Blizzard is adjusting the knobs of World of Warcraft. Soon, the maximum item level will rise, increasing the power of player characters.
The start of Season 2 of Battle for Azeroth is approaching in World of Warcraft. With the release of the new raid “Battle of Dazar’Alor” on January 23, the item level of rewards from many sources will increase. The maximum item level of gear will also be raised.
In a lengthy forum post, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas explained how the transition from Season 1 to Season 2 will take place and what changes will occur in the various game content. We have summarized these changes for you.
Changes to the Warfronts: The new Warfront will be slightly harder but will also offer better rewards. It is important to note that these two changes will only take effect with the next Warfront that begins after January 23. For still “ongoing” attacks, the old values will remain.
- The rewards from the Darkshore Warfront will increase by 15 item levels. Both the one-time quest and the world boss (Ivus) will now drop loot with at least item level 400.
- All enemies in the Darkshore Warfront will be nearly 15% stronger.
- The required item level to participate in the Darkshore Warfront will rise from 320 to 335.
Changes to World Quests: There are only a few changes to World Quests. The item level of some rewards will be raised.
- Weapons and armors from emissary rewards now scale up to item level 385 based on the player’s item level. Previously, they only scaled up to item level 370.
Changes to Dungeons: There are a variety of changes for the instances. Players will now receive significantly better loot here but will also have to contend with tougher fights.
- The item level of rewards from max level (120) dungeons will increase by 30 points. This means that there are the following rewards from the corresponding difficulty:
- Normal: 340
- Heroic: 355
- Mythic (no keystone): 370
- The difficulty of Heroic and Mythic dungeons will increase by nearly 30%.
Changes to the Reward Box: The reward box for completing Mythic+ dungeons will also be changed. In the first week, you will receive a keystone from your box that is 3 levels lower than usual to compensate for the increased difficulty.
- Rewards from “Mythic+” dungeons will increase by 30 item levels. However, the first reward box in the week of January 23 will be capped at item level 385.
- The reward box for the following week has no cap. Upon completion of a “Mythic+10” dungeon, you will receive a reward with item level 410+.
These changes await in PvP: PvP players can look forward to better loot. However, they will also have to wait a week.
- Rated Battlegrounds will provide rewards that are 30 item levels higher than before, including those for Conquest points and the weekly box.
- The rewards at the end of a match are capped at 385 in the first week so that they do not overshadow other item sources.
Changes to Azerite Items: Azerite gear is becoming more exciting because it will receive new abilities. However, this only applies to new items acquired with the start of Season 2.
- The Azerite vendor now sells armor with item levels 400 and 415 for Titan Residuum.
- Newly acquired Azerite items from item level 370 now have a fifth ring with additional talents.
- The Heart of Azeroth will be favored again by “Artifact Knowledge.” The necessary artifact power costs for a level-up will decrease by 30% each week (for a total of 10 weeks).
Anyone interested in all the changes in detail can find the original English post in our sources.
What do you think of these adjustments? Is it a good thing that the item level is increasing so much? Or does it devalue the previous playtime?
