This item is acquired in-game. See its sources below.
Encounters that drop this item, from the game's own dungeon journal. Drop chances are not stored in the client data we mine, so none are shown here. The tags show which difficulties each encounter can award it on.
Cruel Barb is not traded on the Auction House, so it has no live market price. Its first-party game data (identity, effects and sources) is read from the official World of Warcraft client build.
In the Appearances collection, Cruel Barb is listed as Boss Drop. Appearance ID: 720. 3 other items wear the same appearance:
Read from the World of Warcraft client build files.
In their in-game specialization descriptions, these specs name swords among their preferred weapons:
The 10 items nearest to Cruel Barb (item level 12) in item level among Weapon > Sword, from item level 12 to 21.
| Item | Item Level | Requires Level | Stats | Lowest Listed Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruel Barb (this item) | 12 | 7 | 1.7 DPS, +2 Agility or Strength, +2 Stamina, +2 Critical Strike, +1 Haste. Boss Drop | Not listed |
 Defias Rapier | 12 | 7 | 1.7 DPS, +2 Agility, +3 Critical Strike. World Drop | Not listed |
| Blackwater Cutlass | 12 | 7 | 1.7 DPS, +2 Agility, +2 Critical Strike. World Drop | Not listed |
 Fangblade | 15 | 2.1 DPS, +3 Agility, +1 Stamina. World Drop | Not listed | |
 Bronze Shortsword | 15 | 9 | 2.1 DPS, +4 Agility. Crafted with Classic Blacksmithing | Not listed |
 The Butcher | 19 | 12 | 3.1 DPS, +4 Agility, +3 Stamina | Not listed |
 The Black Knight | 19 | 12 | 3.1 DPS. World Drop | Not listed |
 Sword of Decay | 20 | 13 | 3.5 DPS. World Drop | Not listed |
 Zealot Blade | 20 | 13 | 1.5 DPS, +3 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +7 Versatility. World Drop | Not listed |
 Jade Serpentblade | 20 | 13 | 3.5 DPS, +4 Strength, +4 Agility. Crafted with Classic Blacksmithing | Not listed |
 Broadsword | 21 | 13 | 3.3 DPS. Vendor | Not listed |
Broadsword has the highest item level here (21).
Next item levels up from Cruel Barb among Weapon > Sword: Ebon Scimitar (item level 23), Furious Falchion (item level 24), Shortsword of Vengeance (item level 25), Phantom Blade (item level 25) and Bloodletter Scalpel (item level 25).
Nearest lower item levels below Cruel Barb among Weapon > Sword: Distinguished Blade of Cartel Al (item level 1), Lost Blade of Spacial Descent (item level 1), Drakonid Striker's Cutlass (item level 1), Wingcrest Scimitar (item level 1) and Primal Revenant's Frostblade (item level 1).
Built from the World of Warcraft client build files and recorded Auction House snapshots.
Cruel Barb is in the Classic Era game data, the era World of Warcraft: Forever is built on. Blizzard describes Forever as vanilla World of Warcraft plussed up: its story sits in year one, characters level to 60 and stay there, and it launches November 4, 2026. Blizzard has not said which vanilla items appear in Forever, so nothing here is a Forever claim; it is the Classic Era record for Cruel Barb next to the live retail market on this page.
Read next: World of Warcraft: Forever is Classic+, launching November 4 · Forever's class revamps and new race and class combinations · Classic Era page for Cruel Barb
First-party render from the game files. Model © Blizzard Entertainment.
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