On x3 rates level eighty arrives before you have read half the quest text in Northrend. The side effect is predictable: your character is standing in Dalaran in a jumble of greens and blues, with an honest "Friendly" on every reputation tab. You simply skipped half the quest chains - the levels came faster.
The problem is that reputations here are not collecting for achievement's sake. Behind them hang the head and shoulder enchants, that is, two slots nothing else can fill: not a raid, not the auction house, not a lucky roll.
What the factions actually give
- Shoulder enchants. The Sons of Hodir are the only source of shoulder inscriptions for anyone without Inscription. Lesser inscriptions unlock at Honored, greater ones at Exalted. This is not a nice bonus, it is a mandatory item for every role.
- Head enchants. The major Northrend factions each sell their own arcanum for your helm at Honored, one per role. You buy it once and it stays on the character for good.
- Gear. Cloaks, rings, trinkets, sometimes weapons. The item level is more modest than raid gear, but it sits with a quartermaster: no luck involved, only reputation and gold.
- Recipes. Some patterns, plans and formulas are sold for reputation only. If your profession is a working one rather than a box you ticked, that is direct income.
Who is who
| Faction | How to grind it | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| The Sons of Hodir | Storm Peaks dailies, turning in Relics of Ulduar | Shoulder inscriptions. Everyone needs them |
| Kirin Tor | Tabard in heroics, Dalaran quests | Caster DPS helm enchant: spell power and critical strike |
| The Wyrmrest Accord | Tabard in heroics, Dragonblight quest chains | Healer helm enchant: spell power and mana restoration |
| Knights of the Ebon Blade | Tabard in heroics, Icecrown dailies | Melee helm enchant: attack power and critical strike |
| Argent Crusade | Tabard in heroics, Icecrown and Zul'Drak dailies | Tank helm enchant: stamina and defense rating |
| Alliance Vanguard or Horde Expedition | Accumulates by itself while you level | Blue items for the first few days |
| The Kalu'ak | Quests in the three villages and their dailies | Fishing gear and cosmetics. Anglers only |
| The Oracles or Frenzyheart Tribe | Sholazar Basin, one side of your choosing | Pets and curiosities. Not urgent |
The line "tabard in heroics" is the central mechanic of this whole story. Wearing a faction's tabard turns kills in level eighty dungeons into that faction's reputation. One and the same batch of heroics closes three tasks at once: gear, reputation and the keystones for Mythic+ dungeons that drop from heroic bosses. If heroics are still unfamiliar ground for you, go through the first heroic checklist first and worry about the tabard afterwards.
The order to do things in after eighty
- The Sons of Hodir. Run the quest chain in the Storm Peaks to unlock Dun Niffelem and its dailies. Collect Relics of Ulduar from the local dwarves and giants along the way: they turn in by the stack and move the reputation faster than the quests themselves.
- Your own head arcanum. Pick a single faction to match your role and do not spread yourself thin: you can only wear one tabard, and you only need one Honored. Then switch.
- Dailies along the way. Icecrown is convenient because it has two camps in one place: a lap around the crusaders and the knights takes half an hour.
- Everything else - later. Anything that gives pets, mounts and achievements can happily wait.
How to speed the process up
- Put the tabard on before you enter. Reputation is not awarded retroactively for bosses you have already killed.
- Do not run heroics "just because": pick the ones you need for gear anyway. Reputation then becomes a by-product rather than a separate job.
- Turning in relics is the most underrated trick of all. They drop from ordinary mobs, pile up in your bags and convert into reputation in a single conversation with an NPC.
- In Sholazar Basin, choose your side in advance: gains with one side drop the other, and flip-flopping is pointless.
- Do dailies in blocks by zone rather than by faction: fewer flights.
- Honored is almost always enough; Exalted is for the greater inscriptions and a handful of recipes.
Why bother with any of this
Reputation rewards do boring but extremely useful work: they close the slots that would otherwise be waiting on a raid. Enchanted shoulders and helm, a ring, a cloak and a trinket from the quartermaster - and your character stops being the one people bring along to fill a spot. What is more, this part of the preparation is entirely in your own hands: no roster of twenty-five people, no luck required, just a plan and a few evenings.
A sensible benchmark: shoulder inscriptions and the helm arcanum before your first serious runs, everything else as you go. After that it is a matter of taste - some people finish off Exalted for the recipes, others forget about reputations until their next character. The rest of the mechanics and dungeon breakdowns live in the guides.
