This is fine...
Most players know that repair bills have been around since the beginning of World of Warcraft, serving as both an RPG element and a gold sink to help combat continued inflation. What many players may not realize is that the amounts they're paying also steadily rise over time, not just with each new expansion. As players reach higher levels of gear through increased access to crafted items, more Mythic loot from Nebulous Voidcore bonus rolls, and now uncapped crest acquisition, some players may end up spending noticeably more on repairs than they were even just a few weeks ago.
With each death, all equipped items lose 10% of their maximum durability, which costs a mythic geared player roughly 250 gold. That doesn't actually sound like all that much at first, but players wiping a few dozen times a night on heavy progression bosses or pushing ever higher and more dangerous Mythic+ keys will quickly see those costs compound. Across an entire raid of players, even a wealthy guild repair fund can quickly run dry.
L'ura is a fun encounter.
So where does the cost come from? Despite common misconception, repairs aren't more expensive for plate wearers... at least not since Cataclysm. The actual cost is based on three main factors:
The number of durability points being repaired, which depends on the equipment type: gloves, bracers, and belts have the lowest maximum durability at 55 and lose 5 per death, while pants, two-handed weapons, and (surprisingly) warglaives have 120 and lose 12 each time. Since Patch 4.0.1, cloth, leather, mail, and plate gear of the same slot and rarity all have the same amount of durability, so plate wearers aren't paying more for the privilege, though Demon Hunters and Fury Warriors do end up paying slightly more than others.
Item level has a very small impact, with a ~1% difference in cost between a 1/6 Mythic 272 and a 6/6 Mythic 289 item of the same type. This is good, since it means you don't need to worry about the financial impact of applying your hard earned Ascendant Voidcore upgrades!
The quality of the gear has a very large impact, with a 2/6 Myth-track item charging ~67% more than an otherwise identical 6/6 Hero-track piece, despite both being 272 item level.
This is turning into an expensive article.
Combining all of these factors, prices can vary considerably between different players - fully repairing a 298 Myth two-handed weapon costs 523 gold, while a 263 Champion one-handed sword is only 93 gold. For the most part though, players with similar gear should be spend roughly similar amounts, except failure isn't the only cause of repairs either. Weapons and armor have a small chance to lose a point of durability on hit, which occasionally interacts oddly with certain abilities, such as the now infamous Warrior block tax making main tanking an expensive hobby... even if you're not necessarily dying!
Faction discounts also apply to repairs, though they're not too common in modern content, so maybe pop back to Stormwind once in awhile.
As a result, players have found some creative ways to help avoid taking durability damage while wiping, such as jumping into the Darkwell on L'ura. Just one point in Blacksmithing is also enough to use a Refulgent Repair Hammer, which can be found on the action house for ~30-80 gold, making it very efficient if you're diligent about using them.
For most players though, it's just a matter of finding a way to make money on the side, whether that's world quests, delving, gathering professions, or finding a really altruistic guild to help fund your repair bills. Whatever you do, just try not to die too much in the process!
Once again, it seems like the real winner here is Rendle.
