Since Patch 9.1, you can improve items crafted in World of Warcraft. The new items are thus stronger than (almost) anything you could obtain before. The catch: crafting requires an enormous amount of work – but you can simply buy the items from people with more time.
What kind of items are these? These are crafted items, such as those made by blacksmiths, tailors, and jewelers. Some recipes from these professions can be upgraded to item level 230 since the current Patch 9.1 “Chains of Domination”.
This means they are stronger than most of what you could previously get from the toughest challenges of Shadowlands:
- Castle Nathria drops item level 213 (heroic) or 226 (mythic)
- only the last two bosses could drop up to 233
- legendary items previously reached up to level 235
The vast majority of items you can wear are therefore still at least four levels below the new crafted items. For almost every slot, there is the option to craft corresponding items.
With the right inscriptions (“Missives”), you can even determine which secondary stats the item receives. This makes the items really strong.
And it gets even better: the items are not bound on pickup. You can simply buy each of the crafted items at the auction house. Currently, prices range from about 20,000 to 100,000 gold pieces – depending on the server, supply, and armor class.
Crafting at Level 230 with some hooks
How do I craft the new items? To craft the new items, you need the new “Mark of the Craftsman of the Chains of the Island”. These marks are bound on pickup, meaning they must be crafted by yourself.
Each crafting profession can craft such a mark once the recipe is learned. You get the recipe in Korthia from Archivist Roh-Suir for 2,500 Cataloged Research. However, you must have reached Rank 4 of the Archive to obtain it.
To reach Rank 4, quite a bit of reputation is needed. Those who have worked hard daily to increase their reputation with the Archivist are already at Rank 4 today. However, most are likely still at Rank 2-3.
You then use the Mark of the Craftsman as an optional crafting component as usual, which raises the item level and makes the item unique.
What’s the catch? By using the mark, the new item gains the property “unique equipped: SL – crafted”. Therefore, only a single crafted item at item level 230 can be equipped.
Moreover, the items are likely to drop in value soon when, on Wednesday, July 7th, the new raid “Sanctum of Domination” opens its doors. There, loot with item level 226-233 also drops on normal difficulty. On heroic, it will even be 239-246.
If you hope to make a lot of money with the crafted items, you should hurry. They won’t stay expensive for long. In return, this means that you can soon outfit twinks with at least two strong items – crafted gear and a Legendary.
Legendaries have also become stronger with Patch 9.1 and can be upgraded to Rank 6. Additionally, new slots for many effects have been added where they can now be worn.
This has changed for some classes regarding where they should equip their legendary items. In some cases, even the strongest effect has changed. In our list, you will find the best Legendary for each class in Shadowlands.
