WoW Forever PvP: ranks, honor, marks and what you can buy

WoW Forever brings back the old rank system with a new interface. You earn two separate things from PvP, Honor and Rank Points. Honor is money you spend. Rank Points are never spent: they only move you up the ladder, and your rank unlocks what Honor is allowed to buy.

Honor and Rank Points in plain words

• Honor comes from killing players, winning battlegrounds, PvP quests, holiday-week bonuses and the weekly season tasks. It buys PvP gear. Spending it does not lower your rank.
• Rank Points come from the same activities and decide your rank. There is a weekly cap that rises as you climb: the pre-launch PvP panel showed 0 of 750 for an unranked character and a ceiling of 24,750 at Rank 14. Treat that as unconfirmed.
• There are no rated arenas and no rated battlegrounds in WoW Forever. All PvP is ranked through the rank system.

What each rank gives you

There are 14 ranks, named like the original game's. The top rank is Grand Marshal for the Alliance and High Warlord for the Horde. The reward table is the same for both sides. The first badge is the Alliance rank, the second the Horde one.

Source: Blizzard's rank reward table as reported by Gaming Route. No titles are listed as rank rewards.

The Insignia: Rank 2 and Rank 4

How the gear path works

1. Rare (blue) PvP armor can be worn from level 55 and needs no rank. It costs Honor plus Marks of Honor from one specific battleground.
2. To make a piece epic, you buy an Emboldened Seal for that slot with Honor. The seal needs a rank, from Rank 8 (wrists, belt) up to Rank 13 (helm, chest).
3. PvP weapons are epic only and unlock at Rank 14. There is no rare version to upgrade.

What the armor costs (beta prices)

Honor figures are the September beta prices. Guides estimate about 50 percent more after the 1 October changes, shown in brackets. Estimates, not confirmed live prices.

Slot	Marks	Rare piece (Honor)	Seal (Honor)	Seal rank
Cloak	10 Arathi Basin	3,000 (~4,500)	rare only	Rank 3
Wrists	10 Warsong Gulch	3,000 (~4,500)	750 (~1,125)	Rank 8
Belt	10 Arathi Basin	4,000 (~6,000)	1,000 (~1,500)	Rank 8
Boots	10 Darkspear Islands	5,000 (~7,500)	1,000 (~1,500)	Rank 9
Gloves	10 Warsong Gulch	5,000 (~7,500)	1,500 (~2,250)	Rank 10
Shoulders	10 Arathi Basin	4,250 (~6,375)	1,500 (~2,250)	Rank 12
Legs	15 Warsong Gulch	6,000 (~9,000)	2,000 (~3,000)	Rank 12
Helm	15 Alterac Valley	6,000 (~9,000)	not listed	Rank 13
Chest	15 Arathi Basin	6,250 (~9,375)	1,750 (~2,625)	Rank 13

Nine rare pieces come to about 42,500 Honor at September prices (about 63,750 after the changes). The epic seals add about 9,500 (about 14,250), without the helm seal, whose price is not listed.

Rank 14 weapons

A dual-wielder pays for both weapons. At September prices the whole route, nine rare pieces, the seals and one two-hander, was about 67,000 Honor, or about 100,500 after the changes.

Marks of Honor

• Marks are not interchangeable between battlegrounds. They stack to 30, up from 20, according to the 15 October beta notes.
• Beta data suggests a win pays 3 Marks and a loss 1. Datamined, not confirmed for the live game.
• Marks are also handed in for reputation quests with the Darkspear Raiders (Horde) or the Theramore Expeditionary Force (Alliance). Exalted unlocks that faction's tabard. Their vendors sell trinkets, rings, cloaks, weapons and armor at higher reputation, plus consumables, at Merchant Coast (Horde) and Northwatch (Alliance) in the Barrens.

Battlegrounds

• Stacking Plainsrunning in battlegrounds was removed in the 5 November hotfix.
• Horde PvP rewards are sold at the Hall of Legends in Orgrimmar. PvP vendors in Orgrimmar, Stormwind and Dalaran were listed as temporarily unavailable.

Twinking

Rank gear is level 55 and up, so it does not matter for the 19 and 29 brackets. If you twink, see the level 19 twink guide and the other brackets: 29, 39, 49 and 59.