Item suffix Many items have a base item name followed by a suffix . The suffixes are similar to the item naming convention used in other Blizzard games such as " Diablo " and " Diablo II " . The suffix will always start with the word " of " followed by a few words that indicate quickly to the player what enhancements an item will give . How much enhancement an item gives is closely tied to the item quality and item level . Items of this type are normally uncommon ( greens ) , although rare ( blue ) and epic ( purple ) ones exist . On item database websites ( like Wowhead ) and some crafting patterns , these items are listed with their base name ( for example , Slatesteel Girdle or ) and the term " < Random enchantment > " to indicate that the actual items have a randomly assigned enhancement matching the suffixes . For the most part , " animal " , " job " and attribute suffixes are seen most commonly . Resistance and " wrath " drop less commonly , and the miscellaneous ones drop the least often . Of course , in some cases item suffixes are simply part of a unique name or are used to signify an item is part of a set . Suffixes that increase a single attribute . Items with an " of Attribute " suffix typically have less total attribute enhancement than " " of the Animal " " . For example , a " Shortsword of Strength " may have + 10 strength , whereas a " Shortsword of the Bear " of comparable level may have + 6 strength and + 6 stamina . Wrath suffixes ( spell damage ) . These suffixes increase damage for a school of magic or increases healing . Resistances . There are some items in the game that increase the chances that a school of magic will be resisted . There are currently no items that increase resistance to holy magic , though there are potions available that can absorb holy magic damage . Often suffix items " of X resistance " have some of the highest resistances available , and are useful for difficult resistances like Arcane or Frost , but are nearly impossible to farm . The following newer versions were introduced with the Burning Crusade . They are only available for characters 57 + as drops in Outland , but are significantly superior to the older resistance greens , and in many cases better than the best resist gear blues or purples that previously existed . Animal name suffixes . These are commonly found suffixes that indicate an item increases two attribute stats as shown in the tables below : Class preferences . Certain classes , especially when leveling , will have more of these kind of items than uniquely named items . here is a list of what class will prefer . Do not take this list as a pure guide as some classes will prefer certain items for their play style . This only takes into account PvE builds , especially in classic content ( Pvp players would generally favor only the hybrid pieces with stamina ) . Abyssal Suffixes . These only appear on Abyssal items , dropped from members of the Abyssal Council in Silithus . In Burning Crusade . Modifiers on items have very specific drop rules . The suffixes such as Physician and Prophet will only be found on Cloth gear . Other ones like Hierophant will only drop as Leather gear . Bandit will drop as Leather and Mail gear to facilitate the classes that would most benefit from it . The drop rates are also widely variable . The more standard types such as Beast and Sorcerer will drop quite frequently , while more obscure suffixes like Knight are very rare , and will only drop as Rare quality ( Blue ) gear . You will notice that some suffixes add the same stats . These are differentiated by the amount of each stat available on the piece of gear , based on which stat is emphasized . In Wrath of the Lich King . A new set of random enchantments were introduced in Wrath of the Lich King . These appear in addition to the " " of the job " " and " " of the animal " " and are largely found on items dropped from " rare mob s " in Northrend .