WoW: Choosing Aldor Or Scryer in TBC Classic - Best Pick For Each Spec And Profession For PvE

A big choice will face you early in your Outland’s adventure, and it’s a choice that’s a lot harder to undo if you make the wrong one.

Once you hit the mid-60s and head to Shattrath City, you’ll be faced with one of the most important choices in TBC Classic. Do you side with Aldor or Scryer? Now, this choice is reversible, but it’s a massive pain (we’ll explain later). For now, let’s focus on a simple guide to the best picks for each spec.

Note: This pick is not binary. While Aldor might be BIS for your spec, it might not be for your profession. For this guide, we’ll keep the two separate, and it’ll be for you to decide what you value more.

Should you go Aldor or Scryer?

A summary of the early state is that Aldor is going to come out on top for most classes, with only Warlocks exclusively using Scryer for PvE. It’s worth noting that both shoulder enchants are very minor DPS/HPS gains between the two. WoWWiki has a good comparison of those.

It’s worth noting that this decision is not exclusively about the shoulder enchants, and will also factor in BoP rewards from two quests and purchased via the vendor. The Aldor one is Deathblow to the Legion whereas the Scryer has Turning Point.

An in-game screenshot from World of Warcraft Classic showing a stone park area in Shattrath City. — Aldor players be warned, it’s a long way down from up here.

Note: In the below charts we’ve used italics for specs that will also require an item from the faction alongside the shoulder enchant. WowWiki has another breakdown of all those items here.

Specs that should go Aldor for PvE

Druid: Feral DPS – Feral Tank – Restoration
Hunter: Beast Mastery – Marksmanship
Paladin: Holy – Protection – Retribution
Priest: Holy – Shadow
Rogue: Assassination – Combat – Subtlety
Shaman: Enhancement – Restoration
Warrior: Arms – Fury – Protection

Specs that should go Scryer for PvE

Druid: Balance
Hunter: Survival
Mage: Arcane – Fire – Frost
Shaman: Elemental
Warlock: Affliction – Demonology – Destruction

Aldor and Scryer profession recipes

Another unique feature of each faction is their profession recipes. None of these are particularly game-changing, especially as most of the items the recipes create are sellable. We’ll list below what each faction offers each profession, though none of them are really deal-breakers, and we’d suggest focusing on the shoulders/items as your priority.

Alchemy: Scryer – Recipe: Elixir of Major Firepower/Aldor – None
Blacksmithing: Scryer – Arcane Resistance Plate armor set/Aldor – Fire resistance Plate armor set
Enchanting: Neither faction offers a benefit
Engineering: Neither factions offers a benefit
Jewelcrafting: Both have unique gems and necklaces, however, the items made are BoE meaning you’d be able to buy them regardless.
Tailoring: The Aldor leg enchant recipes Pattern: Silver Spellthread and Pattern: Golden Spellthread. Scryer leg enchants Pattern: Mystic Spellthread and Pattern: Runic Spellthread
Leatherworking: Both factions offer leather and mail armors sets with the same conditions as Blacksmithing (Scryer = Arcane/Aldor = Fire) – Aldor also offers Defence Rating armor patches, while Scryer offers MP5 armor patches. Both recipes produce BoE items.

How to change back to Aldor or Scryer

If you decide that the faction you picked isn’t for you, don’t fear. You can change back to the other faction with a few simple steps. Well, unless you find yourself hated with the opposite faction that is, then it might take some time. If that does happen, here’s what you need to do.

Going from Scryer to Aldor:

Find the NPC Sha'nir in the lower city, who offers the quest Strained Supplies. This will require you to farm eight Dreadfang Venom Sacs from Dreadfang Spiders in Terokkar. Once you complete this quest, you’ll unlock the same quest as a repeatable quest, which offers the same reward. If you find yourself at Hated with Aldor, then it will take roughly 1344 Venom Sacs to get to Neutral (10% less for humans).

Going from Aldor to Scryer:

Find the NPC Arcanist Adyria in the lower city, who offers the quest Voren'thal's Visions. This will require you to farm eight Dampscale Basilisk Eyes from Basilisk mobs in Terokkar. Once you complete this quest, you’ll unlock the same quest as a repeatable quest, which offers the same reward. If you find yourself at Hated with Scryer, then it will take roughly 1344 Venom Sacs to get to Neutral (10% less for humans).

Note – there’s a point in this quest chain where you’ll find yourself unfriendly with both factions. Meaning you’ll be unable to enter either faction’s bases in Shattrath City.