The gearing question for Season 2 is basically: what content do you actually want to do, and how sweaty do you want to get with it?
Solo players can get into Hero gear through Tier 8 Delves, Trovehunter's Bounties, Nightmare Prey, the World row of the Great Vault, and crafting. For Mythic+, the numbers I care about are +6 for Hero drops, +9 for Myth Mistcrests, and +10 for a 318 Myth Vault. Normal raid gives a 305 Hero Vault. Heroic gives a 318 Myth Vault.
If you're chasing actual BiS, then it gets more interesting. That's where I start caring about which slots have raid-only weapons or trinkets, where my tier is coming from, what I should craft, and whether spending crests on something now is going to annoy me two days later.
Tier 8 Bountiful Delves are the big breakpoint. Add Nightmare Prey, Trovehunter's Bounties, your World Vault, and crafted gear. That's enough to build a real Hero-track gearing path without raid or Mythic+.
+6 starts Hero-track drops. +9 starts Myth Mistcrests. +10 gives a 318 Myth 1/6 Great Vault reward. Those are the numbers worth remembering.
Normal starts at Champion and gives a 305 Hero Vault. Heroic starts at Hero and gives a 318 Myth Vault. Heroic is really fucking good for gearing this season.
Figure out your actual chase items first. Then use your Vault, Voidcores, crafts, and Myth Mistcrests around those pieces instead of dumping resources into whatever happened to drop first.
The first Season 2 Great Vault on August 18 is weird because it is still pulling from preseason. The World row is capped at Champion 3/6 for that first Vault, and you cannot take a Nebulous Voidcore from it. Voidcores start on August 25 once you have at least three Vault panes unlocked. After that first week, the World row can reach Hero 1/6.
If you're mostly playing solo, I would aim for Tier 8 Bountiful Delves first. That's the important breakpoint. You can go higher for challenge stuff and extra crest sources, but Tier 8 already gets you to the best Delve item level in the weekly Vault.
| Activity | Direct Reward | Great Vault | Why You Care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 8 Bountiful Delve | 295 Champion 2/6 | 305 Hero 1/6 | This is the main solo breakpoint. |
| Tier 8+ Trovehunter's Bounty | 305 Hero 1/6 | Works alongside your Delve loop | A direct Hero piece from solo content. |
| Nightmare Prey | 292 Champion 1/6 | 305 Hero 1/6 | Also gives Champion and Hero Mistcrests. |
| Tier 11 Gilded Stash | Delve reward structure still tops at 295 | 305 Hero 1/6 | Can give Myth Mistcrests. |
- Get Tier 8 Bountiful Delves unlocked and run the ones that matter.
- Use Trovehunter's Bounties at Tier 8+ when you have them.
- Do Nightmare Prey for the drop, Vault credit, and crests.
- If you want Myth Mistcrests from solo content, Tier 6 Ritual Sites and Tier 11 Gilded Stashes give you another route.
- Use crafting to fix the slots that just refuse to drop.
That's already a lot of gearing without ever touching a key or raid. I wouldn't add more shit to the weekly list unless you actually want something from it.
| Key | End of Dungeon | Mistcrest | Great Vault |
|---|---|---|---|
| +2 | 295 Champion 2/6 | Champion | 305 Hero 1/6 |
| +4 | 298 Champion 3/6 | Hero | 308 Hero 2/6 |
| +6 | 305 Hero 1/6 | Hero | 311 Hero 3/6 |
| +9 | 308 Hero 2/6 | Myth | 315 Hero 4/6 |
| +10 | 311 Hero 3/6 | Myth | 318 Myth 1/6 |
The Dungeon row unlocks at 1 / 4 / 8 completed dungeons. If you run a shitload of Mythic+, great, eight keys gives you all three choices. If you don't, I would care way more about getting a good +10 done than forcing myself through eight keys just because the Vault has three boxes.
Four keys is a pretty reasonable middle ground because you get a second Vault option. Sometimes that just means the game gives you two belts instead of one, but at least you made it try.
+6 for Hero drops. +9 for Myth crests. +10 for a Myth Vault. That's the useful version of the Mythic+ reward chart.
| Difficulty | Boss Loot Starts At | Great Vault | Mistcrest |
|---|---|---|---|
| LFR | 279 Veteran 1/6 | 292 Champion 1/6 | Veteran |
| Normal | 292 Champion 1/6 | 305 Hero 1/6 | Champion |
| Heroic | 305 Hero 1/6 | 318 Myth 1/6 | Hero |
| Mythic | 318 Myth 1/6 | 334 Myth 6/6 | Myth |
Boss item levels go up later in the raid, and Very Rare items plus loot from the last two Mythic bosses can reach 344. For most people, though, the big deal is simple: Heroic raid unlocks Myth-track gear in the Great Vault.
The Raid row unlocks at 2 / 4 / 6 bosses. Tier tokens come from bosses 2 through 6, and Ula'tek drops a Curio that can be traded for the tier piece you want.
Heroic is giving you 305+ Hero gear directly, Hero Mistcrests, tier, raid weapons, raid trinkets, and a 318 Myth 1/6 Vault. That's a hell of a lot of value from one lane of content.
Once Voidcores are available, it gets even better for specific chase items. A Heroic raid bonus roll is 318 Myth 1/6, so if there is one stupid trinket or weapon you really want, you have another way to go after it instead of just hoping the Vault feels generous.
Each upgrade step costs 20 Mistcrests. Going from 1/6 to 6/6 costs 100. Early-season crest caps are the reason I would not just mash upgrade every time the game shows me a green arrow.
Normal raid and lairs, Mythic+ +2 to +3, Delves Tier 7-10, Trovehunter's Bounty Tier 6-7, and Nightmare Prey.
Heroic raid and lairs, Mythic+ +4 to +8, Trovehunter's Bounty Tier 8+, and Nightmare Prey.
Mythic raid and lairs, Mythic+ +9+, Ritual Sites Tier 6, and Tier 11 Bountiful Delve Gilded Stashes.
Once you've earned a higher item level in a slot, upgrading another item in that same slot up to that level no longer costs additional Mistcrests. So replacing a badly itemized piece later doesn't hurt nearly as much.
I would look at weapons, really strong trinkets, tier or special-effect gear, and pieces I know I'm keeping before I start throwing crests at random filler. If I'm actively trying to replace a belt, I'm probably not spending 100 crests on the belt I already hate.
Spark of Tides is the Season 2 crafting Spark. Most Spark crafts cost 2 Sparks. Two-handed weapons cost 4. Crafted gear can also be recrafted later, so using your first craft does not lock that item at its first item level forever.
| Craft | Item Level Range | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Base Spark of Tides epic craft | 292-305 | Sparks + normal profession materials |
| Hero-crest epic craft | 305-318 | 80 Hero Mistcrests |
| Myth-crest epic craft | 318-331 | 80 Myth Mistcrests |
I don't think there is one answer for every spec. I would look at what you're actually trying to get from raid and Mythic+ before crafting anything expensive.
- Does this slot have a weapon, trinket, tier piece, or special-effect item you're already going to chase?
- Is this craft something you can realistically keep for a while?
- Would the same Sparks and crests do more for you in a weapon or another high-value slot?
If you're unsure, sim it. The whole advantage of crafted gear is that you get some control over the result. I would use that control on the slot where normal drops are screwing you the hardest.
Once you're actually chasing BiS, item level by itself stops being enough. Season 2 has raid-only gear, special-effect items, tier, crafted embellishments, Myth-track Vault rewards, and targeted bonus rolls. This is where I would map out what I actually want before spending the expensive shit.
When you turn armor into class-set gear through the Catalyst, the converted piece keeps the original item's secondary stats and certain cantrip effects. So if you're min-maxing, the base item you catalyze can matter too.
That's the full sweat route. You can cut a bunch of it depending on how you play. If you're solo, stay in the solo lane. If you hate keys, don't run eight of them because a guide told you to. If you raid and Heroic is your thing, you have a really strong gearing path this season.
The whole point of this guide is to make the weekly choices easier. Once you've done the stuff that can actually move your character forward, go play the game.
The launch checklist for campaign unlocks, Coiled Isle systems, Delves, M0s, Sparks, and the first Great Vault.
If you want the outdoor progression route, including the Tier 6 Myth Mistcrest source, the Ritual Sites guide has the full system.
Season 2 opens with the August 18 regional reset. I checked the item levels, Vault breakpoints, Mistcrest sources, crafting ranges, and the first-Vault Voidcore exception against Blizzard's Season 2 information and the current Wowhead system guides.
- Blizzard: Midnight Season 2 Begins August 18
- Blizzard: Curse of Ula'tek Pre-Season Details
- Wowhead: Midnight Season 2 Mythic+ Rewards
- Wowhead: Midnight Season 2 Delves
- Wowhead: Prey Rewards
- Wowhead: The Venomous Abyss Rewards
- Wowhead: Midnight Mistcrest Upgrade System
- Wowhead: First Season 2 Great Vault / Voidcore Timing
- Wowhead: Nebulous Voidcore Bonus Rolls
- Blizzard: Curse of Ula'tek Content Update Notes
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