As the Mythic+ raids start to become available, it’s crucial to gear up and increase your Item Level to meet the tier requirements. Failing to meet these requirements can make it difficult to join raid groups. Players can enhance their gear score through crafting, looting, and raiding. In case luck isn’t on your side with drops, there are ways to upgrade your ILvl.
Discovering the New WoW The War Within Gear Track
The War Within introduces changes to the gear track system for players, defining the upgrade requirements and caps for each tier. Knowing your Gear Track can help you determine suitable raids to run and which ones to focus on farming. Below are the updated upgrade routes in WoW:
- Explorer: 558 to 580 Item Level
- Adventurer: 571 to 593 Item Level
- Veteran: 584 to 606 Item Level
- Champion: 597 to 619 Item Level
- Hero: 610 to 626 Item Level
- Myth: 623 to 639 Item Level
Each Gear Track sets a limit on how high you can upgrade each equipment piece. To progress to the next tier, you may have to trade what you have for higher-level drops.
Where to Acquire Items for Each Gear Track
You can acquire different gear from various in-game activities, including participating in PvE content or crafting materials. Understanding which sources provide specific Gear Track items can help you optimize your gear progression. Here is where you can grind for each tier:
Raiding
- Veteran Gear Track drops: LFR raids with 584+ Item Level drops
- Champion Gear Track drops: Normal raids with 597+ Item Level drops
- Hero Gear Track drops: Heroic raids with 610+ Item Level drops
- Myth Gear Track drops: Mythic raids with 623+ Item Level drops
Dungeon Drops
- Adventurer Gear Track drops: Heroic Dungeons
- Veteran Gear Track drops: M0 dungeons
- Champion Gear Track drops from M+2 to M+6 dungeons:
- M+2 and M+3: 597 Item Level drops
- M+4: 600 Item Level drops
- M+5: 603 Item Level drops
- M+6: 606 Item Level drops
- Hero Gear Track drops from M+7 to M+10 dungeons:
- M+7 and M+8: 610 Item Level drops
- M+9 and M+10: 613 Item Level drops
Dungeon Vaults
- Champion Gear Track items from the following vaults:
- M+2: 606 Item Level drops
- Hero Gear Track items from the following vaults:
- M+3 and M+4: 610 Item Level drops
- M+5 and M+6: 613 Item Level drops
- M+7: 616 Item Level drops
- M+8 and M+9: 619 Item Level drops
- Mythic Gear Track items from the following vaults:
- M+10: 623 Item Level drops
Bountiful Delves Drops
- Explorer Gear Track Items based on these ILvl drops:
- Bountiful Delve 1 (561 Item Level drops)
- Bountiful Delve 2 (564 Item Level drops)
- Adventurer Gear Track Items based on these ILvl drops:
- Bountiful Delve 3 (571 Item Level drops)
- Bountiful Delve 4 (577 Item Level drops)
- Veteran Gear Track Items based on these ILvl drops:
- Bountiful Delve 5 (584 Item Level drops)
- Bountiful Delve 6 (590 Item Level drops)
- Champion Gear Track Items based on these ILvl drops:
- Bountiful Delve 7 (597 Item Level drops)
- Bountiful Delve 8,9,10, and 11 (603 Item Level drops)
Delve Vaults
- Veteran Gear Track items based on these Ilvl Vault drops:
- Delve Vault 1 and 2 (584 Item Level drops)
- Delve Vault 3 (587 Item Level drops)
- Champion Gear Track items based on these Ilvl Vault drops:
- Delve Vault 4 (597 Item Level drops)
- Delve Vault 5 (603 Item Level drops)
- Delve Vault 6 (606 Item Level drops)
- Hero Gear Track items based on these Ilvl Vault drops:
- Delve Vault 7 (610 Item Level drops)
- Delve Vault 8, 9,10, and 11 (616 Item Level drops)
Crafting
- Veteran Gear Track items between 577 and 590 Item Levels using Weathered Crests (No Spark)
- Hero Gear Track items between 610 to 619 Item Levels using Runed Crest (w/ Spark)
- Myth Gear Track items between 623 to 636 Item Levels using Gilded Crests (w/ Spark)
Maximizing Gear by Upgrading to Their Cap
Sometimes, it’s more efficient to max out your current gear set by upgrading items rather than relying on random drops from raids. Different crests are available at specific tiers to help you maximize your items. Below are the crests in TWW and where to find and use them:
Weathered Crests
- Farmed from LFR and Heroic Dungeons
- Used for crafting and upgrading Veteran Gear Track items
Craved Crests
- Farmed from Normal and Mythic+0 to 3 Dungeons
- Used for upgrading Champion Gear Track items
Runed Crests
- Farmed from Heroic and M+4 to M+8 Dungeons
- Used for crafting and upgrading Hero Gear Track items
Gilded Crests
- Farmed from M9+ Dungeons (with a small drop rate from lower Mythic+ raids)
- Used for crafting and upgrading Myth Gear Track items
It looks like Item Level 639 could be the maximum gear achievable for Season 1 unless there are new updates. However, attaining the Hero Gear Track should be sufficient for most content, and pushing into the Myth Track might be excessive and unnecessary.