A new War Within season drops with a fresh raid, a rotated Mythic+ dungeon pool, a crest reset, and a recalibrated gear progression. The first week is where you either set yourself up for a smooth tier or spend three weeks playing catch-up. Here is the exact order of operations to follow on patch day and through the first reset, with the specific systems that matter most.
Day 1: hit the new gear floor before anything else
Every War Within season resets the catch-up baseline. Your first goal is not the raid or high keys; it is getting your average item level into the season's entry band so the rest of the week's content actually rewards you. Practically, that means:
- The season intro chain / weekly quest. Each season Blizzard ships a short campaign step plus a "season journey" tab that hands you a guaranteed gear piece and unlocks the new zone activities. Do it first — it is the fastest item level per minute available.
- Heroic dungeons for slot-filling. Spam the Heroic rotation until no slot is more than a tier behind. Empty or badly under-leveled slots are what cap your keystone runs later, so even a mediocre Heroic drop in a weak slot beats a sidegrade in a strong one.
- World content with season currency. The overworld events and the weekly objective drop Veteran and Champion-track gear you upgrade later. Bank that currency from day one.
Do not chase perfect pieces yet. Week one is about removing weak links, not min-maxing.
The Great Vault: lock all three tracks before Tuesday reset
The Great Vault is the single most important weekly decision and most players underuse it. It gives three reward tracks — raid, Mythic+, and World — and each unlocks more choices the more activity you bank.
- Mythic+: run 1, 4, and 8 dungeons for one, two, and three vault options. Eight timed keys is a realistic week-one target if you have a group.
- Raid: kill 2, 4, and 6 bosses. Even six Normal kills on opening week gives you a third raid slot, and Normal-difficulty drops still upgrade an under-geared character.
- World: earn the season's delve/world currency thresholds for those three slots. Delves are the lowest-effort track — solo or duo a few tier 8+ Delves with a charged map and you fill the World column without touching a group.
Hitting 8 dungeons, 6 bosses, and the world cap in week one means nine vault options next Tuesday instead of three. That single habit outpaces any amount of extra farming.
Crests and the upgrade economy: spend on your two worst slots
The War Within gear is split into upgrade tracks (Veteran, Champion, Hero, Myth), and you advance them by spending crests — Weathered, Carved, Runed, and Gilded depending on the track. Week one you will be crest-starved, so prioritize ruthlessly:
- Upgrade your two lowest item-level slots first, not your weapon-of-pride. Average item level gates the keys and difficulties you can join, and the breakpoints reward overall ilvl, not one shiny piece.
- Note the weekly crest caps. Higher-tier crests are capped per week and accumulate, so you cannot binge them — another reason consistent week-one activity compounds.
- Don't waste crests on a slot you'll replace. If raid or a +10 is likely to hand you a Hero-track piece in that slot this week, hold the crests.
Mythic+ opening week: bank your key, learn the new dungeon
The dungeon pool rotates each season, so even veterans are relearning routes. On opening week:
- Run the new-to-the-pool dungeon on a low key first to learn pulls and the seasonal affix before it costs you a timer.
- Get a key in your bag early so you are never stuck pugging into someone else's depleted run.
- Aim for a +8 or higher by week's end — that is the current breakpoint where Mythic+ vault and end-of-run rewards reach Hero track. Below it you are leaving item level on the table.
If you are a returning player who logged in three weeks late and everyone is already running +12s, this is the one honest place a Mythic+ carry or a gearing run is a sensible time-for-money trade: it skips the awkward gap where your item level is too low to get invited but you need invites to raise it. If you are on time and have a group, just play it out — the catch-up curve is generous in the first fortnight.
Gold and consumables: stock before prices spike
Raid week sends the price of flasks, combat potions, augment runes, and primary-stat food through the roof. Two moves pay off:
- Buy or craft your raid-night consumables before Wednesday. Auction House prices for top-tier flasks and the season's augment rune routinely double in the first 48 hours.
- Sort your enchants and gems early. Fully enchanting and socketing even Champion-track gear is cheap insurance and is required to get into most pug groups above +7.
If your gold is thin and you would otherwise grind old content for a week instead of progressing, a one-time gold top-up to cover a full raid tier of consumables and enchants is a reasonable shortcut — it buys playtime, not power. But if you enjoy the gold game or already have a stockpile, skip it; consumable costs settle within two weeks as supply catches up.
The realistic week-one finish line
By next reset you want: every slot filled to at least Champion track, two-to-three lowest slots crest-upgraded, all three Vault rows maxed, the new dungeon learned with a key banked, and a stack of raid consumables ready. Hit that and you are ahead of the curve without burning yourself out — which matters far more in a months-long season than any single opening-night sprint.