This WoW guide (up-to-date for patch 3.3) covers disenchanting and details the Enchanting skill level and Character level required to disenchant an item, as well as each type of dust, essence, shard and crystal produced from items of specific level and quality. The Disenchant skill is acquired when you first learn Apprentice Enchanting and allows you to disenchant green or better quality items into the raw materials required for Enchanting.
The item type you disenchant has quite an influence on whether you will receive dusts, essences, shards or crystals.
Armor (green quality) – often (70-80%) produces dusts, occasionally (20-30%) produces essences and rarely (<5%) produces shards
Weapons (green quality) – often (70-80%) produces essences, occasionally (15-25%) produces dusts and rarely (<5%) produces shards
All Items (blue quality) – almost always produces shards with a very rare chance to produce a crystal at higher levels
All Items (purple quality) – always produces shards for items level 55 abd below and crystals for items 56 and above
Not all items of green quality or better can be disenchanted. Examples of items excluded are bags, gems, Bind on Pickup (BoP) vendor purchased items, utems purchased via PvP or faction reputation awards and quest items.In the tables below you might notice some gaps in item level at places – the items in the missing level ranges are the ones that can’t be disenchanted.
Disenchanting Green (Uncommon) Items
The following table details the dusts, essences and shards you might get when disenchanting green items. It also shows the skill level and character level required in order to disenchant green items of a particular level.
Disenchanting Blue (Rare) Items
The following table details the shards and crystals (very rarely) you might get when disenchanting blue items. It also shows the skill level and character level required in order to disenchant blue items of a particular level.
| Enchanting Level Required | Character Level Required | Item Level | Shard | Crystal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-15 | 1-15 | None | None |
| 16-20 | Small Glimmering Shard | None | ||
| 25 | 16-20 | 21-25 | Small Glimmering Shard | None |
| 50 | 21-25 | 26-30 | Large Glimmering Shard | None |
| 75 | 26-30 | 31-35 | Small Glowing Shard | None |
| 100 | 31-35 | 36-40 | Large Glowing Shard | None |
| 125 | 36-40 | 41-45 | Small Radiant Shard | None |
| 150 | 41-45 | 46-50 | Large Radiant Shard | None |
| 175 | 46-50 | 51-55 | Small Brilliant Shard | None |
| 200 | 51-55 | 56-60 | Large Brilliant Shard | Nexus Crystal |
| 225 | 56-60 | 61-65 | Large Brilliant Shard | Nexus Crystal |
| 61-64 | 66-99 | Small Prismatic Shard | Nexus Crystal | |
| 275 | 64-70 | 100-120 | Large Prismatic Shard | Void Crystal |
| 325 | 68-80 | 130-151 | Small Dream Shard | Abyss Crystal |
| 152-200 | Dream Shard | Abyss Crystal |
Disenchanting Purple (Epic) Items
The following table details the shards and crystals you will get when disenchanting purple items. It also shows the skill level and character level required in order to disenchant purple items of a particular level.
| Enchanting Level Required | Character Level Required | Item Level | Shard | Crystal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 31-35 | 36-40 | Large Glowing Shard | None |
| 125 | 36-40 | 41-45 | Small Radiant Shard | None |
| 150 | 41-45 | 46-50 | Large Radiant Shard | None |
| 175 | 46-50 | 51-55 | Small Brilliant Shard | None |
| 200 | 51-55 | 56-60 | None | Nexus Crystal |
| 225 | 56-60 | 61-89 | None | Nexus Crystal |
| 300 | 60 | 90-92 | None | Void Crystal |
| 70 | 100-115 | None | Void Crystal | |
| 130+ | None | Abyss Crystal |
I hope you found the WoW Disenchanting guide useful and that it helps you with acquiring the dusts, essences, shards and crystals you need to level your Enchanting. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great guide. I found this very usefull.
Thank you.
Umm dudes any idea from where the hell I can get the mats? Esp. for thos dusts ..
If you’re leveling Enchanting while leveling a character throught questing, then disenchanting the greens and blues you get as quest rewards or loot from mobs will provide a lot of the mats for leveling Enchanting. If you’re already Level 80 and are powerleveling Enchanting, then your options are 1) Buy them from the AH, or 2) Craft green items with another profession eg Tailoring and disenchant those items.
hey yes very usefull guide for sure. any ideas what items are most likely to produce large radiant shards? ty : D
the addon enchantrix is invaluable for dissing, on mouseover of a certain item it tells what will drop and the drop rate percentages. even off of your tailoring window so you can just go shopping for the specific mats you need.
I have old BG gear and right at the botton it when looking at it, it tells you that you can disenchant it for $$$ how do you do that????
I don’t think it is possible to disenchant any items that have been purchased with emblems or honor points.