Despair — Transmog Set Guide

Despair is an epic-quality two-handed sword from the Karazhan dungeon. It is a massive dark blade with a wide jagged edge and a grim blood-and-black palette — a weapon in the spirit of the dungeon's bleak Gothic style. The model looks heavy and menacing, with no excess ornamentation or glow.

The appearance is available to a limited set of specializations — only warriors, paladins, and death knights can claim the sword.

Despair drops in Karazhan, an old raid dungeon in the Ghostlands that has long been soloable on any modern class. The sword drops from one of the bosses of the opera event: The Big Bad Wolf, who acts out the Little Red Riding Hood story.

The main catch is that the opera event is random. Each time you enter the dungeon, one of three productions is staged, and the one you need with the Big Bad Wolf comes up roughly a third of the time. If a different opera begins, you can't get the sword on that run: you'll have to leave, reset the raid after a week, and go in again hoping for the right production.

When the right opera does come up, Despair drops with a noticeable chance, but not a guaranteed one. Loot is now personal, so the chance also depends on whether the item lands in your loot table. The boss dies in a couple of seconds, so the entire farm comes down not to difficulty but to luck with which opera you get.

• The dark blood-and-black palette harmonizes with the plate sets of death knights and warriors in gloomy tones.
• The heavy jagged silhouette fits "barbarian" and "undead" looks without an abundance of gold and shine.
• It looks great with a set kept in a single Karazhan style — for themed looks assembled entirely from this dungeon.
• It contrasts with bright paladin armor — a debatable but expressive "dark weapon against bright plate" approach.