Anathema — Transmog Set Guide

Anathema is a two-handed priest staff and one of the two forms of a legendary Classic weapon. This is the shadowy, "dark" form: the staff shimmers with a purple-black glow and is meant for Shadow priests. Its paired holy form is Benediction; it is literally the same staff, which the owner switches between forms by right-clicking the item, with a 30-minute cooldown.

Both forms come from the original World of Warcraft and were long seen as a priest status symbol: the path to the staff demanded raiding, a rare drop, and a challenging quest event. Today Anathema is interesting first and foremost as a transmog appearance and as a piece of the game's history.

It's important to separate the two versions of the game right away. In the modern retail version (Midnight) the staff is unavailable: the chain was removed in the Cataclysm pre-patch (version 4.0.3a), and along with the zone rework the mobs needed for the final event disappeared. On Classic branches (Classic Era, seasonal and anniversary realms) the staff can still be earned through honest play.

The staff is granted for a priest quest chain that ends with the quest The Balance of Light and Shadow. The chain is available only to priests and is assembled from three components.

• The Eye of Divinity drops from Majordomo Executus in the Molten Core raid. You need the item in your inventory just to see the starting NPC.
• The Eye of Shadow in the Classic era dropped from Lord Kazzak and the demons surrounding him in the Blasted Lands zone. The item is tradeable between players, so it can be bought at the auction house.
• Splinter of Nordrassil is given as a reward for successfully completing the event at the starting NPC.

The chain is opened by Eris Havenfire in the Eastern Plaguelands zone. For her to become visible, you must keep The Eye of Divinity in your bag. The event itself, the Balance of Light and Shadow, is a healing trial: you must save 50 villagers while letting no more than 15 of them die, all while curing diseases and fending off rising skeletons. The level for completing it in Classic is 60.

Once all three components are gathered and the event is complete, the priest receives the staff. By default it is granted in the holy Benediction form, and a right-click turns it into Anathema and back. The appearance changes completely, so both forms matter for the appearance collection.

• Fits priest sets in a dark, shadowy color scheme, the staff's purple sheen echoing the Shadow specialization.
• Harmonizes with armor in black-and-purple tones, where you want a contrasting glowing accent in the hands.
• Looks great in outfits that nod to Classic World of Warcraft, as it is a recognizable item of that era.
• Contrasts with bright "holy" sets: for those the paired Benediction form is the more logical choice.