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

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.

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.

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!

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.
Filed under: World of Wardrobe






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Nopunin10did Oct 27th 2011 5:08PM
One thing to note:
Any of the item level 115 gear that you list as normal-mode only isn't actually normal-mode only.
The odd thing about TBC Heroics is that the top-level dungeons and their heroic counterparts actually drop gear from the same loot table. The Heroic versions just drop extra stuff. Like an epic from the final boss, and epic gems along the way.
Dungeons that qualify in this regard:
-Shattered Halls
-Shadow Labyrinth
-Black Morass
-Steamvaults
-Arcatraz
-Botanica
-Mechanar
rapsam2003 Oct 27th 2011 5:59PM
Huh, I might have to go pick up that Tier 1 recolor. That actually looks pretty cool. I don't like the coloring of the original paladin tier 1, but the combo of dark blue and reds is sweet.
Natsumi Oct 27th 2011 9:40PM
You don't like Banana shoulders?
rapsam2003 Oct 28th 2011 9:58AM
This is for my DK. I can't get them anyway, even if I did like them. :P
Artificial Oct 27th 2011 5:09PM
DKs, console yourselves on the fact that you'll have a lot more tier sets than monks.
Natsumi Oct 27th 2011 9:41PM
I look forward to putting my monk in something silly. Like a Druid Recolor set or something.
evoxpisces Oct 27th 2011 5:15PM
As a DK and a non-raider I appreciate this article. I wish a few more sets were highlighted but it's to know that there are options out there other than the tier armor. I think I want that Lawbringer Armor for my DK... The red just seems like it will go so well with the Blood spec.
Anne Stickney Oct 27th 2011 5:19PM
I'll be covering more of them next week for you guys. :D
JACKALX619 Oct 27th 2011 5:16PM
Imma put my monk in druid tier re-color..giant panda with naturey green goodness falling of of him whee!
Natsumi Oct 27th 2011 9:28PM
Pandaren with antlers XD
xvkarbear Oct 27th 2011 5:17PM
I hope they make the Acherus set available to DKs somehow.
Revynn Oct 27th 2011 5:29PM
I had mine restored back in ICC. I don't know how/if their policy has changed side the announcement of Transmog, but it's worth a shot.
Just open a ticket and tell them the truth. "I tossed my old DK starter zone gear because I couldn't justify the bank space on gear I thought I'd never use again, but now with transmogrification coming I find myself wanting it back. If possible, I was hoping I could get the items restored".
Tfish92 Oct 27th 2011 6:04PM
I read a blue post awhile ago saying when 4.3 comes out they're putting a vendor in ebon hold that will sell the dk starter gear.
RetPallyJil Oct 27th 2011 6:05PM
There's a time limit on item restoration. I know - I tried to get my Verigan's Fist back :C
xvkarbear Oct 27th 2011 6:49PM
@Tfish92 I was under the impression that was the original blue set you get through the quests. I could be wrong though.
Narshe Oct 27th 2011 7:26PM
Both sets (green and blue quality) will be sold by the Ebon Hold vendor. Looking forward to using the Acherus helm with other armor sets :)
Abbadon Oct 27th 2011 5:18PM
I was surprised you didn't mention the Purple Judgement set... It took me a couple weeks to get all the pieces, but I'm all set for 4.3!
http://wow.joystiq.com/2007/04/04/not-quite-a-set-purple-judgement/
Anne Stickney Oct 27th 2011 5:19PM
"This is just the first few recolored sets that were introduced in The Burning Crusade; we'll be hitting others next week. "
Kylenne Oct 27th 2011 6:51PM
I have a feeling purple Judgement is going to be as ubiquitous on DKs as the real thing is going to be on paladins. Basically every DK I know is farming that set or already has it ready to go.
I'm probably going to eschew Tiers and Tier recolors altogether on my DK and mix and match on my own, the way I am with my mage main (despite having near-complete Tier sets on that toon). There's a lot of amazing looking gear out there outside of the Tier box, in general, and I like the challenge of coming up with something to match a class or race aside from that stuff.
Natsumi Oct 27th 2011 9:43PM
My warrior still has the level 70 set that hit just before Wrath, it has the same Purple Judgement model.