The Ultimate Guide to Delves in WOW Midnight Expansion
Delves represent one of the most player-friendly endgame features introduced in The War Within and expanded significantly in the Midnight expansion. These are compact, instanced adventures designed primarily for solo play but scalable for groups of up to five players. Each Delve runs about 10 to 20 minutes, blending exploration, light puzzle-solving, combat objectives like rescues or boss kills, and rewarding treasure hunts. There are no strict timers, making them accessible for casual players, while higher tiers challenge even seasoned veterans.
Delves take place across zones in Khaz Algar and, with Midnight, extend into the ethereal-touched landscapes of Quel’Thalas. They scale through 11 difficulty tiers, offering gear comparable to Heroic raids or Mythic+ dungeons at the top end. Importantly, completing Delves counts toward your weekly Great Vault—two completions unlock the first tier, four the second, and eight the third, with a hard cap of eight Tier 8 runs per week for Hero-track rewards. Seasonal affixes, such as roaming Nemesis bosses, keep the experience fresh.
In the Midnight Expansion, it is unlikely to see a major overhaul of delves as Blizzard Developer Ion Hazzikostas, stated “The Midnight Delves system was being built alongside The War Within Season 3, so most of the changes they wanted to see are already there” in an interview.
How to Unlock Delves
Getting started with Delves is straightforward once you’ve hit the endgame. Begin by progressing through The War Within’s main campaign storyline, which introduces the mechanic via a tutorial Delve on the Isle of Dorn. Once you reach level 80 and earn the “War Within Delves: Endgame” achievement by completing the Main Story Line Campaign, higher tiers (4 and above) become available.
In the Midnight expansion, 11 brand-new Delves await across Quel’Thalas—10 standard ones plus a dedicated Nemesis challenge instance. Many of these integrate directly into the Midnight campaign, serving as narrative gateways that teach new mechanics and story beats.
For enhanced rewards, look into Bountiful Delves, which rotate daily. Unlock this feature by picking up the “Bountiful Delves” quest from your Delver’s Journal in Dornogal once you’re level 80. Then every day you have 1 delve that will show up on your map as a Bountiful Delve that will give you a Delver’s bounty. You can queue for any Delve via the Group Finder or head straight to Delver’s Headquarters in Dornogal. There, configure your companion in the Journeys tab of the updated Adventure Guide.
Gear Drops and Progression
Although the gear level for the Delve tiers has not yet been released, we do have some information on what the gear levels will be. They are using the same kind of upgrade system and gear scaling, but simplifying it a bit. For Delves, this means that the gear drops will be scaled as well.
Tiers1-5: Veteran
Tiers 7-10: Champion
Tier 11: Hero
Exactly what this means for item level, we will have to see when Midnight releases because they are implementing another squish.
The War Within Delves Season 3 Gear:
Gear from Delves scales directly with the tier you complete, peaking at Tier 8 for the best consistent drops—item levels in the 655 to 694 range, equivalent to Heroic raid or mid-level Mythic+ in Season 3 terms.
The final boss chest uses personal loot, spitting out class-appropriate armor, weapons, or trinkets tailored to your spec. Bountiful Delves sweeten the deal with an extra Bountiful Coffer, but you’ll need a Restored Coffer Key (crafted from 100 Restored Shards gathered from world quests and events) to open it. These coffers often contain upgraded gear, Radiant Echoes for further enhancements, and rare Curios.
Your Great Vault benefits hugely: rack up completions for rewards up to Mythic+15 item levels. Push into Tier 8 or higher for chances at hidden caches via Delver’s Bounty drops, which can yield even loftier item levels. Focus on Bountiful Tier 8 runs for optimal progression—Tiers 9 through 11 are achievement-focused and don’t improve gear further.
Delve Currencies and What to Do With Them
Delves shower you with several currencies, each serving distinct purposes.
Undercoins are the workhorse, earned from treasure chests, rare mob kills, and respawnable Mislaid Curiosities bags that also grant experience. Spend them at vendors for gear tokens, cosmetic items, mounts, and more.
Resonance Crystals or Valorstones come from completing objectives and opening chests; trade these to quartermasters like those from the Algari Expedition in Dornogal for transmog sets or gear upgrades. Valorstones are being done away with in Midnight.
Restored Coffer Keys, as mentioned, require 100 Restored Shards to craft and unlock those juicy Bountiful chests.
Titan Disc Fragments appear in weekly quests tied to rare chests, exchangeable for bonus perks.
Radiant Echoes, exclusive to Bountiful runs, fuel upgrades and Curio acquisitions. Your first Delve of the day always grants bonus companion experience, so prioritize it.
Companions in the Midnight Expansion
Valeera Sanguinar- New Companion for Delves
Midnight swaps out the familiar Brann Bronzebeard for the sly blood elf rogue, Valeera Sanguinar. She levels up to 25 or beyond through Delve experience gains—prioritize Bountiful runs after hitting level 15 for faster progress. Valeera flexes between Damage (pure DPS) and Healer roles, switchable at the Explorers’ League Supplies station at the Delve’s start or after a wipe. As you progress, she unlocks new abilities and ties into the storyline with rogue-themed stealth mechanics and targeted buffs.
Equip her with one combat Curio and one utility Curio, sourced randomly from high-tier chests. Upgrade them to rank 4 by finding higher-quality versions in tougher content. These are seasonal, so examples like the Ethereal Energy Converter (which taunts and heals on low health) rotate out.
After each Delve, a gnomish copter whisks you away. If you’re still in War Within Season 3 content pre-Midnight, Brann sticks around with the original mechanics.
Vendors and Where to Spend
All the action hubs at Delver’s Headquarters in Dornogal. Sir Finley Mrrgglton handles gear, trinkets, and tokens in exchange for Undercoins or Resonance Crystals. Reno Jackson is your go-to for cosmetics, mounts like customizable Delver’s Dirigibles, and transmogs—note that post-season, prior rewards cost more Crystals. Unlock a specialized Delve Trinket Vendor through Delver’s Journey progression. Quartermasters scattered around, such as the Algari Expedition reps, round out the options for armor and visuals.
Special Rare Drops Worth Farming in Season 3
Delver’s Mana-Skimmer
Farming Delves pays off big for collectors. Mounts include the Delver’s Mana-Skimmer from Season 3 with customization options via Delver’s Journey achievements, or the full Delver’s Dirigible unlocked through Bountiful quests and upgrades. Solo the Nemesis challenge on “Let Me Solo Her” difficulty for a rare purple variant. Curios drop as epics from high-tier or Bountiful runs, offering damage amps or utility boosts.
Flickergates are new to Season 3 and can be found throughout the Delves. They have a chance to reward you with Undercoin and companion experience. But they also have a chance to summon this season's Nemesis.
The Nemesis boss, Nexus-Princess Ky’veza in Season 3, drops unique schematics like Hyperdrive mount modifications, plus achievements and eerie ghost sightings or tombstones. Find Flickergates through the delves for a chance to summon nemesis bosses and use your Reshii Wraps to unlock secret rooms with bonus bosses, yielding extra Undercoins and experience. Bountiful Heavy Trunks, rotating daily, cough up Titan Fragments and piles of currency.
The new Delve Season introduces a unique challenge that you and your NPC companion must tackle by completing delves and confronting the Delve Nemesis. By completing the Season Objectives, you'll earn exclusive rewards like Achievements, a Title, and a mount skin for the Delver's Mana-Skimmer.
Throughout your seasonal adventure, you'll also collect schematics, a toy, catch-up gear, and more!
This season's story begins with someone's mischievous act of stealing Brann's clothes and placing a bounty on both you and your companion. Your mission is to recover Brann's clothes and face off against this season's Delve Nemesis, Nexus-Princess Ky'veza. To start your quest, make your way to the Delver's Headquarters in Dornogal. There, Brann Bronzebeard has several quests to set you on your path.
Ethereal Delves
Meet Brann in Dornogal.Seasonal Reminder
Learn about Season 3 of Delves from the Delver's Documents, then purchase supplies from Reno Jackson and Sir Finley Mrrgglton.Repossessed!
Recover Brann's lost gear.Defeating Ky'veza
Track down and defeat Nexus-Princess Ky'veza on Tier 8.Additional Tips and Notes
Delves span over a dozen locations in Khaz Algar, with Midnight adding 11 more in Quel’Thalas. Season 3 introduced The Archival Assault in repurposed Azure Vaults on the Dragon Isles. Hazards and daily affixes vary, especially from Tier 4 up with seasonal twists like Nemesis Strongboxes—use checkpoint stones to save progress. Groups require matching tier access, but solo play with your companion is fully viable.
Gather herbs, ore, or other resources as you explore, and repair or sell junk at the supply stations. Track your overall progress in the Delver’s Journey for milestone rewards like campsite customizations. For those lingering in War Within Season 3 before Midnight launches, stick with Brann, the original zones, and Ky’veza as Nemesis. Patch 11.2 brings ethereal disturbances and player ghost mechanics for extra flair.
Delves are all about flexible, rewarding fun—dive in daily for that Bountiful boost, and you’ll be geared and mounted in no time.
Happy adventuring! Questions? Hit the comments.