Everyone and their mom and dog seem to be farming trash mobs in the ICC 5-man dungeons for their Battered Hilt. And for good reason too; this quest chain will not only get you one of the best weapons in the game (for many classes/specs, the best in slot), it will take you through some amazing lore and epic Azeroth travel.

Rather than write out yet another battered hilt guide, I thought I would point readers in the right direction for Battered Hilt information and how to complete the chain. Before you get started though, let me dispel three myths:

• The Battered Hilt no longer drops off skeletons in Pit of Saron. They fixed that in 12-15-09 to stop people from farming; and thank goodness, I was going insane.
• The Battered Hilt’s droprate is lower in Halls of Reflection. You can wipe and get more trash mobs forever, so it makes sense for them to do this. The change was implemented as of 12-9-09.
• Yes, the Battered Hilt’s droprate was increased.

Alright then! The following are the five best reads on the Internet right now for the Battered Hilt:

1. The ups and downs of the Battered Hilt from WoW.com
2. Battered Hilt: What? from the WoW forums
3. Battered Hilt: Do I have to? from MMOChampion
4. Battered Hilt and Epic Drop Changes from Spooncraft
5. WoWWiki’s Battered Hilt entry

Personally, I got my Battered Hilt right around Christmas (thank you, Santa) and I had to deal with a paladin QQ the whole instance about how he’s a tank and absolutely has to have that weapon. I politely explained I’m one of the main healers for my guild and then clawed at my face for 20 minutes IRL while I ignored the repetitious pleas for my recently won item. In other groups I’ve joined since then, I’ve had people get into similar “I need it more” contests and I just sit back and think how feral we WoW players all are.

And I lol at the people that pay real money for this thing. If you want to blow a ton of gold you’ve saved up on your WoW toon for it, that’s one thing — virtual money buys virtual things — but some of these Craigslist posts are ridiculous. Like this one:

Looking to purchase a battered hilt that you get from the new five man dungeons in world of warcraft, let me know if you have one and are willing to sell it for $35 send me an email and well figure out how to trade it ingame. Thank you. Please no scammers.

First of all: trying to buy WoW items with IRL money is a scam. So asking for no scammers is mind-boggling. Secondly, I know a great steak restaurant you can get dinner at for $35.

What’s your Battered Hilt story? Where have you read about this mythical drop?

I know I’m not alone in the masochistic pool of WoW players. As an example, I’m certainly not the only person with a Winterspring Frostsaber story to tell. Then there’s things like doing every one of those Holiday achievements for that mount that flies a nanosecond faster (shaman has it, thought of doing it twice for my priest gives me shudders), and the torturous experience I refuse to put myself through, Insane in the Membrane. (Fuyuko’s got an Insane in the Membrane Guide if you’re dumb enough to do it, btw.)

I do these painful, exciting things outside of WoW too; such as participating in rigorously demanding writing events like National Blog Posting Month. Johannah the Smite Priest was part of the event in November, and my now-retired fiction blog had partaken in it in the past in the well, to the point where I thought I was secure to move on from that torturous endeavor. Then they sent me an email.

January’s theme is THE BEST.

And don’t WoW players like to know THE BEST of everything? The best spec, the best piece of gear, the best thing to scream when you run into a clump of whelps to intentionally wipe your raid. Well, Johannah the Smite Priest is here to deliver! For the month of January, I’ll be exploring the best of every aspect of the priest raiding world. There’ll be some PvP spice in there too, for sure.

Before I embark on this dangerous journey that will tear out yet another sliver of my insanity, I am curious: what would you like to see the best of? Answer the poll or, better yet, leave a comment with a suggestion! THE BEST will begin on New Years!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Remember: while Johannah the Smite Priest is a great blog for srs bzness Wrath of the Lich King priest reading, I Can Has Cheezburger is best one-stop source for AFK-raid-break entertainment.