Patch 4.0.1 introduces reforging into the game
by Gregg Reece 
Oct 11th 2010 at 5:00PM
There are a few restrictions:
- You can only change secondary stats (hit, crit, haste, mana regen, dodge, etc.).
- Only one stat may be changed.
- You can't change one stat into a different stat the item already has.
- You can't alter how much of the stat to change; it's always 40 percent(ish) of the original amount.
- The item must have an item level of at least 200 (level 80 epics or higher).
Where can you find these reforging guys? They are usually found in major cities near the enchanting trainers. If you can't find them, be sure to ask a guard, who'll point you in the right direction.
All in all, the reforging system is pretty simple and provides the opportunity for us to start trying out the new mastery stat without waiting for Cataclysm itself to be released. If you'd like to take a look at how this works, here's a gallery walking you the process through step by step.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Dezaris Oct 11th 2010 5:06PM
60% conversion penalty seems so steep. Oh well, a great way to get rid of/add that last few points of hit! =)
Kakistocracy Oct 11th 2010 5:10PM
I don't think that it's a conversion rate, I think they just mean that you can go from 100 of stat A to 60 of stat A and 40 of stat B.
Gregg Reece Oct 11th 2010 5:14PM
@Dezaris Yeah, you don't lose 60% of your old stat. You get to keep that 60%. What you lose is the other 40%, because that goes to your new stat.
So, you started with 100 hit rating and you want to convert part of that to mastery.
So, you'll end up with 60 hit rating and 40 mastery.
Eyhk Oct 11th 2010 5:24PM
If you look at the gallery, you will notice that there is no penalty.
40% is the set amount of a single stat that you can change to another stat.
In the gallery example, out of 91 haste rating, you reduce it by 36 (40% of 91) and add 36 mastery.
The end result is 91 points in haste converted to 55 points in haste, and 36 points in mastery which still adds up to 91 points total.
There is no penalty.
Dezaris Oct 11th 2010 5:30PM
oh, so you don't lose any stats, you just can only take 40% of one stat and change it to another, while leaving the other 60% as the same stat...that's even better than I thought. Thanks guys
benbettis Oct 12th 2010 3:44PM
@Dezaris
Don't feel too bad, I thought there was a penalty too until a few days ago! Made me quite a bit happier about reforging lol.
Samuel Oct 11th 2010 5:41PM
Arcane mages rejoice! Unless you have been real lucky with your trinket drops, it was nearly impossible to keep hit down to the cap for arcane mages.
harrison Oct 11th 2010 5:14PM
I could have sworn reforging was originally going to be something players would be able to do...Was that changed? And if so, when?
Gregg Reece Oct 11th 2010 5:15PM
Yeah, they changed their minds, because they didn't want it to become a commodity like a lot of the inscription stuff was turning into.
So, it's now vendor based.
Drakkenfyre Oct 11th 2010 5:20PM
It sucks the item level limit is 200. There are a ton of items at low level that are missing higher-end stats that would be useful, like Hit.
Spell Power remains on weapons, and would be useful for lower-leveled characters, except with Intellect now providing Spell Power, it would be double-dipping for low-level casters.
MikeLive Oct 11th 2010 5:35PM
4.0.3 will be correcting all the lower-level items.
Drakkenfyre Oct 11th 2010 5:59PM
Yes, the quest revamp, I know that.
I was thinking of that when I made my post. It would still be nice to be able to reforge items below level 80.
Boobah Oct 11th 2010 7:59PM
Even before the quest revamp, all the lower level items are getting re-itemized to the new system. Even the random greens seem to be; ie, on live of the Bandit = Stamina, Agility, and AP. After 4.0, of the Bandit = Stamina, Agility, Crit
Drakkenfyre Oct 11th 2010 8:11PM
That's not quite the revamp we were talking about.
The useless quest rewards like stuff with +Agility and +Spirit on cloth, or +Intellect and +Agility on Plate. Or the almost complete lack of stuff like +Hit on lower-end drops will be corrected. No more worthless stats, and more helpful stuff on lower-end stuff.
Brett Porter Oct 11th 2010 9:00PM
I can understand what you're saying, but to be honest, I don't think folks are min-maxing that much at sub-end game levels. Perhaps there are those out there, but that gear is gotten rid of so quickly in the new game that it would be such a waste of money. I think they're taking it to such high iLevel and character level only because so many folks would be affected by the changes.
Now, I would like to see them perhaps lower both a bit? Maybe 75 and whatever corresponding iLevel that is. That'd be nice.
Zakarii Oct 11th 2010 5:30PM
I understand how it works and I've used it on PTR, but does this mean it's no longer going to be tied into Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, or Enchanting?
Zakarii Oct 11th 2010 5:31PM
Scratch that, just looked above after I posted - I hadn't refreshed my browser when I was posting so I saw no comments at the time.
feniks9174 Oct 11th 2010 5:36PM
I never thought about this til a few minutes ago . . . Can you reforge trinkets/sigils or is it just armor?
(cutaia) Oct 11th 2010 5:57PM
Yes...if the trinket/sigil has one of those secondary stats on it. Otherwise, no.
Boobah Oct 11th 2010 8:32PM
And weapons! Any piece of gear with static (ie, not a proc) spirit or a rating can be reforged.
It's worth pointing out that these stats are nearly the only ones that will vary from item to item when they're the same slot, iLvl, and quality.