World of Warcraft: The War Within added lots of content to the game, but one of the most exciting features would be Delves. Delves are a new activity that scales from one to five players, and they are designed to not take a large chunk of time like a raid would.
One of the best things about Delves is that they have numerous tiers of difficulty. As a result, players can make the Delve as easy or as hard as they want it to be. There are 11 Tiers in total, and while not all of them are available before the start of a Season, here is how to unlock all the Delve tiers and what the recommended level of gear is for them.
Updated on March 4, 2025, by Paul Woodward: With the launch of the second season of World of Warcraft: The War Within, Delves have gotten a significant update. Not only has the item level gone up across all tiers, but the loot has been improved as well. Delve tiers have also been adjusted so that later tiers do not necessarily require gear that can only be acquired from Mythic dungeons or raids, which means it will be somewhat easier to get beyond Tier 9 for players who do Delves as their endgame exclusively.
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How to Unlock Tier 1 - 3
Of all the Delve tiers, the first three are the easiest. You have unlimited revives in the first three tiers, so no matter how many times you die you will eventually beat the Delve as long as you are persistent enough and learn from your mistakes. These are the recommended item levels for each Tier.
- Tier 1: 587+
- Tier 2: 590+
- Tier 3: 593+
- Tier 4: 597+
As you go higher in Tiers, enemies will have more health and will deal more damage. While you are under level cap, higher tiers will reward you with more EXP. You start out with Tier 1 unlocked, and once you complete it you will unlock Tier 2. When you complete a Delve on Tier 3, all you will get is an achievement. Tier 4 is considered the start of endgame content for Delves, and as such has unique unlock criteria.
How to Unlock Tier 4
In order to unlock Tier 4, you must first reach Level 80 and complete the campaign. This does not include the Level 80 campaign that you unlock by reaching Rank 4 with all Khaz Algar factions. Even once you've unlocked Tier 4, you will want to make sure your gear is as good as it can be as the recommended item level is 597+. While Tier 3 can be challenging, Tier 4 is where Delves really start to get difficult.
Not only will enemies be doing increased damage, but now you will have to contend with the influence of the current Seasonal nemesis. For Season 2, you will encounter the Underpin's minions throughout the Delve. The higher the tier, the more groups of minions you will encounter.
How to Unlock Tier 5 - 11
The process of unlocking Tier 5 through 11 is the same as the earlier Tiers. The only difference is that these later tiers will be much more difficult. You will also need to pay attention to what the recommended item level is, as it does have a noticeable increase with each tier. For example, Tier 5 is recommended for 606+ while Tier 6 is 613+. Higher Tiers mean better loot. During the first Season of The War Within, doing anything past Tier 8 was for nothing more than bragging rights. Now, it is a good source of crests for upgrading gear.
It is important to note that once a new season begins, you will have to unlock Tier 5 - 11 all over again. Delves do not need to be Bountiful to unlock the next tier, but you should make sure to have lives left when you complete the Delve.
World of Warcraft: The War Within
- Released
- August 26, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Base Game
- World of Warcraft
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
- Franchise
- Warcraft
- Platform(s)
- PC
