When I was chatting with friends in guild chat the other night, the topic was collector mania in WoW. Most gamers I know collect something, be it mounts, pets, tabards, achievement points, titles or recipes. For me, it’s pets and dresses – my bank alt has no less than 2 guildtabs full of rare and special WoW vanity outfits. I’m not much of a ‘handbag and shoes’ person in real life, but ingame I enjoy collecting robes, with the odd matching headpiece or shoulder item.
So when a guild mate asked me how many special hats I actually have, I had to go check. Funky headpieces aren’t exactly easy to come by in WoW even though things have gotten a lot better since vanilla (hello ugly headbands). Some more interesting models are either gear class- or profession-exclusive or drop from longer questlines or dungeons, like the Goblin Rocket Helmet.
However, if you’re looking for an easy way to be fashionable or that hat for the special occasion, here’s my pick of 15 special WoW hats everyone can have! Most of them are relatively easy to obtain via farming, holiday quests or checking the auction house, none of them are class – or faction-exclusive! A few share model with another item or two, but my picks should be the easiest way to go.
Since I am heartbroken over seeing goblinettes go to the horde in Cataclysm, I’ve put all hats on display on a female goblin – all images are expandable.
The Admiral’s Hat can be crafted by a tailor who picks up the recipe in Stranglethorn Vale.
With this royal hat you’re not only captain of the a ship’s crew, but grant everyone in your party a stamina buff – how cool is that?
A rare drop from Stranglethorn Vale, this item can usually be picked up from the AH if you don’t feel like farming yourself. Prices on my server vary from 1’000 gold upwards. One of my favourite hats, pirates ftw! You want to combine this item with a swashbuckler outfit and classic parrot companion!
Obtained via various fishing dailies, this stylish hat is usually up on the AH for a reasonable price and is the perfect finish for all your black outfits. This hat seems particularly popular with bank alts for some reason!
A must for every dedicated cook, this hat can be picked up from the cooking supplier in Dalaran for 100 cooking awards which makes this the most time-intense of all my hat picks. The model is unique and comes with a cooking speed bonus. Must combine with Cookie’s Tenderizer and any flavour of fish offhand!
Dropped by blood elf bandits on Azuremyst Isle, this elaborately patterned headpiece is one of only a few roguey masks in the game that come without armor class restrictions. It’s usually found on the AH and combines very well with Lunar Festival finery.
The Hallowed Helm is a random drop from the Headless Horseman during Hallow’s End. While this item might require some more dedicated farming, it is not super rare and definitely worth getting! Accompany by Sinister Squashling for the perfect spook effect!
Both of these Christmas hats can be obtained by killing designated 5man dungeon bosses on either normal or heroic during the Winter Veil holiday. Matching outfits in red and green can be crafted by tailors (patterns are available in Ironforge and Ogrimmar, the NPCs will sell to both factions).
One of the more controversial items in the game, the bunny ears are a funny looking and unique model headpiece. Buy this for 50 chocolates during the Noblegarden Easter holiday or get lucky by opening Brightly Colored Eggs. Best combined with Elegant Dress or Festive Pink Dress and a Bouquet of Spring Flowers.
Coming by a floating halo model is not the easiest undertaking for non-priests in WoW. This crown comes with a funky blazing fire effect and is the quest reward to A Thief’s Reward during the Midsummer Fire Festival. Great to combine with the rest of the midsummer regalia sold during the holiday.
The Brewfest Hat comes in 4 colors and is sold for 50 tokens during the Brewfest holiday. It’s part of a 3-item set and the next best thing after actual holidays in Bavaria. Needless to say, this outfit goes hand in hand with an authentic Brewfest Stein.
An equivalent model to Don Carlos’ Famous Hat, this item requires you to complete the quest Nice Hat picked up in Tanaris. Unlike the blue heroic drop, this is a guaranteed reward but doesn’t come with a shiny coyote as companion. Matching Haliscan Jacket and Pantaloons can be crafted by tailors – Ay, caramba!
While almost all engineering crafted goggles in the game have profession requirements, this pair is your easiest shot at a smart look without the need to quest. Engineers can craft this for cheap materials and no other goggles will make you “appear more gifted and attractive” just like these!
Your top choice for the distinguished air, the Noble’s Monocle is a cheap random drop from fishing dailies and usually sold for a reasonable price on the AH. Apparently jewelcrafters can now also learn to craft blue quality monocles in Cataclysm, in case you shouldn’t be able to find this anywhere.
Not actually a ‘special’ hat, I still keep a blue Sorcerer Hat of Frozen Wrath in my collection for that authentic, goofy witch look. The hats come in various colors and drop randomly over Azeroth, so picking one up on the AH really isn’t hard. Combine with a matching robe, add a sparkly wand or broom and black cat for full effect!
This hat is obtainable via daily quests during the Pilgrim’s Bounty holiday, along with matching chest pieces and shoes. The modelviewer doesn’t seem to like this hat on goblins for some reason. Combine with a Farmer’s Broom and cook your turkey nice and crisp over a fire! For the holiday-resistant, a possible alternative might be found on the AH.
I hope you enjoyed my pick of WoW hats! There’s certainly many more, but these items are obtainable for everyone without too much hassle (patience might be a requirement here and there). I would love to write a guide on special dresses sometime, but these lists are such a time-consuming project and it will probably take weeks deciding on what dresses to pick as there are just way too many! That said, I won’t dismiss the idea entirely!
As for hats, I’ve already set my eyes on the fabulously looking High Society Top Hat , a blue tailoring item from Cataclysm whose source apparently is still unknown, argh! If you happen to know where this is from or if you’ve already discovered any more special items of this kind, be sure to let me know – I always love finding out about new items! =)
P. S. Gief earlaps Blizzard!
What a lovely collection! And yes, I’m guilty of having a battered jungle hat on my bank alt. She’s very pretty in it. To be honest I never ever display my head pieces in game. But maybe it’s about time that I rethink? This was certainly inspiring.
No crimson felt hat? For shame!
http://www.wowhead.com/item=18727
I tend to turn off helm display because while I like most of my hats, my tanking hat from ICC was incredibly ugly.
@Larísa
Thank you! And believe me, it is quite an addicitve hobby once you start collecting these, you might find yourself hooked before you know it, hehe! and I usually don’t display my hats either because well, raid gear doesn’t look nearly as great as these more special hats. =/
@Kleps
Indeed indeed, the CFH is so iconic for vanilla WoW, it’s almost a cult-item, is it not? I’ve actually linked to this item in one of my older gear posts – it’s certainly a special hat too though I’m not so sure who would still go and farm Stratholme just for this. I’ve excluded items that are random drops and have to be farmed / are BoP. also, it shares grafX with quite many other headpieces. I would say it’s more of a nostalgia-trophy for some players. 🙂
Thanks! Please feel free to give us a round up of other clothes. I’d love to see other resources for such items. I only know about http://wowthreads.blogspot.com/
I include the battered jungle hat in my fishing outfit for now, but like Klep, I turn off my helm display too often.
Thanks again!
Thanks Kallixta. I’m definitely toying with the idea atm and will probably continue the special gear guides as soon as I find time. 🙂