Sacred Charge is a Main Hand weapon, and cannot be duel wielded with the Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver. Any idea on the next best possible thing? I was thinking Bloodsoaked with crusader, and a Battleworn Thrash Blade with strength. Would it be of greater benefit to have crusader on the Thrash Blade though, because of the chance at that extra hit which means an extra chance fro crusader to proc? Love to know :)
Psynister
October 26, 2011 at 8:50 AM
Well, summon a monkey…
I have to assume I simply missed that rather than that it was changed to a main hand when I wasn’t looking, but I can’t believe I missed that.
You have two options then for replacing the Sacred Charge:
– Venerable Mass of McGowan
– Battleworn Thrash Blade
The Venerable Mass has almost the exact same stats as the Sacred Charge. The only difference (besides being a mace instead of a sword) is that the Mass trades roughly 1/3 of the Crit Rate for for twice that amount in Haste. At level 80 the Charge has 29 Crit where the Mass has 19 Crit and 19 Haste.
What sucks about the Thrash Blade is that it has no stats other than Resilience, and it’s a faster weapon which means that while it’s DPS is the same, it’s top end damage is lower. It does work great for getting procs from enchants, you just miss out on all of the stats (which really isn’t that big of a deal when you’re in full heirlooms anyway).
My personal preference between the two is going to be the Venerable Mass of McGowan with a Crusader enchant. Yes, you miss out of the extra chances to proc Crusader from the Thrash Blade, but the Mass offers base stat bonuses and a higher damage potential which should pay off more in the long run. When your’e wearing heirlooms you’re more likely to be killing monsters so quickly that Crusader being active is a huge benefit but at the same time you’re actively engaged in combat for such short amounts of time that the buff is often wasted or worth only a single hit.
TL;DR: Venerable Mass of McGowan with Crusader
Alshazari
October 27, 2011 at 12:02 AM
The reason I ask if because I am looking to level my low level fury warrior through battlegrounds. Im not to concerned with higher level stuff because I can simply replace it / switch to arms, but for low level I want to dominate. So with that, would you still recommend the mace?
[Edited by Admin]
Psynister
October 27, 2011 at 12:14 AM
I would. That being the case, you definitely want the mace for the crit from its Agility buff. The proc from the thrash blade is somewhat rare, so it’s better to rely on damage you can trust more.
Alshazari
October 27, 2011 at 1:18 AM
Greeeeeat! I can’t remember if I have the mace >.<
Gunta
October 29, 2011 at 9:33 PM
Hi Psynister, thanks for a great guide.
One thing I feel is missing though is the use of Lifestealing as an enchant for melee weapons. Crusader is a great enchant, particularly for levelling in duingeons or AOE, but if you’re levelling solo with quests, most mobs are killed within 5 seconds and then you’re moving on to the next one.
Lifestealing procs very often and it’s effect is instantaneous, shortening many fights in earlier levels by a significant amount. Crusader’s proc, whilst better, doesn’t occur as frequently (from my understanding) but more importantly is often wasted because the mob is down quickly enough anyway so most of the proc is being used whilst en route to the next mob.
Which one is better is debatable, I understand, but I feel that Lifestealing is a great enchant and at least worthy of a mention.
Cheers, and thanks for all your work on these pages.
Psynister
October 29, 2011 at 10:05 PM
Lifesteal is a good enchant, I don’t argue that for a second.
However, the enchanting aspect of this particular guide is designed around leveling with them all the way. While Crusader is wasted sometimes at low levels, that’s not the case as you get higher in level and mobs have more hit points. At that point Crusader becomes even more beneficial and the Lifesteal enchant becomes more and more useless.
Majik
November 4, 2011 at 3:57 PM
Dear Psynister,
this is great! thanks! i have just started a PVP char (mage).. now level 30… Could you help with those PVP enchants that you mentioned?
Thanks,
Majik
Psynister
November 4, 2011 at 4:28 PM
The enchants are virtually identical to the ones that I listed in the guide itself. Since heirlooms are always item level 1, you can never upgrade to the second tier of enchants. The only differences that come into effect are typically small.
For example, you might want to use the +100 Health enchant on your chests instead of +4 Stats because the extra health means better survivability. Or you might prefer an enchant on your cloak such as +5 All Resistances if you have a weakness against casters, +15 Arcane Resistance if Mages are your downfall, or +70 Armor if your weakness is melee.
Only the enchants that I listed which require your character to be a certain level (mostly helms and shoulders) will have any significant impact on your PvP performance that would require you to use a different set of enchants that what I have listed already, and even those won’t have nearly such a severe impact as ditching heirlooms all together in favor of old PvP gear sets at level 60, 70, 80+.
Blahman
November 7, 2011 at 5:28 AM
In relation to Fury Warriors isn’t the Venerable Da’Rend’s Sacred Charge better for the extra crit? This referring to stat priority
Psynister
November 7, 2011 at 9:25 AM
You would have to talk to someone who specializes in Fury Warriors for the answer to that question.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind for this situation though. First is that crit is always a percentage chance that something’s going to happen. Having more crit means that chance is higher, but with the exception of a handful of twink builds built around crit you’re never going to have 100% chance to crit every single time you attack. Second, Haste might be low on your priority list totem pole, but Haste always has an impact on your performance, no matter how large or small it’s always helping in one way or another.
So, crit is definitely a good stat to look for in your gear, but it’s by no means crucial as it doesn’t always happen. It’s like enchants that proc versus enchants that just boost stats – when they proc they’re great and when they don’t it’s like the stat doesn’t exist at all.
Looking at the two of them though, even at level 68 (the highest level you’ll dual wield one-handers, unless the one-hand version has magically become better since last I looked), the difference in crit is a 0.3% chance to critically hit between the two weapons. I don’t see that as a big enough difference to default to the sword over the mace, but that’s the only difference between the two so if that much crit is more important to you than 0.85% Haste at level 68, then by all means go with the sword.
Woweurodude
November 13, 2011 at 7:10 AM
Hello, great guide! Super to have all the info in one place!
I have one question that came up when kitting out my feral druid tank. I was trying to use both a knothide and heavy knothide armor kit on the helm Stained Shadowcraft Cap. Neither would work since they both have a level requirement. My druid is level 54 atm.
Woweurodude
Psynister
November 14, 2011 at 9:15 AM
Yeah, that’s why they don’t work. You have to be the minimum level for the enchant/kit before you can use it.
Gregorstuff
November 28, 2011 at 1:04 AM
lol didnt know that thx guys!
Micky Cooper
December 28, 2011 at 11:23 PM
Thanks so much for the info; quite helpful.
I do have an issue with the Heavy Knothide armot Kit you mentioned above; You wrote
•Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
The Armor Kit only requires level 60, but no grinding is necessary and you can have it crafted by a leatherworker.
Well my character is 65 and I have the Burnished Pauldrons of Might and when I go to apply the kits it says they are not the right level
Shoulders say:
Requires level 1 to 80 (65)
Item Level 1
Am i doing or thinking something wrong?
Thanks for your help
Psynister
December 29, 2011 at 11:02 AM
No, it looks like Blizzard stealthed on an item level requirement in one of the patches during the last 7 months. This armor kit didn’t have an iLevel requirement when this post was written, but now it requires a iLevel 60 item.
Your next best option for armor kits then becomes Vindicator’s Armor Kit (+8 Dodge), Magister’s Armor Kit (+8 Spirit) or Medium Armor Kit (+16 Armor). Looking over all of the armor kits it looks like they went and put item level requirements on almost every one of them.
Micky Cooper
December 29, 2011 at 1:37 PM
Yeah that what I figured. Thank you so much for your help