WoW The War Within: Delves System Explained, What Is It & Complete Overview

One of the new features we get to see in the The War Within expansion pack of WoW is the Delves System. It is the new endgame content that players can look forward to and the developers have designed it to remain evergreen. You can either play it solo or with friends, it is all up to you. And you can obtain a lot of great rewards from it.

I give more information on how the Delves system works and what you can expect from it in this guide.

Complete Overview of the Delves System

A Delve is basically a short form instanced scenario which can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to complete. You can play it solo or in a group of 2 to 5 players. The maps will remain the same and there will be a boss at the end of each Delve.

The Delves themselves have no time restrictions and you can complete as many Delves you want. This system is heavily inspired by the Torghast system of the Shadowlands.

Delve Companion

On each of your Delves, you will be accompanied by an NPC companion who will help you out. The companion will be changed every season. For the 1st season of The War Within, Brann Bronzebeard will serve as the Delve companion.

Depending on what you prefer, Brann can serve as Healer or Damage Dealer. You can change the Combat Role, Combat Curio and Utility Curio for Brann through the new Delves tab.

You can do this anytime outside the Delves. But if you want to do this inside a Delve then you can do so through the Explorers’ League Supplies crates which you can find throughout the Delves.

Your Delve companion can also level up by gaining experience which will unlock new abilities. Experience is gained through various ways when playing in the Delves with the major ones mentioned below:

• Defeating mobs inside the Delves.
• Completing Delves.
• Picking certain items from the ground.

Your Delve companion level is shared among your Warband. If you are playing in a group then the Delve companion of the group leader will be selected.

Tiers

Tiers are the difficulty levels of the Delves. A total of 11 tiers will be available in season 1 of The War Within. However, only tiers 1 to 3 will be available before the start of the season.

You can select the tier you want from the drop-down menu when you are about to enter a Delve. Hovering your mouse over a tier will show its recommended item level. You can get the maximum level gear from tier 8. While tier 9 – 11 can be played for getting achievements.

Unlocking Tiers

To unlock the next tier, you have to complete the previous tier with revives remaining. The tiers you unlock will be shared among the different Delves.

If you are playing in a group then the highest tier level unlocked for all the group members will only be available. For example, if two members out three have tier 9 unlocked but the third member has only tier 7 unlocked then the entire group can only play tier 7.

Delve Locations

A total of 12 normal Delves and 1 special Delve will be available to play. Each of the normal delves will have 3 different versions with The Underkeep being an exception as it has 4 different versions. The special delve is the Zekvir’s Lair which is a bit different and the hardest of all of them. You can find all the Delve locations below:

Delver’s Journey

Delver’s Journey is the main seasonal progression system for the Delves. You can progress in the Delver’s Journey by completing weekly quests and Delves.

You can get various kinds of rewards from it on reaching certain milestones. These rewards also include upgrades for your Delver’s Dirigible mount. You will also need to complete the Delver’s Journey in order to gain access to Zekvir’s Lair.

Rewards

You can get a lot different cosmetic items and gear from completing Delves. At the end of each Delve, you will enter a treasure room which will contain a treasure chest with various kinds of loot.

Bountiful Delves

Each day, some of the Delves will become bountiful and their icons on the world map will change. These Delves will be available for a limited time. They contain an extra treasure chest which offers much better gear than normal Delves. To open this chest, you will need a Restored Coffer Key.

It is best that you enter these delves at tier 8 or above so you can get the best gear available out there in the Delves.

Merchants

When playing Delves, you will get a lot of Undercoins. This is the main currency of the Delves. You can trade these Undercoins at the Delver’s HQ in Dornogal for various kinds of items. The waypoint for Delver’s HQ is “/way #2339 48 44“.

Delve Achievements

To keep this system evergreen, a dedicated category for Delves has also been added in the achievement section. Completing these achievements will grant you rewards.

Delve Mounts

Two special mounts are available to get in the Delves and they are as follow:

Delver’s Dirigible

You can get this mount at the early stages of your journey in the Delves through a quest. It is highly customizable. And you can get customization parts for it from various Delve related activities. Completing Zekvir’s Lair on solo will unlock a special full transformation theme for it called Void.

Ivory Goliathus

You can get the Ivory Goliathus mount by completing the “Glory of the Delver” achievement which further contains the following 10 achievements:

• War Within Delves: Tier 8
• Leave No Treasure Unfound
• I TAKE Candle!
• Spider Senses
• Leave No Treasure Unfound
• Delve Loremaster: War Within
• Sporesweeper
• Just Keep Swimming
• Daystormer
• Nemesis

And this was everything you needed to know to get fully familiar with the Delves system! If you still haven’t reached the new level cap then check out our tips for leveling up faster in The War Within.