How to Unlock Legendaries in World of Warcraft: A Comprehensive Guide
Unlocking Legendary items in World of Warcraft is a crucial step for many players seeking to maximize their character’s power and potential. These potent items, once acquired, often significantly enhance gameplay, offering unique effects and stats. The process, however, has evolved across different expansions, notably in Shadowlands and now in Dragonflight. This guide provides a thorough breakdown of how to unlock and upgrade these coveted pieces of gear, focusing on the most relevant information for current gameplay.
Understanding the Basics: Shadowlands Legendaries
Before diving into specific methods, let’s establish a foundational understanding of Legendary items as they were introduced in the Shadowlands expansion, as their legacy still impacts the game. In Shadowlands, obtaining a Legendary wasn’t as simple as finding a lucky drop. Instead, it required a multi-step crafting process, involving specific materials and game progression milestones.
To start the questline for Legendary Crafting in Shadowlands, you needed to:
- Reach level 60.
- Complete the Main story campaign quests.
- Complete “Choosing Your Purpose” by selecting a Covenant.
- Complete your chosen Covenant’s campaign quests.
Once these prerequisites were met, the actual crafting process began:
Crafting a Legendary Gear Piece required:
- A Base Item of the appropriate level and slot type (these were crafted by professions).
- Two Different State Missives, crafted by Scribes, which added secondary stats.
- A certain amount of Soul Ash, a currency obtained from Torghast, Tower of the Damned.
- The Memory of the Runecarver Legendary Recipe learned and in your collections. This recipe corresponds to a specific Legendary Power matching the slot type of the Base Item.
To unlock these crafting recipes, characters needed a skill level of 100 in their respective crafting profession, and have completed the Intro to Torghast chapter of any covenant campaign. This would unlock the Runecarver, who was responsible for creating legendaries.
Upgrading Your Legendaries in Shadowlands
In Patch 9.2, Shadowlands introduced the ability to upgrade Legendary items to Rank 7, reaching item level 291. This required a new Rank 7 Base Item, along with the currency called Cosmic Flux, earned through endgame activities, most notably from the new zone Zereth Mortis.
Moving to Rank 7 required:
- 2,000 Cosmic Flux.
- A new Item level 291 (Rank 7) base item.
Furthermore, after completing Chapter 7 of the Zereth Mortis Campaign, players gained the ability to equip two Legendary items.
Crafting a Second Legendary
To equip a second legendary, players needed to obtain “Unity” a special power which allowed you to equip one crafted legendary and one covenant legendary. This was achieved through two primary ways:
- Buying the Belt of Unity item from The Enlightened vendor.
- Buying the Memory of Unity also from The Enlightened vendor. This learned you the account-wide Covenant-swapping Runecarving Power.
With Unity, you could then craft a second Legendary:
- You required the Unity power recipe, obtained at revered reputation with the Enlightened.
- A 291 base item with missives to convert into the legendary.
- Sufficient player bound currency for rank 7, such as Ash, Cinders, and Flux.
It is important to note, that only one original crafted legendary and one unity based legendary could be equipped.
Dragonflight and the Evolution of Legendaries
With the transition to Dragonflight, the system surrounding Legendaries underwent significant changes. Shadowlands Legendaries functionality is restricted to Shadowlands content and zones only.
New Legendaries in Dragonflight
Instead of crafted legendaries, Dragonflight has introduced new unique legendary items, often obtainable from specific in-game activities. One notable example is Fyr’alath, the Dream Render, a flaming two-handed axe obtained through defeating bosses in the Amirdrassil raid. Another example is the Evoker Legendary Weapon, Nasz’uro, the Unbound Legacy a 457 ilvl Fist Weapon.
Focus on Specific Items, not Crafting
The shift in Dragonflight is a move away from the crafting system of Shadowlands. Now, players focus on acquiring these specific Legendary items through boss encounters, quests, and other in-game activities. This change emphasizes the rarity and prestige of these items.
No More Crafting Base Items
Base Items, Missives, Soul Ash, and Cosmic Flux, which were essential in Shadowlands, are no longer directly relevant for acquiring Legendaries in Dragonflight. The currency and crafting mechanics from Shadowlands do not transfer over to the current expansion.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some of the most common questions regarding Legendaries in World of Warcraft, to help solidify your understanding:
1. Are Shadowlands Legendaries still functional?
* Yes, but only in **Shadowlands zones and content**. They are disabled in all other areas, with the exception of *Shadowlands* Timewalking.
2. Can I still upgrade my Shadowlands Legendaries?
* Yes, the upgrade paths for Shadowlands Legendaries still exist. However, given the power creep of *Dragonflight* gear, they are only viable in the zones they function in.
3. Are there any new crafting-based Legendaries in Dragonflight?
* No, *Dragonflight* has moved away from crafted Legendaries in favor of obtaining unique items through various in-game content.
4. How do I get Fyr’alath in Dragonflight?
* **Fyr'alath, the Dream Render** is obtained by defeating bosses in the **Amirdrassil raid**. It is a rare drop.
5. What is the Evoker Legendary Weapon and how do I get it?
* **Nasz'uro, the Unbound Legacy**, is a **457 ilvl Fist Weapon** that drops in the **Aberrus raid**. It is a **rare drop**.
6. Can I equip two Legendaries in Dragonflight?
* While you could equip two legendaries in *Shadowlands* with the use of Unity, that ability **does not exist in Dragonflight.**
7. What currencies are relevant for legendaries in Dragonflight?
* **No currencies directly tied to legendaries exist in Dragonflight**. Instead, the focus is on in-game drops and quest rewards.
8. Do legendary powers function in timewalking dungeons?
- Shadowlands legendary powers will not function in timewalking with the exception of Shadowlands specific timewalking dungeons.
9. Can I capture legendary pets in WoW?
* No, there are **no legendary pets that can be captured**. There are daily quest objectives featuring legendary pets, but they cannot be added to a pet collection.
10. How do I unlock pet battles?
* Purchase **Battle Pet Training** from the Battle Pet Trainer in your capital city. This skill applies to all characters on your Blizzard account.
11. Are pets able to be purchased in WoW?
* Yes, many pets are available for purchase from **various vendors**, including Covenant sanctums and reputation vendors.
12. What are the different qualities of pets and how do they affect battle stats?
* Pet qualities affect their health, speed, and attack values. The **higher the quality, the better** its stats. However, you cannot choose pet quality, and can only upgrade it through pet stones.
13. What was Soul Ash, and how was it used?
* **Soul Ash** was a currency primarily used in **Shadowlands** to craft legendary gear. You would obtain Soul Ash from the **Torghast** dungeon.
14. What was Cosmic Flux and how was it used?
* **Cosmic Flux** was a currency introduced in Patch 9.2 of *Shadowlands* used to upgrade legendary items to **Rank 7**. It was earned in Zereth Mortis and various endgame activities.
15. Where can I find the base items to craft legendaries in Shadowlands?
* **Base items** were crafted by players with the appropriate crafting profession and the required skills. They were never purchased from an NPC.
Conclusion
Unlocking and understanding Legendaries in World of Warcraft is a dynamic process that has evolved across expansions. While the intricacies of crafting and upgrading Shadowlands Legendaries might still be relevant for legacy content, Dragonflight introduces a new approach centered around unique item acquisition. By staying informed about these changes and focusing on the most current methods, players can effectively enhance their characters and continue to enjoy the ever-evolving world of Azeroth.