Season 3 of The War Within drops all the gearing restrictions from launch week. You've got multiple guaranteed upgrade paths and tons of ways to boost your item level fast. This guide walks you through the exact 10-step sequence that'll maximize your character's power during the most important week of the season.

Your Week 1 Goals

Grab multiple pieces of 691-704 item level gear through guaranteed sources
Set up your Great Vault for long-term progression
Unlock seasonal features that'll help all season long
Get your character ready for serious Mythic Plus and raid progression

Pre-Launch Checklist

Make sure your character's ready for the big week. Here's what you should have done during the pre-season:

Character Requirements

Around 680 Item Level

From pre-season activities

Eight Mythic 0 Dungeons

Completed for Great Vault credit

Eight Tier 8 Delves

Finished for more vault options

Critical Resources

Four Restored Coffer Keys saved up per character
Spark of Starlight collected (needs two shards from weekly caches or Delves)
Cloak at 707 item level minimum
Delve belt upgraded to 701 through the repeatable quest

Account Preparation

Send your Weathered and Carved Crests to alts if you have them. Spread Undercoins across characters for seasonal purchases.

Check Your Great Vault (But Don't Touch Anything)

First thing when servers reset: open your Great Vault and see what you got. Don't claim any rewards yet though. Just look and document what's available.

What to Check	Why It Matters
All gear pieces and item levels	Write everything down for planning
Hero Track rewards	These are your best options
Tier pieces or valuable items	High priority for set completion
Duplicate slots	Plan your week to avoid overlap

Why Wait

Launch week gives you tons of guaranteed upgrades across every gear slot. If you grab that Hero Track chest piece right away, you might get an even better one from raid or Mythic Plus later. The vault should be your last resort after you've exhausted everything else.

Upgrade Your Cloak First

Khaz Algar Cloak Upgrade — The Ratio Reps system in Khaz Algar

Head to Khaz Algar for your first guaranteed power boost. The Ratio Reps system lets you enhance your cloak using Ethereal Strands.

Legendary

Enhanced Cloak Upgrade

+7 Item Levels (707 to 714)

+Mount Functionality

+Phase Diving Capability

Special Effect:

Grants mount functionality during phase diving and special orbs for temporary stat boosts.

Source: Three Ethereal Strands per upgrade

Where to Get Ethereal Strands

Delve completions (guaranteed source)
Mythic Plus dungeons (chance to drop)
Raid bosses (chance to drop)
Weekly quest rewards
Warrant activities

Kill the World Boss

Reshanor spawns in central K'aresh (look for the skull icon). He's tougher than most world bosses, but Blizzard nerfed his health and damage after the first week, so he's much more manageable now.

Reshanor, The Untethered

Encounter Details

Item level 688 gear (Champion Track). One guaranteed drop per account per week. Warbound gear that works great for alts.

Important Note

Don't bother trying to kill him on multiple characters. Testing shows it's one drop per account, not per character. Focus on your main or whichever alt needs the biggest upgrade.

Spend Your Delve Keys Smart

Now's the time to use those Restored Coffer Keys you've been saving. Bountiful Delves are active, and they're your ticket to guaranteed upgrades.

Tier 11 Benefits

Includes Gilded Stash rewards
Seven Gilded Crests per stash
Can loot three stashes per week
21 total Gilded Crests possible

Tier 8 Safety

Much easier for undergeared characters
Still drops 694 item level gear
Good choice if Tier 11 feels risky
Reliable progression option

Shrieking Quartz Strategy

Buy Shrieking Quartz from the Delver's Headquarters in Dornogal (2,000 Undercoins each). Use these during Bountiful Delves to guarantee Delver's Bounty Map drops from the nemesis encounter.

Grab All the Weekly Quests

Before you start any major activities, swing by Dornogal and collect every weekly quest available. This makes sure you get credit for everything you do during your gearing runs.

Quest Types to Prioritize

Weekly Dungeon Objectives

Credit toward multiple goals

Mythic Plus, Vault

Delve Weeklies

Seasonal Journey Progress

Vault, Progression

Reputation Goals

Renown, Trust Progress

Materials, Upgrades

Farm Mythic Plus Efficiently

Season 3 Mythic Plus is your main source of repeatable gear. Understanding the reward breakpoints helps you farm efficiently instead of wasting time.

Mythic Plus Reward Breakpoints

Mythic Plus 6

Mythic Plus 7

Mythic Plus 8

S+

Mythic Plus 8 Sweet Spot

Drops 697 item level gear (Hero Track)
Gives 12 Gilded Crests if you time it
Still gives 8 Gilded Crests if you don't time it
Manageable difficulty for most players
Run it repeatedly for Best-in-Slot trinkets

The Math Behind Key Selection

Key Level	Item Level	Gilded Crests	Difficulty
Mythic Plus 7	694	10	Moderate
Mythic Plus 8	697	12 (timed)	Moderate+
Mythic Plus 9	697	14 (timed)	Hard

The tiny reward increase from +8 to +9 isn't worth the extra difficulty. Farm +8s repeatedly for the best time investment.

Weekly Limits to Consider

Gilded Crests: 90 per week maximum
Runed Crests: Weekly cap for Hero Track upgrades
Plan your farming so you don't hit the limit early and waste rewards

Hit the Raid for Easy Weapons

Not everyone raids, but Season 3's design puts amazing weapons on the early bosses. Even casual players should consider pugging the first few encounters.

Early Boss Weapon Drops

Two-handed Polearms

First Boss

Plexus Sentinel

Easy walkover fight

One-handed Maces

First Boss

Strength & Intellect versions

697 ilvl on Heroic

Quality Trinkets

Second Boss

Multiple specs

Check class guides

Pug-Friendly Strategy

The first three bosses are accessible enough for pickup groups. Don't try to clear the whole raid unless you've got a solid team. Focus on weapon upgrades from these early encounters.

Try Tazavesh Hard Mode

The Mythic version of Tazavesh unlocks with Season 3. It offers unique rewards you can't get anywhere else.

Deathless Run

Regular Clear

Loot Value

Reward Structure

Deathless Bonus: Guaranteed Myth Track item if your group has zero deaths
Regular Completion: Eight boss encounters with Hero Track drops
No Attunement: Available immediately with Season 3 launch
Tuning: Around 700+ item level recommended

Realistic Expectations

The encounters are tuned pretty high for launch week. Focus on completing it for the Hero Track loot rather than stressing about the deathless achievement. Eight guaranteed Hero Track pieces is solid value regardless.

Craft Your Big Upgrade

After you've done all your major content for the week, check your Gilded Crest total and plan your crafting. This is where you get the biggest single upgrade of the week.

Crafted

Enchanted Gilded Ethereal Crest

Costs 90 Gilded Crests

Enables 720 item level crafting

Highest possible item level in launch week

Purchase Location:

Buy from the NPC next to crafting vendors in Dornogal. Plan your crafting carefully as these materials are expensive.

Crafting Priority Guide

Top Priority

Main-hand weapons for most specs
Two-handed weapons (might need two Sparks)
Shields for tanks
Biggest damage or survivability boost

Don't Craft These

Cloaks (Ratio Reps are better)
Boots (raid drops have special bonuses)
Items you might replace quickly
Gear for slots with vault rewards

Timing Matters

Only craft after you've finished all other gearing activities. You don't want to craft a weapon and then get a better one from raid the next day. Since these materials are expensive, timing matters.

Soul Hunter Boots Special Note

The raid drops special boots that boost Ratio Reps effectiveness by 40%. These are Best-in-Slot for serious progression, so don't waste materials on crafted boots.

Spend Your Remaining Crests Wisely

After crafting, you'll have leftover Runed and Gilded Crests. Here's how to spend them without wasting resources.

Crest Spending Philosophy

Gilded Crests

Save for Myth Track Best-in-Slot stats

Runed Crests

Spend more freely, easier to get

Vault Planning

Think about next week's rewards

Long-term Thinking

The Great Vault evens out gear progression over time. Being conservative with Gilded Crests often beats immediate upgrades. However, if your guild needs progression help, spending everything for collective advancement makes sense.

Advanced Seasonal Content

Ecological Succession

Season 3 introduces this new questline in Khaz Algar with additional weekly rewards.

Ecological Succession

This season introduces new questlines in Khaz Algar with powerful weekly rewards and progression systems.

Find "The Oasis" quest in Tazesh
Work through Venari's Oasis development
Look for blue weekly quest markers
Exclusive seasonal rewards and materials

Weekly Rewards

Ecological Succession Benefits

Upgrade Materials

Weathered & Carved Crests, Valorstones

Weekly Cache Rewards

Khaz Algar Trust

Reputation & Renown Progress

Long-term Benefits

Restored Coffer Keys

Additional Delve Opportunities

Bountiful Delve Access

Activities Include

Join Devour events for group content
Complete oasis weekly activities
Return to the oasis for quest updates
Participate in seasonal progression events

Delve Seasonal Journey Changes

Season 3 changes how Delve progression works. You'll need to adapt your strategy.

Delve System Changes

Season 3

Major Changes

Delver's Bounty Map Access

Requires 4,200 seasonal journey progress - not available immediately like before

Medium Impact

Progress System Overhaul

Only Bountiful Coffers with keys provide progress - regular Delve clears give nothing

CHANGED

Progress Source	Progress Amount	Frequency
Weekly key hand-in quest	1,500 progress	Once per week per account
Tier 11 Bountiful Delves	300 progress max	Per key used
Lower Tier Bountiful	Varies by tier	Per key used

Alt Strategy

Progress is account-wide, so your alts can contribute through their own keys and Bountiful Delve runs. This makes the 4,200 requirement more manageable across multiple characters.

Trinket Vendor (Third Reward)

Shows up in completed Tier 9+ Delves
Sells all Season 3 Delve trinkets at 681 item level (Champion Track)
Costs 2,000 Undercoins each
Great for gearing alts with specific trinkets

Ky'veza Timing

Don't use Shrieking Quartz until you've unlocked Delver's Bounty Map access. Ky'veza won't drop bounty maps before you reach that milestone.

Timewalking Event Bonus

Launch week coincides with Wrath of the Lich King Timewalking. This gives you easy high-level gear with minimal effort.

Timewalking

Weekly Quest Reward

Advertised: 681 item level

Actually scales to: 691 item level

Requirement: 5 dungeons or 5 raid bosses

Special Benefit:

Much easier than getting equivalent gear from current content. Amazing return on time investment for casual players.

Complete: Five Timewalking dungeons or kill five Timewalking raid bosses

Ulduar Timewalking Raid

Each boss drops 681 item level gear
Full clear gives tons of loot opportunities
Weekly completion quest guarantees 691 item level reward
Amazing return on time investment for casual players

Strategy Tip

Do Timewalking early in the week to establish your gear baseline before tackling harder content. The guaranteed high item level rewards give you a solid foundation for Mythic Plus and raid progression.

Character Progression Strategy

Great Vault Setup

Vault Track Priorities

Track	Optimal Goal	Minimum Target	Reward Level
Dungeon Track	Eight Mythic Plus 10s	Eight Mythic Plus 8s	707 Myth / 697 Hero
Raid Track	Heroic progression	Normal difficulty bosses	Myth / Hero Track
Delve Track	Supplement dungeons	Fill remaining slots	Lower priority

Tier Set Strategy

Season 3 gives you multiple ways to complete tier sets. Plan your approach carefully.

Priority Planning

Four-piece bonus gives huge power increases for most specs
Plan catalyst usage around raid drops and vault rewards
Sometimes accepting lower item level for set bonus completion makes sense
Coordinate with raid progression for maximum efficiency

Catalyst Input Guidelines

Use Hero Track gear minimum for best value
Avoid converting Veteran or Champion pieces when possible
Coordinate with raid progression for maximum efficiency
Think of catalyst as "wild card" for set completion

Renown and Augment Runes

Renown

Khaz Algar Trust Progress

Renown 18 unlocks purchase access

Infinite-use augment rune

Costs 100,000 gold

Critical for:

Cutting-edge progression content. Lower priority for casual goals but provides significant stat bonuses.

Source: Daily quests, Ecological Succession activities

Daily Habits

Keep up with daily quests for steady renown gains
Ecological Succession activities provide extra reputation
Balance time investment against immediate gearing needs

Pro Tips and Common Mistakes

Resource Management

Weekly Limit Tracking

Gilded Crests

90 weekly maximum - track accumulation

Runed Crests

Monitor for Hero Track upgrades

Activity Planning

Don't hit limits before week ends

Alt Coordination

Use warbound gear for cross-character progression
Distribute Undercoins strategically
Take advantage of account-wide seasonal journey progress

Time Investment

Focus on guaranteed upgrades over random chance activities
Look for activities that provide multiple benefits simultaneously
Balance individual progression with group content commitments

Avoid These Mistakes

Common Launch Week Errors

Grabbing Vault Rewards Too Early

The biggest mistake is claiming vault rewards before finishing weekly activities

AVOID

Pushing Too Hard in Mythic Plus

Attempting overly difficult keystones during launch week often backfires

AVOID

Wasting Catalyst Charges

Converting low item level gear wastes valuable catalyst charges

AVOID

Skipping Timewalking

The incredible reward-to-effort ratio makes participation almost mandatory

AVOID

Wrapping Up Your Week

Final Vault Decisions

After completing all your weekly activities, return to your Great Vault for final reward selection. Use these priorities:

Selection Priority Order

Myth Track Gear

→

Tier Pieces

→

Hero Track Items

→

Biggest Power Gain

Prioritize Myth Track gear for slots without better alternatives, then Hero Track tier pieces for set bonuses.

Next Week Preparation

Plan follow-up activities based on gear acquired
Identify remaining tier set requirements
Evaluate readiness for higher Mythic Plus levels
Assess guild raid progression needs

Long-term Success

Launch week sets your foundation for the entire season. These strategies provide immediate power while positioning your character for continued advancement through:

Immediate Benefits

Enhanced Mythic Plus capabilities
Improved raid performance
Access to advanced seasonal features
Efficient resource accumulation

Season-Long Impact

Strong foundation for progression
Resource management skills
Understanding of seasonal systems
Competitive advantage maintenance

Success in launch week creates momentum for the whole season. Strategic execution during this crucial period matters for both individual achievement and group content contribution

Adapt to Your Situation

Adapt these strategies based on your available playtime, group coordination, and individual goals. The key is maximizing guaranteed upgrade sources while minimizing dependence on random chance during your most important advancement period.