Heirlooms are bought with plain gold from the heirloom vendors in Orgrimmar and Stormwind — no Justice Points, no Darkmoon Tickets, no honor. Price scales with the slot: weapons sit at the top, then armor pieces, then rings and trinkets. Guild reputation shaves a percentage off. Upgrade tokens that raise an heirloom's level cap are sold separately and charged per rank, per item.
The quick version
- Currency: gold only. Older currencies were converted out of the system years ago.
- Where: Horde vendors are in Orgrimmar (the Hall of Legends area of the Valley of Strength); Alliance vendors are in Stormwind near the Cathedral Square end of Old Town. Both factions also have heirloom vendors near the main city auction hubs.
- Cheapest slots: rings, trinkets, cloaks and necks.
- Most expensive: two-handed weapons, then one-handers and off-hands.
- Guild discount: higher guild reputation reduces the listed gold price at these vendors.
- Upgrades: each level-cap bump is a separate token bought per item — a full set costs far more to upgrade than to buy.
- Account-wide: one purchase covers every character on your Battle.net account, both factions, all realms in your region.
Why prices differ so much between pieces
Blizzard priced heirlooms by how much they carry a levelling character. A scaling weapon is the single biggest power jump a low-level toon can get, so it costs the most. A ring or trinket is a smaller boost and is priced accordingly. That means the smart order of purchase, if gold is tight, is weapon first, then chest and shoulders (they carry the experience bonus), then everything else.
Do heirlooms still give bonus XP?
Yes. Chest and shoulder heirlooms are the pieces that carry the experience bonus, and the bonus stacks with other levelling boosts. Legs, head and back pieces exist too, but those slots have varied over expansions — check the vendor list in your current patch rather than assuming an old set is still complete.
Are heirloom upgrades worth the gold?
Only if you actually level past the item's current cap. An heirloom stops scaling at its upgrade tier, and once you outlevel it, it becomes dead weight in the slot. If you level one alt a year, buy the base pieces and skip the top ranks. If you roll alts constantly, the top upgrade rank pays for itself fast, since it keeps the weapon relevant across the whole levelling stretch.
Can I refund or sell an heirloom back?
Heirlooms are account-bound and not sellable on the auction house. Vendors give you the standard short buyback window right after purchase, so if you click the wrong slot, buy it back immediately rather than hours later. If you destroy or accidentally delete an heirloom, you can reclaim it from the heirloom vendor or your collections tab at no extra gold cost.
What's the fastest way to afford a full set?
Gathering professions on a max-level character, weekly world content, and running old raids for transmog and vendor trash are the reliable, boring answers. A full set plus upgrades is a real gold sink, which is why most players buy the weapon and the two XP pieces first and fill in the rest over a few months.
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