Warrior Horde Equipment/Instance/Questing Guide
1-10
You will be finding a lot of grey equipment initially hunting in the starting area, thus early on you will want to fill all of your slots and try to get out of grey quality gear and into some Common quality equipment. A lot of your items can be gotten via quests, but if you are in need of something, finding a blacksmith could help.
Things you should consider getting: Copper Battle Axe, Copper Chain Vest, and Runed Copper Pants.
The class mission at level 10 gives you a choice of a green one handed weapon, which is also nice.
All of your questing should be done in your starting area. Levels come quickly and there should be enough missions so that you never have to leave the area.
10-20 Horde
At this point, you’ll begin running across more green items. The Auction House becomes available so you can buy some equipment if something on the market strikes your fancy. Still, leveling is quick enough that, spending a lot of money on items you will replace in a few levels is not worth it. Around level 18 or so you can start getting shoulder armor, though without any bonus stats.
One should definitely do the mission surrounding Ragefire Chasm and the instance itself, as the rewards, for the level, are excellent and RFC mobs have a high chance for dropping random green items. There are 6 missions altogether.
The elite mission is Silverpine Forest’s “Arugal’s Folly” has a nice 2 hand axe reward.
Still the best rewards come from The Barrens. Finishing the first Quillboar missions has a green belt reward. Helping the goblin Gazlowe in Ratchet with all his quests will net you a pair of green boots. West of the Crossroads there is an orc with a Centaur problem. Complete his quests for some weapons rewards and also a ring reward. On top of the Guard Tower in Crossroads there is an Orc who wants revenge against the Harpies in the Northwest. Complete his questline for another choice of some good weapons. A goblin in Ratchet wants Raptor horns. Complete his mission for a nice cloak.
Also complete the Oasis quest line, as it is the starting point for the Main reward mission for the Wailing Cavern.
Blacksmithing pieces to round out your character: Thick War Axe at level 12 is handy, as is a Runed Copper Breastplate at 13. Rough Bronze Leggings should be cheap at 16. Rough Bronze Shoulder will most likely be your first shoulder pieces, Patterned Bronze Bracers are also cheap for the materials it requires.
Questing is mainly done in the Barrens, you do need to go to another area to finish leveling up in this range. Silverpine Forest offers missions, throughout the entire range or you can go to Stonetalon Mountain which starts at level 15.
20-30 Horde
Your first blues will come into your possession around this time. There are some world-drop blues available. On most servers, they will be VERY expensive. Helms become available around level 26 or so, though you will most likely have to buy it on the auction house if you want one before the Green Iron Helm, which is Level 29.
Lots of instances become available between level 20 and 30. So there is a lot of good loot going around. First at level 21-22 or so you will want to enter Wailing Caverns. The main quest has nice 1 handed blue sword reward. Also the last Boss has a chance to drop a Mail chest piece. Another boss can drop a blue belt and a very large turtle can drop a blue shield.
Heading to Shadowfang Keep after WC at about level 24 is a good idea. Lots of weapons drops in here. Most of the 2-hander weapons that drop are rather low percentage. Still, considering that the main quest reward gives you a nice ring, I definitely suggest you run Shadowfang Keep.
Next, head to Ashenvale, as there are a number of missions here you should do to get ready for Blackfathom Deep, and also one rather long mission that gives you a pair of blue gauntlets. For Horde, Blackfathom Deep has two main missions. Both give a nice blue reward, one being a nice shield reward and the other a one handed sword. Again, there are a number of weapon drops, but also a couple of Mail drops that you may get lucky on. The last boss also can drop a two-handed sword that is very nice.
Questing can be done in Hillsbrad, Ashenvale, also both The Barren and Stonetalon Mountains have missions till about Level 25. Thousand Needles starts at 25 so you can start there afterwards.
Crafting wise, you definitely want to get a Shining Silver Breastplate. It is one of the few lower level blue crafted items. Green Iron Helm should also be considered if you didn’t invest in a random stats item from the Auction House.
30-40 Horde
At level 30, you get Berserk stance, and the mission to make your class 2 handed weapon becomes available. The mission itself is rated level 40, but the weapon does not come with a level restriction, so the earlier you can do this mission the better. So grab a high level friend, if you can, and get this mission out of the way. If you can’t do that there are enough other weapons you can get till you reach level 40 when you can reasonably do this mission yourself.
Investing in a Green Iron Hauberk at level 31 is also advisable.
Around the same time, you should take a trip into Razor Fen Kraul. Stonefist Girdle from the main quest should be a good upgrade. The drops inside the instance are mostly weapons again, with a couple of Bind on Equip mail drops. Be on the look out for Corpsemaker from the Overlord. It is one of the better Axes around this level.
Now, Gnomeregan is a predominately Alliance instance, but Horde does have the main mission as well, to kill Thermaplugg. To get there, there is a transporter mission in Booty Bay and will transport you to the instance, since it is rather difficult to get to for a mid level horde. It is an interesting place to see, but the drops really are only exciting from the boss.
Scarlet Monastery is one of the best instances in the game. It is sectioned so that you can do each part at different times. The easiest part, the graveyard can actually be done around level 33 or so, while for the final section you really should be about level 39-40. This is definitely one of the instances you will run multiple times. The sections are not long in length, and the loot is good all around, though considering that at level 40, you will be upgrading to plate mail, passing mail piece to hunters and shaman is wise. The main quest reward is a good one handed sword. Other nice weapons in the instance are Ravager which is a two handed axe and has a whirlwind ability on chance hit. Herod’s Shoulders are also a nice piece until you get plate at 40.
Once, you finish up with SM, head back to the south of The Barrens and enter Razorfen Downs. Dual wielding warriors will definitely like the reward combo from Scarlet Monastery and here. Though the neck piece isn’t too bad of a reward, either, if you aren’t a Dual wielder. There is a nice Plate chest piece that drops here, and might save you the upgrade cost. The final boss also drops a Plate helm. A rare spawn boss has some nicer warrior equipment, a shield and a 2 handed sword, if you are lucky enough to get him in your instance.
For questing, you should finish up Thousand Needles. Head to Desolace, Arathi Highlands, and Alterac Mountains. The adventurous player can head in to Stranglethorn Vale, but expect a lot of encounters with alliance, so watch out if you are on a PVP server.
Badlands and Dustwallow Marsh are levels 35 to 45. Dustwallow Marsh is playable at 35, but I don’t recommend going to Badlands till 39-40.
Remember to save money for your mount, so pace yourself on Auction House expenses.
40-50 Horde
With the ability to upgrade to Plate Mail, you are going to need to redo your entire wardrobe. Fear not, it is for the better. Trinkets also start becoming available now. Level 40 also means that you should now have filled out one of the trees you were specializing in. Having the 31 point talent, means that your damage should now be significantly increased, and you should see a dramatic improvement in your effectiveness.
There are a lot of good crafted items that become available here, though they can be a little more expensive then normal. Truesilver Plate and Gauntlets are two good pieces produced by Armorsmiths. And to quickly gear yourself in Plate, I recommend either investing in Heavy Mithril Plate Piece if you are more of a tank or Ornate Mithril Plate if you consider yourself more dps oriented. You can also mix and match. In the weapons department, there are also a couple of blue weapons that a weaponsmith can craft for you. The Shatterer and Phantom Blade are both good if you need a one handed weapon. Blight is one of the few crafted Polearms, and in the later part of this range, Truesilver Champion is a good weapon as well.
There are 3 instances in this range, though one could argue that Razorfen Downs and the last part of Scarlet Monastery are still part of this range. Level up to about 45ish, at which time you will be ready for Uldaman in the Badlands. The main reward is a caster neckpiece only, so that doesn’t interest us much, but the Main Boss drops two 2 handed weapons and can also drop a ring with random stats. So chances are you will get a good drop from the boss. As a Horde player, you can also kill the 3 Vikings, for a chance that one drops a plate helm you can use to stun anyone for 30 seconds. Very handy, considering that this is one of the few ways for warriors to gain crowd control.
Zul’Farrak is next on the instance list, though while you are able to compete in the instance at lvl 46. You can’t complete all the missions. The main quest nets you the Masons Fraternity Ring. There is also a side quest that you should definitely do. The Mission to kill Gahz’rilla has a quest reward that gives you a trinket, Carrot on a Stick, to increase your mount speed by 3%. This is very handy to have, and is the only trinket that increases mount speed currently in the game. To Summon Gahz’rilla you need a Hammer, and to make the hammer requires a trip into the Hinterlands. There you need to scale up the Altar of Zul and then Jintha’alor to make the Hammer. Jintha’alor though is a level 50 elite area. Thus, it makes the processes of going to Zul’Farrak a little more difficult.
Gear from Zul’Farrak: Big Bad Pauldrons (shoulders) are a highly desirable drop of the last boss. He also drops a one-handed axe. The Overseer, the boss with the basilisks, can also drop some Plate Gauntlets with random enchantments on them and a one handed mace. The Priestess at the bottom of the pyramid can drop a polearm. Zul’Farrak is also the first instance in which an epic item is obtainable. Getting this item is extremely difficult, so one should not be going into the instance expecting it. The Epic item is a 2 handed sword. The weapon is created by combining two very low drop rate one-handed swords: Jang’thraze and Sang’thraze combine to make Sul’thraze.
If you got through Jintha’alor then you are most likely ready for Maraudon, so head over to Desolace. Maraudon has 2 entrances, purple and orange. Both entrances later converge on a single point, which leads to the second portion of the instance. There is a mission, Legends of Maraudon, to kill the leaders of the purple and orange side which allows you to get a warping scepter so you can always head into the second part at will. A lot of Nature gear drops here, which you should definitely save if you have plans of doing Endgame raiding. Noxxion, the orange side boss, drops a de-poison trinket and some NR Plate bracers which are nice. The Rock Giant boss drops Helm of the Mountain, and the final boss drops Elemental Rockridge Leggings. Definitely pick up the main quest reward sword, Trash Blade. Maraudon is fun to do, and a lot of good items drop for many classes. With the Scepter Key, you can pass four bosses of the instance very quickly, so running this multiple times is not a bad idea.
Trinkets that you should consider getting: In the Badlands, after completing all the quests to kill the earth elementals, one of the gnomes gives you a quest that gives you the Nifty Stopwatch, which is basically a Sprint Trinket. As a warrior, this can be helpful in getting out of a sticky situation. In the Hinterlands, when scaling the Jintha’alor you should remember to pickup missions from the wanted poster in Revantusk Village. One gives you a trinket reward that gives 20 Attack power and a 1% chance to hit. If you have PvPed at all, then picking up the Rank 2 Trinket, while not as useful in PvE, it does make fighting Mages and Druids easier.
Questing should be finished up in The Badlands, and Dustwallow Marsh first. Both areas are good through Level 45. Tanaris, Feralas, and Swamp of Sorrows are good through this entire range. Azshara, Blasted Lands, Searing Gorge, and the Hinterlands are all about level 45+ areas. Ungoro Crater and Felwood are good transition zones to level 50+, since they are considered to start at level 48.
50-60
The home stretch or it is until the expansion. Lots of good missions become available with very good rewards. Instance running becomes the norm for you. One starts to gear up for the endgame.
First, we will be heading to The Temple of Atal’Hakkar. This instance is some what sectional with a lower and upper area. There are 2 blue reward missions, though you will most likely be interested in only one, “The God Hakkar” quest reward is a plate helm. The boss that you need to kill for this mission also has a chance to drop a nice plate chest piece, so you may get double the benefit. The boss of the lower area can drop a blue belt. Weapon-wise there are 2 polearms that are Bind on Pick up, and 1 two handed sword can drop off the large dragons patrolling before Erankius. Erankius himself can drop a nice 1 handed axe, and a ring with random stats and +6 Defense. In order to do the God Hakkar event a second time, talk to the quest giver, and he will give you a scroll.
When you reach level 55, you will be ready for the first part of Blackrock Depth, deep in Blackrock Mountain. Much like The Temple of Atal’Hakkar, this instance is sectioned. The section is divided if the large door is closed. Level 57+ is required if you want to do the whole instance. In order to get to the whole area you need the Shadowforge Key. You get this from a quest you get from a ghost in the middle structure in Blackrock Mountain. You need to be dead in order to see him and get the mission. Rogues though can lockpick any door or switch in the instance, so it isn’t that big of a deal. Lots of items here, some though are very rare since they depend on what spawns in the Ring of Law Arena. There is a lot of fire resistance gear available if you need it. Lord Incedius has a chance to drop Plate Bracers with Fire Resistance and random stats. The Emperor has a lot of drops as well. Patch 1.10 has spiced things up with a better loot table and made a lot of items better then they were before.
For questing to level 60, you should start out by finishing up Ungoro Crater, Azhara, Felwood and Blasted Lands. Burning Steppes is also available, but you will be running into Alliance a lot, which is problematic if you are on a PvP server. Finishing up there, you will most likely be ready for Western Plaguelands and the early missions of Winterspring. After that, finish up your leveling in Eastern Plaguelands, Silithus and the higher level missions of Winterspring.
