Now that players have had access to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands for nearly four months, players are reaching the peak of the gear grind. While it is unclear when the next major patch of Shadowlands will arrive, players did receive a small patch of content on March 5th. The path was mostly technical updates, with the addition of a free mount for all players. But the most notable addition to the game was Valor Points.
This new currency will allow players to upgrade their Mythic gear all the way up to ilvl 220; or the equivalent to Heroic gear from Castle Nathria. It’s an easier way to get your gear up to snuff than doing Mythic+ dungeons with the hope of a drop that may be slightly higher than what they already have.
Valor points can be earned through one of two means; Callings and Mythic dungeons.
Completing a Rare Calling (complete X quests in Bastion, help Bastion, etc) will get a player 35 Valor, while completing an Epic Calling (Kill Dangerous foes in region Y, collect 150 embers from Torghast) reward the player with 50. If a player completes every single one, it’s an easy 245-300 Valor points a week.
In contrast, Mythic dungeons offer a flat 135 Valor points at any level of mythic, which makes completing them at low levels as valuable as beating them at higher levels.
Every item received from a Mythic dungeon is now ranked from 1 to 12, with the levels ranging from 184 to 220 in strength. If players complete a +4 Mythic dungeon, they will receive a Rank 4 piece of gear.
Wowhead lists the current upgrade costs as follows:
- 250 Valor - Shield, Offhand, Ring, Cloak, Bracer, Neck
- 400 Valor - Trinket, Belt, Shoulders, Gloves, Boots
- 475 Valor - Helm, Legs, Chest
- 500 Valor - One-Handed Agility Weapon
- 750 Valor - One-Handed Intellect Weapon
- 1000 Valor - Two-Handed Weapon
Each payment will upgrade the item up one rank, which averages 3-4 ilevels per purchase. Said gear can be upgraded by NPCs in Oribos or your covenant base.
What becomes difficult is reaching the higher levels. In order to get past rank 6 on any item, players must complete the corresponding Mythic Achievements. For example, if a player wants to upgrade an item to Rank 6 (ilevel 200), the player must have the Shadowlands Keystone Explorer: Season One achievement, which requires said player to complete all dungeons at Mythic Keystone level 5+ or higher. Upgrading above Rank 8 requires a completion of all dungeons above Keystone level 10, and upgrading above rank 10 requires the player to complete said dungeons above Keystone level 15. Thankfully these achievements are account-wide, which means that if you complete all Mythic dungeons on Keystone 15 on your man, then your alts will be able to make the accompanying rank upgrades over time.
What’s the Best Way to use Valor Points?
If you’re already playing through Mythic content on your main, then getting those achievements is imperative to acquire the relevant gear. The callings are a solid choice to rely on, in part because they partner well with the grind for anima as well as reputation (assuming you have not finished that.) That said, Valor points will not exponentially speed up the ilevel gearing process. Players will still be better off relying on PvP and raid content to get that gear. But if Mythic dungeons are your preference, then this is a reliable and insightful tool for helping you get your character above.
It also helps if you have friends who are either A) higher than you in ilevel or B) are willing to partner up for that leveling experience.
