The Great Vault in World of Warcraft: Midnight has undergone substantial revisions for Season 1 that change how players earn weekly rewards from raiding, Mythic+ dungeons, and PvP combat. The updated Vault system offers more flexible reward choices, improved item level scaling, and the integration of Crest upgrade currencies that allow players to enhance their Vault selections beyond the base item levels provided by their weekly activity completion. Understanding how the new Great Vault works is essential for maximizing your weekly gear progression and ensuring that you are engaging with the content types that provide the most valuable Vault rewards for your character’s specific gearing needs.
Great Vault Structure and Reward Slots
The Midnight Great Vault maintains the three-slot structure introduced in recent expansions, with one slot dedicated to raid progression, one to Mythic+ dungeon completion, and one to PvP activity. Each slot offers three reward tiers based on the quantity or difficulty of content completed during the weekly reset period, and players may choose one reward from the highest tier they have unlocked. This structure encourages players to engage meaningfully with their preferred content type each week while providing flexibility for players who participate in multiple content types to choose the reward that best fits their current gearing gaps.
| Content Type | Reward 1 (Tier 1) | Reward 2 (Tier 2) | Reward 3 (Tier 3 — Maximum) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raid (March on Quel’Danas) | Defeat 2 of 6+ bosses | Defeat 4 of 6+ bosses | Defeat all bosses (full clear) |
| Mythic+ Dungeons | Complete 4 dungeons | Complete 8 dungeons | Complete 12 dungeons |
| PvP | Earn 2,500 Honor | Earn 5,000 Honor + 25 Conquest | Earn 7,500 Honor + 50 Conquest |
The item level of Great Vault rewards scales with both the difficulty of the content completed and the Crest upgrade tier associated with that content. Raid Vault rewards scale with raid difficulty (LFR, Normal, Heroic, Mythic), with higher difficulty raid clears providing proportionally higher item level Vault selections. Mythic+ Vault rewards scale with the highest key level completed during the week, with +10 through +15 keys providing Heroic-tier item levels and +16 and above keys providing Mythic-tier item levels. PvP Vault rewards scale with your current PvP rating bracket, with higher ratings providing access to higher item level selections from the Vault.
Crest Integration and Gear Upgrade System
The most significant change to the Great Vault in Midnight is the integration of the Crest upgrade currency system, which allows players to upgrade their Vault-selected gear beyond the base item level provided by the Vault reward tier. Crests are earned alongside gear from all content types — raid boss kills, Mythic+ dungeon completions, and PvP victories — and can be spent at the Vault vendor to upgrade any Vault-selected item through multiple upgrade tiers, each providing a meaningful item level increase.
The Crest tier structure follows a progressive hierarchy where lower-tier Crests upgrade gear to intermediate item levels and higher-tier Crests upgrade gear to the maximum possible item level for that gear slot. Players earn lower-tier Crests from easier content and higher-tier Crests from more challenging content, creating a natural progression path where weekly Vault rewards provide the base gear items and subsequent Crest earning allows those items to be upgraded to competitive end-game levels over multiple weeks of consistent play.
- Wyrm’s Crest: Lowest tier, earned from Normal raid, Mythic +7-10 dungeons, and casual PvP; upgrades gear to Item Level 259-265
- Dragon’s Crest: Middle tier, earned from Heroic raid, Mythic +11-14 dungeons, and rated PvP; upgrades gear to Item Level 268-275
- Aspect’s Crest: Highest tier, earned from Mythic raid, Mythic +15+ dungeons, and high-rating PvP; upgrades gear to Item Level 278-285
- Upgrade Costs: Each upgrade tier requires an increasing number of Crests plus a gold cost, with the highest-tier upgrades demanding substantial Crest farming commitment
- Slot Limits: Different gear slots have different maximum upgrade tiers; weapons and trinkets typically cap at lower upgrade tiers than armor pieces to maintain balanced gearing progression
The Crest system fundamentally changes the Great Vault from a one-week reward system into a multi-week gearing investment, where the Vault provides the base item and Crests provide the upgrade path to competitive item levels. This design ensures that players who engage with the Great Vault consistently over multiple weeks will see their Vault rewards grow progressively stronger, rather than receiving their best gear immediately and experiencing diminishing returns from subsequent Vault weeks.
Catalyst Charges and Tier Set Conversion
In addition to the Crest upgrade system, the Midnight Great Vault integrates with the Matrix Catalyst system that allows players to convert non-tier-set armor pieces into tier set appearances and bonuses. Catalyst charges are earned weekly through the Great Vault by completing content in all three categories (raid, Mythic+, PvP), and each charge can be used to convert a single non-tier armor piece into its tier set equivalent, preserving the item level and socket/enchant properties of the original piece while adding the tier set bonus.
For players targeting tier set bonuses — which provide substantial damage, healing, or survivability increases that are essential for competitive Season 1 performance — the Catalyst system provides an alternative to relying solely on tier token drops from raid bosses. By converting high-item-level non-tier pieces from the Great Vault or other gear sources into tier set pieces, players can complete their tier set bonuses more quickly and with greater control over which armor slots receive the tier transformation, optimizing their set bonus coverage across the most impactful gear pieces.
Players earn one Catalyst charge per week for each content category slot they fill in the Great Vault, meaning that players who complete raid, Mythic+, and PvP content every week can earn up to three Catalyst charges per week. This generous charge allocation ensures that dedicated players can convert their full armor set to tier set pieces within a few weeks of consistent Great Vault participation, accelerating their path to competitive tier-set-optimized performance.
Maximizing Your Weekly Great Vault Value
To extract maximum value from the Midnight Great Vault each week, players should approach their content selection and Vault reward choices strategically, prioritizing the content type that fills their most pressing gear gaps and offers the highest item level rewards relative to their current gearing status.
- Identify Gearing Gaps: Review your character’s current gear and identify the slots with the lowest item levels or poorest secondary stat allocation. Target Great Vault reward slots that provide items for these specific gaps rather than choosing rewards for slots you have already optimized.
- Prioritize Highest Item Level: When choosing between Vault reward options within the same tier, always select the highest item level piece available, because item level provides the largest raw stat increase and can be further upgraded with Crests to maximize its long-term value.
- Complete All Three Slots: Engage with raid, Mythic+, and PvP content each week to fill all three Great Vault slots, maximizing both your reward choice options and your Catalyst charge earnings for tier set conversion.
- Save Crests Strategically: Do not spend Crests on upgrades for gear slots that you expect to replace in the coming weeks. Instead, save your Crests for upgrading the highest-impact slots (weapons, trinkets, chest armor) that you will keep for the longest duration.
- Use Catalyst Charges Wisely: Convert your highest item level non-tier pieces to tier set first, because the tier set bonus scales with the item level of the converted pieces, and converting a high item level piece provides more total value than converting multiple lower item level pieces.
The Great Vault in World of Warcraft: Midnight Season 1 is the single most important weekly gearing tool available to players, and optimizing your Vault strategy is as important as optimizing your raid performance, Mythic+ routing, or PvP gameplay. Treat the Vault as the centerpiece of your weekly gearing plan, build your content schedule around maximizing Vault slot completion, and invest your Crests and Catalyst charges intelligently to extract every possible advantage from this essential Season 1 system.
