Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsHeirlooms for every slot
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 7th 2009 at 3:00PM
I've been pushing forward on my Paladin lately, and so I've entered the wacky world of Heirlooms. I have already picked up the leather Heirloom shoulders (thinking that even though the Pally wears plate, if I ever want to level a Druid or Rogue, I'll have them), and I'm well on my way to grabbing the new Heirloom chestpiece as well -- 20% bonus XP, combined with a healthy amount of rested XP, should make the leveling curve as easy as it gets (RaF is nice too, I guess, but I'd rather not pay for a second account). So I'm in Heirlooms up to my neck (at least until they give us helms), and I was intrigued by this question over on the Rawrcast forums: do you think Blizzard will eventually provide Heirloom items for every slot?20% is already a significant bonus to killing and questing XP, and rested technically provides a 50% bonus. But with ten Heirlooms in 10 slots (we'll leave out weapons, since those don't have the 10% XP bonus, as well as shirts and tabards, and rings and trinkets for now), you're looking at a 100% XP bonus even without Rest. The current average 80 probably spent about 14 days leveling up, so with an extra 100% bonus, you're looking at seven days /played, or very close to the current record. At that point, Blizzard might as well let us grant levels to each other.
Then there's the other point brought up: dressed up in Heirlooms, who cares about your gear? I'd argue that's not as big a deal -- when I'm leveling, all I need from my gear is enough DPS to get the job done, so I don't worry about min/maxing or going for the pretty stuff. But yes, it seems unlikely that Blizzard would ever outfit us in full Heirloom gear, especially with the XP bonus. Even if another couple of expansions take us up to level 100, just making the leveling faster doesn't seem like the best way to do it.
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Leveling
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
dgcollins274 Aug 7th 2009 4:37PM
You should try it, I'm doing it on my Rogue (Heirloom daggers/bow/chest/shoulder/trinkets) .... it's oddly freeing to just quest for fun and not worry if the quest reward is worth the effort.
And now every level is satisfying, not just the even numbers :P
It's like "Ding!" I inspect my gear to see how it's changed and feel complemently satisfied. It's hard to explain, best i can say is it's like watching your Poke'mon evolve.... lol
Mailia Aug 7th 2009 3:13PM
Isn't rested giving you 100% XP bonus?
Rusen Aug 7th 2009 3:49PM
100% normally, and 200% rested. I never really understood it myself. Shouldn't it be no bonus normally, then 100% bonus exp when you are rested?
Bullseyed Aug 7th 2009 4:00PM
When I see people failing at easy math, it makes me wonder where our country is headed....
Arashikou Aug 7th 2009 4:32PM
Consider everything in relation to the normal amount of experience you would earn, with nothing modifying your XP gain.
With nothing modifying your XP, you get exactly that much XP, so you get 100% of the XP you would regularly earn, which you could also describe as a 0% bonus over normal.
With rested modifying your XP, you get double that much XP, or 200% of regular XP. We could also write this as a 100% bonus. (The article screws up at this point and calls this a 50% bonus. Maybe he got confused by the fact that normal XP gain is half, or 50%, of XP gain with rested?)
Other modifiers tack other bonuses onto this. If you are doing Recruit-A-Friend, then you get TRIPLE the normal experience. That's 300% of normal XP, or a 200% bonus. (Note that RaF doesn't stack with rested, nor do you use up your rested state while under the effects of RaF, so it doesn't factor in here.)
Heirlooms provide other bonuses on top of this, but the one thing I can't find is whether Blizz adds all the bonuses together and then applies them to the normal 100% XP or whether they apply them multiplicatively. As an example, consider the case where you are rested and wearing one piece of heirloom gear. If Blizz just adds the bonuses together, you get:
0% normal + 100% rested + 10% heirloom = 110% bonus, for 210% of normal XP
If Blizz multiplies the total XP gains together, you get
100% normal * 200% rested * 110% heirloom = 220% of normal XP
Based on the way they calculate other bonuses in the game, I would suspect it is the first case, though. But it drives many mathematicians to distraction, since the second is more "correct."
dgcollins274 Aug 7th 2009 5:36PM
Blizzard adds, they don't multiply. They stopped multiplyig %'s (fractions) back in BC, when they came out with ratings instead of %'s for stats.
Banthis Aug 7th 2009 3:17PM
I thought that the bonuses were multiplicative, not additive. Thus, shoulders + chest = 1.1 * 1.1 = 1.21 or a total bonus of 21% XP, not 20%. Doesn't seem like much until you start adding more. By the time you get to 10 pieces, you'd be getting 259% XP.
Pharod Aug 7th 2009 3:57PM
It has to be additive... you're not having 10% more of the 10% more xp, you're having 10% more of the base xp. If it was that way, then with rested xp one heirloom would give you 20% more...
mtsadowski Aug 7th 2009 3:17PM
"Who cares about gear?"
I don't think Blizzard cares too much. After all, I looked EXACTLY the same leveling from 70 to 80.
devilsei Aug 7th 2009 3:23PM
Exactly, they traded in one "C" effect for another.
Clown to Clone...
I see no issue with making a heirloom item for every slot, who says each and every piece needs the 10% bonus.
Heck, the way it should be done is that its a set, and the xp bonus is part of that set. Even the trinkets (well, I don't care one way or the other about trinkets really so... it can go either way on that).
Robert M Aug 7th 2009 4:31PM
Though not an artist, I have yet to understand why it was so much work to make more than 2 models of shoulders for plate wearers upto 80, yet they easily provided more models for TBC. The colors and mismatches were the glaring problem in Outland. Let’s be honest for a second as well. We are talking shoulders helmets and weapons of all sorts. EVERYTHING else can be matched around those 3 slots.
It’s interesting they tell us it’s so much work, but previously provided more models and said it was too much work to give them more color coordination.
There has to be some Ralph Lauren intern reject with a love for goth that would have volunteered to work on wrath models. Hell, Blizzard could have probably got them to do it for free like they do all those addon developers and then stole the idea and sent them on their merry way.
dgcollins274 Aug 7th 2009 4:44PM
Personally i like the retro look of the Heirlooms, but maybe that's just me being nostalgic. And hey, if it speeds up the process of them coming out with more? Then all the power to them!
mtsadowski Aug 7th 2009 4:52PM
I don't care if it IS a lot of work. That's all I seem to hear from Blizzard now adays. This is a lot of work or that's a lot of work... well guess what, WORK DAMNIT! Blizzard WORKED to be number one. Well, if you want to stay number one, then you work for that, too!
Say what you will about Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, but he placed a TON of detail into the little things, and it gave the story a rich feeling. We're not talking about making movies, we're talking about making a damn skin for an item.
If some hobbiest can make skins that look great for the SIMS games, then it can't be THAT hard to make it for WoW!
Blizzard has become lazy in a LOT of their projects.
usagizero Aug 7th 2009 6:44PM
"Exactly, they traded in one "C" effect for another.
Clown to Clone..."
The reason i think they did this, is because people complained about all the variation in the BC gear and then also made it less of huge step like BC did, where raiders complained that their ubergear was outdated. So they made all gear sort of look alike, but pretty meh overall, and stats were less a jump, but then their older tier gear was still okay and they complained it was too easy. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
Zanathos Aug 7th 2009 6:53PM
Work is a finite resource. It's not a matter of they got tired of designing gear and went to go play golf. Time spent designing gear is time not spent designing something else, I'm presuming the art gear for gear has slightly more artwork on their plate than that.
devilsei Aug 7th 2009 7:16PM
USA:
I know why they did it, but jesus christ I got sick of any piece of gear in Lich King. I'm just happy I had some raiding gear from TBC so I didn't have to use many. There's a difference between trying to solve the "Clown Effect" and just cloning everything 20-30 times between green to epic. At least in clown gear you look different. Hell, they could of done a bit of recoloring ever 3rd piece and it would of been better!
Zan:
There's different groups for each thing I'd assume. I wouldn't want the monkey down in sales to do my art, nor would I want the artist in design to do the code. The group designated to designing the art and implementing it is responsible for it. Honestly, it looks like they've been working on their golf game rather than models for armor for a lot of what I've seen in Lich King.
I've said this a while ago, but god have all the piles of money started covering up their computers? Is thats what is making them go the heavily generic route?
Sarakin Aug 7th 2009 3:18PM
i want full heirloom gear but it doesn't need to ALL give a XP bonus just make some of it like the weapons and trinkets and just give good stats to make you more powerful as you level.
Makros Aug 7th 2009 4:23PM
I completely agree. There is no reason to have everything give another 10% bonus, but not having to upgrade gear every few levels would be great.
Also, I would at least like boots. I'd drop a minor speed enchant on them at level 1 and never look back. I know they have done a lot with mounts etc, but just that little boost when running from mob to mob makes it worthwhile.
Moxxy Aug 7th 2009 3:23PM
I would love full heirloom gear - most so I match. Doesn't all need to have xp bonus on it. But Teir 0 doesn't really fit the theme of WOTLK leveling gear.
shockologist Aug 7th 2009 3:25PM
"Granted it stops at 60, but I'll only have to grind out those last 20 levels the "normal" way. I'll live with that."
Starting to level your RAF toon at 60 is perfect. You start getting your good powers and have enough time to learn your class before 80. I do suggest a pitstop between 68-70 for some t4-6 gear too.