Every one of the 36 specializations has its own hidden artifact appearance — a separate weapon model that is not handed out by a quest. You have to find it, and the game almost never hints at where.
How it differs from the ordinary appearances
- The ordinary sets (base, upgraded, valorous, the PvP war set, the Mage Tower challenge) unlock under clear conditions: the Order Hall campaign, the Balance of Power chain, achievements, Prestige levels.
- The hidden appearance is a sixth, separate set. Every spec has its own condition and it is written nowhere in the interface.
- The key item drops only for a character of the right class, and most often only with the matching loot specialization chosen. Another class simply will not see it.
- Once unlocked, the appearance is available to all of the character's specializations, but it has to be obtained separately for each one.
The main ways to get one
| Method | What you have to do |
|---|---|
| Drop from mobs and rares | Farm specific mobs in a specific zone, the chance is small |
| World and raid bosses | Kill the right boss every week |
| Dungeons | Farm items off bosses, sometimes in old dungeons from previous expansions |
| Scenarios | The final chest of a scenario (for example, the Withered Army Training in Suramar) |
| Reputation and vendors | Reach Revered or Exalted and buy the item for gold |
| Fishing | Fish up the right item at a particular spot |
| Secret chains | Several puzzle steps in a row, often through old content |
Examples
- Death Knight, Blood — an item from the final chest of the Withered Army Training scenario in Suramar.
- Hunter, Marksmanship — bought from a vendor, you need Revered with the Court of Farondis and about 1700 gold.
- Mage, Fire — drops from ordinary mobs in Suramar, pure farming on luck.
- Priest, Holy — several tomes from dungeons, including Scholomance and Karazhan.
- Paladin, Retribution — a long secret chain: books, fishing and killing Nefarian in Blackwing Lair.
Before you start farming, check the method for your own specialization on www.wowhead.com: the variants are far too different, and it is very easy to waste an evening on the wrong mob.
Tints of the hidden appearance
Once it is unlocked, the hidden appearance has three more color schemes. To get them you have to be wearing the hidden appearance and complete:
- 30 dungeons — killing the last boss is what counts;
- 200 World Quests;
- 1000 player kills — any of them will do, PvP zones and battlegrounds.
Progress is tracked per character and keeps building up even when you change specialization, as long as any hidden appearance is equipped. Ordinary farming of world content closes out the first two tints all by itself, but a thousand kills is a task for those who really do play PvP.