Glyph

For the faction reward augment items of previously the same name, see Arcanum.

Glyph Interface

Glyphs are spell and ability enhancements created by scribes. Until used, they are not soulbound and can be traded or sold. The colors used in Glyphs are colors of the class for which they are meant.

Once learned, glyphs are permanent and may be switched out at any time outside of combat. Changing a glyph requires a  [Vanishing Powder] for characters level 25-80, and a  [Dust of Disappearance] for characters over level 80.

Prime glyphs

Prime glyphs are effective in combat, and generally increase the healing or damage of an ability.

Examples:

• Increases the healing done by an ability:  [Glyph of Earth Shield],  [Glyph of Renew].
• Increases the damage done by an ability:  [Glyph of Steady Shot],  [Glyph of Arcane Barrage].
• Add an additional effect to your ability:  [Glyph of Shadowburn],  [Glyph of Howling Blast].

This section concerns content exclusive to Mists of Pandaria.

However, these glyphs no longer exist for Mists of Pandaria.

Class Design & Balance Q&A | 2011-11-09 00:00| Celestalon

We're not happy with how Prime glyphs have worked out, and are considering removing them. Don't worry, scribes, if we do this sort of change, we'll keep you heavily in mind; we don't intend to 'nerf' Inscription in any way with this potential change.

Major glyphs

Major glyphs feature spell changes that may increase the damage, or another feature of the spell. Some of these glyphs have trade-offs. For example increasing direct damage but removing a DoT effect of the spell.

Examples:

• Slightly changes the way a spell works:  [Glyph of Divine Protection],  [Glyph of Chain Heal]
• Reduces the cost of a spell:  [Glyph of Feint],  [Glyph of Trap Launcher].
• Reduces the cooldown of a spell:  [Glyph of Rapid Charge],  [Glyph of Starfall].

Minor glyphs

Minor glyphs give convenient or cosmetic improvements, such as reducing a spell's cost or removing the need for a spell's reagent.

Examples:

• Increases the duration of a spell:  [Glyph of Battle],  [Glyph of Horn of Winter].
• Removes the reagent cost of a spell:  [Glyph of Levitate],  [Glyph of Unburdened Rebirth].
• Changes the graphics of a spell:  [Glyph of the Penguin],  [Glyph of the Monkey].
• Increases the effectiveness of a spell, but only in a minor way or with a trade-off:  [Glyph of Thunderstorm],  [Glyph of Typhoon].

Some minor glyphs do have a more substantial effect, such as reducing cooldowns ( [Glyph of Challenging Roar]) or increasing damage ( [Glyph of Sense Undead]) so don't dismiss minor glyph slots straight away.

Notes

• Players gain access to glyph slots based on their level:
  • Level 25: 1 Prime, 1 Major, 1 Minor.
  • Level 50: 2 Prime, 2 Major, 2 Minor.
  • Level 75: 3 Prime, 3 Major, 3 Minor.
• The Glyph window can be found under in the player's talent window on the Glyphs tab.
• Players who bought their Dual Talent Specialization will have two different sets of glyphs, and will need to activate a specialization in order to change its glyphs.
• Glyphs can be installed at any time except when the player is in combat.
• Glyphs are learned. Once purchased and read, they are added to a library permanently.
• When you install Glyphs from the library, they are not consumed; however in order to switch one for another you must first remove previous glyph from board with vanishing dust.
• Glyph effects cannot be stacked (they are Unique-equipped).

Class-specific Glyphs

Glyphs for individual classes can be found on their own pages:

Death Knight glyphs  Druid glyphs  Hunter glyphs  Mage glyphs  Paladin glyphs

Priest glyphs  Rogue glyphs  Shaman glyphs  Warlock glyphs  Warrior glyphs

Cataclysm

Pre-4.0.1 Glyph Interface, when only Major and Minor types existed. This is also how it will look like in Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

Initially, there would be additional glyphs known as "ancient glyphs", added with the Path of the Titans system. When Path of the Titans was canceled, the glyph system was changed to three tiers - Major, Medium and Minor. This was later changed to the system implemented in Patch 4.0.1 - Prime, Major and Minor.

External links

Wowhead 

Patch changes

Patch 5.0.1 (Beta): Prime Glyphs removed.
Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Added Prime Glyphs and Glyph slots. The minimum level requirement to use glyphs is 25. You will unlock a Prime Glyph slot, a Major Glyph slot and a Minor Glyph slot at level 25, 50 and 75. Removed glyphs have been replaced by the item [Charred Glyph] in-game.
Patch 3.1.0 (2009-04-14): Glyph interface moved from the spellbook window to the talent window.