Lore & bestiary
Large Brilliant Shard: Where It Comes From and What It Is For
The Large Brilliant Shard is a top-tier rare enchanting reagent in WoW Vanilla 1.12.1. You cannot apply Crusader or Greater Stats without it, so on WoW x5 it stays one of the most wanted materials on the auction house.
Contents
What the item is and why you need it
Shards are the enchanting materials that come mainly from blue (rare) gear. The Large Brilliant Shard is the highest of the classic shards: it matches end-of-leveling gear and level 60 raids. Its little brother, the Small Brilliant Shard, drops from slightly lower gear and goes into chest health and mana enchants.
Large Brilliant ShardItem Level 55Max Stack: 20The shard is not soulbound: it can be sold, mailed and bought on the auction house. It is a normal part of the server economy, not just an enchanter's private stash. For an overview of all valuable profession reagents see the hub on valuable crafting materials.
How to get a Large Brilliant Shard
- Disenchanting blue items. The Disenchant spell turns a blue item with item level 56–65 into one large shard. Blue items of higher item level very rarely give a Nexus Crystal.
- Disenchanting green items. Green items of item level 56–65 usually give Illusion Dust and Greater Eternal Essence, but there is a small chance of a large shard.
- Level 60 dungeons. The main flow of blue items comes from Dire Maul, Stratholme, Scholomance and Blackrock Spire: anything the group does not need can go to the enchanter.
- Auction house. If your guild has no enchanter, buy shards in stacks; see the auction house guide for how bidding works.
Disenchanting ranges are based on item level, not on the required character level. A blue item that requires level 58 can have an item level above 60, so always check the item level.
◆Disenchanting table: where brilliant shards come from
Values follow the Wowpedia disenchanting tables for 1.12.1; chances for green items are approximate.
| Quality | Item level | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 51–55 | Small Brilliant Shard, small chance (about 5% armor, about 3% weapons) |
| Green | 56–65 | Large Brilliant Shard, small chance (about 5% armor, about 3% weapons) |
| Blue | 51–55 | Small Brilliant Shard, 1 |
| Blue | 56–65 | Large Brilliant Shard, 1 |
| Epic | 51–55 | Small Brilliant Shard, 2–4 |
| Epic | 56 and higher | Nexus Crystal, not a shard: 56–60 gives 1, 61+ gives 1–2 |
The required enchanting skill grows with item level, so only a well-trained enchanter can disenchant item level 56+ gear. To raise the profession, read the enchanting guide.
Uses: key recipes
Most recipes with the large shard require skill 290–300 and a Runed Arcanite Rod as the tool. The rod itself is crafted by the enchanter and costs 2 large and 4 small shards.
Enchant Weapon - CrusaderEnchanting (300)5 sec castTools: Runed Arcanite RodReagents: Large Brilliant Shard (4), Righteous Orb (2)Permanently enchant a melee weapon so that often when attacking in melee it heals for 75 to 125 and increases Strength by 100 for 15 sec.| Recipe | Effect | Shards | Formula source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enchant Weapon - Crusader | heal and +100 Strength for 15 sec | 4 large | drops from Scarlet Spellbinders and Scarlet Archmages |
| Enchant Weapon - Spell Power | up to +30 spell damage | 4 large | drops from Molten Core bosses |
| Enchant Weapon - Healing Power | up to +55 healing | 4 large | drops from Molten Core bosses |
| Enchant Weapon - Agility | +15 Agility | 6 large | Meilosh, Timbermaw Hold |
| Enchant Weapon - Strength | +15 Strength | 6 large | Lokhtos Darkbargainer, Thorium Brotherhood |
| Enchant Chest - Greater Stats | +4 to all stats | 4 large | drops from many level 60 enemies |
| Brilliant Wizard Oil | up to +36 spell damage and +1% spell crit, 30 min | 2 large | Rin'wosho the Trader, Zandalar Tribe (Honored) |
| Brilliant Mana Oil | 12 mana per 5 sec and up to +25 healing, 30 min | 2 large | Rin'wosho the Trader, Zandalar Tribe |
The large shard is also used in two-handed weapon enchants (Agility, Superior Impact, Major Spirit and Major Intellect), in glove and cloak recipes together with the Nexus Crystal, and by tailors in the Bottomless Bag, Belt of the Archmage and Big Bag of Enchantment. Slot details are on the weapon enchants and chest enchants pages.
The Small Brilliant Shard goes into Enchant Chest - Major Health and Major Mana (1 each), Enchant Weapon - Icy Chill (4), the Runed Arcanite Rod (4) and the blacksmithing Smoking Heart of the Mountain (3).
Shard economy tips
- Demand for large shards peaks before raid nights: Crusader, oils and weapon enchants are consumed all the time.
- Before disenchanting, compare the price of the blue item with the price of a shard; sometimes the item sells better whole. The logic of that trade is covered in disenchanting for profit.
- Shards are easy to stockpile: they stack to 20, never expire and are not soulbound.
- Where to farm gear for disenchanting is explained in farming enchanting materials.
◆Related articles
- Valuable crafting materials in WoW Classic
- Illusion Dust, the paired reagent from green items
- Nexus Crystal
- Brilliant Wizard Oil
- Best enchants for level 60
- Enchanting profession
Want to disenchant raid loot and apply Crusader yourself? Create an account and connect to the WoW x5 server: faster leveling gets you to level 60 gear quickly.
FAQ
?What items disenchant into a Large Brilliant Shard?
Almost always blue (rare) items with item level 56–65. Green items of the same item level have a small chance as well. Epic items of item level 56 and above give a Nexus Crystal instead of a shard.
?Which enchants need a Large Brilliant Shard?
Most top enchants of patch 1.12.1: Crusader, Spell Power and Healing Power on weapons, Agility and Strength on weapons, Greater Stats on chest, plus Brilliant Wizard Oil and Brilliant Mana Oil.
?Can I combine Small Brilliant Shards into a Large one?
No. In 1.12.1 small brilliant shards cannot be combined. The Small Brilliant Shard is a separate reagent from item level 51–55 gear and is used in its own recipes.
?Is the Large Brilliant Shard soulbound?
No. It can be traded, mailed and sold on the auction house, and it stacks up to 20. That makes it one of the main trade goods for enchanters on the server.
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