What is Turbo Boost?
Turbo Boost returns for The War Within Season 3 as a limited-time catch-up event that speeds up character progression and makes gearing less painful for your entire Warband. First introduced in TWW Season 2, the event adds meaningful upgrades to existing systems while giving you a new currency that lets you buy specific pieces of gear instead of hoping for lucky drops.
The event works well for players at all progression levels. If you're pushing high-end content or just trying to gear up alts, Turbo Boost removes several annoying friction points from Season 3 gearing. You'll get extended upgrade tracks, account-wide currencies, and a way to grab that one trinket you've been chasing for weeks.
This guide covers everything you need to know about getting the most out of Turbo Boost, including how to earn and spend Puzzling Cartel Chips, what gear you can buy, and how Delves and Professions have been buffed for the event.
Event Timeline
Turbo Boost features roll out in two phases:
Phase One (October 7th, 2025)
- Hero and Myth upgrade tracks extend by 2 additional levels (from 6 to 8 total)
- Augmented Crafted Gear becomes available through the new Augmentation Matrix system
Phase Two (October 21st, 2025)
- Puzzling Cartel Chips become earnable and spendable
- Warband Loot drop rates from Mythic+ dungeons double
- Catalyst charges (Ethereal Voidsplinters) start dropping from Mythic+ dungeons, Manaforge Omega, Delves, and Rated PvP
Knowing this rollout helps you plan ahead. You can start benefiting from extended upgrade tracks when the season launches, but you'll need to wait until the second phase before you can earn Puzzling Cartel Chips for targeted gear purchases.
Puzzling Cartel Chips Explained
The Basics
Puzzling Cartel Chips are the new currency that lets you buy specific pieces of raid gear from Manaforge Omega or trinkets and weapons from the Season 3 Mythic+ dungeon pool. Instead of running the same boss twenty times hoping for a drop, you can just buy the item directly.
Each vendor item costs 3 Puzzling Cartel Chips, and you can earn up to 9 chips per character throughout the season.
How to Get Them
You earn Puzzling Cartel Chips through weekly quests in Dornogal, right outside the Great Vault building. Look for an ethereal scroll on the wall to the right of the entrance to pick up your quest.
Initial Quest ("Turbo-Boost: Trade Must Flow")
- Kill 4 Manaforge Omega bosses on Normal or higher, OR
- Complete 4 Mythic+ dungeons at any level
- Rewards 3 Puzzling Cartel Chips on first completion
Follow-up Quest ("Turbo-Boost: Infinite Growth")
- Becomes available after you finish the initial quest
- Same requirements (4 raid bosses or 4 Mythic+ dungeons)
- Rewards 1 Puzzling Cartel Chip per completion
- Available weekly until you hit the 9-chip cap per character
Your first week gets you 3 chips, and each week after that gives you 1 more until you've collected all 9 available on that character.
Vendor Locations
Two vendors sell gear for Puzzling Cartel Chips, both in Dornogal near the Great Vault:
- Fixer So'kir sells Heroic (Hero-track) gear
- Fixer So'tho sells Mythic (Myth-track) gear
Purchase Requirements
Not everything is available right away. The vendors check your character's accomplishments before letting you buy certain items:
Raid Gear
Hero-Track Raid Gear: You need at least one kill of the boss that drops the item on Normal difficulty or higher. If you want a Hero-track item from Loom'ithar, you'll need at least one Normal+ Loom'ithar kill under your belt.
Myth-Track Raid Gear: You need at least one Mythic kill of the boss that drops the item. Buying a Myth-track Astral Antenna (which drops from Loom'ithar) requires a Mythic Loom'ithar kill first.
Mythic+ Gear
The Mythic+ vendors only stock trinkets and weapons from the Season 3 dungeon rotation.
Hero-Track Dungeon Gear: No special requirements. If you have the chips, you can buy it.
Myth-Track Dungeon Gear: You need to have timed the dungeon where the item drops at Keystone Level 12 or higher. Buying a Myth-track Ceaseless Swarmgland from Ara-Kara means you need a timed +12 Ara-Kara on your record.
Manaforge Omega Raid Gear
Every item below costs 3 Puzzling Cartel Chips regardless of track.
Plexus Sentinel Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Overclocked Plexhammer | Intellect One-Handed Mace |
| Factory-Issue Plexhammer | Strength One-Handed Mace |
| Obliteration Beamglaive | Agility Two-Handed Polearm |
| Eradicating Arcanocore | Strength Trinket |
Loom'ithar Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Prodigious Gene Splicer | Agility One-Handed Dagger |
| Piercing Strandbow | Agility Bow |
| Ward of the Weaving-Beast | Strength/Intellect Shield |
| Astral Antenna | Primary Stat Trinket |
| Loom'ithar's Living Silk | Healer Trinket |
Soulbinder Naazindhri Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Unbound Training Claws | Agility One-Handed Fist Weapon |
| Voidglass Spire | Intellect Two-Handed Staff |
| Soulbinder's Embrace | Agility/Strength Trinket |
| Naazindhri's Mystic Lash | Intellect Trinket |
Forgeweaver Araz Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Marvel of Technomancy | Agility Two-Handed Staff |
| Photon Sabre Prime | Strength Two-Handed Sword |
| Iris of the Dark Beyond | Intellect Off-Hand |
| Araz's Ritual Forge | Critical Strike Trinket |
The Soul Hunters Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Collapsing Phaseblades | Agility One-Handed Warglaives |
| Event Horizon | Strength/Intellect Shield |
| Sigil of the Cosmic Hunt | Agility Trinket |
| Brand of Ceaseless Ire | Tank Trinket |
| Interloper's Silken Striders | Cloth Boots |
| Interloper's Chain Boots | Mail Boots |
| Interloper's Reinforced Sandals | Leather Boots |
| Interloper's Plated Sabatons | Plate Boots |
Fractillus Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Voidglass Kris | Intellect One-Handed Dagger |
| Lacerated Current Caster | Agility Crossbow |
| Fractillus' Last Breath | Intellect Off-Hand |
| Diamantine Voidcore | Caster Trinket |
| Unyielding Netherprism | Agility/Strength Trinket |
Nexus-King Salhadaar Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Vengeful Netherspike | Agility One-Handed Dagger |
| Voidglass Sovereign's Blade | Intellect One-Handed Sword |
| Oath-Breaker's Recompense | Strength One-Handed Axe |
| Maw of the Void | Agility/Strength/Critical Strike Two-Handed Mace |
| Perfidious Projector | Haste Trinket |
| Nexus-King's Command | Healer Trinket |
Dimensius Drops
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Ergospheric Cudgel | Agility One-Handed Mace |
| Supermassive Starcrusher | Strength Two-Handed Mace |
| Band of the Shattered Soul | Ring |
| All-Devouring Nucleus | Tank Trinket |
| Screams of a Forgotten Sky | Critical Strike Trinket |
Mythic+ Trinkets and Weapons
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Ceaseless Swarmgland | Agility/Strength Trinket |
| Harvester's Edict | Agility/Intellect Trinket |
| Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Haste Trinket |
| Arachnoid Soulcleaver | Intellect One-Handed Sword |
| Blight Hunter's Scalpelglaive | Agility One-Handed Warglaives |
| Harvester's Interdiction | Agility Two-Handed Staff |
Eco-Dome Al'dani
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Incorporeal Warpclaw | Agility/Strength Trinket |
| Lily of the Eternal Weave | Agility/Intellect Trinket |
| Azhiccaran Parapodia | Caster Haste Trinket |
| Soul-Scribe's Tabiqa Dagger | Intellect One-Handed Dagger |
| Mandibular Bonewhacker | Strength One-Handed Mace |
| Swarmite's Frenzied Pedicel | Intellect One-Handed Wand |
| Spellstrike Warplance | Agility Two-Handed Polearm |
| Taah'bat's Desert Carbine | Agility Gun |
Halls of Atonement
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Cursed Stone Idol | Agility/Strength Trinket |
| Sunblood Amethyst | Haste Trinket |
| Stoneguardian's Morningstar | Agility One-Handed Mace |
| Nathrian Ferula | Intellect Two-Handed Staff |
| Nathrian Tabernacle | Off-Hand |
| Package Protector | Intellect/Strength Shield |
Operation: Floodgate
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Darkfuse Medichopper | Healing Trinket |
| Gigazap's Zap-Cap | Intellect Trinket |
| Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker | Agility/Strength Trinket |
| Ringing Ritual Mud | Tank Trinket |
| Geezle's Coercive Volt-Ohmmeter | Agility One-Handed Dagger |
| Sonic Ka-BOOM!-erang | Agility One-Handed Warglaives |
| Gallytech Turbo-Tiller | Agility Two-Handed Polearm |
| Circuit Breaker | Strength Two-Handed Sword |
| Keeza's 'B.' B.B.B.F.G | Agility Gun |
Priory of the Sacred Flame
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Bursting Lightshard | Intellect Trinket |
| Signet of the Priory | Primary Stat Trinket |
| Tome of Light's Devotion | Tank Trinket |
| Starforged Seraph's Mace | Agility One-Handed Mace |
| Hand of Beledar | Intellect One-Handed Mace |
| Glorious Defender's Poleaxe | Agility Two-Handed Polearm |
| Emberbrand Zweihander | Strength Two-Handed Sword |
| Sanctified Priory Wall | Intellect/Strength Shield |
Tazavesh: Streets of Wonder
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Codex of the First Technique | Tank Trinket |
| First Class Healing Distributor | Healer Trinket |
| Miniscule Mailemental in an Envelope | Haste Trinket |
| Ticking Sack of Terror | Mastery Trinket |
| Fang of Alcruux | Agility One-Handed Dagger |
| Gluttonous Rondel | Intellect One-Handed Dagger |
| First Fist of the So Cartel | Agility One-Handed Fist Weapon |
| Interrogator's Flensing Blade | Agility One-Handed Sword |
| Blade of Grievous Harm | Strength One-Handed Sword |
| Yasahm the Riftbreaker | Agility Crossbow |
| Acoustically Alluring Censer | Off-Hand |
Tazavesh: So'leah's Gambit
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| So'leah's Secret Technique | Primary Stat Trinket |
| Fatebreaker, Destroyer of Futures | Agility One-Handed Mace |
| Timetwister Tulwar | Intellect One-Handed Sword |
| Event Horizon's Edge | Agility One-Handed Warglaives |
| Skyreaver, Greataxe of the Keepers | Strength Two-Handed Axe |
| Spire of Expurgation | Agility Two-Handed Staff |
| Staff of Fractured Spacetime | Intellect Two-Handed Staff |
The Dawnbreaker
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj | Agility/Intellect Trinket |
| Void Pactstone | Strength Trinket |
| Mereldar's Toll | Intellect Trinket |
| Parson's Ornamented Blade | Agility One-Handed Dagger |
| Black Shepherd's Guisarme | Agility Two-Handed Polearm |
| Recurved Hull Impaler | Crossbow |
| Overflowing Umbral Pail | Off-Hand |
Extended Upgrade Tracks
One of the biggest changes during Turbo Boost is the extension of Hero and Myth upgrade tracks from 6 levels to 8 levels. This applies to all gear on these tracks, including items you buy from the Puzzling Cartel Chip vendors.
What This Means
Previously, Hero-track and Myth-track items capped out at 6/6 upgrades. With Turbo Boost active, you can push these items to 8/8, squeezing extra item levels and stats out of gear you've already invested in.
The Catch
Those extended upgrade levels aren't free. You still need to earn the appropriate currencies (Valorstones and Ethereal Crests) to buy each upgrade level. The event just raises the ceiling on how far you can push this gear, giving you more power if you're willing to put in the resources.
Currency System Changes
Turbo Boost brings two major changes to upgrade currencies that make gearing your whole Warband much smoother:
Warbound Valorstones
Valorstones now have the Warbound tag, so you can transfer them between characters in your Warband. This helps a lot if your main generates more Valorstones than it needs while your alts struggle to keep up with upgrade costs.
There's a 25% tax when transferring, meaning you only receive 75% of what you send. Even with this cost, the flexibility to move resources around your roster makes alt gearing significantly easier.
No More Crest Caps
Weekly caps on Ethereal Crests are gone entirely during Turbo Boost. Dedicated players can farm as many crests as they have time for without hitting arbitrary weekly limits.
Combined with extended upgrade tracks, uncapped crests let you push your gear to maximum levels much faster than normal.
Delve Improvements
Delves get several solid buffs during Turbo Boost, making them more rewarding for progression and alt gearing alike:
Faster Delver's Journey Progress
The amount of Delver's Journey progress you earn per week goes up significantly across multiple Delve sources. You'll advance through Journey ranks faster, unlocking rewards and quality-of-life improvements sooner than usual.
Brann Bronzebeard also gains experience faster during the event if you're still working on leveling him up.
More Currency and Crests
You'll earn more Valorstones from Delve activities, and crest drop rates increase across all Delve tiers. This makes Delves more competitive with other content for currency farming.
Champion-Track Warbound Gear
Delves at Tier 9 and above now have a chance to drop Champion 1/8 Warbound gear. Since Warbound gear can be equipped by any character in your Warband, high-tier Delves become an excellent source of alt gear.
Hero-Track Delve Trinkets
Once you hit Rank 3 in the Delver's Journey, Bountiful Coffers at Tier 9 and above can drop Untainted Mana-Crystals. You can spend these crystals on Hero-track (Item Level 694) Delve trinkets from the vendor Zah'ran.
Better Rewards Overall
You'll get more loot from Bountiful Coffers, Hidden Troves, Nemesis Strongboxes, and end-of-run chests.
Profession and Crafted Gear Updates
Turbo Boost buffs the crafted gear system, letting items made with Spark of Starlight reach higher item levels through Augmentation Matrices.
How Augmentation Matrices Work
Items crafted with a Spark of Starlight can be recrafted with an Augmentation Matrix as an optional reagent. This pushes the item beyond its normal maximum item level.
Two types are available:
| Matrix Type | Item Level Boost | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Runed Augmentation Matrix | +3 item levels | 15 Runed Ethereal Crests |
| Gilded Augmentation Matrix | +6 item levels | 30 Gilded Ethereal Crests |
Where to Buy Them
Both Augmentation Matrices are sold by two vendors in Dornogal:
- Llande (Enchanting vendor)
- Syenite (in the Crafting Order area)
Applying an Augmentation Matrix
To add an Augmentation Matrix to your crafted gear:
- The item must have been originally crafted with a Spark of Starlight
- You need to recraft the item through the crafting order system
- A new Optional Reagent slot will appear for the Augmentation Matrix
- Complete the recraft to get the bonus item levels
You can't just apply the matrix directly. You have to go through the full recrafting process, which may require additional materials depending on the item.
Catalyst Charges from New Sources
New for Season 3 Turbo Boost, Catalyst charges (Ethereal Voidsplinters) now drop from:
- Mythic+ dungeons
- Manaforge Omega raid
- Delves
- Rated PvP
Previously these charges came from limited sources, but now you can get them through whatever content you prefer. Use Catalyst charges to convert gear pieces into tier set items, helping you complete your 4-piece bonus or grab specific transmog appearances from Season 3 tier sets.
Better Warband Gear Drop Rates
After October 21st, Warband-Until-Equipped gear drops from Mythic+ dungeons at double the normal rate. This gear can be traded to or equipped by any character in your Warband, making it much easier to funnel pieces to alts or fill specific slots on characters that need them.
This change works well alongside Warbound Valorstones, creating a solid alt-gearing ecosystem where both gear and upgrade currencies flow more freely across your roster.
Recommended Progression Strategy
To get the most out of Turbo Boost, here's a solid approach:
Week One Priorities
- Finish the initial Puzzling Cartel Chip quest for 3 chips right away
- Start working toward boss kills and +12 timed dungeons to unlock the Myth-track vendor purchases you want
- Push key pieces to 7/8 and 8/8 upgrades while the extended tracks are available
- If your main is well-geared, start sending Valorstones to alts that need them
Weekly Routine
- Complete the Turbo-Boost weekly quest for 1 chip each week
- Run Delves at Tier 9+ for Champion-track Warbound gear and Delve trinket currency
- Farm crests freely since there are no caps to worry about
- Run Mythic+ for doubled Warband gear drops to fuel alt progression
Spending Your Chips Wisely
With only 9 chips per character (enough for 3 items), choose carefully:
- Prioritize items that are hard to get through normal play, like low drop rate pieces or items locked behind specific boss kills
- Trinkets and weapons tend to have high stat budgets, making them strong choices
- If you're progressing Mythic raid, consider saving chips until you unlock Myth-track purchases for specific bosses
- Check class-specific recommendations for your spec to figure out which items give you the biggest power gains
Wrapping Up
Turbo Boost reshapes Season 3 gearing by giving you deterministic loot through Puzzling Cartel Chips, more upgrade potential through extended Hero and Myth tracks, and smoother Warband progression through Warbound Valorstones and doubled gear drop rates.
For players pushing cutting-edge content or catching up on alts, all these systems work together to speed up your power gains while cutting down on pure RNG. Plan your progression around vendor unlock requirements, spend your limited chips on the right items, and make full use of the buffed Delve and currency systems to get your characters where they need to be for The War Within Season 3.