NOTE: This guide is currently in the process of being upgraded for Patch 6.1. I’m going to save the updates I make as I make them, so be aware that at this time there are portions of this guide that have been updated and other portions that have not. Once all updates have been made I will remove this notification.
You can take a look at this Wowhead Link for a full list of heirloom gear.
With my interest in WoW renewed, thanks almost entirely to people asking me to update this guide and me in turn looking into the game again, it’s time to get this puppy updated with the most recent changes to heirlooms in Warlords of Draenor.
The table below provides links for you to jump straight to your class and spec to find out which heirlooms you should be using in order to optimize your performance. Once you go to the section for your class and spec you will find a table that lists all of the heirloom items for each slot, at the bottom of that table you will find another link to see which enchants you should use on those heirlooms while you level.
That’s your new intro, now let’s get to the good stuff!
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 that class’s information.
This table points towards the new posts I”m making for patch 6.2. If there’s a link missing, it’s because I haven’t finished the guide for that class yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have this post updated as well. In the mean time, you can find the information you’re after by using the table below this one.
Class | Death Knight | Druid | Hunter |
Spec | Blood Frost Unholy |
Balance Feral Guardian Restoration |
Beastmaster Marksman Survival |
Class | Mage | Monk | Paladin |
Spec | Arcane Fire Frost |
Brewmaster Mistweaver Windwalker |
Holy Protection Retribution |
Class | Priest | Rogue | Shaman |
Spec | Discipline Holy Shadow |
Assassination Combat Subtlety |
Elemental Enhancement Restoration |
Class | Warlock | Warrior | |
Spec | Afflicition Demonology Destruction |
Arms Fury Protection |
The following table will keep you in this post, which is outdated by several patches but still works if not necessarily optimized.
Recent Changes to Heirlooms
The most recent changes to heirlooms come in the form of the Heirloom Tab, which gives all of your characters easy access to all of your heirlooms. Because heirlooms now count as a collection, once you’ve “unlocked” an heirloom to be able to use it, you can use the new heirloom tab to make as many copies of those heirlooms as you want. So, if you’ve unlocked a one-handed weapon and you have a character that wants to equip two of them, you can make two copies of it even though you only paid for the heirloom once. You can make an unlimited number of copies of any heirloom now.
They have also changed the heirlooms to have 3 different “tiers”, so to speak. The first tier will cause the heirloom to work from levels 1-60 and is the default tier for any new heirloom that you purchase. The second tier works up to level 90, and requires an item to be upgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Tier 3 versions require another item and increases their level range up to 100.
Any heirlooms that you had prior to Patch 6.1 were automatically upgraded to Tier 2 when the patch went live. You’ll still need to get your hands on the items to upgrade them to Tier 3. I’ll give more information about upgrading your heirlooms to the different tiers in the next section.
What Levels Can I Use Heirlooms?
Tier 1: Levels 1-60
Tier 2: Levels 1-90
Tier 3: Levels 1-100
Heirlooms that you purchase from a vendor right now will be considered Tier 1, and scale with your character up to level 60. If you purchased your heirlooms before patch 6.1, then your heirlooms are automatically upgraded to Tier 2 for free.
Upgrading from Tier 1 to Tier 2
In order to upgrade an heirloom from Tier 1 to Tier 2 you need to have one of the following items for each heirloom item:
Ancient Heirloom Armor Casing: Use: Upgrade an heirloom armor, trinket, shield or off-hand [or ring] allowing it to increase in power up to level 90.
Ancient Heirloom Scabbard: Use: Upgrade an heirloom weapon allowing it to increase in power up to level 90.
These items aren’t exactly cheap, but the good news is that once you use it on an heirloom, all copies of that heirloom are upgraded on your account. For example, if you happen to have several copies of the Dignified Headmaster’s Charge because you like to play a lot of spellcasters, you only need to buy a single Ancient Heirloom Scabbard in order to upgrade all of your Dignified Headmaster’s Charge heirlooms to Tier 2. So one item increases all copies of a single heirloom item (so all items of the same name).
If you have a cloth chest, a leather helm, and a cloth helm then you’re going to need three different Ancient Heirloom Armor Casing items in order to upgrade all three of them. Remember, these upgrade items upgrade all heirlooms with the same name, not the same type.
Upgrading from Tier 2 to Tier 3
In order to upgrade an heirloom from Tier 2 to Tier 3 you need to have one of the following items, and you need to have already upgraded from Tier 2, you can’t skip from Tier 1 to Tier 3 directly:
Ancient Heirloom Armor Casing: Use: Upgrade an heirloom armor, trinket, shield or off-hand [or ring] allowing it to increase in power up to level 100. Only works on heirlooms that scale to level 90 (Tier 2).
Ancient Heirloom Scabbard: Use: Upgrade an heirloom weapon allowing it to increase in power up to level 100. Only works on heirlooms that scale to level 90 (Tier 2).
These items cost quite a bit of gold, and they work exactly the same way as the Tier 2 items mentioned above. So a single Timerworn Scabbard will upgrade all copies of a single (by name) heirloom weapon, allowing it to scale all the way up to level 100.
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, or you just can’t afford the optimized enchant and need a cheaper option.
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, Monk, 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. Now that heirlooms are purchased primarily with gold, but can even be purchased by doing holiday events like the Darkmoon Faire, I don’t think most players will have a hard time now unlocking all of the available heirlooms.
Primary Classes (Specs): Mage, Priest, Warlock
Secondary Classes (Specs): Druid (Balance/Restoration), Shaman (Elemental/Restoration), Monk(Mistweaver), Paladin (Holy)
Slot | Item Name | Stats |
Helm | Tattered Dreadmist Mask | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Haste, +10% XP |
DPS Neck | Eternal Horizon Choker | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Use: Restore health |
Healer Neck | Eternal Amulet of the Redeemed | Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, Use: Restore health |
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 |
Legs | Tattered Dreadmist Leggings | Intellect, Stamina, Crit, Haste, +10% XP |
Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Ring 2 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Main Hand | Dignified Headmaster’s Charge | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
Off-Hand | None – see below | |
Trinkets | See Below | |
Suggested Enchants |
What About the Off-Hands? While the heirloom off-hand is a nice item to have in the mix, when you look at all of the heirlooms together it falls short. Of the three cloth casters, only the Priest is able to wield a the caster maces that would allow you to equip this item, and even then the staff is better. None of the cloth wearers can equip shields, so those are out 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).
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), Monk (Brewmaster/Windwalker)
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 |
Legs | Stained Shadowcraft Pants | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste, +10% XP |
Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Druid Main Hand | Repurposed Lava Dredger | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste |
Monk Main Hand | Burnished Warden Staff | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste |
Rogue Weapons | See Below | |
Trinket 1 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
Trinket 2 | Swift Hand of Justice | Haste, Kills restore health |
Suggested Enchants |
What About Brawler’s Claws? Well, so far I’m having a hard time finding the correct stats to compare the weapons. Are they good for Rogues? Maybe. Shamans? Probably. Druids? Definitely not. Monk? Probably, if you’re going for dual wield. I’m looking into this one.
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
Dual Wield Monk: If you want to dual wield as a Monk, then you’ll want a Venerable Dal’Rend’s Sacred Charge (Agi, Stam, Crit) and a Venerable Mass of McGowan (Agi, Stam, Crit, Haste) as your two weapons. The staff gives better stats, but there may be a reason for you to dual wield at some point. I have not researched Monk spells to see how much advantage you get out of dual wielding, if any, but if there aren’t great spells that require it then you’re better off just getting the staff.
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), Monk (Mistweaver)
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 |
Legs | Preened Wildfeather Leggings | Intellect, Spirit, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Main Hand | Dignified Headmaster’s Charge | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
Off-Hand | None – see below | |
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. Even the heirloom off-hands and shields in 5.x won’t top the staff for you.
What About Off-Hands? The leather casters (Druid & Monk) can’t use shields, so those are out. While you can wield the off-hand as well as the caster maces, the staff is better than the two combined so there’s no reason to really bother with the off-hand.
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
- Monk: 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 |
Legs | Tarnished Leggings of Destruction | Agility, Stamina, Crit, Haste, +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 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 |
Sorry Hunters, the expansion where they finally decide to give you a solid two-handed Agility staff is the same expansion that they removed your ability to wield melee weapons all together.
What About Brawler’s Claws? Well, so far I’m having a hard time finding the correct stats to compare the weapons. From what I can tell so far, I’m going to say that these are probably a good option for you if you’re an Enhancement Shaman. Are they the best? I honestly don’t know yet, but I’m working on it.
Weapon: Shamans cannot use Ranged weapons, and Hunters cannot use Melee weapons. Otherwise, both classes will utilize the exact same gear.
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 |
Legs | Mystical Kilt of Elements | Intellect, Spirit, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Main Hand | Dignified Headmaster’s Charge | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
Off-Hand | See Below | |
Trinket 1 | See Below | |
Trinket 2 | See Below | |
Suggested Enchants |
Weapon & Off-Hand Combinations
You do have some things to consider here when it comes to which weapon you wield and whether or not you should look for an off-hand item.
1. Dignified Headmaster’s Charge: Your best option for caster stats over all.
2. Devout Aurastone Hammer & Weathered Observer’s Shield: Second best option for Resto Shaman.
3. Devout Aurastone Hammer & Musty Tome of the Lost: Second best option for Elemental Shaman.
My suggestion is to just stick with the staff. If you’re going to do a lot of PvP, then I’d probably go with the Hammer and Shield for the extra survivability that you’ll get from that combination, but otherwise I’d just keep on rocking the staff.
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 |
Legs | Polished Legplates of Valor | Strength, Stamina, Crit, Expertise, +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 |
Warrior Dual Wield (2H) | Bloodied Arcanite Reapers | Strength, Stamina, 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 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.
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 |
Legs | Burnished Legplates of Might | Strength, Stamina, Parry, Hit, +10% XP |
Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Main Hand | Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver | Strength, Stamina, Parry |
Shield | Flamescarred Draconian Deflector | Strength, Stamina, Parry/td> |
Death Knight (2H) | Bloodied Arcanite Reaper | Strength, Stamina, 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 and shield.
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 |
Legs | Mystical Kilt of Elements* | Intellect, Spirit, Stamina, Crit, +10% XP |
Ring 1 | Dread Pirate Ring | Stamina, Hit, Crit, +5% XP |
Main Hand | Devout Aurastone Hammer | Stamina, Intellect, Crit, Spell Power |
Off-Hand | Weathered Observer’s Shield | Stamina, Intellect, Spirit |
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.
What About Off-Hands? Shamans, you’ll need to decide for yourself whether you’re interested in getting more defensive strength by wielding a mace and shield, or if you want stronger caster stats overall by wielding the staff. Personally, I prefer to kill things before my defense really matters so I’d go for the staff. Paladins on the other hand, you don’t have access to the staff, so you’re definitely going to want to utilize an off-hand. My personal suggestion for Paladin healers is to use the Shield as it gives higher Intellect and it has Spirit as well. If you’re more interested in Haste than Spirit, then you might go ahead and consider the Musty Tome instead.
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
This document was put together by @Aelobin, and links to a Google Doc spreadsheet: Enchants by Level
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 shoulder enchants). While the enchants 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, shoulder enchants 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. The Inscription profession can now make shoulder enchants for other players, but they require level 85 which is higher than the max benefit of the heirlooms in the first place, so that change makes no difference to us here.
Also, in the case of 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
Enchanting Heirloom Legs
I’m going to hold off on posting the enchants right now because even though there are a lot of leg enchants that appear to be available for these heirlooms, some of them do have item level requirements that don’t show up on their tooltips. That being the case, I’m going to try to do some more in-depth research on the leg enchants before I go ahead and post the information. Unfortunately, I don’t know of a good place to find the information on those hidden tooltips, so I’m going to have to either experiment in game or find another source online.
For now, just know that your only low level options offer a nearly worthless amount of bonus Armor rating which is decent if you’re going to have a low level twink but otherwise a waste of materials. The higher level enchants offer much better stats, but the drawback of their stats not being in effect until you reach a higher level. So do you want good stats for 25 levels, or do you want crappy stats for all 85? That’s up to you, but I’ll take the good stats for 25.
Collecting More Information
If any of you happens to know specifically of any of the enchants that have hidden item level requirements, I would appreciate the help cutting down the list.
Enchanting Armor Sets
Cloth Intellect Set
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Enchant Cloak – Subtlety: Decreases threat by 2%
- Lightweave Embroidery: Casting has a chance to grant 295 Spell Power for 15 sec.
- Darkglow Embroidery: Casting has a chance to restore 400 mana.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Discipline: +15 Spell Power
- Greater Inscription of Discipline: +18 Spell Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of Faith: +15 Intellect, +10 Spirit
- Greater Inscription of the Orb: +12 Spell Power, +15 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Crag: +60 Intellect, +15 Spirit
- Master’s Inscription of the Storm: +70 Spell Power, +15 Crit
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
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. Intellect no longer gives you mana, so it’s your call whether or not you want to increase your power or try to stretch your mana a bit so that you can kill longer.
Weapon: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Weapon – Spellpower: +30 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Healing Power: +29 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Mighty Intellect: +22 Intellect
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. With the changes in MoP, there’s no longer a great need for you to stack Intellect as it no longer increases the size of your mana pool. In Cataclysm, +22 Intellect was the enchant for casters, but that changed once again, making the Intellect enchants less appealing. Now, it’s time for Spell Power to once again reign supreme.
Off-Hand: (Return to Gear)
For right now I’m not going to include the off-hand enchants because until patch 5.4 goes live you can’t cast the enchants on it anyway.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Ring – Spellpower: +12 Spell Power
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Lesser Agility: +3 Agility
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Swordguard Embroidery: Attacks have a chance to grant 400 Attack Power for 15 seconds.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Vengeance: +26 Attack Power
- Greater Inscription of Vengeance: +30 Attack Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Axe: +120 Attack Power, +15 Crit
- Inscription of Warding: +13 Dodge
- Greater Inscription of Warding: +15 Dodge, +15 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Pinnacle: +60 Dodge, +15 Parry
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
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, 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)
- Enchant 2H Weapon – Agility: +25 Agility
- Enchant Weapon – Agility: +15 Agility
- Enchant Weapon – Crusader: Proc: Heal for 75-125 and +100 Strength for 15 sec.
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.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Enchant Cloak – Subtlety: Decreases threat by 2%
- Lightweave Embroidery: Casting has a chance to grant 295 Spell Power for 15 sec.
- Darkglow Embroidery: Casting has a chance to restore 400 mana.
- Swordguard Embroidery: Attacks have a chance to grant 400 Attack Power for 15 seconds.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Discipline: +15 Spell Power
- Greater Inscription of Discipline: +18 Spell Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of Faith: +15 Intellect, +10 Spirit
- Greater Inscription of the Orb: +12 Spell Power, +15 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Crag: +60 Intellect, +15 Spirit
- Master’s Inscription of the Storm: +70 Spell Power, +15 Crit
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
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.
Weapon: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Weapon – Spellpower: +30 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Healing Power: +29 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Mighty Intellect: +22 Intellect
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. With the changes in MoP, there’s no longer a great need for you to stack Intellect as it no longer increases the size of your mana pool. In Cataclysm, +22 Intellect was the enchant for casters, but that changed once again, making the Intellect enchants less appealing. Now, it’s time for Spell Power to once again reign supreme.
Off-Hand: (Return to Gear)
For right now I’m not going to include the off-hand enchants because until patch 5.4 goes live you can’t cast the enchants on it anyway.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Ring – Spellpower: +12 Spell Power
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Lesser Agility: +3 Agility
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Swordguard Embroidery: Attacks have a chance to grant 400 Attack Power for 15 seconds.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Vengeance: +26 Attack Power
- Greater Inscription of Vengeance: +30 Attack Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Axe: +120 Attack Power, +15 Crit
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
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)
- Enchant Weapon – Crusader: Proc: Heal for 75-125 and +100 Strength for 15 sec.
- Enchant Weapon – Agility: +15 Agility
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)
- Standard Scope: +2 Damage
- Deadly Scope: +5 Damage
- Khorium Scope: +12 Damage
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)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Enchant Cloak – Subtlety: Decreases threat by 2%
- Lightweave Embroidery: Casting has a chance to grant 295 Spell Power for 15 sec.
- Darkglow Embroidery: Casting has a chance to restore 400 mana.
- Swordguard Embroidery: Attacks have a chance to grant 400 Attack Power for 15 seconds.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Discipline: +15 Spell Power
- Greater Inscription of Discipline: +18 Spell Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of Faith: +15 Intellect, +10 Spirit
- Greater Inscription of the Orb: +12 Spell Power, +15 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Crag: +60 Intellect, +15 Spirit
- Master’s Inscription of the Storm: +70 Spell Power, +15 Crit
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
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)
- Enchant Weapon – Spellpower: +30 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Healing Power: +29 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Mighty Intellect: +22 Intellect
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. With the changes in MoP, there’s no longer a great need for you to stack Intellect as it no longer increases the size of your mana pool. In Cataclysm, +22 Intellect was the enchant for casters, but that changed once again, making the Intellect enchants less appealing. Now, it’s time for Spell Power to once again reign supreme.
Off-Hand: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Shield – Vitality: +10 Stamina and +10 Spirit
- Enchant Shield – Lesser Protection: +30 Armor
Until patch 5.4 you will not be able to enchant the Musty Tome if you choose to use it, but there are some options for enchanting your shield if you decide to use it rather than the staff. Regardless of your spec, if you’re going to use a shield as a caster Shaman or Paladin, you want to use Vitality. If you can’t get your hands on Vitality for some reason, you can go ahead and use Lesser Protection, but it is significantly less beneficial.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Ring – Spellpower: +12 Spell Power
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Enchant Cloak – Subtlety: Decreases threat by 2%
- Swordguard Embroidery: Attacks have a chance to grant 400 Attack Power for 15 seconds.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Vengeance: +26 Attack Power
- Greater Inscription of Vengeance: +30 Attack Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Axe: +120 Attack Power, +15 Crit
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
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)
- Enchant Weapon – Crusader: Proc: Heal for 75-125 and +100 Strength for 15 sec.
- Enchant Weapon – Strength: +15 Strength
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.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Swordguard Embroidery: Attacks have a chance to grant 400 Attack Power for 15 seconds.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Warding: +13 Dodge
- Greater Inscription of the Knight: +15 Parry, +10 Dodge
- Greater Inscription of Warding: +15 Dodge, +15 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Axe: +120 Attack Power, +15 Crit
- Master’s Inscription of the Pinnacle: +60 Dodge, +15 Parry
- Inscription of Vengeance: +26 Attack Power
- Greater Inscription of Vengeance: +30 Attack Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
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)
- Enchant Weapon – Crusader: Proc: Heal for 75-125 and +100 Strength for 15 sec.
- Enchant Weapon – Strength: +15 Strength
- Enchant Weapon – Agility: +15 Agility
- Enchant 2H Weapon – Agility: +25 Agility
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.
Shield: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Shield – Vitality: +10 Stamina and +10 Spirit
- Enchant Shield – Lesser Parry: +10 Parry
- Enchant Shield – Lesser Protection: +30 Armor
Until patch 5.4 you will not be able to enchant the Musty Tome if you choose to use it, but there are some options for enchanting your shield if you decide to use it rather than the staff. Regardless of your spec, if you’re going to use a shield as a caster Shaman or Paladin, you want to use Vitality. If you can’t get your hands on Vitality for some reason, you can go ahead and use Lesser Protection, but it is significantly less beneficial.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
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
Cloak: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Cloak – Stealth: +8 Agility, +8 Dodge
- Enchant Cloak – Superior Defense: +70 Armor
- Enchant Cloak – Subtlety: Decreases threat by 2%
- Lightweave Embroidery: Casting has a chance to grant 295 Spell Power for 15 sec.
- Darkglow Embroidery: Casting has a chance to restore 400 mana.
- Flexweave Underlay: Turns your cloak into a parachute for 30 sec.
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)
- Inscription of Discipline: +15 Spell Power
- Greater Inscription of Faith: +15 Intellect, +10 Spirit
- Greater Inscription of Discipline: +18 Spell Power, +10 Crit
- Greater Inscription of the Gladiator: +30 Stamina, +15 Resilience
- Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: +10 Stamina
- Master’s Inscription of the Crag: +60 Intellect, +15 Spirit
- Master’s Inscription of the Storm: +70 Spell Power, +15 Crit
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)
- Enchant Chest – Great Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Stats: +3 All Stats
- Enchant Chest – Major Mana: +100 Mana
- Enchant Chest – Major Health: +100 Health
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)
- Enchant Weapon – Spellpower: +30 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Healing Power: +29 Spell Power
- Enchant Weapon – Mighty Intellect: +22 Intellect
Casters have some really great enchants to choose from. With the changes in MoP, there’s no longer a great need for you to stack Intellect as it no longer increases the size of your mana pool. In Cataclysm, +22 Intellect was the enchant for casters, but that changed once again, making the Intellect enchants less appealing. Now, it’s time for Spell Power to once again reign supreme.
Shield: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Shield – Vitality: +10 Stamina and +10 Spirit
- Enchant Shield – Lesser Protection: +30 Armor
Until patch 5.4 you will not be able to enchant the Musty Tome if you choose to use it, but there are some options for enchanting your shield. Your best bet is going to be Vitality as it provides both survivability from Stamina and mana regen thanks to the Spirit. Lesser Protection isn’t a terrible option, but it’s not particularly good either.
Ring: (Return to Gear)
- Enchant Ring – Stats: +4 All Stats
- Enchant Ring – Spellpower: +12 Spell Power
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.
Update Log
[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.]
[UPDATE 5.0: Head enchants removed (now removed from the guide as well). Heirloom legs added. Monk class added.]
[UPDATE: Agility Staff and Brawler’s Claws added.]
[UPDATE: Heirloom shields have been added.]
[UPDATE: All info current through patch 5.3.]
[UPDATE: Patch 5.4 shook up the world of enchanting quite a bit, allowing enchants from later content to now be applied to low level items with scaling effects. Testing these enchant changes is not possible for me at this time as I am not currently subscribed to the game and do not plan to be until the Warlords of Draenor expansion releases at the very least. While I cannot currently do all of the necessary tests because I’m not playing the game, there are other people who have done some research and made their findings available to everyone. I will put a link to that guide here so that you can check to see if you would rather have a different enchant than the ones I have listed in this guide. You’ll still do just fine with my suggestions even if there is a better option now available, but if you’re looking to fully optimize your characters then you might want to scour this list and make some educated decisions.
[Update: Patch 6.1 brough some of the changes we’ve looked forward too the most since Heirlooms came to be. Primarily, we got the Heirloom Tab, which gives us a way to access all of your heirlooms on any character rather than having to keep track of which items where in which toon’s bank/bags.]
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.
tom
January 24, 2013 at 12:16 PM
My name’s Tom, and I fail at trolling.
Psyn would be so disappointed.
tom
January 24, 2013 at 12:14 PM
My name’s Tom, and I tried to post a stupid, trolling comment to one of the other reader’s questions.
Unfortunately, Psyn caught me.
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.
Ryan Swan
March 10, 2012 at 9:25 PM
22 Int > 30 SP in Cata. Once MoP comes, 22 Int = 22 SP with zero mana pool increase, so 30SP is once again KING.
Psynister
March 11, 2012 at 6:40 PM
@RyanSwan
Well, perhaps it will be in MoP, but MoP is still months away so for the time being 22 Int is still the best option. There’s plenty of time for them to change their mind AGAIN before then.
Allex
October 27, 2012 at 9:21 AM
I was thinking to put +4 all stats or +100 mana on my 24 lvl twink. I did not have all mats what I need for that enchant, than I make 100 mana before I put +4. Than I was surprise because it say +100 mana and before I put that enchant I have on lvl 24 700 mana pool, after I put +100 mana enchant I have 1300 mana pool ??? How is that ?
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
Ryan Swan
March 17, 2012 at 3:07 PM
For the *TRULY* hardcore, either with enough gold not to care or enough item currency(Justice Points, Honor Points and Champion’s Seals) for extra heirlooms, there is a superior enchant setup for at least the first 10 levels.
Every class should use gloves enchanted with “Enchant Gloves – Minor Haste” since +10 haste for levels 1-10 equals 26% haste. At some point after Level 10, one should swap out these gloves for +16 SpellPower, +15 Agility or +7 Strength. I use Level 1 non-binding white cloth gloves like “Tattered Cloth Gloves” http://www.wowhead.com/item=711 to do this.
For Druids, Paladins and Warriors using two-handers, “Iron Counterweight” http://www.wowhead.com/item=6043 has +20 haste which equates to 52% haste. Once you hit Level 11, the haste rating starts taking a hit. By Level 15, +20 haste is only 14.86% and by Level 20 it’s only 8.67%. There is a cut-off point near here where Crusader and +25 Agility overtake the Iron Counterweight in superiority.
For levels 1-10, one could easily have 78% haste! It certainly makes swinging those two-handers a bit ridiculous in a funny way. Enjoy!
Barrot
April 15, 2012 at 11:11 AM
I just wanted to extend a big thankyou to you for taking your time to make this extremely well made guide!
Psynister
April 15, 2012 at 1:40 PM
Thank you for taking the time to read it and reply.
Magerpayne
May 3, 2012 at 11:27 PM
Great guide thanks for writing it, but I have a question on the enchants. Some of them say that enchanting will make the item soulbound. Does that apply to the BoAs also? I want to try it but i have 2 mages that share the items. Thanks
Psynister
May 3, 2012 at 11:39 PM
Heirlooms never become bound to anything other than your account, regardless of messages from enchanting them.
Magerpayne
May 3, 2012 at 11:46 PM
Thanks for the quck reply
Psynister
May 3, 2012 at 11:54 PM
Thanks for reading the guide. I hope you continue to find it useful, and feel free to send any other questions you have.
Stevasmajser the Squishy
August 1, 2012 at 12:30 AM
Hi, tnx for the guide (*praises). Abother li’l thing could be added to the allready great set of things here: the profession-based item enhancements that stack with the “normal ench.” stuff, such as Engineering tinkering.
(Imagine my surprise when i realized that it no longer destroys the common enchantment i had on my cloak, as i tinkered it to get “flexy parachute”! I WAS afk 2 years+, but still, is that commonly known to pple?) On the other hand, when i tried attaching some shield spike on my shield, i got a note asking if i wanted to replace my 10 STA&SPI ench with the spike. :(
Those things would mean A LOT to many of us. :) Cheers :)
Tom
October 13, 2012 at 6:45 AM
Since Intellect no longer increases your mana pool now, would the +30 Spellpower enchant be better then the +22 Intellect one?
Ryan Swan
October 30, 2012 at 4:02 PM
Yes, +30 SP > all the rest now the +int no longer increases your mana pool. But, very early on, the +INT will add a lot of crit. At level 1, each 1Int adds .372 crit, so +22Int will add 8.184 crit at level 1. This will drop off quickly as you level, where +30 SP will win out.
Allex
October 27, 2012 at 9:15 AM
I am trying to found on internet what is best enchant for balance druid tvink 24 lvl and I did not found. Can you help about that. Second question is there any enchant for shoulders/pants or head from what I will have benefit on lvl 24.
Psynister
October 31, 2012 at 8:12 AM
Which enchant is best for a 24 balance druid depends on which item you want to enchant. Stack Spell Power where you can, Intellect where you can’t, and Stamina on everything else.
As for shoulders and helm, no there are no enchants that will help you at level 24. Pants can get a +Armor enchant from an armor kit that will help at least a little bit against melee classes, but that’s as good as it gets for that level range.
Ryan Swan
October 30, 2012 at 3:49 PM
” Your best choices are professions-specific and will give you no benefit until you’re in your 60′s at the earliest.” I saw a bug where a level 1 tailor could use the embroidery if another toon with the proper level of tailoring “enchanted” the cloak. Has this bug been fixed?
Psynister
October 30, 2012 at 3:59 PM
I wasn’t even aware it existed in the first place, so I’m not sure.
Ryan Swan
October 30, 2012 at 4:04 PM
Also, the Pyrium Weapon Chain worked or still works for level 1 alts as well.
Ryan Swan
October 30, 2012 at 4:06 PM
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/6794350815
CtrlAltDeny
February 4, 2013 at 9:02 AM
You still have helm enchants in this guide, they were removed in MoP
Joe Black
March 14, 2013 at 3:04 PM
Great guide really helped me out picking out the various enchants for my toons.
keep up the good work
Agapetos
April 25, 2013 at 8:56 PM
Hey, Psyn. I’m not sure if this topic has already been addressed or not, but I’m wondering if heirloom weapons become obsolete as you quest, do dungeons and make weapons with BS? I’m a relatively new WoW player, so I’m slowly learning, and your guide has been a HUGE help!
Psynister
April 25, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Heirlooms will overall outperform everything during the leveling process. You might find a weapon that’s “better” right now, but then you gain a level or two and the heirloom blows it away again.
The majority of things you make with BS are worthless until you get to max level.
Your heirlooms will only become obsolete once you reach the maximum level of their benefit, which 80 for the original versions, 85 for the new upgraded versions. Once you get to that point, you’ll find quest rewards and drops that blow them away.
Agapetos
May 1, 2013 at 10:58 PM
Awesome! Thanks for that tip! I was also wondering about the Musty Tome of the Lost. Is that worth having for casters? Or just use the staff?
Psynister
May 2, 2013 at 12:17 AM
The Tome is worth it for a Holy Paladin,but that’s about it. Keep in mind also that the only non-staff caster weapons are maces which some of the caster classes cannot use. The staff has better stats overall anyway, but there’s also versatility to keep in mind. Of all the casters in the game, only one class cannot use the staff, which is the Paladin, and only one paladin spec uses caster gear anyway. For maces, there are two casters that cannot use them (Mage, Warlock) and all six of those specs use caster gear.
Taylor Thomas (@PackOfHighly)
May 1, 2013 at 4:22 PM
Why do you suggest the PVP off hand for a dual dagger rogue? Why not two Balanced Heartseekers?
Psynister
May 1, 2013 at 6:36 PM
You can find the math behind it at shadowpanther.net, but basically it comes down to the weapon’s speed. Despite the difference in their stats, you’ll get higher DPS from the PvP dagger in your offhand because the faster attack speed will mean more poison applications and so forth. The PvP dagger is better from level 10 to level 80.
The Heartseeker is a decent offhand, but the higher your level gets, the more options you have for non-heirlooms that are better than the Heartseeker, yet the Kris continues to be one of the top choices.
Taylor Thomas (@PackOfHighly)
May 3, 2013 at 7:56 PM
Cool! Wish I didn’t already have two non-refundable heartseekers :(
Psynister
May 3, 2013 at 8:38 PM
The Heartseeker is one of your best choices for mainhand, so the one is definitely a good choice. Having one as an offhand isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not optimal. You’ll still do perfectly fine dual wielding them. It’s not like optimization is required for leveling these days.
Agapetos
June 12, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Hey, Psy. I wanted to comment about the heirloom shields. I assume that the one with spirit on it is for casters, (shaman, holy paladin) and the other is for DPS/tank, correct?
Psynister
June 12, 2013 at 8:22 AM
The spirit shield will be for all casters who can use a shield regardless of whether they are healing or DPS, and the other is for tanks. The only DPS that would use a shield is the Shaman, and they should also be using the spirit shield as it will give them additional Hit.
Agapetos
June 13, 2013 at 9:38 PM
Thanks!
Anahitaxz
June 30, 2013 at 12:45 PM
Very comprehensive guide for leveling. I’ve been working through some MoP materials and there are many BoA non heirlooms that you can now find. I.e. 450 ilv BoA weapons that require lv 86. Just something to ponder if you want to add it to the guide. The “Relic Hunter” title has a ton of higher level BoAs for that grind between 85-90 to do more.
Psynister
June 30, 2013 at 1:24 PM
I have considered doing this and been asked by a couple of people to consider it. If people are interested in guides for these even though they’re only good for a few levels, then I could go ahead and put one of those together.
Ryan Swan
June 30, 2013 at 1:55 PM
@Ana
The Archaeology spear is BiS for five classes, 85-90, so throw Dancing Steel on it after you level your DK. The off-hand and trinket are so-so.
@Psy
Leveling 86-90 takes longer than 1-60, in my experience. 86-90 is about 12-15 hours. 1-60 can be done in one sitting with full heirlooms and Zygor Guides.
KingNothing
August 30, 2013 at 10:42 PM
Hey man, great guide! This is exactly what I have been looking for for a long time! I entered my search differently this time and voila! Found your post here! Thanks for taking the guess work out of my alt-leveling process!
Psynister
August 31, 2013 at 1:04 AM
Always happy to help, King. Good luck with your alts!
Julien
September 20, 2013 at 8:32 AM
hello, will we see an update for patch 5.4 in the near future?
thanks for this amazing guide
Psynister
September 20, 2013 at 8:39 AM
Probably not, as I’ve been unsubbed for about 3-4 months now and don’t have any particular urge to get back into it. The gear itself hasn’t changed all of that is still accurate.
The enchants are the only thing that may or may not be up to date, and that’s going to take a whole lot of data collection and number analysis that I won’t be doing since I’m not currently playing the game. I might take a look around the net next week to see if any of the twink sites have broken down the enchants already, and then I can update based off of that. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for that part until (IF) I get back into the game.
Cyborg009
October 26, 2013 at 4:41 PM
Hi, thanks for the guide. I have been using it a lot and look forward to your update for 5.4.
In the mean time, I came across something that might help with your data collection.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AnBPvCvqWJ3udENtVlVmcjA4Q3ZQWmZKWHE3c201UXc&f=true&noheader=true&gid=17
Luca
September 23, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Thanks for the guide. Used it to gear my warrior accept one thing. Bloodsoaked Skullforge Reaver is not a mainhand anymore. It’s one-hand now so you can use it both hands.
Jerry Curiel
September 27, 2013 at 8:00 PM
Hey Psy!
Great guide! As someone who just got back into wow from Pre-BC, what would be the most efficient way to grab some of these pieces? I am currently leveling a feral cat Druid and am at lvl 67 and am in a level 25 guild. Thanks in advance!
Psynister
September 28, 2013 at 10:19 AM
At your level, the best thing to do will be PvP. Stick to the highest honor-yielding BG’s as much as you can, which are Alterac Valley, Isle of the Crusader, and Strand of the Ancients (if I remember correctly). Basically, the more people that are on the map, the higher honor yield it has, and the more objectives the better as well.
Darkmoon Fair is another great way for you to farm the heirlooms. Personally, I like to do the fair on as many characters as I can stand each month so that I can maximize my purchases. Then once I have all of the pieces I really want (since I jump servers fairly often) I’ll go ahead and stop on most of the characters.
Bryan Shon (@guntitan)
November 23, 2013 at 5:12 PM
Psynister are you going to update this to include the new leg and shoulder enchants that now scale with level? There is a google doc guide that is very good explaining the changes.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtvDnbklEKrodGdnNl9SM3g0SVpWdV9SdHJTazhLc3c&usp=drive_web#gid=17
Psynister
November 25, 2013 at 2:02 PM
These scaling enchants are confirmed and working in Live right now, or just on the PTS?
cokezero
November 28, 2013 at 1:54 AM
Confirmed working in Live.
nonominator
January 1, 2014 at 1:36 AM
SICK GUIDE BRO!!!
Pea Tear Griffin
January 17, 2014 at 7:04 PM
Awesome guide. I know you set this up for leveling. But if someone is interested in lowbie pvp, do you have a rule if thumb on honor points looms vs JP looms? (pvp vendors vs raid vendors)
So for example, I have a low level feral that is wearing superior storm shroud shoulders but you recommend the stained shadow craft spaulders. Trade off is agility hit vs stam pvp resil. I guess the AG and hit is preferred?
How about elder staff of Jordan vs JP staffs?
Or gun vs bow for hunters?
Thanks!
Psynister
January 18, 2014 at 12:09 AM
It depends on what it is you’re really going for. If you want to perform at your best, then I’d stick to JP heirlooms. The PvP looms are alright, but you’re missing out on power for the sake of a fairly small amount of defense that won’t really pay off all that much. If you’re facing other people who aren’t in heirlooms, then the defense isn’t needed at all in the first place, and if you’re facing off against other people who are wearing looms your reduced power is going to equate to them having more time to kill you which counters the extra defense.
Now, you’re not losing a huge amount of power so it’s not like you’re gimping yourself if you go with the PvP looms. Just overall, it’s better to go with the JP in most cases. If you’re really wanting to optimize a specific build, then there might be some changes here and there, but you’d have to really break down all of the math to figure it out, and if you’re really all that serious about optimizing, then there are probably better items than heirlooms for some of those slots.
Anthony Cortese
February 28, 2014 at 12:53 AM
idk if anyone has said this but for rogue weapons don’t you want a 2.6 speed weapon on MH?
Psynister
February 28, 2014 at 9:10 AM
Depends on your spec and whether or not you need/want to use dual daggers instead. If you’re combat, then sure you want a 2.6 weapon, but otherwise you want dual daggers. Combat does just fine with daggers while you’re leveling as well, so if you want to be fully optimized then you probably would want to get a slower weapon, but it’s not necessary.
Leilee
March 9, 2014 at 6:32 AM
Awesome! Your guide has become my go-to for… well, let’s just say five alts and leave it at that ;) I probably could have done it without this easy, simple and informative guide. But it sure does save a lot of time searching and compiling information from all over the place. Thank you! :)
Coty Ford
May 8, 2014 at 5:37 PM
Just a fyi kind of thing… The claws are better for enhance shamans as they are a little faster :)
Coty Ford
May 8, 2014 at 5:42 PM
and mongoose rocks way harder than crusader at low levels
Coty Ford
May 8, 2014 at 5:46 PM
at level 1 mongoose procs 90agi and 23 haste
Rawan Al
February 25, 2015 at 4:53 PM
Hey Psynister, are you going to update this guide for patch 6.1?
I hope you do cause this is the best guide I’ve been using for like a year now!
PLEASE UPDATE! D=
– Rawan <3
Jono
October 8, 2015 at 5:55 PM
Please update for 6.2.2 : )
Psynister
October 9, 2015 at 1:59 PM
I”m working on it!
Preben
December 7, 2015 at 9:16 AM
U have not made a guid for guardian druid.
Talyrius
January 17, 2016 at 8:40 AM
• Patch 5.4: Enchants no longer have specific level requirements. They scale to any level below their item level. See: https://goo.gl/4jQrrm
• Mists of Pandaria/Cataclysm shoulder and leg enchants must be applied by a level 85-99 character.
• Patch 6.2: A plate intellect set has been added (Lightforge).
• Patch 6.2.3: Mythic Dungeon bosses now have a chance to drop a new heirloom trinket that will scale from level 100-110.
Talyrius
January 17, 2016 at 9:16 AM
• Patch 6.2: Three new heirloom rings (Captain Sander’s Returned Band, Signet of the Third Fleet, Admiral Taylor’s Loyalty Ring) and a trinket (Touch of the Void) are available as rewards from rare naval missions at your garrison.