Heirlooms make your path to maximum level in World of Warcraft easier. The items are extremely useful because they scale with your level and even provide bonuses. MeinMMO explains how to obtain heirlooms, upgrade them to 70, and use them effectively.
This guide was reviewed and structurally adjusted on September 2, 2026.
Heirlooms are items in WoW that primarily help you level up alternate characters (twinks or alts) more easily. There are heirlooms for every class and specialization.
Since leveling was completely overhauled with Shadowlands, the heirlooms have new effects. MeinMMO reveals where to get them and how to effectively use the new heirlooms.
If you want to get started in The War Within, your character must be at least level 68:
Leveling Faster in WoW: Heirlooms for Strong Bonuses
Heirlooms can accompany your twinks from level 1 to level 70. However, you will first need to invest in the armor pieces and weapons – as you need to upgrade them to ensure they level up consistently with you.
These are the set bonuses:
- 2 pieces: Rest will be consumed 30% slower.
- 3 pieces: Increases regeneration in the outside world, in normal dungeons and battlegrounds when you are not in combat.
- 5 pieces: When you reach a new level, you deal damage to nearby enemies and gain 40% of your main attribute for 2 minutes. Killing enemies extends this bonus by up to an additional 2 minutes.
- 6 pieces: Rest will be consumed another 30% slower.
Rest is obtained in cities and inns and doubles your experience gained from killing enemies. It is consumed up to a maximum value. You benefit longer when wearing heirlooms. You also generate rest while you are offline. Therefore, you should always log out in cities or inns.
Heirlooms up to 70: Upgrading and Costs
Newly purchased heirlooms reach their maximum at level 30 or 29 – from here they no longer scale with your character. To ensure they serve you well up to level 70, you have to upgrade them. Be aware that they stop scaling one level below the respective level. So the item levels end at 29, 34, and so on.
Heirlooms can be upgraded up to 6 times. The items for upgrading can be obtained from:
- Krom Starkarm in the Hall of Explorers in Ironforge (Alliance)
- Estelle Gendry in the Rogue Quarter in Undercity or in Orgrimmar (Horde).
Upgrading heirlooms costs a fair bit – significantly more than just purchasing the heirlooms, even if the amount has been significantly reduced after much criticism. If you want to upgrade the heirlooms, you will pay:
- for upgrades of armor between 500 and 5,000 gold, depending on the level.
- for upgrades of weapons between 750 and 7,500 gold, depending on the level.
- for a piece of armor, a trinket, or an off-hand from 30 to 70 you need 18,500 gold pieces.
- for a weapon from 30 to 70 it’s 27,750 gold pieces.
- for a set of five armor pieces and a weapon 120,250 gold pieces.
You obtain all items for upgrading from the heirloom vendors.
If you don’t have that much gold or don’t want to spend it, you can save a lot by participating in the annual holidays. At almost every major event, you can buy all upgrades from the corresponding vendors for the event currency:
- for time-worn badges at time-walking events from vendors in the cities
- for coins of ancestors during the Moon Festival at Fariel Moonshine on the Moon Glade
- for sweet and sour during the Hallow’s End with Chub in Undercity/Tirisfal (Horde) or Dorothea in Elwynn Forest (Alliance)
- armor only: for fire blossoms during the Summer Festival from summer vendors in the cities
- weapons only: for tokens of love during Love is in the Air from charming vendors in the cities
How to Buy Heirlooms
You obtain heirlooms from various sources and for different currencies:
- for lottery tickets from the Darkmoon Faire at Daenrand Lightburst on the Darkmoon Island
- for Champion’s seals at Lady Evniki Kapsalis at the Argent Tournament (requires Exalted status with every race of your faction and with the Argent Crusade as well as the achievements to be a Champion)
- for honor badges at the honor vendors of your faction in Orgrimmar, Stormwind, or Wintergrasp
- for gold at guild and heirloom vendors
- some heirlooms are also offered by the fight guild vendors
The first three options are only recommended if you happen to have a lot of the necessary currencies left over – farming them takes too long. Therefore, we limit ourselves in the guide to the option of buying heirlooms with gold.
Heirlooms at the Guild Vendor: Pieces and Costs
- Headpiece: 500 gold pieces, requires friendly reputation
- Cloak: 500 gold pieces, requires friendly reputation
- Pants: 500 gold pieces, requires benevolent reputation with the guild and guild achievement
Even better teamwork
To buy the heirlooms from the guild vendor, your guild must have reached level 20. There are plenty of level guilds in the guild browser that are specifically designed for twinks. Often, it’s just about leveling quickly, not about socializing.
Additionally, you need reputation with the guild, which you can earn with any character through quests or PvE and PvP in groups with other guild members. So it’s best to purchase the gear with a character who has the reputation and has been in a guild longer – ideally in a guild that already has the required achievement.
You can find the guild vendors in the cities of your faction and in Shattrath. Just ask a guard for directions, and you will get a marker on the map.
Heirlooms at the Heirloom Vendor: Pieces and Costs
- Shoulders: 500 gold pieces
- Chest: 500 gold pieces
- Weapons and shields: Between 500 and 750 gold pieces
You can obtain the items from the heirloom vendor of your faction, Krom Starkarm in Ironforge or Estelle Gendry in Undercity. After the Battle for Undercity, Estelle can also be found in Orgrimmar.
To purchase these heirlooms, you need neither reputation nor achievements. You can simply buy them, and they will directly be added to your collection. The locations of both vendors can be found in the gallery above.
Heirloom Rings as an Alternative to Armor
There are various rings that also count towards the set bonuses and level up with you:
- Terror Pirates Ring: obtainable every Sunday through the fishing competition in Stranglethorn Vale.
- Admiral Taylor’s Loyalty Ring: Agility ring, obtained through the rare naval mission
Bank wins all
in the harbor of your garrison on Draenor. - Captain Sanders’ Lost Band: Strength ring, obtained through the rare naval mission
Full on Hate
in the harbor of your garrison on Draenor. - Signet of the Third Fleet: Intelligence ring, obtained through the rare naval mission
The Mistress of the Sea
in the harbor of your garrison on Draenor.
You can wear each of the rings from the garrison together with the Terror Pirates ring. However, they cannot be combined with each other.
Jewelry and Weapons – Good, but Optional
If you have enough gold left over and want to equip your twink as best as possible and comfortably or simply complete your collection, you can also obtain corresponding weapons and jewelry. However, these only serve the purpose of having more or less optimal gear and for the set bonus.
Since loot from dungeons is generally above the item level of the heirlooms, you can fill weapon and jewelry slots with such items as well. However, you will receive a mount that you can use from level 1 if you have collected 35 heirlooms.
What Are Heirlooms Good For?
The main reason why heirlooms are generally the best
equipment items for twinks is the set bonuses you receive through them.
Heirlooms also adapt to your level. They are always the best items for your current level. Since an adjustment, items you obtain from dungeons are a few item levels better on the path to maximum level, the set bonus is extremely useful. And you don’t have to replace them. If you still do not know what you want to play, you can find the 3 best classes for beginners and returnees in WoW here.
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