World of Warcraft Items

World of Warcraft has an amazing array of items available. However, it's important to realize that many items are not usable by all characters. For example, an item might need the character to be a minimum level, have certain proficiencies, be of a specific class or have a specific reputation requirement.

Items also have varying levels of rarity. Poor quality items (gray items) are basically worthless. As prices increase in rarity they also increase in value. Levels include Common (white), Uncommon (green), Rare (blue), Epic(purple), and Legendary (orange).

You can trade items freely unless they are "soulbound" which means they are bound to one specific player and can't be traded. However, they can be vendored, disenchanted or destroyed.

Many items have a durability rating that is reduced through various means. For example, an equipped item's durability is reduced by 10% upon the death of the owner unless the person was killed by another player during pvp combat. You can repair an item at any time through NPC vendors.

Some items come in sets and if worn together (such as an armor set), they give additional benefits.

There are some items that actually expire in game time even if you are not logged in. On the other hand, temporary item buffs like poisons will continue despite logging out.

It is important to consider as you adventure which World of Warcraft professions might find something useful that you find. This helps you make decisions as to what to keep and what to discard.

Obtaining Items

The real question is how to get world of warcraft items. There are a couple of ways:

Complete quests. These usually result in "bind on pickup" or "bind on equip" items which get soulbound to you and cannot be traded. Bind on pickup can only be sold to vendors. Bind on equip can be traded as long as not equipped. If you are adventuring as a group, then you will need to make sure you decide who picks up what before picking up bind on pickup items. You don't want to be labeled a "ninja."

You can buy items from a vendor but at a certain point you will probably buy most of your items through the in game auction house. The auction house allows players to buy and sell as they need. You can actually participate in 'auctions' with bidding happening back and forth, though many items have a buyout price that allows you to pay and get a wanted item immediately. The only way to trade between characters of the opposite faction is through the neutral auction house.

Trading with other players. This should occur through mailboxes located throughout the game.