First Mate Band in WoW: Forever — the Split Set Explained

The First Mate Band is a new Deadmines ring from Captain Greenskin, and on the Forever beta it is half of a split item set — its partner piece is a level 60 epic. Worn together they give a 2-piece bonus of +20 Strength plus a chance on melee swing to gain 50 Strength for 10 seconds. A level-20 drop that still matters at 60.

• Item: First Mate Band, a ring out of The Deadmines.
• Source: Captain Greenskin, per Wowhead's beta reporting from the first week of testing.
• Set type: split set — one piece sits in the leveling range, the other is a level 60 item.
• 2-piece bonus: +20 Strength, and a chance on melee swing to gain 50 Strength for 10 seconds.
• Status: observed on the Forever beta, live since September 17, 2026. Numbers on a beta move; treat them as a direction, not a spreadsheet.
• Where Deadmines sits: in the Novice tier of the "Spelunker" achievement photographed at BlizzCon, next to Wailing Caverns, Shadowfang Keep, Ragefire Chasm / Hall of Thanes and Excavation Site: Wetlands.

What is a split item set in WoW: Forever?

A set whose halves live at opposite ends of the game. You loot one piece while leveling, then finish the pair much later — for the First Mate Band, with an epic that only shows up at 60. The reward is not a stat stick you replace in two levels; it is a reason to keep a ring in the bank for forty levels.

That fits the wider itemization pass Blizzard described: every classic dungeon drop was re-examined, hundreds of new drops were added, unique dungeon boss items are now Rare (blue) quality, and set bonuses were improved across the board. The First Mate Band pair is the concrete example that has actually been shown. Blizzard has not published Forever's boss lists or loot tables, so nobody can hand you a full map of which other sets split — anyone who does is guessing.

Should I hold on to the ring while leveling?

If you play a Strength-based melee class, yes — bank it rather than vendor it. There is no level scaling in Forever, so gear you out-grow stays out-grown, but a piece that completes at 60 is a different animal: it is banked, not outdated.

Storage is friendlier this time. On the beta the default bank holds 48 slots with 8 bank bag slots, roughly double the classic setup, and Blizzard has said it may widen that further. Keeping one ring parked costs you nothing.

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What else is worth looting in Deadmines now?

Rockslicer. On the beta, whoever wields it can mine Copper, Tin, Silver and Iron nodes without having the Mining profession at all — 30 charges, and the weapon itself stays in your hands after the charges are gone. For a leveling character with two crafting professions already locked in, that is a free run at ore you would otherwise walk past.

Are these bonuses final before launch?

No. Forever launches November 4, 2026 at 3 p.m. Pacific, and the beta runs to October 21 — item numbers, procs and even set pairings are normal things to change in that window. Plan your leveling route around it; do not plan your 60 build around it yet.

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