If you're new or recently returned to World of Warcraft, you've probably heard mention of heirlooms. This stellar leveling gear binds to your business relationship rather than your characters -- so y'all can mail service it to your alts -- and levels as you practice, getting better as your graphic symbol advances through the game. And best of all, heirloom gear often grants y'all an experience bonus for equipping it -- typically 5% or x% bonus experience for each piece of armor. What that means is faster leveling with no need to worry about hunting down the all-time gear along the way.

Because heirlooms are targeted squarely at level 90 characters leveling alts, you might not have put much thought into them -- but we're here to tell you that you lot don't need to wait until level 90 to pick upwardly some heirloom gear for your grapheme. If y'all know where and how to get it, you lot can grab a few pieces as yous advance -- and with the sizable benefits they offer, you'll probably be glad you did.

But whether you lot're a new character leveling upwards or a long-time level 90 thinking almost a new alt, we'll walk you through what's bachelor and where to find it.

What kind of heirlooms can I get?
Though yous tin't make full every gear slot with a piece of heirloom gear, you lot can become pretty shut. You'll find shoulders, chests, legs, and helms in cloth, leather, mail, and plate with stats that are appropriate for most every class and spec. We say almost because there'due south only ane heirloom piece of spell plate for holy paladins -- lamentable, wannabe holydins! But beyond paladins, you'll notice heirloom armor for tanks, DPS, and casters of all classes. You lot'll also find weapons, cloaks, trinkets, and a unmarried ring.

Hither's what yous demand to know about heirloom gear earlier you purchase:

  • The stats on heirloom items scale depending on the level of the character equipping them.
  • For classes that wear different armor types at dissimilar levels -- for example, hunters can wear mail at 40, but from level 1 to 39 wore leather -- heirlooms of the appropriate type will calibration down to the right armor class then they tin be equipped. This means you shouldn't purchase your hunter leather heirlooms, even if they're under level forty.
  • Most heirlooms -- all just weapons and trinkets -- offering an feel bonus that stacks, so the more heirlooms you equip, the faster you'll proceeds feel.
  • All heirlooms have a cap by which they will non scale -- level 80 or 85. Most level eighty heirlooms can exist upgraded to level 85 heirlooms for a price.
  • All heirlooms can be equipped starting at level 1 -- even shoulders, helms, and trinkets, which y'all won't otherwise find in the game until later on.
  • Heirlooms don't accept a durability stat, which means they never need repairing -- something that's certainly skilful for your bank balance.

If yous get your heirlooms at low levels, you'll become the most use out of them -- but heirlooms picked up at level 40, 50, 60, or even 70 tin brand a big divergence in your leveling game if you accept the resources to get them. So just how practice you become heirlooms?

How to become your hands on some heirlooms
What makes heirloom items and so difficult to track down is that they come from a number of dissimilar places -- and if you don't know where to look for them, you might not find them. In that location are six different ways to go your heirloom gear:

  • Buy them with gold from guild vendors. Shoulders, legs, and cloaks are available this way, if your guild is of the appropriate level and has the right achievements. These are level 85 heirlooms.
  • Buy them with Justice Points, which are obtained by doing lower level (Burning Crusade, Wrath, Calamity) dungeons and raids. Shoulders, chests, weapons, and trinkets are available in this fashion from a number of vendors. These are level 80 heirlooms that tin be upgraded to level 85.
  • Purchase them with Darkmoon Prize Tickets, which you get by doing quests at the Darkmoon Faire. You can go the aforementioned shoulders, chests, weapons, and trinkets from the Darkmoon Faire that you tin can with Justice Points. These are level 80 heirlooms that tin be upgraded to level 85.
  • Buy them with Champion's Seals, which yous can go by participating in the Silver Tournament in Northrend. You lot can get the same shoulders, chests, weapons, and trinkets that you can from the Darkmoon Faire or Justice Points. These are level 80 heirlooms that can be upgraded to level 85.
  • Buy them with Accolade Points. Shoulders, weapons, and trinkets with PvP stats can be bought in this way. These are level 80 heirlooms that tin can exist upgraded to level 85.
  • Win outset or second place in the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. This will give you the option to pick up the Dread Pirate Ring, the only heirloom band currently in the game. This is a level 80 heirloom, with no upgrade option.

The reason not every newbie is running around with a full set of heirlooms is, of course, the cost -- the corporeality of cash or points you lot'll accept to vanquish out for whatever of these items isn't petty, peculiarly since Justice Points and Champion'southward Seals are primarily gotten through higher level -- though not max level -- dungeons and raids. But at that place is some low-hanging fruit on the heirloom tree:

  • If yous fish, the Dread Pirate Ring just requires y'all to grab 40 fish... faster than anyone else on your realm. Still, it's doable for line-fishing aficionados.
  • If you're in a society of level 10 or higher, heirloom cloaks are bachelor for 1200 gold. This may seem similar a lot, simply it's not terribly hard to come across as you level, even without whatever fancy gilt-making tricks.
  • If you lot're into PvP, shoulders, trinkets, and one-handed weapons tin can be had for 2175 honor, with two-handed weapons for 3500 honour.
  • Darkmoon Faire heirlooms are challenging because the Faire -- and its dailies -- are only in town for a week at a time. Still, y'all should be able to pick up a piece of gear every two months only from doing the dailies. This is a long time-span, sure, only for players who don't zoom through the levels, picking up a heirloom or two this way might not be a bad idea.
  • Past the fourth dimension y'all can easily farm Justice Points and Champion's Seals, we wouldn't really recommend buying new heirlooms for yourself -- but if yous're a returning player starting a new character, it'south worth checking out whatever characters you in one case played to come across if they have any to spare.

Need more than details on what or where to buy? The best resource we've found is Xabidar'southward Heirloom List on Wowhead -- information technology lays out the costs and points y'all to the vendors to purchase them from.

Getting heirlooms where they're needed
The big reason why it'southward a good thought for returning players to check sometime characters for the cash or resource to buy heirlooms is that these demark on account items tin exist mailed cross-server and cross-faction. So fifty-fifty if you're starting anew with a new character, new server, and new faction, yous can make use of some of the resources you one time had to give your new grapheme a head start.

To mail service heirlooms, just open your mailbox and address a letter of the alphabet to charactername-servername. Be sure you're but mailing bind on business relationship items, though -- whatever other attachments, from gear to gold, will prevent the postal service from sending. Similar sending mail to any grapheme on your account, the item will prove up in your mailbox instantly.

Non enough power?
This gear is pretty loftier-end for the average leveler, but if you're looking for more, y'all tin can enchant your heirlooms, too. Even loftier-level enchants can exist used on these level 1 heirlooms -- though they'll be scaled down appropriately -- so long as they don't cause an item to become soulbound when used.

Now: practiced luck and happy leveling!

Just because you're a newbie doesn't mean you lot tin't bring your A-game to World of Warcraft! Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything yous need to become started as a new thespian, from the seven things every newbie ought to know to how to go started every bit a healer or as a tank.