Emblems

Sadly, as much as we try to avoid gearscore prejudice, and running dungeons for their loot rather than for an overall fun experience, there comes a point when your character hits 80, random heroic dungeons open up and you are expected to make incredibly complex decisions about the gear you earn.

Here, then, is a guide to all those vendors about Dalaran, Orgrimmar and the Icecrown Citadel. Please note that these emblems do not apply to old-world and Outland dungeons; it’s Wrath of the Lich King content only.

How Do I Earn This Gear?

Though many professions allow you to craft very worthy pieces at level 80, the uniform is earned through emblems and heroic dungeon or raid drops. Most players will craft all that they can out of their own profession’s epic pieces, then seek to replace everything else with vendor-bought gear.

Current emblems include Emblems of Triumph and Emblems of Frost. The former is widely earned throughout levels 70-80, and the latter comes from completing high-end dungeon objectives.

Tiers 7-8: Old Emblems

The first point of confusion is seeing 5 different vendors within the Horde pavilion, all offering PvP and PvE gear. Emblems of Heroism, Valour and Conquest allow you access to old armour pieces and weaponry, and some miscellaneous rewards, such as Reins of the Wooly Mammoth.

You can access these by ‘trading down’ your Frost and Triumph emblems in a like-for-like exchange, as below. This system is one-way though, and as a general rule you should avoid spending your emblems in this way unless you fancy some of the unique rewards. Those armour sets which are held as the dungeon and raid standard are awarded with the top-tier emblems.

Emblems can be traded down in a scale seen here, from left to right.
Frost > Triumph > Conquest > Valour > Heroism

Rewards

Heroism:

• Tier 7 gloves & chest
• Season 5 “Savage Gladiator” PvP set
• Heirlooms
• ilvl 200 gear
• Frozen Orb (used in many epic recipes)
• Epic jewels (Eye of Zul, Dreadstone, etc.)
• Reins of the Wooly Mammoth

Valour:

• Tier 7 shoulders & legs
• Season 5 “Hateful Gladiator” PvP set
• ilvl 213 gear

Conquest:

• Tier 8 head & chest from Ulduar
• Season 5 “Deadly Gladiator” PvP set
• ilvl 226 gear
• Runed Orb (used in Ulduar epic armour patterns)

Tier 9: Emblems of Triumph

The triumph emblem vendor will be your main port of call if you play casually or in a 5-man group. They offer solid rewards for solo and 5-man play, and you’ll get by in quite a few raids too as a stepping stone to earning some upgrades, particularly to stamina. These emblems are most closely associated with patch 3.2, in which the Argent Crusade opened its tournament in preparation for an assault on the Lich King.

Earning Emblems of Triumph

Lvl 70-79:

• 2 for the first random dungeon that you enter that day.

Lvl 80:

• 2 for every random heroic dungeon completed after the first that day;
• 5 for every random raid dungeon;
• 1 from every boss in heroic-mode dungeons (except Icecrown Citadel);
• 1 from every boss in normal-mode Icecrown Citadel dungeons and 10/25-man raids.

Rewards

• Tier 9 sets from the Crusader’s Coliseum:
  • “Conquest” (ilvl 232)
  • “Triumph” 10-man (ilvl 245)
  • “Triumph” 25-man (ilvl 258)
• Season 6 “Furious Gladiator” PvP sets
• ilvl 245 gear
• Crusader Orb (used in Argent Tournament epic armour patterns)

Tier 10: Emblems of Frost

The triumph emblem vendor will be your main port of call if you play in raids. These emblems are most closely associated with patch 3.3, and its assault on Icecrown Citadel.

Earning Emblems of Frost

Lvl 78-80:

• 6 for completing the Icecrown Citadel quest chain.

Lvl 80:

• 2 for the first random dungeon that you enter that day;
• 5 for completing the weekly Icecrown 10/25-man raid quests;
• 1 from each of the 25 bosses inside Icecrown Citadel’s 10/25-man raid;
• 2 from beating Toravon the Watcher in Wintergrasp’s 10/25-man Vault of Archavon.

Rewards

• Tier 10 sets from the Icecrown Citadel:
  • Standard (ilvl 251)
  • “Sanctified” 10/25-man (ilvl 264)
  • “Sanctified” heroic 10/25-man (ilvl 277)
• ilvl 264 gear
• Primordial Saronite (used in Icecrown epic armour patterns)