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Just like the fashion runways in Paris and Milan, in the World of
Warcraft it's all about what you wear.  That may sound
strange, but think about it for a bit.  Are WoW players any
different than fashion divas, constantly searching for that perfect
piece to complete an outfit?  See what I mean?  While
players of all levels constantly vie for better gear the real gear
quest starts at level 80, and forces players to obsess over
incrementally better items for longer than it took them to level.



An easy way for many classes to start gearing up in Wrath of the Lich
King at level 80 is through the various reputation rewards. 
Most classes have access to some very good items from the various
factions in the game that have reputation.  The most important
ones for many players are the ones that provide enchants for both the
head and shoulder items. Which faction this is for your head enchant
varies on your spec, while the shoulder enchants for everyone comes
from the Sons of Hodir.



To help in your effort to earn faction and to keep players from going
insane at the tedium of daily quests, many of the key factions in Wrath
of the Lich King can be championed at level 80. Championing is the
ability to wear a tabard for the specific faction that you would like
reputation with and then completing level 80 instances.  While
wearing that factions tabard you will gain reputation with them for all
your kills in a level 80 or heroic instance.  This makes
gaining reputation with these factions relatively easy.



Key Death Knight faction
items




As with almost all other classes the first faction reward you should
work towards is the head and shoulder enchant.  The ones that
you need are determined by your talent build. 



A key enchant is the head slot enchant for any class, and the Death
Knight is no exception.  The head enchants are received in the
form of Arcanums purchased from the faction quartermasters once you
have reached revered status with them.



If you are a tank then you should be working on the Argent Crusade for
the Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector.  This faction can be
gained through quests in the zone of Icecrown and championing for them.
By completing the quest chains at their home base called the Argent
Vanguard you can generally get enough reputation for the
Arcanum.  If you are a DPS build then your priority is
the  Knights of the Ebon Blade faction and getting the Arcanum
of Torment.  This faction is once again found in Icecrown, but
to the far north at the Shadow Vault.  As with the Argent
Vanguard, you can gain reputation through quests or
championing.  By the time you have completed the quests in the
zone for this faction you should have enough reputation to by the
Arcanum. 



target="_blank"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 259px; height: 164px; float: right;"
alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/65705">No
matter your build, for shoulder enchants you need to visit the Sons
of Hodir found in the Storm Peaks.  You need to complete a
long chain of quests in the zone before you can even communicate with
them, but once you do it opens up several daily quests that you can do
to earn reputation.  You can also collect and turn in ice
shards and relics of Hodir for additional reputation.  You can
get the lesser shoulder enchants at honoured reputation and the greater
version at exalted.



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alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/65704">DPS
Items




The first and most important faction for a plate DPS character to gain
reputation with is the Knights of the Ebon Blade in
Dragonblight.  Not only do they provide one of the best boot
slot items in the game for a plate wearing DPS player they also provide
the critical head enchant and a very nice two-handed sword. 
Since you will already be earning reputation there to get the head
enchant, it is a great faction to continue on with to exalted to gain
access to the boots.  The great two-handed sword you can earn
will serve you well until you get either a crafted Titan Steel
Destroyer or a two-handed weapon from a raid.  Over all this
is the faction you need to earn.



There are a few items scattered here and there with the other factions,
however nothing compares to the wealth of loot available through the
Ebon Blade.  The list of reputation items that is best suited
to a DPS Death Knight is as follows:


cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
colspan="4" rowspan="1">DPS Noteworthy Items style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Item
(Slot) style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Faction style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Reputation
Level style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Notes Arcanum of Torment (Head Enchant) Knights of the Ebon Blade Revered The Head enchant for Melee DPS, this is a must get item. Runeblade of Demonstrable Power (Weapon) Knights of the Ebon Blade Revered A great hold over weapon while you are saving for a
Titansteel Destroyer Death-Inured Sabatons (Boots) Knights of the Ebon Blade Exalted One of the best boots in the game, well worth the
effort. Cloak of Holy Extermination (Back) Argent Crusade Honored Fang-Deflecting Faceguard (Head) Argent Crusade Revered Too much effort for a sub par item, get a crafted
Spiked Titansteel Helm instead Spaulders of the Giant Lords (Shoulder) The Sons of Hodir Revered A great shoulder slot item until you get your Tier 7
ones. Lesser / Greater Inscription of the Axe (Shoulder
Enchant) The Sons of Hodir Honored / Exalted At least get the lesser enchant otherwise you will not
have anything on your shoulders, grind reputation for the greater one
whenever you can. Legplates of Bloody Reprisal (Legs) Wyrmrest Accord Exalted Too much effort for the item



Tanking Items



target="_blank"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 332px; height: 168px; float: right;"
alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/65706">Tanking
items are a little more finicky to get through reputation than DPS
items are.  Where there are several good DPS items that can be
earned that are very good, the tanking ones are generally only
so-so.  At least they are easy to collect, for the most part
being earned at the honoured or revered level.  The one item
that is earned at exalted can generally be skipped as it is the only
item from the Kirin Tor for tanks and is not worth the long grind for
reputation with them.



As a tank the first faction to get reputation with is the Argent
Crusade for the head enchant, when you get to honoured though, you also
gain access to a great set of tanking legs.  Getting to
honoured is very simple and most players will get there while simply
following the quest chains given to you by their members.



After the Argent Crusade priority should be given to the Wyrmrest
Accord to get the Breastplate of the Solemn Council at
revered.  If you leveled in Dragonblight at all you probably
already have enough reputation with the Accord to buy the cloak from
them at honoured.


cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
colspan="4" rowspan="1">Tanking Noteworthy Items style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Item
(Slot) style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Faction style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Reputation
Level style="background-color: rgb(208, 83, 111); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: bold;">Notes Toxin-Tempered Sabatons (Boots) Knights of the Ebon Blade Honored These tanking boots are really meant for warriors or
paladins due to having block value on them, however, since you will get
to honored by simply doing the quests in the zone they can be ok to
grab until you get better. Special Issue Legplates (Legs) Argent Crusade Honored Decent tanking pants that are very easy to get. Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector (Head Enchant) Argent Crusade Revered The tanking head enchant, this is a must get item. Lesser / Greater Arcanum of the Pinnacle The Sons of Hodir Honored / Exalted These are the shoulder enchants for tanks, and you
should at least get the lesser one. Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions (Back) Wyrmrest Accord Honored A decent cloak that is very easy to get. Breastplate of the Solemn Council (Chest) Wyrmrest Accord Revered A good tanking chest piece that is very easy to get. Sabatons of Draconic Vigor (Boots) Wyrmrest Accord Revered Good boots for cheap and since you will be getting
revered anyway they will serve you until you get the Titansteel ones. Fireproven Gauntlets Kirin Tor Exalted These gloves are fairly good, however seeing that there
is nothing else worth getting from the Kirin Tor along the way to
exalted you will likely have better by the time you get around to their
reputation.



Overall



As you can see, reputation is a great way to start to equip your
character at level 80.  Many of the factions you can earn
reputation with as you level your way form 70 to 80.  Many you
can champion with once you are level 80.  You can also choose
to complete daily quests as well with all the factions to earn both
reputation and gold.  No matter how you choose to grind for
reputation you can do various different things to keep yourself
entertained as you do it.



My personal favourite way to gain reputation with the factions is
through championing.  Most servers have constant level 80 and
heroic groups forming in the looking for group (LFG) system, and this
provides a great way to get out there, meet some other players and get
reputation.  Since you can do any instance you like, it keeps
the reputation grind fresh and different all the time.



While faction based reputation items will not provide a full set of
equipment, it will give a solid start to most players. 
Combine this with a few crafted items, instance and heroic item drops,
and you are on your way to being raid ready.  But that's a
whole other article.



To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Byron has been playing and writing about World of Warcraft for the past ten years. He also plays pretty much ever other Blizzard game, currently focusing on Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, while still finding time to jump into Diablo III with his son.

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