Classic WoW Legendaries Guide - Fantastic Items and How to Find Them

Each RPG game that developers decide to launch has its highest quality items with the best stats, worth a little fortune, coveted and hard to get. Something that you would literally kill for. There is nothing beyond them, and you can’t go further and reach a higher power. The Uriziel from Gothic. The Altair’s Armor from Assassin’s Creed. The Aerondight from The Witcher 3. The Titans equipment from Risen. We could go on and on with the list, but the concept remains the same.

There is a category of items, which we are given an opportunity to add to our collection near the end of the game. They are more powerful, expensive, and sought after than others.

Legendary items.

We’ll have a look at it from World of Warcraft point of view.

Table of content:

List of notable World of Warcraft legendary items

Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros

How to get Sulfuras

Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker

How to get Thunderfury

Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal

The Scepter of the Shifting Sands - how to get it

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian

Other legendary items in Classic WoW

The Ashbringer

Andonisus

Talisman of Binding Shard

Summary

FAQ

What are legendary items in WoW?

As stated in a little too long and too exalted introduction legendary weapons in World of Warcraft are designed to be the best in the game. Usually, obtaining them required completing quests longer than the introduction in this guide, and fighting powerful bosses. Sometimes more than once. Definitely, you will not find legendaries among the meadows of The Barrens, and buying them on Auction House may sometimes harm your wallet.

With time with an addition of succeeding patches, their meaning decreased (especially the Classic WoW ones), and obtaining them was no longer time efficient. It is like climbing the Mount Everest - it is no longer challenging, but it’s still a nice thing to achieve. 

List of notable World of Warcraft legendary weapons

In this guide, we will focus on legendary items in the game before the implementation of The Burning Crusade and following expansions. It means that we'll talk about the likes of Val' anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings, Thori' dal, the Stars' Fury, The Twin Blades of Azzinoth, and others in a different guide.

Also, legendaries from Mists of Pandaria were removed in patch 6.0.2, and from Warlords of Draenor - in patch 7.0.3.

Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros

It is one of these cases, where you walk into the instance to clap the boss, you see the weapon he's wielding, and you think: "Wow! This is so cool". It is exactly the case for Sulfuras, but "cool" may not be the word here, as the warhammer is made from lava. As soon as you step into the Molten Core and face the final encounter, you will see one of the most epic pieces of weaponry in the Classic World of Warcraft.

Of course, you will not be given an opportunity to wield the Sulfuras itself, neither to loot it straight from dead Ragnaros hand, as it is way too big for any race available in Classic WoW. However, Ragnaros zealots have found a way to replicate their master's weapon. These replicas are known as Sulfuron Hammers.

Sulfuras was added to the game in Phase 2. The weapon binds on pick up. Up until patch 1.6 (release of Blackwing's Lair) it had the highest damage per second ratio. Until patch 1.11 (the addition of Might of Menethil) it was still considered one of the best in terms of highest raw damage weapons available. With an attack speed of 3.70, it hits pretty hard.

Stats:

- Two-Handed,

- 223 - 372 damage,

- 80,41 DPS,

- +12 Strength,

- +12 Stamina,

- + 30 Fire Resistance,

- chance on-hit: hurls a firebolt dealing 273-333 Fire Damage + 75 damage over time (10 seconds),

- on equip: deals 5 Fire Damage to any melee attackers, that strike its wielder.

How to get Sulfuras

First of all, you have to reach level 60 and gather a raid group, preferably your guild. You might check our leveling guide on your way to Molten Core.

Whoever has Sulfuron Hammer and Eye of Sulfuras can forge the weapon. 

Obtaining Eye of Sulfuras is quite straightforward - it drops from Ragnaros. However, it has a meager drop chance - 3 - 4 %. A couple of runs into Molten Core may be required.

For Sulfuron Hammer, you have to do some running. You will receive Plans: Sulfuron Hammer after turning in the Sulfuron Ingot to Lokhtos Darkbargainer. You will find the NPC in the Grim Guzzler, deep within Blackrock Depths. The Ingot drops from Golemagg the Incinerator, the eighth boss in Molten Core. 

The recipe for Sulfuron Hammer requires:

- 50 x Arcanite Bar - transmuted by an Alchemist (1 x Arcane Crystal, 1 Thorium Bar),

- 10 x Blood of the Mountain - obtainable through mining Dark Iron Ore, or farming Molten Destroyers,

- 20 x Dark Iron Bar - smelted from Dark Iron Ore (160 Dark Iron Ores are needed),

- 25 x Essence of Fire - dropped by mobs and bosses in MC, and open-world fire elementals,

- 10 x Fiery Core - looted from mobs and bosses in MC,

- 10 x Lava Core - same as Fiery Core,

- 8 x Sulfuron Ingot - already mentioned.

A minimum of 300 Blacksmithing skill and a trip to Blackrock Depths are needed. Sulfuras can be crafted only on the Black Anvil, located deep within the instance. You should have already been there when attuning for the Molten Core. Black Anvil is the one that Lord Incendius wanders around. Probably he will not let you use it if asked kindly, so you may want to bring a group of friends with you, to ask him less kindly.

Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker

The best one-handed weapon in Vanilla World of Warcraft by a considerable margin. 

It's not that easy to obtain since it requires multiple Molten Core runs. To do the run, you will need a 40-man party, which basically equals a guild. In a guild, there is an order according to loot distribution, which means you may not be given the coveted item, even if it drops. As Thunderfury is god tier on a tank, usually it will be distributed that way. On a tank, Threat (thus DPS) is more desired than high Health and Armor values. If you are playing another class, the chances are that you will be a little further down the queue. "Sharing is caring" is not the case for Vanilla WoW.

So if you thought, that you will start playing Classic WoW as a Hunter, and you had a hope that you will live to day to wield Blessed Blade of the Windseeker, you might be disappointed. To maximize your chances of receiving this legendary sword, you'd need to start as a Warrior with the intent of becoming a tank, which means harsh leveling. And even if you reach level 60, you will also need a guild, that will ALLOW you to be their main tank. Otherwise, your chances are smaller, than drop rate of a Binding from either of Ragnaros' lieutenants (we'll get to that).

Back in the original Vanilla WoW days, you had better odds of becoming the main tank in a guild. The main tank meant Warrior class only. Druids and Paladins were off-tanks at best, and Death Knights were yet to be added. And no one would want to play Warrior because of the ridiculously tough leveling and gearing stage. Naturally, in most games, people want to play DPS and kill things. Nobody wants to sacrifice and be "the team guy," healing Priest or the buffing Paladin. It is why these useful classes were rare back then.

Today people have more knowledge of the game, and they have learned the real value of Warrior class. They will be more willing to dedicate their time and fun for future benefits. It means that the main tank role in most guilds will be more contested than it used to be. Sadly this means that your chances of getting the Thunderfury are dropping even lower. Not only will you have to play as a Warrior with his harsh leveling, but also it doesn't guarantee anything. 

Lore

This legendary item has a much deeper history than just being a hammer of the dreadful Firelord. However, it also involves Ragnaros himself.

The legendary item was once wielded by the Prince of Air - Thunderaan. It was until Ragnaros, already powerful by the time, came to a conclusion that he needs even more power. Accompanied by his subordinates, Baron Geddon and Garr, he attacked the Prince of Air. 

Eventually, prince Thunderaan was overpowered and bested by Ragnaros, who feasted upon his essence. Unable to devour it entirely, Ragnaros created a talisman containing the essence, broken it into two equal parts, and gave it to his servants. You can find them in Molten Core. Each of Ragnaros' lieutenants has a low (around 4%) probability to give you a quest item - Binding of the Windseeker. Right one drops from Garr, while Baron Geddon holds left one.

Funny enough, if not for Ragnaros, Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker would not have been made.

Stats:

- One-Handed,

- 44 - 115 damage + 16 - 30 Nature Damage,

- 53,95 DPS,

- + 5 Agility,

- +8 Stamina,

- +8 Fire Resistance,

- +9 Nature Resistance,

- on-hit: hits up to five enemies with a bolt of lightning for 300 Nature damage. Each enemy struck with the lightning has Nature resistance reduced by 25. The first target hit by it is consumed by the cyclone, which decreases the attack speed by 20% (12 seconds duration).

How to get Thunderfury

The quest chain for this legendary item is a little bit more complex than the previous one.

The quest chain for Thunderfury begins once you loot either right or left part of the Bindings of the Windseeker. It consists of three parts.

1. Examine the Vessel

To start the quest, talk to Highlord Demitrian in Silithus. For the quest to begin, you need to have either half of the Bindings of the Windseeker. You will receive the Vessel of Rebirth, and a task to examine it. It will require you to, well, examine it.

2. Thunderaan the Windseeker

It is the gathering quest. You are tasked with collecting:

- 10 x Elementium Bars - probably the most complicated part of all three. To gather the Elementium Bars first, you need to go to BWL and have your Mage use his tools force Master Elemental Shaper Krixix to teach you, how to smelt Elementium. His ability Teach Smelt Elementium has to be used on miner with 300 Mining skill points. For smelting Elementium you will need to collect 10 Arcanite Bars, Fiery Core, Elementium Ore, and 3 Elemental Flux,

- Essence of the Firelord - the most straightforward part; the item drops from Ragnaros, and it is a 100% drop chance,

- The other half of the Binding - depending on the half you already have in your bag, you will have to kill either Garr or Baron Geddon, and loot it. No philosophy here, only patience and luck.

3. Rise, Thunderfury!

Once you collected all of these, you can go to Highlord Demitrian to turn in the quest. He will summon the Air Prince Thunderaan, who is apparently very much eager to kill you. The encounter is doable with the 20-man party if proper geared, however, a 40-man squad is recommended. Upon death, Thunderaan will drop a Dormant Wind Kissed Blade.

Turn in all legendary items to Highlord Demitrian, and he will give you Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.

Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal

It was the only bug-type mount available to ride on outside of the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj. To this day, it is one of the most sought after World of Warcraft mounts. It is no longer available, and the only way to get it is to buy WoW Classic account with it. It granted 310% speed, so you could be really mobile, and during Vanilla WoW days, mobility was priceless.

The origins of the legendary mount begin thousands of years ago during the War of the Shifting Sands.

What was the War of the Shifting Sands

Hundreds of years before the First War and Burning Legion invasion, the Troll War divided the kingdom of insectoid race, aqir, into two half, and exiled the natives. Half of the exiles went north and took refuge in Azjol'Nerub, becoming nerubians. The other half went south, to the deserts of Silithus. Once they came to Ahn'Qiraj, they knew they will live there in their new home.

What they didn't know was that it is also a prison complex of an Old God - C'Thun.

Centuries later Night Elves led by archdruid Frandal Staghelm decided to bring back fertility to desert lands of Silithus. The archmage's son, Valstann, gathered an expedition and ventured to Silithus in search of water. He found the mysterious complex, and decided to explore it, although his companions advised him to turn around and leave this wretched place be.

Valstann has awakened the long-dormant qiraji, who walked out of the ancient city and swarmed around the Kalimdor. It started the war that the world had never seen before. Night Elves forces were pushing the enemies back and forth, without gaining any significant advantage. It was until Valstann was caught out and sliced to pieces. Frandal was depressed and lost his spirit to fight, which gave the qiraji an edge. They've pushed the elven forces back to Tanaris.

Once they reached the Caverns of Time, they have caught the attention of bronze Dragonflight. It was when Fandral Staghelm asked Anachronos, the progeny of Nozdormu, for help. Anachronos answered the call. Joint armies of Night Elves and dragons successfully pushed back the insectoids back to Ahn'Qiraj. They couldn't, however, deliver the final blow and finish the conflict.

Then three dragons - Merithra, Caelestrasz, and Arygos - decided to sacrifice to give others time for sealing the qiraji in their city. As they flew into the qiraji capital city, Fandral Staghelm aided by other druids, created a wall made of stones and roots, the Scarab Wall. Anachronos then took a severed limb of one of his fallen companions and transformed it into a scepter. He caught a scarab scuttling nearby and made a gong out of him. Anachronos said, that should the time come to open the gates of Ahn'Qiraj, one must ring a gong with a scepter.

He gave the Scepter of the Shifting Sands to Fandral, but the Arch-druid shattered it into pieces. Anachronos collected the shards and distributed them among Dragonflight. He gave the blue one to the blue dragon Azuregos, the red one to the red dragon Vaelestrasz, and the green one to the green dragon, Eranikus, keeping the last one for himself.

Gates of Ahn'Qiraj

It was the first ever worldwide event, that required advanced cross-faction cooperation. It is when players had to temporarily bury the hatchet, and work together to ring a gong. Players from US server Medivh, on January 23rd, 2006 won the race. Their collective effort gave them the title of World's First.

There was no such event before, nor ever since. Blizzard organized some realm-wide pre-expansion events, but never as big as Gates of Ahn'Qiraj Despite its epicness and scale, and the event was still full of lags, server crashes, and bugs (and we don't mean the insectoids within AQ).

To open the gates, a quest called War Effort required all server players to turn in:

- 90k x Copper Bar - 1 Signet,

- 26k x Purple Lotus - 7 Signets,

- 80k x Thick Leather - 7 Signets,

- 17k x Spotted Yellowtail - 7 Signets,

- 400k x Runecloth Bandage - 10 Signets.

The Horde had to hoard:

- 22k x Tin Bar - 3 Signets,

- 18k x Mithril Bar - 7 Signets,

- 96k x Peacebloom - 1 Signet,

- 19k x Firebloom - 5 Signets,

- 60k x Heavy Leather - 5 Signets,

- 60k x Rugged Leather - 10 Signets,

- 10k Lean Wolf Steak - 1 Signet,

- 10k Baked Salmon - 10 Signets,

- 250k x Wool Bandage - 3 Signets,

- 250k x Mageweave Bandage - 7 Signets.

You had to report with the supplies to Valley of Spirits in Orgrimmar.

The Alliance had to amass:

- 28k x Iron Bar - 5 Signets,

- 24k x Thorium Bar - 10 Signets,

- 20k x Arthas' Tears - 10 Signets,

- 33k x Stranglekelp - 3 Signets,

- 180k x Light Leather - 1 Signet,

- 110k x Medium Leather - 3 Signets,

- 20k x Roast Raptor - 5 Signets,

- 14k x Rainbow Fin Albacore - 3 Signets,

- 800k x Linen Bandage - 1 Signet,

- 600k x Silk Bandage - 5 Signets.

The supplies had to be gathered in Military Ward of Ironforge.

As all resources and supplies were delivered to its destination, both Horde and Alliance began transporting them, as well as moving NPC forces, to Silithus.

Once the Scarab Gong was struck with the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj opened, and a vast swarm of hostile NPCs began pouring out. Resonating obelisks appeared in numerous locations throughout the continent, along with giant Anubisaths and silithids. From this point onwards whoever managed to recreate the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, had ten hours to ring a gong, and receive the legendary mount.

The Scepter of Shifting Sands - how to get it

The Scepter itself is not a legendary item, but it serves the purpose of summoning the mount. It was the one and only legendary mount back then, except for the GM's mount, thus the only available for common use. 

As was said, Fandral Staghelm was given the Scepter by Anachronos, to shatter it soon after. Anachronos then gave the shards to three dragons, keeping one for himself. As you may have figured it out already, your job is to retrieve those shards, which considers one of the lengthiest, hardest, and mentally demanding quest chains ever applied to World of Warcraft.

The Scepter of the Shifting Sands - difficulties overview

The first difficulty, which led to other ones, was that some quest items were one-person drops. It meant that for killing a particular mob or boss, only one person was able to loot the item needed for further progression. And it was quite easy, if the item really dropped, as some of them had a rather low drop chance.

The second difficulty concerned the mobs you needed to kill. Some of them could have been easily soloed; some required a 5 or 10-man squad, or a whole 40-man raid. It meant, that basically (just like Thunderfury) you needed a guild to even think about doing the quest.

The third difficulty was that it had to be decided, who gets the loot priority. It wasn't that easy to determine, like in case of Thunderfury. The legendary mount could be handy on everyone, not just tank or DPS. So who gets it? It is not a problem when the guild comes to a conclusion: "Hey, guys, let's work together to get the reward and give it to our leader so that we make it." Or simply roll the dice. The problem occurs when your guild struggles to get to consensus. According to our guild guide, loot argument often is a direct reason for guilds falling apart. If any discord happens, your guild probably will not make it to the Scepter.

The fourth problem is that some quests in the quest chain required killing an open-world boss, or any other open-world activity. As we know, people are envious, mean, and generally, they don't like it when someone is having a good time or reaches a success. It was precisely the case for Qiraji tank mount race. Many guilds attempted to finish the quest, and many griefers tried to sabotage it. Hopefully, you are not this kind of players.

The fifth problem is the time. To be fair, time is not your friend during this quest chain. You have a ten-hour window from opening the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj to ring a gong and get the Resonating Black Qiraji Crystal. You can do it afterward, and you will finish the quest, but you will not receive the reward. Nefarian destroys his shard five hours after your encounter with Vaelestrasz. If you fail, it means starting over. Not to mention bronze Dragonflight reputation grind, that forced you to cancel all the meeting with friends to complete. Ten hours seem much if we consider waiting for a doctor or being in school. But in this case, ten hours time-span may be not enough.

Finally, the sixth and the ultimate obstacle is "The bane of the game" - patience. How many times have we failed in a game due to impatience? That's right; mental stability and healthy nerves mean everything. Impatience leads to recklessness, and recklessness implies failure. It is where the most adventurers failed during the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain. Running all around Azeroth doing some soul-destroying, tedious stuff, like collecting the Draconic for Dummies chapters or farming Carapace Fragments, can be lethal for your sanity. So if you aim for acquiring one of the rarest mounts in the whole World of Warcraft, be prepared for the struggle.

For some top guilds (like Method), that have to be the first and the best in everything in the game, this will not be a problem. There will be a command: "We do this" period. But for casual players… R. I. P.

1. The Beginning

The quest chain begins in Cenarion Hold. Your task is to find a NPC named Baristolth of the Shifting Sands. He gives you a quest What tomorrow brings, which sends you to Tanaris, to Caverns of Time to talk to bronze Dragonflight. He provides no more useful information.

As you find the bronze dragon by the name of Anachronos, he will give you the quest Only ONE may rise… . It includes beheading the Broodlord Lashlayer, who resides in Halls of Strife in Blackrock Mountain. He is a part of Blackwing Lair raid. Mark this down, as it will not be the only occasion to run this one. The boss is not demanding. The hardest part is that only one person of your 40-man raid group receives the drop.

After turning in the drakonid's head, you will begin The path of the righteous quest. It is one of the most challenging parts of the quest chains, as it involves a hell lot of pure grinding. Even if you kill one of the most loyal black dragon lieutenants, the bronze Dragonflight still don't like you. You need to step up and improve your reputation with Brood of Nozdormu from Hated to Neutral. You'll be given an Agent of Nozdormu badge and sent out to kill silithids. You are to return after collecting 200 carapace fragments. It can take a quite a bit of time since every mob drops ranged from 1 to 4 fragments. You will rarely find a video describing the process, as it would be pretty damn long.

As you turn in the first 200 fragments, you will be rewarded with 500 reputation with Brood of Nozdormu. Only 35,500 to go. Have no worries, Anachronos will provide you with Proxy of Nozdormu. The item allows some of your friends to help you out with the grind. It is when being a part of a loyal guild becomes handy. It is also when the most players give up. Like we said - this is a mentally demanding quest.

After you killed a bajillion of silithids, and reach Neutral with Brood of Nozdormu, you were given a quest to go to Silithus and find a Crystalline Tear. The item represents the bronze Dragonflight losses during the War of the Shifting Sands. As you find it and examine it, you will see a cutscene, which covers the lore part of the quest. We've talked about it earlier. It is when your character finds out, that the Scepter was shattered into four pieces, with each piece entrusted to a different dragon. 

2. Green Shard

This part was given to a green dragon, Eranikus. He was an important part of green Dragonflight, a consort to Ysera, the Aspect herself. She sent him to the Temple of Atol' Hakkar (The Sunken Temple) to get rid of physical emanation of the blood loa, Hakkar. Eranikus succeeded, but after hundreds of years guarding the Temple, he has lost himself in the Emerald Nightmare. What's left of him is his shade, attacking every living being that approaches.

Upon reaching Eranikus in The Sunken Temple, a spirit of Malfurion Stormrage appears. He says that to retrieve the shard, you will have to cleanse the Eranikus and bring him back from the Emerald Nightmare. He sends you out to Darnassus to find an agent of the priestess, Tyrande Whisperwind. The agent - a whisp - tells you that the meeting will be arranged, and you have to find the Keeper Remulos.

However, the catch is that the dreamer has to leave the Dream willingly, and you can't force him to. It is why Malfurion offers his flesh as a bait. Also, you have to find a few items scattered around the Azeroth. These are called "fragments of the Nightmare's corruption." You will find them in special portals in Ashenvale, The Hinterlands, Feralas, and Duskwood.

Once gathered, Remulos will use them to summon the Eranikus for Tyrande Whisperwind to cleanse him. Your party will have to protect both Remulos and Eranikus from Nightmare Phantasms until the priestess arrives. The question, why wouldn't you summon Eranikus as soon as Tyrande arrives, remains unanswered. To make matters worse, if Eranikus or Remulos dies, the quest is failed.

The success, however, rewarded you with a green shard, and some appropriate gear pieces.

3. Red Shard

We'd risk a statement, that it is the most straightforward shard to obtain. It requires you to encounter Vealestrasz the Corrupt in Blackwing Lair instance. He tells you that the item is in Nefarian's possession, and he will destroy it within five hours from this encounter. It puts your raid group on a timer.

If defeating Nefarian takes your group more than five hours, you will receive a message from the black dragon himself. And it is going to make you cry because the letter is a one nasty, brutal, and ruthless display of someone's ability to mock. It's even worse than the enemy performing a "Fortnite dance" over your dead body. You better hurry, adventurer.

In theory, doing it in five hours since talking to Vaelestrasz is doable, but hard. Lesser guilds probably won't make it. You need a proper gear and good organization, which is why you have to look for a good guild to even dream about some legendaries. Not to mention that you need to down Vaelestrasz, "the Guild Breaker" on your way.

It is best to leave the Red Shard for the very end, as you may need to wait for a week reset.

To sum things up, Red Shard is also a single drop. It means that for crafting more than one Scepter you will need more than one run through BWL.

4. Blue Shard

If you've come this far, the blue shard part will bring you to tears, as it is the longest and the most annoying part of the quest chain. For the Blue Shard, you have to set your track to southern Azshara settings, to find a blue dragon named Azuregos. It is a world boss, so talking to him on a regular basis might be problematic. It is actually the moment, where Blizzard decided not to make it unnecessarily hard for players, and you can talk to Azuregos' ghost, while he's currently busy being dead.

Of course, Azuregos does not have the shard, just like Vaelestrasz and Eranikus before. Ironically, it means that Anachronos has a rather unfortunate choice of person in trust. Azuregos is a blue dragon with a keen interest in magic. Instead of being let to study its arcana, he was entrusted with a magical item. It led to him being bothered continuously by adventurers. As he said, he couldn't walk five steps without some orc or human trying to thrust a stick into his hide.

It is why he handed the shard over to his creation, a minnow named Maws. Since there are hundreds of thousands of fish in the ocean, the way to find and lure this one is to place an Arcanite Buoy in the waters. Azuregos provides you with a ledger on how to build such thing and directs you to his acquaintance, Narain Soothfancy. You will find the gnomish engineer in Tanaris, in Steamwheedle Port.

Narain discovers that the ledger is written in Draconic, and he is far from being a translation expert. In order to understand what the ledger is about, he needs three things - Scrying Goggles, draconic language textbook, and, for some reason, a 500-pound chicken.

It is the moment where the quest splits into three parts. The order of completing those is entirely up to the player.

1. Scrying goggles.

Narain says that the goggles were stolen from him by his former best friend, Stewvul. The adventurer will most likely find him either in Silverpine Forest or in the Outland. Considering, that the Outland is yet to be added with The Burning Crusade, we can quickly determine, where the thief currently is.

You will find no NPC in the spot, just a large, closed gate. As a seasoned RPG games player, you will start examining everything around, and eventually, you will bump into a crate with holes. It is actually Stewvul hiding in the box. He won't get out, but he will give you essential directions. He has lost the goggles inside the Molten Core raid instance. You can loot the goggles from random trash mob and ads within the instance. However, the item has a really low drop rate. To conserve your precious lifespan, you may want to combine the efforts with the second part of this quest.

2. Draconic for Dummies, vol. 2.

Narain tells you that he is in possession of a book hidden away in the far south end on the continent. The place is so hard to reach that Narain needed a gyrocopter to get there. You have to find the crash site and swim to the island further south. The catch is that the island is way too far for you to casually swim there, as it lies beyond the fatigue waters. You have a couple of options here:

- use water walking spell,

- use a swimming speed potion,

- find a Meridith the Mermaiden.

As the first two options involve some investment, you may want to go for the free one. Meridith is a mermaid lurking in waters around the crash site beach. You can talk to her, and she will give you a quest to deliver her love letter to Narain. When you do it, upon returning to Meridith, she will boost you with a swim speed buff, allowing you to reach the island with no problem.

Once you get there, you will find a clickable pile of dirt. However, instead of the book, you will find a ransom letter down there. Apparently, someone stole the book and wants money delivered to the drop zone in Winterspring.

You show the letter to Narain. He is deeply concerned with this event and decides that the ransom must be delivered. But why would he go in person to do it, and risk his life and his money? He sends you instead with a bag full of rocks and a turban, which magically will transform you into Narain. What could possibly go wrong?

The whole plan unexpectedly goes down the drain, obviously. Doctor Weavil, who appears to be the book thief, sees through the trickery and summons a giant yeti-like ape to fight you. Your best option is to gather some friends to take him down, as it is level 60 elite, hardly soloable. Also, remember to stay far away from the cliff, because the monkey can knock you down there. 

It turns out that the evil Doctor Weavil has ripped some pages out, and now they're scattered all over the world. And we mean literally all over the world. If you are yet to get a mount, you better fancy yourself one, because a lot of traveling is upon you. If you're Hunter, Warlock, or Paladin - lucky you. If not, well, it's up to you, whether you want some jogging or a 1000 gold investment. 

There are eight pieces to find, and no Quest Marker. However, Narain gives you a hint. He says that you can probably find Doctor Weavil on the Alcaz Island in Dustwallow Marsh. The very same island that king Varian Wrynn was held on after his abduction (you didn't know, didn't you?). You will need a couple of friends to down the mad scientist, as well as some mind control counterplay.

After defeating him only one person was allowed to loot Draconic for Dummies chapter 1, along with Diary of Weavil - a book, where the location of the remaining seven chapters was written. Where are the Draconic for Dummies chapters? Check the table below:

As you can see, Doctor Weavil was obnoxiously creative, when distributing ripped pages from a book. Just as if he suspected, that someone will look for them one day. At this point, you are probably starting to hate Narain just as the mad doctor did.

Some of them can be pretty much easily looted from zone mobs. Some, however, require you to do the full 40-man raid. Keep that in mind.

After gathering all eight chapters, you merge them into the book and return to Narain. During collecting these chapters, you may want to look for them on your way to Red Shard.

3. 500-pound chicken.

To collect the aforementioned item, you are sent out to Gadgetzan in Tanaris, to a goblin butcher named Dirge Quickcleave. Of course, 500-pound chickens don't exist even in the fantastic world of Azeroth, so you have to improvise. You will have to go to Isle of Dread in Feralas zone. You'll find some tough chimaeras there, which drop the Chimaerok Tenderloin (you need 20 for the quest), along with Lord Lakmaeran. Although most of the chimaeras are doable with a small party, or even soloable by some classes, the big one needs a raid to take down. You have to loot a chimaera carcass from him, and it is a single drop item. What's important, Lord Lakmaeran is an open-world boss residing in a contested zone, so be prepared, as there is no server hopping in Vanilla WoW. Not only you will have to spawn camp it, but also evade PvPers. 

Once collected, return to Dirge. However, before he can give you the recipe, you will have to provide him with 20 Goblin Rocket Fuel and 20 Deeprock Salt. First one is easily obtainable through Alchemy, while the second one drops from earth elementals. Nothing is holding you back from having these collected already. You don't want to waste precious time during the quest, as time is limited here. As a reward you will receive an epic recipe - Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops. The recipe is exceptional itself, as it allows you to cook some powerful consumables, however, Chimaerok Tenderloin is quite hard to obtain and time-inefficient most of the cases.

This is the last thing you need to turn in to Narain.

As you do it, you will receive good news and bad news. Good news are that, sure, Narain is able to create the Arcanite Buoy. Bad news are that it will cost you a ton of gold. Worry not, adventurer, treat it more in categories of an investment, than expenses. Narain wants you to bring:

- 20 x Arcanite Bar,

- 10 x Elementium Ore,

- 10 x Azerothian Diamond,

- 10 x Blue Sapphire.

You should count on your guild at this point, as collecting all of these all by your lonesome is extremely expensive and painful. Some players don't live long enough to make it. If you want to save yourself some time and troubles, start working on gathering these materials preemptively, don't procrastinate. There is still some time to release of AQ40, so start working on it.

After delivering the valuables to Narain, he gives you the Buoy as a reward. Also, he sends you 100 gold via mailbox, so yes - you may call all of this effort an investment. 

Your next step is going to Azshara, to the Bay of Storms. You should find a little maelstrom there, where you place a buoy. Then you wait for a 100-feet shark named Maws to appear. It is a rather tough encounter, so a raid is needed. Also, Maws enrages, which means that you will need a Hunter with Tranquilizing Shot. Just as you take the shark down, you are free to retrieve the Blue Shard and take a breather. 

5. Bang a Gong!

If you made it this far, you could congratulate yourself and your guild. Surviving so long through all this grinding, raiding, collecting, and traveling pretty much ensures, that your guild will never fall apart. The experience of The Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain bonds people more than a marriage.

After you've completed the item, you may have to wait for War Effort quest to be finished, and another five days for supplies to be transported to Silithus. Within the initial 10 hours after opening the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, every Scepter bearer can bang a gong, and receive the legendary mount.

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian

It is a mythic staff, which traditionally belonged to the Guardian of Trisfal. Originally it was wielded by Aegwynn, later on, she passed it onto her son Medivh, and after his death, Atiesh got into the hands of Medivh's apprentice - Khadgar. However, it is affiliated the strongest with Medivh. 

Those of you, to whom the name Medivh sounds unfamiliar, he was a mage, son of Aegwynn, and a sort of vessel for mad Titan Sargeras to come to Azeroth. Corrupted and possessed by Sargeras, he cooperated with Gul'Dan to provide Horde with an entrance to Azeroth. Later on during the Third War (Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos), he returned to Azeroth serving good this time.

His staff was a powerful weapon, one of the only three legendary weapons obtainable for casual players during Vanilla. Of course, it was not easy to get, but legendaries should not be for granted, right?

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian was designed for casters and had class-specific traits - different stats for different caster classes. With the addition of The Burning Crusade, it gave an ability to open a portal to Karazhan. It caused a curious interaction with Shade of Aran, a ghost of Medivh's father, who was convinced, that his son sends us.

Stats:

Mage:

- Two-handed,

- damage: 130-243,

- DPS: 64,31,

- +32 Intellect,

- +31 Stamina,

- +24 Spirit,

- +2% chance to hit with spells,

- +150 maximum damage and healing,

- +2% critical strike for spells in the group (30 yards radius).

Warlock:

- Two-handed,

- damage: 130-243,

- DPS: 64,31,

- +29 Intellect,

- +30 Stamina,

- +2% critical strike on your spells,

- +150 damage and healing on spells,

- +33 (max) damage and healing done for group members (30 yards radius).

Druid:

- Two-handed,

- damage: 130-243,

- DPS: 64,31,

- +28 Intellect,

- +28 Stamina,

- +27 Spirit,

- 11 mana regen/5 seconds in a group (30 yards radius),

- +300 (max) healing done,

- +420 Attack Power in Cat, Bear, and Dire Bear forms.

Priest:

- Two-handed,

- damage: 130-243,

- DPS: 64,31,

- +28 Intellect,

- +28 Stamina,

- +27 Spirit,

- Increases healing done to all group members by max. 62 (30 yards radius),

- Increases the wielder's spell damage by max. 120 and healing by max. 300.

It's not available for Shamans, Warriors, Paladins, and Rogues, but it doesn't mean they can't own it. They will just not be able to use it.

It is not a mystery that it is a decent weapon, to say the least. How to lay your hands upon the Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian? Let's break it down!

WoW Classic Atiesh quest chain

Once you reach the end game and level up to the dreamy 60, you will probably want to go to Naxxramas, when it's released. It is a top of the top raid in Classic WoW, and as so it can provide you with adequate weapon. Every boss in Naxx has a chance to drop a Splinter of Atiesh. After collecting 40 of those, you can craft the Frame of Atiesh. 

"You can" doesn't mean, "You will." Splinters had a ~30% drop chance from each boss in Naxxramas, the toughest 40-man raid in Vanilla. It means you had to do multiple hard raids to collect the Splinters, and they were a single drop item. 40 splinters for 40 guild members makes a total of 1600 pieces. Multiply it by 3 (drop chance) and divide by the number of bosses - you will have your raid runs number. We don't know about the guild willing to waste so much time and energy.

Once Frame of Atiesh is created, you can start a quest to cleanse the frame. Quest guidelines don't point out the entity capable of helping you, they just send you out to find someone, and by many players, this is considered the beauty of Classic WoW. Nothing was given to you on a silver plate. However, this is a guide, and we will tell you where to go.

Your destination is Tanaris, more specifically, Caverns of Time. You need to find Anachronos, a progeny of Nozdormu - the Aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight. You may already know this one from the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain. You need a Neutral reputation with Brood of Nozdormu, but you should already have it done if you bang the Gong.

Anachronos will send you out to kill two of the most powerful bosses in the game - C'Thun in AQ40 and Kel' Thuzad in Naxxramas. 

The first one holds the base of the staff. Good news is that it is a 100% drop, and it drops for all quest bearers. The bad news is that C'Thun is considered one of the hardest bosses in the whole Classic WoW to take down. In fact, in the very first days after release, he was said to be mathematically impossible to defeat. And it was not due to his strength, stats or mechanics, but a large number of bugs and some RNG. He wasn't beaten until a big nerf, and taking him down took people all over the world 86 days since defeating Twin Emperors.

Kel'Thuzad somehow got a staff's head in his hands. Naxxramas is the last raid in Classic World of Warcraft, which makes it pretty hard for everyone, because the best gear drops right there.

The staff is completed now, but it still holds great portion of evil energy within. To cleanse it, you have to find a patch of consecrated ground. Surprisingly, you will find it in the most fouled land in Azeroth by then - Stratholme. In the undead side of the dungeon near the fountain there is a little sacred ground. Use the staff there to summon the encounter. It will cause a demon named Atiesh, Hand of Sargeras, to spawn.

Once you kill the demon, you need to return to Anachronos, who will give you a cleansed legendary staff as a reward.

Atiesh is by now one of the rarest items in the game, not only due to its legendary status. The real reason behind it is that not many players even decided to go for it. Why wouldn't you go for Atiesh Greatstaff?

1. It required many runs through one of the most challenging instances, dungeons, and raids in the whole game back then.

2. It was deep into the end game, and players came to a conclusion, that a new expansion is to be released soon enough, so it's probably not worth it.

3. Only four classes (Warlock, Priest, Mage, and Druid) had a possibility to use it, so not everyone deemed it worthy.

4. The completion required a whole guild effort, and may have caused a lot of dramas and discord during loot distribution.

Now, when everyone knows, how to get the legendary staff, and how much work does it cost, people will decide in advance, whether they want to go for it or not. Of course, there will be maniacs eager to complete the Atiesh as World's First, but it is just an achievement. Is Atiesh an item destined for a casual World of Warcraft player? Definitely not. Like no item on this list.

Other legendary items in Classic WoW

Although we have already listed all legendary weapons obtainable in Vanilla WoW, there were more of them. However, the player is not allowed to get those. Most of them were removed from the game with patches, others were reported as a bug. Some… are legends among legends.

The Ashbringer

This sword is actually more legendary than the legendaries themselves. The history of the blade is tragic and heart-breaking, as the history of Deathly Hallows in the "Harry Potter" franchise. 

It is said, that during Second War Highlord Alexandros Mograine has found an enigmatic dark crystal among dead orc warlock's belongings. He stated that the gem is a "living embodiment of shadow." As he touched it, his hand got corrupted, and it was looking as if it belonged to an undead. Highlord Mograine took the crystal to Lordaeron, claiming, that there must be polar opposition for the dark gem, a living embodiment of Light. 

However, he was not understood, and the crystal was attempted to be destroyed by a holy spell. All of a sudden, the crystal absorbed the spell and turned into its antithesis - a manifestation of Light itself. Highlord Mograine ventured to the Ironforge, claiming that the gem has to be forged into a sword, and that no undead will ever be able to withstand its power. That only a cloud of ash will remain. He named it The Ashbringer.

Picture 1. Tyrion Fordring wielding The Ashbringer.

After prince Arthas betrayed his kind and the Silver Hand was dismissed, its remaining warriors decided to continue their battle against undead. 

As they headed towards the Undercity, a demon by the name of Balnazzar made efforts to not let that happen. He corrupted Renault Mograine, highlord's son, and arranged an ambush. Renault led his father to Stratholme, and as Scourge troops attacked, Renault hid away. Many undead filths were smited and turned into ash, but eventually highlord Mograine got tired. At this moment his son walked out of his hideout, and killed his father with The Ashbringer, making the sword corrupted. 

Later on second son of Alexandros, Darion, led a campaign to avenge his father. Renault died in the process killed by what appeared to be his father's soul emerging from the Ashbringer. In the end, Darion died in an attempt to free his father's spirit from the blade.

The sword served great purpose in the final Battle in Icecrown Citadel. Tirion Fordring desperately asked the Light for a blessing. His cries were answered, which gave him the strength to leap onto the Lich King Arthas Menethil, and destroy the dreaded Frostmourne with one strong blow. Tirion Fordring has later returned to his homeland in Hearthglen, and we can meet him in Cataclysm, wielding the Ashbringer.

There was much unclear information from NPCs as well as data miners that this item is in the game. In theory, it was to drop from Atiesh in Stratholme, but whether it's true or not - remains unconfirmed.

Andonisus

It is another weapon dropping from Atiesh with a difference, that you actually CAN obtain it.

Picture 2. Atiesh, Hand of Sargeras, wielding his blades.

As you can see in the picture, Atiesh dual-wields two swords. During the encounter in the Atiesh, the Greatstaff of the Guardian quest chain, there is a slight - really slight - probability of disarming the boss. He will drop the Andonisus, available for picking up.

However, the trick is that you are not allowed to carry it out from the encounter. It will disappear after 10 minutes or upon leaving the instance.

Talisman of Binding Shard

Widely considered and confirmed by Blizzard as a mistake. The device dropped only once from Baron Geddon in Molten Core and the first player to loot it could keep it as a souvenir. His comment posted on Wowhead, referring to dropping a peculiar item, is still one of the most upvoted comments on Wowhead.

The item was instantly removed from the game shortly after. It is suspected, that the Talisman was to be a part of Thunderfury quest chain. Currently existing only in the memory of WoW players more as a fun fact, than a real item.

Notably, it was the only neckpiece in-game which was physically visible on a character. We upload the picture because you will not see it in the game.

Picture 3. Talisman of Binding Shard.

Summary

Now, that you know, what to do, what are your plans? Will you go for retail legendary weapons? Will you challenge Illidan Stormrage in Outlands? Will you raid Kil' jaeden in Sunwell Plateau? Or maybe you are too attached to WoW Classic now that it's released? Do you want to have epic hammer - Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros? Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker also seems tempting. Will you gather enough loyal friends to Bang a Gong? Or maybe you are the one to complete all of these legendary items? Now, equipped with a knowledge, the world of Azeroth is yours to take. 

Are you playing Classic WoW already? Or maybe you're thinking which class would be the best for you? Reading hundreds of forums posts doesn't help? Be sure to check our guides, undoubtedly they will help (links below).

Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior.

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FAQ

What are legendary items in World of Warcraft?

These are powerful, high end weapons orange-marked. 

How to get legendary items?

Usually they are rewards from difficult quests. Sometimes it means multiple end game raid runs. 

Which legendaries are in Classic WoW?

These are Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros, Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker, Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, and the legendary mount - Black Qiraji Battle Tank. 

Which legendary items are not available in Vanilla WoW?

Twin Blades of Azzinoth drop from Illidan Stormrage in the Black Temple. Thori'Dal, the Stars' Fury is a loot from Kil' jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. Both raids were introduced in The Burning Crusade expansion. 

For Val' anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings, you had to feed the Yogg'Saron with two components. His residence was Ulduar, which was implemented in Wrath of the Lich King. Also, in Wrath of the Lich King you can complete the Shadowmourne. It requires Icecrown Citadel raid. It didn't matter if it was "heroic" or normal.

Fangs of the Father and Dragonwrath, Rogues dream from Ravenholdt, and Tarecgosa's Rest, the Healer staff, are legendary items from Cataclysm.

Legendaries from Warlords of Draenor, Legion, and further expansions and patches are also not available. Battle for Azeroth provided us with no legendary items.

Are these legendaries good for WoW Classic PvP?

Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros has the most DPS until content phase 3, along with devastating passive on-hit, so definitely yes. The lava hammer will do.

Thunderfury sword user is mainly the main guild tank, and tanks aren't that popular in PvP.

Atiesh, Greatstaff of Guardian has some strong auras good for casters in group, so it might be PvP friendly.

As for the mount, it has no use in PvP.

How can I get the Talisman of Binding Shard?

Sadly, you can't. According to Wowhead wiki, The Talisman was probably a bug, and it remains among other removed content. 

Is it worth it to go for the legendaries in vanilla?

As YouTube views show, many people are still looking for guides on how to get those precious ones. However, obtaining legendary items in Classic WoW requires something more than a pure will and desire. Most of the times it will be your guild that will decide to equip you with a legendary item rather than your individual deeds.