As the second phase of Burning Crusade Classic approaches, the gates of Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep are about to swing open.  

If you want to clear both raids in the first week and bring any character into the new phase in peak condition, now is the time for one last hard push. Coincidentally, the official has just made a series of very welcome adjustments to gear, substantially easing the equipment burden heading into WoW TBC Classic Anniversary Phase 2.

Arena Gear  

First and most importantly, a change that affects every PvP player. On WoW TBC Anniversary, the current season's top-tier arena gear has been hit with unprecedented, massive reductions.  

You have a two-week window to take advantage of this, because Arena Points will reset after that. Simply take part in one week of arena matches, and you can grab a huge amount of gear at heavily slashed requirements.  

A gladiator weapon that once demanded a steep investment can now be claimed for a mere 1,245 Arena Points. Classes like Druids can effortlessly pick up Gladiator's Gavel, making it a brilliant choice for fine-tuning stats and swapping setups.  

Even better, all rating requirements for this gear have been scrapped. Whether it's the shoulders or the weapon that used to require a specific personal rating, there are no rating barriers anymore. Every Arena Point requirement and personal rating gate has been completely removed. These drastically lowered costs will carry over directly into PvP Phase 2, which is an immense blessing for new characters or players with under-geared alts.

Although these are PvP items, PvE players should not overlook them. Gladiator series in particular boasts excellent stats and item levels, making them more than enough to serve as a stepping stone for alts or new characters to enter Tier 4 raids like Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair, and Karazhan.  

The only thing you sacrifice is a secondary stat that is normally supplanted by Resilience - completely within acceptable limits. Using PvP gear to skip the long, RNG-heavy heroic dungeon farming phase and jump straight into acquiring genuine PvE tier sets is undoubtedly an incredibly efficient catch-up strategy.  

Tier Exchange Vendor  

Discounted arena gear was a burden-easing mechanism already present in the original TBC. As exciting as these adjustments are, there remains one small disappointment on live realms right now: Tier Exchange Vendor, who should be present in the game, has not yet been implemented.  

During the initial PTR testing, players could already exchange raid token drops for heavily discounted arena sets. While this feature typically arrives alongside content like Serpentshrine Cavern, players are certainly hoping to see it go live right when Phase 2 launches. If it truly goes missing, considering that arena gear is already offered at rock-bottom rates, it serves as an acceptable trade-off.  

Honor Gear  

Honor gear changes are equally delightful. Level 70 epic Honor weapons originally required battleground marks to obtain; that mark requirement has now been entirely removed, and Honor Point cost has been dramatically reduced. What's even more amusing is that they now share the exact same Honor Point cost as level 60 Honor weapons, leaving the level 60 versions completely outclassed in terms of value.  

Likewise, acquiring officer trinkets and accessories no longer demands battleground marks, and Honor Point costs have been cut in half. For Druid and Paladin players, some of the necklaces available here are excellent tanking pieces and are well worth grabbing immediately. The rings are a notch lower but still have clever uses in specific PvE situations. The pure attack power gems offered here remain some of the only epic-quality gems you can currently get, making them a worthy pickup.  

Level 70 Honor off-pieces can now be acquired using nothing but Honor Points - the original requirements for specific battleground marks, such as Eye of the Storm marks, have been completely removed. Level 60 Honor gear, however, still requires marks to obtain, which has made obtaining them more costly than their level 70 counterparts. This cost inversion between old and new equipment, though puzzling, highlights just how heavily the update leans in favor of catch-up mechanics.  

TBC Promotion  

A promotion has been rolled out across all the developer's games, and Burning Crusade Classic is receiving a substantial discount push - a first in the history of WoW Classic. The following services are currently on offer:  

Outland Heroic Pack  

50% off, available for $20. It includes a stylish Hearthstone effect, a companion pet, and a mount - Netherwing Drake - that unlocks across all characters. This mount alone saves you roughly 400 gold per character in riding training fees, as it directly provides full functionality from a regular ground mount to an epic flying mount.  

Outland Epic Pack  

Also 50% off, now $40, returning to the same level as Dark Portal Pass from the previous TBC era. On top of everything in Heroic Pack, this bundle includes a character boost service and game time.  

Additional Services  

The level-58 character boost service provided by the official team is available individually at 30% off, now $42. The character name change service is also 30% off.  

All in all, this is a fantastic time to gear up alts and return to the game. If you still have Arena Points sitting on your account, convert them into Gladiator gear immediately. If your character lacks a solid equipment foundation, a very modest Honor Point investment can score you a set of gear that's more than good enough to step into raid content. Seize this brief off-season window, and you can prepare thoroughly for both PvP and PvE challenges of Phase 2.

If you are a Diablo 4 player who loves being among the first to try out new content, then the class you've likely chosen for your character recently is the brand-new Warlock, introduced in Lord of Hatred expansion!

Playing a new class means starting from scratch, whether it involves crafting builds or farming for gear. To lighten your load and help you master Warlock playstyle more quickly, we are providing a guide today for one of the class's exclusive Unique items: Ae'grom Schism!

What is Ae'grom Schism?

As a piece of gear exclusive to Warlock class, Ae'grom Schism is an Ancestral Unique Chest Armor that was added to the game alongside Warlock upon the launch of Lord of Hatred.

When you equip this chest armor, in addition to its base 2,100 armor value, it grants a unique effect: it increases the damage dealt by Ae'grom and his summoned minions by 30-50%.

Furthermore, equipping it allows you to summon Ae'grom's other half and grants you a second charge of Command Ae'grom ability.

How to use this gear properly?

If you haven't progressed very far into the expansion yet, you might be wondering who, or what, Ae'grom is. He is actually a new boss introduced in Lord of Hatred, encountered during Warlock-exclusive priority quest: Belly of the Beast.

Upon completing this quest, you will obtain Legion Shard, thereby binding yourself to the demon Ae'grom. In fact, Legion Shard is one of the specific variants within Warlock's signature class mechanic: Soul Shards.

This particular variant aligns with the summoner archetype, allowing you to engage in combat by summoning and utilizing demons. It grants you Summon Ae'grom skill, which passively enables you to summon Vile Children to attack your enemies.

Once activated, this skill transforms into Command Ae'grom, allowing you to further summon Lesser Demons to unleash burst damage.

Therefore, while any Warlock character can technically equip Ae'grom Schism, you will only be able to unlock the chest armor's full potential if you are utilizing Legion Shard and a corresponding build.

How to farm Ae'grom Schism?

The methods for acquiring this piece of gear can be broadly categorized into three avenues: defeating Lair Bosses, participating in the endgame events, and gambling with Purveyor of Curiosity.

However, if you prefer not to expend the time and effort, you can buy Diablo 4 Ae'grom Schism from IGGM directly, allowing you to safely and quickly harness its formidable power!

Defeating Echo of Varshan

Lair bosses serve as a primary source for acquiring Diablo 4 unique items. While the drop rate for rare items generally increases with a Lair boss's tier, if your sole objective is to obtain Ae'grom Schism, you should focus your farming efforts on Echo of Varshan.

This boss is classified as an Initiate tier encounter. To open its hoard after the battle, you will need a Lair Key, which can be obtained by completing various in-game events and War Plans.

Notably, in addition to unique items, this boss also has a chance to drop a Greater Lair Key, which is required to unlock the hoards of Greater Lair bosses.

Furthermore, there is an extremely rare chance that Mini Belial will appear after the battle concludes; defeating him offers a chance to obtain Betrayer's Husk, an item used to unlock the hoard of Exalted Lair boss, Belial.

As for Varshan herself, she is not considered a particularly difficult boss; however, it is highly recommended that you undertake this boss fight on a higher Torment difficulty setting, as this significantly increases the likelihood of Ae'grom Schism dropping.

The damage output of this boss is predominantly Shadow-based; therefore, it is imperative that you consume Elixir of Shadow Resistance II, or utilize other relevant items, before the fight begins to bolster your shadow resistance.

Finally, a crucial point to note is that when Varshan's health drops to 75%, 50%, and 25%, she will summon two expendable Elite monsters. Upon their sacrifice, two energy orbs will spawn that deal high damage to you and relentlessly pursue you throughout the arena.

When this occurs, you must simultaneously dodge both the boss's abilities and the incoming energy orbs, a task that demands a high degree of movement speed and agility.

Completing endgame events

Diablo 4 features a wide array of endgame events; completing these events on higher Torment difficulty settings offers a chance to obtain unique item drops.

However, given the introduction of War Plans and their associated Upgrade Trees mechanics via Lord of Hatred update, we recommend that you focus your efforts on Tree of Whispers when engaging in these events.

This recommendation stems from the fact that within Tree of Whispers Upgrade Tree, there is a specific upgrade known as Malignant Invasion. Activating this upgrade allows Varshan to appear during Whisper Ambushes and rewards you with Ancestral Collection of Chaos upon your victory.

This collection constitutes a high-tier reward cache, meaning there is a significantly higher probability of obtaining high-quality gear, including unique items, from its contents.

Gambling with Murmuring Obols

Murmuring Obols are a special currency in Diablo 4 that can be obtained by completing quests, clearing The Pit, or running Nightmare Dungeons, among other methods.

You can take your Obols to Purveyor of Curiosity and gamble for items; by selecting the chest armor as your gear slot type, you have a small chance of obtaining Ae'grom Schism.

If Ae'grom Schism aligns with your current Warlock playstyle, then this guide should prove valuable to you. We hope it helps!