2-Handed Weapon Progression in Phase 1 – WoW Classic

wow classic 2 handed weapon progression

This is my (Whirlwind) Axe! There are many like it, but this one is mine!

Nothing is more important while leveling a Warrior than his or her weapon. With the abundance of Pre-Raid BiS Guides out there, I wanted to take a different approach to things. The following spreadsheets list every Bind-on-Pickup 2-handed weapon (including Staffs) available in Phase 1, from level 3-60, good or bad, Intelligence or Strength, green, blue, or purple.

Spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-96PuMzqO7N5lNPGgJpAFkHm0GOq1q5-ByjIcrjdFC4/edit?usp=sharing

The following lists are currently available:

  • All weapons available to the Alliance via quests or drops
  • All Horde quest reward 2-handers
  • All Alliance quest reward 2-handers
  • All 2-handed drops
    • Paladin specific sheet (see below)
    • Hunter specific sheet (see below)
    • Shaman specific sheet (see below)
    • Druid specific sheet (see below)
  • All weapons available to the Alliance via quests or drops with commentary (WIP)

Alliance Progression (Work-In-Progress)

This guide is being written from the perspective of a new server launch in preparation for Classic launch. If you are leveling after the first month, while the order of this may not change, you will likely get weapons sooner than I predict with more higher levels around to help out.

Benchmark Weapons

I want to first highlight certain benchmark weapons and explain why they are important. For this I will look exclusively at quest rewards that almost everyone will do:

Balanced Fighting Stick – Hogger – Wanted: “Hogger”

One of the most iconic low level quests in World of Warcraft, so much so Blizzard removed it and put him in a prison dungeon. I duoed this at level 9 on my Warrior with another level 9 Warrior, but I would think on a fresh server there will be so many groups you can get it as early as someone is willing to invite you. In addition to being iconic, this quest is also the very first, and only, quest in the Human starting area to award a 2handed green weapon. BUT I WARRIOR ME NO USE STAFF! Ok, I’ll just sell you this BOE level 5 green axe for 50 silver. Sarcasm aside, more on this later.

Staff of Westfall – Dead Mines Quest Chain – The Defias Brotherhood

Deadmines, most Alliance players’ first instance run, so in honor of that I would like to illustrate how this one weapon embodies the importance of keeping up with your dungeon quests and breaking the stigma of weapon types.

You probably got your current weapon at either 17-18 and it probably does ~13 DPS. Since your first Deadmines run will probably be at around 18-20, being conservative says you took 3 levels to get a 7-8 DPS upgrade. Compare that to your next weapon upgrade which will come from Raene’s (NEVERMIND that requires turning in this fun item: this fun item) which now will be Ancient War Sword, obtained from an elite quest in Wetlands. It only provides a 1.2 DPS upgrade and you most likely will not get it until level 28-30, when you go back to Wetlands for the elite Dwarf quests. That is 10 levels of waiting for barely any upgrade vs 3 levels for a more than 50% DPS increase.

Still not convinced you should use a staff as a Warrior? Smites Might Hammer is a 5% drop and you will likely be rolling against at least 1 other person. So you don’t get the mace and you don’t take the staff, visually here is everything you have to do before you have a comparable weapon:

2 handed weapon progression using staff as a warrior data

Yes, that does say Gnomer.

Archeus – Mor’Ladim – A Daughter’s Love

Duskwood is one of the first times a new player will truly feel terror. Between Stiches and Mor’Ladim you are always looking over your shoulder, not to mention it is the first real world PVP spot, with Stranglethorn Vale being so close. Well this quest is your revenge. This is a quest that makes you stop and read, care about the lore of the world, and feel sad for fictional characters. It is a truly iconic quest and finally killing Mor’Ladim feels so sweet! It is not even that good, but it is still the last upgrade you will get from a quest for a while.

Whirlwind Axe (or Sword, or Mace) – Whirlwind Weapon

The Whirlwind Axe has been covered to death so there is not much to say here. Unfortunately people will think that because streamers got it at level 30 on the beta they will be able to as well. No, realistically you will not get it until it is almost replaced (I would say 34-38 on a fresh server), and I only included it because I felt obligated. Bonebiter is better in every way.

Bonebiter – Scarlet Monestary, All Wings – In the Name of the Light

Again, streamers clearing it at level 36 does not mean you will, but expect to get this around level 40-42. Because it is also an axe, the stats might as well read +20 Strength, +10 stamina, Equip: Improves your chance to get a critical strike by 5%. This is part of the reason you should always select the axe from the Whirlwind Weapon chain, and why weapon types matter as much as DPS when determining upgrades.

And unfortunately, that is it for quest rewards. Once AV comes out Ice Barbed Spear will slot in to this gap, but until then, the next DPS upgrade from a quest reward is not until Un’Goro – Beastslayer (which lucky is an Axe so you are already talented for it) or Maraudon – Resurgence Rod (from the same quest which rewards Thrash Blade in addition to losing 5% crit from talents).

So how do we go about filling in those gaps?

Starter Quests

Or, in other words, the first 2-handed quest reward in each of the respective starting areas:

Avoiding the Pack – Darkshore

I recommended heading to Darkshore are level 12, it may take a few deaths to get through Wetlands but you will be in Darkshore until level 18. Make sure to pick up the flightpaths along the way. In addition to skipping the zerg of players you also avoid the Defias Trappers and Pillagers. (The People’s Militia chain is not required for the Staff of Westfall questline, a common misconception.)

  • Oakthrush Staff – easy quest available at level 12 in Darkshore, just requires running
  • Trogg Slicer – If you decide to stay in Eastern Kingdoms, hit up Loch Modan for this around level 17. As a bonus, this weapon comes with a nice boost to your passive health regen from the spirit.
  • Woodsman Sword – Northern Darkshore – Ground spawns guarded by level 17-21 Naga. I recommend hitting level 18, doing this quest, then heading over to run DM.

Deadmines (Or Not)

Hopefully, you come out of Deadmines with a shiny new Mace, but if you lose the roll or it didn’t drop, you get a guaranteed 2hander anyway. If you did get lucky, then you get to choose between the chest and the legs, but that is a topic for another guide.

I already covered what your progression looks like if you decide not to use a staff so to just quickly list some options for the solo player (both are part of the normal leveling route so you will probably pick these anyway to vendor):

  • Orc Crusher – Eilte quest in Redridge, this is NOT the guy at the top of the castle, he is in the courtyard off to the side, probably look for a group beginning around 22, but some groups may want to do all 3 quests at once which requires around 24
  • Icicle Rod – Avoid fast running Murlocs and loot items off the ground, the ones around the final quest spawn are 24-25 but very tightly packed together

The Journey Begins – Your First Power Creep

So you just finished your first 5-man, you are one shotting every mob you attack, life is good! What now? Ride that as long as you can and finish up Redridge, I guess start Redridge as well since it should be relatively untouched if you went to Darkshore.

– I know that, but I want my loot!

Ok, well then find some Paladins and head across the pond to Blackfathom Deeps.

– But Paladins steal my loot! I want loot!

My first toon in 2004 was a Paladin, me and 2 other Pallies did a world tour together to get our Verigan’s Fist chain done. We played together after that all the way up through MC. Never underestimate the friendships built in early game dungeons, and they won’t even need to roll on your weapon! (If you like these guys you can help them in SFK, but there are no quests and not really any drops for such a long walk, so it would be purely a social favor.)

  • Strike of the Hydra – If you are tanking it I would recommended around level 24-25, especially since you cannot equip it until 26. This will not get replaced until WhirlWind Axe, so it may be worth running this place a few times.

Solo Player Options:

  • Ancient War Sword – Knock out while doing the elite Dwarf quests since both require a small group
  • Emil’s Brand – If you are leveling in Ashenvale this can probably be soloed around level 30
  • Archeus – Duoed without a healer at 30 using hamstring and trading agro

Warriors, Come Out to Play

Level 30 unlocks 3 huge milestones for warriors, either Death Wish or Sweeping Strikes, the Berserker Stance quest, and Whirlwind Axe quest.

The Undercard

Maybe you are lucky enough to have a group of friends willing to help you out, but here are some viable options until you get your WW Axe. (This was not on purpose, but I just noticed the next 5 real weapons are all Axes, which makes upgrading easier and not having to respec cheaper. Unfortunately, these are the last Axes until Un’Goro.)

  • Corpsemaker – Hard to get as Alliance due to people just not wanting to run the place, but it is the 29 twink weapon, so it is too important not to include.
  • Thermaplugg’s Left Arm – A little fast for my liking, but viable for sure. You may see Manual Crowd Pummeler earlier in the run, but that is WAY to fast for my liking and only listed because they drop in the same instance.
  • Illusionary Rod is actually really good at a 3.4 speed but good luck ever getting a group again if you take this over a caster who needs it. (The not real one for those wondering.)
The Main Event
  • Whirlwind Axe (or Sword, or Mace) – The components are probably duoable with a healer as early as 34 (the elementals are level 38), but even with a healer the elite at the end hits like a truck and could require a full group at that level. As others have explained, the value of this item is iLvl vs acquisition level and the longer you wait the less impressive it becomes, but it is not easy on a fresh server.
  • Bonebiter – See above, no RNG/luck as a quest reward and it is better than the drops from the instance and for a while after. This is better than WW Axe in every way.

Unfortunately it really invalidates 2 big drops along the way:

  • Ravager is such a unique weapon and could be better depending on your playstyle (if you are leveling as part of a group and pulling multiple mobs all the time) but the lack of stats and the fact it roots you makes soloing with it somewhere on the annoying<->frustrating spectrum. It is much better on horde as it can proc WF on all the spinning attacks.
  • Mograine’s Might an iconic name for a sub par weapon, not sure what class would use this over Bonebitter but useful for Horde as their quest rewards are very different.

The solo player will have a bit of a gap depending on what level they did Mor’Ladim, but there are some solid choices out there, unfortunately both are all in heavily camped areas. They both are soloable around 38+:

Uldaman

Uldaman contains a variety of different weapons, not all I would recommend but I will include for completeness (the only high level enchanting trainer in all of classic is located here, so every enchanter will NEED to come here to level it up, should not be difficult to find groups):

Halfway Home

The mathematical 1/2 way point to 60 is somewhere between 47-48, so running an instance multiple times *cough*Princess*cough* if you have a good group is not a terrible idea. Weapons aside, this is the range where pre-raid BIS items start dropping – Blackstone Ring! (And yes! I made Uldaman its own category just to put this stat in the guide, sue me.)

And lastly, the final bastion of for the Solo Player:

We’re in the Endgame Now: Level 60 Dungeon Spam

Congrats, you have made it to dealers choice. This is where you begin your collection of hit gear for Fury raiding or start tanking these runs as Prot, but in between Sweeping Strikes and Whirlwinds with a nice slow 2-hander tear up 5-man trash packs. Try to avoid Maces as Mace Spec does not add DPS, Polearms get a bad reputation because in PVP you lose access to Imp Hamstring but in PVE you don’t need to worry about that.

Since /sit does not appear to proc Enrage, I would recommend the following, with the last 6 points for your weapon of choice+MS:

2 handed weapon progression warrior build
(25/20/0)

Wildcard:

Honorable Mention:

  • Hydrocane – You never know when you need to breathe underwater. The lack of stats means its always a free roll but if you don’t get one come back and solo farm it at some point.

Horde Progression

Disclaimer: (A few items are not listed, such as class specific quest rewards for other classes, Corruption which is the only BOP crafted 2H weapon, and Shimmering Platinum Warhammer which is an alternate reward for In Dreams. You can find a full list of disclaimers on the INTRO sheet.)

  • Verigan’s Fist and all 4 level 50 class quests in ST have been added to the respective class sheets, please let me know if there are any more beyond these 5.

This is still very much a work in progress, as such, I have the following Wishlist:

  • Finish the commentary tab
  • Progression guide, to weight factors such as: how easy or grindy quests are, spawn rates of quest mobs, importance of getting the weapon vs waiting for the next upgrade, spec after 30 when Arms gets access to weapon based talents
  • Create sheets for more classes (DONE)
  • Remove all items not available in phase 1 (DONE)

Please feel free to contact me on Discord (@darks_end#0479) with any feedback.

 

About the Author

Darks_end

I love theorycrafting and joined TankSpot as a Community Author during Sunwell. I researched and wrote both general Raid Tutorial guides as well as Druid Tanking guides. (My favorite was reverse engineering the druid threat modifiers during WOTLK, as it had never been done for druids before.) I have played WoW since the pre-Vanilla Beta, and since I never played on private servers, this is just like coming home after a long vacation!
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