Delves Guide for the War Within

Delves are bite-sized, role-agnostic, repayable world instances that allow you to engage in quick yet rewarding adventures. Delves can be experienced solo or in a group of up to 5 players alongside a customizable NPC companion. In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about Delves in the War Within.

Blizzard has improved the overall delve experience in Patch 11.1.0. We have summarized the most notable changes below.

• Three new delves have been added in Patch 11.1.0: Sidestreet Sluice, Excavation Site 9, and the new seasonal challenge The Underpin's Lair (replacing Zekvir).
• Some existing delves received new story variants.
• Difficulty levels of Tiers 9, 10, 11 have been lowered.
• More Runed Undermine Crest will drop in Tier 9-11 delves.
• Gilded Undermine Crest can be earned by completing Tier 11 delves with lives remaining.
• Restored Coffer Keys, Undercoins, and Resonant Crystals have reset.
• Blizzard has added a bad luck protection for Delver's Bounty.
• Bountiful Delve rotation has been improved.
• Nemesis Strongbox is a new affix available on Tier 4+ that lets you defeat waves Underpin's minions to upgrade the Nemesis Strongbox at the end of your run. The strongbox can be upgraded up to 4 times and contains mostly crafting materials.
• Blizzard has added new Elites inside delves that empower Brann in various ways when defeated.
• Curio containers have been added that offer some powers provided by Season 1 curios when opened.

Delves are short, 10-15 minute scenarios designed to fit into your gameplay schedule and contribute to your character's progression, as they provide credit toward the Great Vault rewards in the War Within.

Unlike dungeons and raids, Delves can be completed solo or with a group of up to 5 players. The flexibility combined with their role-agnostic nature makes Delves accessible to all types of players.

Delves are designed to be repayable, with varying levels of difficulty and rewards. The season companion can be customized to fit your playstyle, whether you need a healer, a damage dealer, or a support character. Delves have 11 Tiers of difficulty, providing a challenging experience for players of all skill levels.

When exploring Khaz Algar, you will find each delve marked on your Map with a unique cave icon, making it easier to locate them as you travel through the zones.

As you approach the icon on the Map, check your surroundings for cave openings, ruins, and other visual cues in the environment.

Khaz Algar contains a total of 15 delves as of Patch 11.1.0. There are 14 regular delves and a seasonal 15th delve where you must defeat The Underpin for seasonal rewards.

Isle of Dorn	The Ringing Deeps	Azj-Kahet	Hallowfall	Undermine
Earthcrawl Mines	The Waterworks	The Spiral Weave	Skittering Breach	The Underpin's Lair
Kriegval's Rest	The Dread Pit Excavation Site 9	Tak-Rethan Abyss	Nightfall Sanctum	Sidestreet Sluice
Fungal Folly	Deepwalker Hold	The Sinkhole
			Mycomancer Cavern

When you approach the entrance to a Delve, you will be greeted by a special User Interface window that provides important information to prepare you for your run.

At the top of the UI, the name of the Delve is displayed. Beneath it, you will find a dropdown menu that lets you select the Tier of difficulty. Higher tiers are more challenging but also give you better rewards.

The UI also provides a brief description of your main objectives in a Delve. For example, your task is to free miners from spider webs, kill Nerubians, and so forth. Make sure to read this before entering so you are aware of the primary goals.

On the right side, the UI lists the rewards you will receive upon completing the Delve. Rewards typically include Experience for your companion and the treasure room contains chests that you can open for gear, Resonant Crystals, Radiant Echo, Titan Disc Fragments, Valorstones, and Undercoin.

Brann will be your delve companion throughout The War Within expansion. You can choose a role and combine curios to tailor Your NPC companion comes with a fully customizable role, allowing you to tailor his abilities to best support your journey through the various Delves in Khaz Algar.

To make the most of Brann's abilities, check out our comprehensive guide to Brann Bronzebeard, where we dive deep into his Talent Tree, best curios to equip, and strategies for optimizing his performance in your delve adventures.

Bountiful Delves have glowing icons compared to regular Delves and offer increased rewards because they provide access to Bountiful Coffers found at the end of your run. These special chests can be opened with Restored Coffer Keys that you can get by collecting Coffer Key Shards from world activities and quests. A timer will be displayed indicating the remaining time before another Delve becomes Bountiful.

You should always prioritize completing Bountiful Delves over regular Delves to get better loot.

When you reach max level, you will receive the Bountiful Delves quest in Dornogal, which requires you to obtain a Restored Coffer Key and find a delve that offers a Bountiful Coffer.

While regular Delves only drop Item Level 594 gear that cannot be upgraded, Bountiful Delves offer better gear with increasing difficulty.

• Tiers 1-11 Regular Delves provide Item Level 593 Non-Upgradeable Gear;
• Tier 1 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 600 2/8 Explorer Gear;
• Tier 2 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 603 3/8 Explorer Gear;
• Tier 3 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 610 1/8 Adventurer Gear;
• Tier 4 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 616 3/8 Adventurer Gear;
• Tier 5 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 623 1/8 Veteran Gear;
• Tier 6 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 629 3/8 Veteran Gear;
• Tier 7 Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 636 1/8 Champion Gear;
• Tier 8+ Bountiful Delve offers Item Level 642 3/8 Champion Gear;

One of the significant benefits of running delves is the opportunity to earn endgame gear that contributes to your overall character progression. Not only do delves offer valuable loot, but they also grant credit towards unlocking rewards in the Great Vault, making them a very important part of your weekly activities.

For more details about the item level of gear found in the Great Vault, check out our separate guide.

Once per week in Season 2, you will loot Delver's Bounty, an item that guarantees a Hidden Trove at the end of your next run. Using the item resulted in Item Level 649 1/6 Hero gear in Tier 8 delves.

Delves are divided into 11 tiers of difficulty, with Tier 1 being the easiest and Tier 11 the most difficult.

When Patch 11.1.0 launches, players will have access to Tier 4+ Delves, but Delves will not be Bountiful and offer better loot until Season 2 starts on March 4. To unlock Tier 4+, your character must have the War Within Delves: Endgame achievement.

You do not need to unlock tiers for each delve separately. When you complete say Earthcrawl Mines Tier 7, Tier 8 will unlock for all Delves.

It is important to note that loot scales only up to Tier 8. Tiers 9-11 are for crests only and do not offer better loot.

The Delves UI at the beginning of the run provides you with the recommended item level for each Tier of difficulty.

• Tier 1: Recommended item level: 587+.
• Tier 2: Recommended item level: 590+.
• Tier 3: Recommended item level: 593+.
• Tier 4: Recommended item level: 597+.
• Tier 5: Recommended item level: 606+.
• Tier 6: Recommended item level: 613+.
• Tier 7: Recommended item level: 626+.
• Tier 8: Recommended item level: 639+.
• Tier 9: Recommended item level: 645+.
• Tier 10: Recommended item level 652+.
• Tier 11: Recommended item level 658+.

Delves feature various mechanics that improve the depth and complexity of each run. Below are key elements you will encounter during your runs.

Nemesis Strongbox: The Underpin's allies are wandering about the delve. Defeating a group of these enemies upgrades the Nemesis Strongbox found in the Treasure Room, providing additional rewards at the end of the delve. You can defeat up to 3-4 of these groups to upgrade the chest. The enemies carry the Underpin prefix in their names and often stand near piles of gold on the ground.

While Season 1 curios have been retired, you can gain some of the powers back inside delves by opening Curio containers. The following powers will be bestowed upon your character upon opening such containers:

• Massive Shards of Amorphous Relic; Upon entering combat, players gain Massive: Increases your size by 20%, maximum health by 10%, and damage and healing done by 6%.
• Miniature Shards of Amorphous Relic: Upon entering combat, players gain Miniature: Reudces your size by 20%, increases movement speed by 10%, and your Haste by 6%.
• Shards of the Not So Unbreakable Iron Idol: When any player's health falls below 40% health during combat, the idol awakens dealing moderate Physical damage to nearby enemies and taunting them for 6 sec. Can only occur every 2 min.
• Shard of Porcelain Arrowhead Idol: Brann's spells and abilities have a chance to weaken enemies, increasing the chance to critically strike them by 30% for 5 sec.

Nemesis Strongboxes mostly contain crafting materials.

Completing a Tier 11 Bountiful delve with lives remaining will grant you a Gilded Stash, which gives you 7 Gilded Undermine Crest. You can complete this up to 3 times for a total of 21 Gilded Undermine Crests from delves per week. You do not need Restored Coffer Keys to open them.

Here are some basics that apply to all delve runs.

At the beginning of each delve and at its checkpoint, you will find Explorers' League Supplies. This interactive object allows you to repair your gear or set up talents for your NPC Companion.

Most delves consist of 2-3 scenario-like objectives that must be completed before you can face the final boss. These objectives will change every time you enter a delve. There are multiple variations of objectives for each delve.

In one of the Earthcrawl Mines variants, you need to rescue Webbed Lamplighters and survive a Nerubian ambush.

Inside delves, you will come across Sturdy Chests hidden in various locations. These chests contain Companion Experience and Resonant Crystals.

Mislaid Curiosities are small bags found on the ground that contain Companion Experience.

Often, you will come across Rare Elites that grant you Torghast-like powers when defeated or other collectibles. These are completely optional, but the powers are great as they increase your likelihood of succeeding in a Delve, which is important when doing higher tiers.

The special powers are temporary and only last for the duration of the Delve.

In Season 2, Blizzard implemented new powers that empower Brann. Examples include:

• Prototype Heroism Cannister: In combat, Brann can break open a cannister that increases Haste by 8% for all party members. Lasts 15 sec.
• Shield Alert Version 0.76: Gain a shield when you fall beneath 50% health, reducing all damage taken by 90% for 5 sec. Can only happen once every 2 min.
• Silencing Potion: Brann can throw out a Silencing Potion. Running over it heals you and silences nearby enemies for 3 sec.

As you progress through delves, you will find checkpoints strategically placed close to the final objective before the boss encounter.

When you die, you will respawn at the checkpoint and not at the beginning of the delve. At these checkpoints, you can sell gear, adjust Brann's abilities, and repair your gear. Reaching the checkpoint will grant you +1 Revive.

When you enter a delve, you will notice a "Revives Remaining" counter in the Delve UI. The counter shows how many times you and your party members can die and respawn inside the same delve. Every time a player releases their spirit after death, one revive is subtracted from the total.

The number of revives remaining at the end of the delve directly impacts the quality of the rewards you receive at the end of your run, so it is very important to play cautiously.

• Tiers 1-3: No death limit.
• Tiers 4-8: 5 Revives.
• Tiers 9: 4 Revives.
• Tiers 10-11: 3 Revives.

When you lose all your revive in Tier + Bountiful Delve, you will not receive a Bountiful Chest at the end of it. It is recommended to zone out and start anew.

At the end of the delve, you must fight a boss to unlock the treasure room and reap rewards. The final boss will always be the same for each delve.

For each death while facing the final boss, you will receive a stack of Delver's Determination. It increases your health, damage dealt, and healing received by 5% per stack.

When you defeat the final boss, you will reach the Treasure Room, which consists of multiple loot chests.

Found only inside Bountiful Delves, Bountiful Coffer is an epic chest that contains the best loot. It requires Restored Coffer Keys to open. It also has a chance to provide you with Radiant Echo for the Worldsoul Memory event, and other rewards.

The rare chest contains Titan Disc Fragments for the weekly quest. You will also receive Undercoins, Valorstones and Companion Curios.

Completing Bountiful Delves in The War Within Season 2 grants credit toward a progression system called Delver's Journey. Upon reaching certain milestones, you will unlock additional customization options for the Delver's Dirigible mount and other rewards.

Check out our Delver's Journey guide for more information about this season's rewards!

Delver's Headquarters is located in central Dornogal. Brann Bronzebeard has a base set up here, which serves as the main Delves hub and vendor location in the expansion.

To learn more about the Delver's Headquarters and the vendors you will find there, check out our dedicated guide linked below.

Every once in a while, you will receive a quest from Brann Bronzebeard at the Delver's Headquarters that offers 1 Pinnacle Cache, a weekly cache containing materials for upgrading, gear, gold, and more. To earn the cache, you must complete 2 Tier 6+ Delves. Keep in mind this quest is on rotation with other weekly quests and will not be available every week.

Delver's Gob-Trotter is the seasonal delve mount in The War Within Season 2 that you can customize in various ways. Check out our separate guide to learn more on how to unlock and customize it!

Every once in a while, there will be a world event active for one week tied to delves! For the whole week, the Sign of the Explorer buff will grant you +25% increase to Delver's Journey gains, 25% Brann XP gains, and 25% Undercoin gains.

The weekly quest offered by Archivist Frithrun in Dornogal is called A Call to Delves and requires you to complete 5 delves for 1 piece of Item Level 636 Champion 1/8 gear.

Curious to learn more about the Season 2 delve rewards? Check them out in our guide!