Account-bound items are just one of the many improvements/additions that will be included in World of Warcraft’s latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.
Let’s face it, every addition to the World of Warcraft universe has brought with it the age-old question, “Will there be new items or weapon content to combine?” If you look at it in the cold light of day, you’ll see that there are thousands of different items, weapons, and armor pieces already available. (Of course, rarity has already forced the prices of many of these items through the roof.)
The arrival of Wrath of the Lich King has been no exception to the big question, and the buzz (as with any great game) is, once again, in full swing. However, this time around there seems to be significant substance to the speculation, with family heirloom items being introduced to the game. This is a major event as it is the first new item ranking for quite some time and will undoubtedly change the way many players approach the game.
These heirloom items are indicated by yellow text and will increase in power as you level up; can be purchased with your Emblems of Heroism for heroic instances and 10-man raids.
Interestingly, the new heirloom items are not linked to your character, but to your account, meaning you can mail them between multiple characters on your own (but not others’) account. If nothing else, this will allow for more versatility with how you choose to lay out your team.
These heirloom items will be rewards from faction vendors; however, there have been reports that they have actually appeared on the occasional loot table (although this has yet to be confirmed).
For the most part, these account-bound items aren’t necessarily expected to be as insanely powerful as their counterparts at the highest epic level at level 80, but they’ll prove to be among the best at whatever level you scale; on par with, or above, just about any twink gear from level 10 to 70. If you’re leveling up a new character, having a BtA item in your account to ship could be a huge help.