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World of Wardrobe: Plate tier look-alikes for death knights

Anne Stickney
Updated ·8 min read

Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how.

I feel kind of bad for the death knight class. While every other class in the game has had tier sets galore, death knights got a late start. So all those lovely tier sets from vanilla through The Burning Crusade are specifically for all the other classes, while death knights are left in the lurch with nothing to call their own. But that's not really the case, actually -- scattered throughout The Burning Crusade are recolored versions of most of the old sets.

For death knights, these sets have to be plate, but other than that, they don't really have a requirement. Death knights can look like whichever class they prefer, paladin or warrior ... only dead. Since all prior World of Wardrobe columns have been focused on every other class, we're going to give the death knights out there a little love -- and a little advice on where to go if you want some cool old-school gear. Paladins and warriors, if you'd like a little plate variety, this one is for you, too!



Dungeon Set 1

When I say old-school gear, I mean really, really old-school. There are recolors available for almost every set of old-world gear, minus the class requirement. In the case of the Dungeon Set 1 recolors, all pieces are available from The Burning Crusade dungeons, no raiding needed -- and these dungeons are easy for anyone to solo. Level 85 death knights should have no problem snapping up all these pieces if they wish.

Lightforge Armor

This is a recolor of the Lightforge set, in blue and gold. Want your death knight to carry a bit of paladin flair? This is the way to go. This set also has a decidedly Alliance theme, what with the colors and the lion emblems on the various pieces. This particular recolor has seven pieces; the only item missing from it appears to be the bracers. Since bracers don't really show up in a visible way on a fully dressed model, this isn't a huge issue. All of these items drop from normal mode dungeons -- no heroic runs necessary for this set!

  • Light-Touched Breastplate is the chestpiece for this set, and it can be found on Watchkeeper Gargolmar, the first boss in Hellfire Ramparts.

  • Truth Bearer Shoulderguards are the pauldrons for this set, and they can be found in The Underbog. They drop from the third boss in the instance, Swamplord Musel'ek. While you're in The Underbog, be sure to kill the second boss, Ghaz'an, and pick up the Studded Girdle of Virtue. That's the recolored belt for this set.

  • Azureplate Greaves are the legs for this set, and they drop from Quagmirran, the final boss in the Slave Pens.

  • Hope Bearer Helm is the headpiece for this recolored set. It drops off of Shirrak the Dead Watcher, who is the second boss in Auchenai Crypts.

  • Faith Bearer's Gauntlets are the glove items, and you can pick those up from Pandemonius, the first boss in Mana Tombs.

  • Uther's Ceremonial Warboots are the boots for this recolored set. You can pick them up from Lieutenant Drake, the first boss in Old Hillsbrad Foothills.

Battlegear of Valor

This is a recolor of the Valor set in bronze and silver. A classic warrior look, the only item missing from this set is the helm. Since helm models can be turned off anyway, this doesn't hurt the look overly much -- and with such a simple color scheme, there are plenty of non-set helms out there that could work as a match. As with the Lightforge set, all pieces are from Burning Crusade normal mode dungeons. Easy enough to solo for a death knight (or anyone else, for that matter)!

  • Tenacious Defender is the belt for this set, and it can be found on Omor the Unscarred, the second boss in Hellfire Ramparts. You'll also want to kill the last boss, Nazren and Vazruden, for the Ironsole Clompers, the boots for this set.

  • Ironblade Gauntlets drop from The Maker in The Blood Furnace, another Hellfire dungeon. The Maker is the first boss in this dungeon.

  • Greaves of the Iron Guardian are the legs for this set, and they can be found in The Underbog off of the third boss, Swamplord Musel'ek. While you are in Underbog, be sure to kill the last boss, The Black Stalker, for the Pauldrons of Brute Force, the shoulder slot item for this set.

  • Unscarred Breastplate is the chestpiece for this set, and it drops in the Slave Pens, another Coilfang Dungeon. Kill Quagmirran, the last boss in the zone, for this item.

  • Nexus-Bracers of Vigor are the bracers that match this set. You can find them on Nexus-Prince Shaffar, the final boss in Mana Tombs.


Tier 1

If Dungeon Set 1 didn't really tickle your fancy, you should definitely check out the Tier 1 recolors. These are also located in Burning Crusade dungeons, although some loot only drops in heroic mode. I've noted which pieces can be found in heroic and which are still found in normal mode. Either way, these dungeons are still a cakewalk to solo for any death knight looking to tear them up for gear.

Lawbringer Armor

This is a recolor of the bright yellow Lawbringer set for paladins, but it hardly bears a resemblance to the cheerful color of the original set. It's been redone in shades of blue and deep red -- a color combo that you rarely see put together like this. All eight pieces are available for this set.

  • Bracers of Just Rewards are the bracer item for this set, and they can be found on Watchkeeper Gargolmar in Hellfire Ramparts, on heroic mode.

  • Ruby Helm of the Just can be found right next door in the Blood Furnace on Keli'dan the Breaker, the final boss in the instance. This dungeon also needs to be cleared on heroic difficulty for the loot drop.

  • Breastplate of Righteous Fury is the chestpiece for this set, and it can be found on Quagmirran, the last boss in the Slave Pens -- but Quag must be killed on heroic mode for the drop.

  • Girdle of Gallantry is the belt for this set; it can be found on Ghaz'an, second boss in The Underbog. Again, this boss must be killed on heroic mode.

  • Pauldrons of Swift Retribution and Gauntlets of Vindication, the shoulder and helm slot items, both drop from Nexus-Prince Shaffar in heroic Mana Tombs.

  • Ornate Boots of the Sanctified can be found on Ambassador Hellmaw, first boss of Shadow Labyrinth; the Ornate Leggings of the Venerated can be found on Blackheart the Inciter, the second boss in the instance. Both bosses should be killed on normal mode for these two drops -- no heroic mode necessary!

Battlegear of Might

This is a recolor of the Might set for warriors in muted shades of red, gold and silver. It's actually pretty striking and a combination of colors I haven't seen repeated. The Might set looks especially menacing on a Tauren, but honestly, the oversized spiked shoulders are intimidating on just about any race.

  • Crimsonforge Breastplate is the chestpiece for this set, and it can be found on Omor the Unscarred, third boss in Hellfire Ramparts, on heroic mode. While you are there, kill the last boss -- Irondrake Faceguard, the helm for the set, drops there, too.

  • Bloodlord Legplates drop from The Maker next door in Blood Furnace, as well as Bloodsworn Warboots from Keli'dan the Breaker. Again, these bosses need to be killed on heroic mode.

  • Bands of Syth drop from Darkweaver Syth in Sethekk halls on normal mode difficulty.

  • Gauntlets of Cruel Intention can be found on Thorngrin the Tender in normal mode Botanica. Thorngrin is the third boss in the zone.

  • Rubium War-Girdle is the belt for this set, and it drops from Zereketh the Unbound, first boss of the Arcatraz. This boss should be killed on normal mode.

  • Pauldrons of the Crimson Flight drop from Aeonus, the final boss in Black Morass. Aeonus must be completed on normal mode for the shoulders to drop.

This is just the first few recolored sets that were introduced in The Burning Crusade; we'll be hitting others next week. For death knights quietly wishing they had old tier to call their own, this is a way to at least achieve the look, even if you don't have a set that is officially yours. Given the story of death knights, this actually works pretty well -- after all, death knights were created from the fallen heroes of Azeroth. Who's to say they don't still have the armor they wore from their days among the living?