While reputation grinding is still useful, these days there are so many other ways to acquire gear, cosmetic items, and recipes that many people don’t bother with the volume of reputation grinds they once did. Back in the early days of World of Warcraft, reputation grinds were an essential part of the game. They offered rewards and recipes which couldn’t be matched outside of a raid, something far fewer people partook in anyway due to logistics.
These days most people largely ignore many of these factions of old, especially since they don’t offer anything useful for those who are just leveling to reach the current endgame content. Back then, however, reputation grinds were your endgame content. That meant that the rewards (and risks) were much greater.
Here are 10 things you didn’t know about reputation in World of Warcraft Classic.
There are 14 Neutral Factions In Classic To Gain Reputation With
Classic offers 14 different neutral factions that you can gain favor with. In addition to this, you can also build a reputation with the other racial factions within the Horde or Alliance, just as you still can today.
Different factions will offer quests that will increase your standing with them and some of these are repeatable. However, they aren’t all contained in a nice hub and instead daily quests can be found strewn across Azeroth. You should also keep an eye out for reputation adjustments that occur when killing certain mobs.
Certain Factions Are Linked Together
Some of the neutral factions are at war with each other. This means that an increase in reputation with one will mean a decrease with the other. Most players will notice this in Strangethorn Vale in particular, where the warring factions of Steamwheedle Cartel and the Bloodsail Buccaneers reside.
Both factions will offer quests but you need to choose carefully as questing for one will anger the other and it’s much quicker to gain a negative reputation than it is to build it back up to positive. If you’re up for the challenge though, there are achievements for hitting exalted on two rival factions, you just can’t hold both exalted reputations at the same time.
Undead Forsaken Players Have A Lower Starting Reputation With Other Horde Races
T
The Undead Forsaken really do get a raw deal. Not only are they pretty much segregated geographically but they are also graphically glitched and universally hated, even by their own supposed allies.
As standard they start with a lower starting reputation with the other Horde races; Orcs, Trolls and Taurens. These other races also have a lower starting reputation with the Forsaken. It seems that the bad blood here extends in both directions.
Capital Cities Love Cloth
If you’re looking to build a good reputation with your fellow Horde or Alliance members (and you should because it means you can buy and ride their racial mounts) then get your hands on some cloth.
Each capital city has a Cloth Quartermaster who will accept donations of Wool, Silk, Mageweave or Runecloth as you level. Turning in your donation of 60 cloth will net you 350 reputation. The final Runecloth donation is a repeatable quest, available once you hit level 50.
Gaining An Honored Reputation Saves You Money
If you can boost your reputation up to honored then it will save you some money on repairs, 10% to be exact. Using the services of an NPC associated with a faction you hold honored or above reputation with gives a discount on purchasing items, repairing gear, training, and flights.
This adds up quickly in Classic, where stacks of consumables are much more frequently needed and deaths are far more common. Using a vendor with a discount will save you a nice chunk of change. Remember gold is also more difficult to acquire so every copper counts.
You Can Force A War To Damage Your Reputation
Your reputation toolbars will contain an “At War” checkbox. This allows you to force conflict between your character and a specific faction should you so desire.
Certain factions will have this box permanently ticked, such as the races of the opposing team but others you can manipulate. If you tick the box for a faction which you are not hostile towards it will allow you to attack their NPCs and further reduce your standing with them.
Crafters Will Need To Grind Reputation
Anyone with a crafting profession needs to embrace reputation grinds as in Classic many of the highest level and best recipes are locked behind different faction vendors, in much the same way as some are now. Every faction has different recipes so make sure you check what each Emissary sells.
The journey will be long and tough but some of these recipes can be crafted and sold for large amounts of gold to raiders in particular. Just remember you can’t enchant vellums in Classic to sell on the Auction House, so if you grind for those sweet recipes you’ll also need to stand in a capital city and battle with the trade channel.
There Are Some Quirky Rewards And Consequences
There are also some unique rewards to be gained, including a pirates outfit and parrot from the Bloodsail Buccaneers. Just be careful of the consequences of a grind like this. Not only is it difficult and frustrating but when your reputation with Bloodsail is high enough to purchase the outfit you’ll be hated by Booty Bay.
This means being killed on sight in Everlook, Gadgetzan, Booty Bay and Ratchet. Unless you want to get locked in an eternal corpse run you’ll need to make it up to them, fast.
Research Your Reputation Grinds
As well as crafting recipes certain factions also sell some incredibly good gear. It’s a good idea to research all the rewards and make sure you are grinding for the rewards most useful to your specific character.
Raiders, crafters and casuals will all have different priorities and even your class can make a difference. Check on a fan site for a gear list and make sure you know what the rewards in Classic are, as most have been largely ignored for years.
The Darkmoon Faire Is The Costliest Reputation
These days the Darkmoon Faire is mostly just for laughs, rewarding mainly fun and cosmetic items but back in Classic, almost everyone went at some point.
This was because it was where you turned in Darkmoon Decks in return for the most powerful trinkets available at the time. Darkmoon cards drop from random mobs in the world and buying, selling and trading was commonplace as people fought to complete decks. Doing so was often expensive as the rewards were high, being some of the best trinkets in the game.
The only way to grind Darkmoon reputation past friendly was to turn in these incredibly valuable decks for a measly 350 rep each, regardless of your standing. Ouch.