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TBC phase ladder
Reference only — what each phase changed for the 19, 29 and 39 brackets, so you can tell which lists still apply on your server. Filter guides by phase in the guide lists.
Phase timeline in TBC19 · 29 · 39 brackets
What each phase added, and which gear or gates it opened for the low brackets.
Dates vary by realm and region. Treat the order as fixed and the timing as approximate.
Phase 1P1
27 guides writtenLaunch — Karazhan, Arena Season 1
BG_UNLOCK19 · 29 · 39
Eye of the Storm opens; 19 and 29 keep Warsong Gulch and Arathi BasinPROFESSIONall
Jewelcrafting arrives — a new stat vector in every bracketPhase 2P2
24 guides writtenBlack Temple, Arena Season 2
ITEM_POOL29 · 39
New BoEs enter the economy; a few land inside bracket item-level capsPVP_VENDORall
Season 2 rollover pushes Season 1 pieces down in pricePhase 3P3
27 guides writtenZul'Aman, Arena Season 3
ENCHANT_RECIPE19
Enchant pool widens; the 19 agility cap is reachable without a raidRULE_CHANGE19 · 29
Queue behaviour tightened — premade windows narrow at peak hoursPhase 4P4
18 guides writtenSunwell Plateau, Arena Season 4
CURRENCYall
New acquisition path makes several BiS pieces farmable solo in a weekPVP_VENDORall
Final repricing of the expansion; lists stabilise for goodBuff stacking in TBCPatch 2.4.3, post-2.1, true in every phase
One battle elixir plus one guardian elixir. That redesign is also what finally let elixirs stack with class buffs.
Three systems, not one. An item takes an exclusive slot, its effect belongs to a category that something else can overwrite, and the item itself sits in a shared cooldown group. Two buffs can both show in your bar and still not add.
Slotswhat you can hold at once
One battle, one guardianA second battle elixir replaces the first. At 19, Lesser Agility and Firepower are both Battle, so you pick one. Wisdom, Defence, Minor Fortitude and Strong Troll's Blood are all Guardian.
Multiple scrolls are still legalScrolls don't consume an elixir slot and different scroll types coexist, so strength, agility and protection on top of a full elixir pair is a valid TBC stack.
One food buffAnd Rumsey Rum no longer sits beside it. Patch 2.1 changed the drinks so their stamina stopped stacking with food, which is why a Vanilla list can't be copied across unread.
One temporary weapon enhancementWindfury Totem still enchants party members' main hand weapons here, so at 39 it's Windfury or your main hand poison, never both. The off hand keeps its own slot.
Categorieswhat silently overwrites what
Elixirs now stack with class buffsBlizzard's 2.1 notes name Arcane Intellect specifically. Greater Intellect plus Arcane Intellect pays both in TBC where Vanilla paid one, and it's the biggest rule to unlearn between the two.
Scrolls still lose to the real buffScroll of Stamina under Power Word: Fortitude is wasted gold. A scroll fills a buff your group lacks; it never doubles one you already have.
Exclusivity is per casterOne Blessing from each Paladin, one shout from each Warrior. It's a limit on sources rather than a global slot, so two Paladins really do mean two Blessings.
Cooldownswhat shares a timer
Potion cooldown unchangedThe same shared cooldown as 1.12, reusable inside a long fight, and still separate from your elixir slots. Potion Sickness doesn't exist yet.
Healthstone and bandages stay freeOutside the potion group, just as in Vanilla.
In the twink bracketsFlasks stay irrelevant. Flask of the Titans is still level 50, and it counts as both a battle and a guardian elixir anyway. For 19, 29 and 39 the only consumable question is which battle and which guardian.
WotLK keeps these slots but rewrites scrolls, potions and Windfury.see the WotLK ladder
Consumable cooldowns in TBCPatch 2.4.3, true in every phase
The cooldown groups are inherited from Vanilla untouched. What actually changes for a twink is the First Aid ceiling, and it changes a lot.
A different question from stacking. Stacking asks whether two buffs can coexist; this asks which items lock each other for the next stretch of the fight. Items from different groups can all be used in the same fight.
Shared groupsuse one, lock the rest
Potion2 minUnchanged from 1.12, and reusable inside a long fight. Potion Sickness doesn't exist yet, so a 39 here drinks more than a 39 in Wrath.
Aggressive1 minExplosives, glue and the ray, same as Vanilla.
Non-aggressive2 minHealthstone and Target Dummy, still sharing.
Recently bandaged60 secStill a debuff on the target rather than a cooldown on you.
Anti-Venom1 minStill free of the potion timer.
Thistle Tea5 minTBC adds level scaling, but everything under 40 still gets the full 100 energy. All three brackets are safe.
Stone Statues2 minJewelcrafting healing items, Heavy at 110 and Dense at 225. Bind on pickup, so unlike bandages the twink has to be the crafter.
Items worth knowingwhere the group timer isn't the whole story
Heavy Netherweave BandageFirst Aid 325 to use3400 over eight seconds. Master First Aid needs only 300 skill and lifts the cap to 375, so a 39 who got to 300 can use these. The single biggest TBC upgrade in the bracket.
Heavy Runecloth Bandage19 and 29Artisan First Aid still wants character level 35, so under that you're capped at 225 and Runecloth stays the ceiling.
Invisibility potionslevels 23 and 37Ten minute personal cooldowns carried over unchanged, still only two minutes for your other potions.
Slumber Sand1 minUnreliable on anything above level 30. Fine at 19, fine at 29, not something to plan a 39 around.
At 19Same potion and explosive toolkit as Vanilla, plus a Heavy Stone Statue if you took Jewelcrafting. Bandage ceiling unchanged at Heavy Runecloth.
At 29Free Action, Greater Healing, Jungle Remedy and Lesser Invisibility as before. Dense Stone Statue at Jewelcrafting 225. Still Heavy Runecloth.
At 39The bracket TBC transforms. Push First Aid to 300, train Master, and Heavy Netherweave at 3400 replaces a 2000 bandage. Nothing else about your cooldowns changes.
WotLK keeps the groups and rewrites how often you can drink.see the WotLK ladder