WoW: Top Ten Transmogrifying Weapons

Part of the fun of World of Warcraft is getting new items, and while getting better equipment is nice, any player of more than a few years has inevitably said, “Why can’t they make gear today that looks like it did back then?” (Note: this is not an MMO-Champion Forum nostalgia thread). So, as you get items that give more stats or have much more optimal effects, you may find yourself yearning for a more retro look, that you are unable to portray.

Luckily, Blizzard seems to have realized this dilemma. In Patch 4.3 is the ability to change the physical appearance of your gear. Certain items like the legendaries and goofy items like fishing poles and hamhocks won’t be able to be transmogged, but the bulk of old items should be fair play. While we as players should prepare ourselves to embrace armies of Paladins in their Tier 2 sets, I felt I might give a few more unconventional suggestions than just tier sets, and where you might find these items. Enjoy!

2x Spellfire Longswords on a combat rogue

#10: Spellfire Longsword

World of Warcraft has a strong collection of different types of people playing. However, most of these people would love to be living in the universe of the Star Wars movies. This item is just for them.

The Spellfire Longsword looks like a lightsaber. That’s all it is and that’s all I need to say about it. If you’re a 1h sword user, be it a mage or combat rogue or tank, you might want to consider using this as your transmogged weapon.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

All you gotta do is make a short trip out to Zangarmarsh and into Slave Pens on Heroic mode. If you’re an 85, it should be pretty easy to go and kill the second boss, Mennu the Betrayer, for his coveted weapon.

Shockwave Truncheon brings in da noise…

…while the Coilfang Hammer bubbles on

#9: Shockwave Truncheon/Coilfang Hammer

These 1h Maces can make any time Hammer Time.

The Shockwave Truncheon and Coilfang Hammer’s models, by themselves, are pretty unexciting maces. However, because The Burning Crusade was an expansion where the item development teams seemed to add cool flavor things to items on their lunch breaks, they both have pretty neat effects with the models. The Shockwave Truncheon, as it drops off the lord of sound, sends off resonating concentric circles around it, while the Coilfang Hammer bubbles, as it is a Naga artifact.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

Pretty simply, actually, at about the same difficulty as the Spellfire Longsword. In the BC heroic version of Shadow Labyrinth you’ll find Murmur, who will drop the Truncheon, while in the heroic version of Slave Pens, Rokmar the Crackler drops the Hammer

pictured: badass

#8: Veranus’ Bane

Unlike other types of weapons, guns, bows, and crossbows can all be transmogged into each other. While you can transmog a sword to an axe, you will be able to TM a bow to a gun. This is pretty awesome for hunters, as guns tend to be not as good as their less-tech ranged cousins.

I main a hunter, so it’s kind of a hard decision which ranged weapon to transmog into. I am an owner of the original Rhok’Delar super-epic from Molten Core, an item which has been since removed from the game. I’m also pretty fond of Ashjre’thul, Crossbow of Smiting, found off Chromaggus in Blackwing Lair and the Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle from the Opera Event in Karazhan.

However, no ranged weapon to me was quite as badass as the steam cannon guns from Ulduar. There are five recolored/reskinned models of these pinnacles of masculinity, but my favorite is Veranus’ Bane, with its sexy wooden stock and blinking lights. If Terminator went back in time to kill the old god Yogg-Saron, he would use this gun.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

Veranus’ Bane drops from Razorscale (whose name was Veranus before the events of the Storm Peaks questlines) on 25m difficulty. It’s honestly not too hard if you have a tank and a few sound DPS at lvl 85 to take him down.

If you’re not too particular on the model, you can find the other skins of this gun in the same instance from Ignis on 10m (very easy), XT-002 on 25m (easy with a tank, healer, and aoe dps), and Kologarn on 25m (also easy).

Spraying ink not included

#7: Terestian’s Stranglestaff

There are two staves that are often known as “the ones with the weird moving shit on the top.” One of them is Zhar’Doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer, and I chose not to include it in this list because every staff transmog everywhere talks about that one. I prefer Terestian’s Stranglestaff, however, which instead has a wriggling octopus on the head of it. Tentacle eroticists who play WoW casters, rejoice, for you have a transmog weapon.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

In Karazhan, there is an optional boss behind a trick room wall after the Curator encounter. I’d say most people could solo this fight, but if you can’t blow him up fast enough he could mind-control you, so you might want to bring along a buddy just in case.

They see me rollin

Kel-Thuzad’s reach, a nice off-hand to pair with the spinners

#6: Calamity’s Grasp

If you love spinners for your car’s rims, you’ll love these.

Fist weapons are kind of the black sheep of the weapon family; they’re often poorly-itemized, they’re never in any real abundance, and only two classes ever SOMETIMES use them (but not too often). However, I’ve always felt that they’re pretty neat, reminding me of my Assassin from Diablo 2.

If you find yourself using fist weapons past 4.3, you might want to consider this very unique model. Keep in mind it is only a main-hand, but the same boss on 10m difficulty can drop a pretty cool off-hand for it that’ll make you feel all Captain Hook-y.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

Go to Dragonblight in Naxx with 2-4 friends. On 25m, Kel’Thuzad, the final boss (you can now access Sapphiron and him just by clicking the orb near the starting zone now), will drop this main hand. The off-hand I spoke of drops off the same boss on 10m.

Makes me nostalgic for the most stressful 1hr per week every week during T8

#5: Scepter of Creation

Wands are another weapon type that are kind of in a weird place. Their damage isn’t good enough to use regularly, and most classes have mana regens (in the old days, casters might wand while their mana regenerated). As it stands, they really do nothing more than provide a stat stick for cloth casters, similarly to staves.

Despite this, there have been some really cool staff models throughout the history of WoW. My favorite is the Scepter of Creation, with a really awesome 3D circular effect around and Algalon-y starry base and blue crystal. If you are vein enough to transmog a wand, I’d go for this one.

#4: Bulwark of Azzinoth

Azzinoth was a Burning Legion demon-commander that was killed by Illidan in the War of the Ancients thousands of years prior to World of Warcraft. In fact, it’s where he got those nifty un-transmoggable legendaries he rolls around Black Temple with. Based on the size of this shield, Azzinoth must have been huge.

Okay, it’s not technically a weapon, but shield-classes actively use their shields, so close enough. The Bulwark of Azzinoth is probably the most sought-after shield for transmogrification, so if it bothers you that you’ll see it a lot, maybe you’d rather go with an Illidari Runeshield or Sword Breaker’s Bulwark.

But, I mean, come on. This thing is like the door to one of those tanks in Terminator: Salvation. It’s HUGE. I’d get it. I play a hunter though

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

All you gotta do is kill Illidan, the last boss of Black Temple. The last time I killed him I believe we had 3-4 85s, so that amount should do. Just make sure you know where you’re going; that place is huge.

For Alliance only

NAACP’s choice in polearms

#3: Fordragon Blades/Black Ice

We have another tie, and I feel like this one definitely goes to personal preference. These two weapons are both polearms, another wonky weapon class that doesn’t serve a huge purpose in the game. Druids and hunters often use polearms, but only as stat sticks, and even though druids benefit from the dps and stats of a polearm and are melee attackers in feral spec, you don’t actually get to see them use the weapons because they’re formed up. Alas.

Pre-Order WoW: MoP Now

Anyways, it was too hard to choose between the two. I really, really liked my Fordragon Blades in T9, but Black Ice was always this cool, unique, mysterious model from T7. The choice is yours, but I think these two are collectively the tops of the Polearm world.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

Well, if you play an orc hunter or troll druid, I’m sorry to say that the Fordragon Blades are Alliance-only. In T9, Blizzard toyed with the ideas of making similar, but different-modeled, items and tier sets for Horde and Alliance. We got a badass polearm, you got…I dunno, probably something else. If you are Alliance, you can pick up Fordragon Blades from Anub-Arak, the last boss of Trial of the Crusader.

If Black Ice is more your thing, all you’ve gotta do is take 1-2 buddies with you to The Eye of Eternity and kill Malygos on 10m difficulty.

It breaks souls

#2: Hammer of Crushing Whispers

A lot of people would fight me on this for the best mace model, but I just never really got into the neon crystally mace models from TBC like Hammer of the Naaru. This Titan-esque colossus looks like it kicks ass and takes names, and would definitely take my vote for a ret pally, dk tank, or fury warrior.

HOW DO I GET IT?!?!

Yogg-Saron, the Dark Whisperer, drops this on 10m difficulty in Ulduar. To get to Yogg, you have to plow through the rest of the bosses and learn a kind of obnoxious strategy, if you’ve never done the fight before, along with 4-5 others.

Apolyon, the Soul-Render

The Dark Edge of Insanity

#1: Dark Edge of Insanity/Apolyon, the Soul-Render

Two-handed melee weapons usually reign supreme model-wise. Perhaps it is because their size that designers feel they need to put more work into them, or maybe they feel the obnoxious warrior needs something equally obnoxious-looking as he’s cutting down your arena team. Either way, it is hard to deny the sheer awesome presence of so many two-handers. From Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood to the Corrupted Ashbringer to the Soul Cleaver, impossibly large, ornate 2hers are the pride of those who own them and the envy of those who don’t.

Bringing up the rear on this list are a 2her Axe and 2h Sword, both fantastic and incredibly unique models in their own rights. Dark Edge is that classic Vanilla weapon that was a status-symbol of a phenomenal guild who, despite the bugginess and under-developed areas of raiding in vanilla, were able to overcome and take down the hardest boss in the game by far at the time. C’Thun in the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj drops this truly epic weapon.

Similarly, Apolyon was a sword from the ultimate uber-boss of TBC, a half-tier that was designed to keep players busy with impossibly-hard encounters till they could finish the next expansion. Kil’Jaedan, the last boss of Sunwell Plateau, drops this demonically-tinged sword.

Both bosses were designed by Blizzard’s raid team to be “impossible.” I’m not making that up. Nevertheless, the indomitable spirit of raiders overtook the impossible and had access to fantastic loot like this.

Now that transmogrification is available, a little bit of history will be reclaimed in World of Warcraft, allowing PVP Barbie and Raider Ken to continue progressing into new encounters designed by Blizzard, while wearing some of their favorite hits.  

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