Gearing for PvP in World of Warcraft has never had this many options. In Midnight Season 2, there are four separate ways to build a PvP set: Honor gear, Conquest gear, War Mode gear and crafted gear. Each has its own currency, item level and best use. If you are coming back to PvP or starting fresh this season, the number of vendors can be confusing.
Here is how each set works, what the item levels mean, and the order I would buy things in to get competitive as fast as possible.
How PvP Item Level Works
PvP gear has two item levels: its normal item level and a higher PvP item level that applies in arenas, battlegrounds and War Mode. The numbers below are PvP item levels, which is what matters when you fight other players. Season 2 started on August 18, and every set below belongs to it.
Honor Gear: The Venomous Aspirant Set
Honor gear is the starting point for everyone. The Venomous Aspirant set is rare quality and starts at PvP item level 324. It is sold by Captain Dawnrunner for Honor, which you earn from any PvP activity, including random battlegrounds and skirmishes.
The important detail is that Aspirant gear can be upgraded with Mistcrests and gold. That makes it much more than a placeholder. For players who mostly play unrated content, upgraded Honor gear will carry them through the whole season.
Conquest Gear: The Venomous Gladiator Set
Conquest gear is the epic set for rated players. The Venomous Gladiator set starts at PvP item level 337 and is sold by Irissa Bloodstar for Conquest. Conquest is earned through rated PvP and weekly activities, and in most seasons it has a weekly cap that is lifted later.
Because Conquest comes in slowly, the order you buy pieces in matters a lot. The general rule is to buy the pieces with the biggest stat budgets first, such as the weapon, chest and legs, and leave smaller slots for later.
War Mode Gear: The Venomous Warmonger Set
War Mode gear is a rare set at PvP item level 324, sold by Knight-Lord Bloodvalor for Bloody Tokens. Those tokens come from world PvP with War Mode enabled. It is a good option for players who enjoy open-world fights and want a parallel path to the Honor set.
Crafted Gear: The Thalassian Competitor Pieces
Crafted PvP gear uses the Thalassian Competitor items and Heraldry to set its item level:
- Venomous Combatant’s Heraldry for PvP item level 309.
- Venomous Aspirant’s Heraldry for PvP item level 322.
- Venomous Gladiator’s Heraldry for PvP item level 335.
Crafted pieces are useful because you can choose the stats. Most plans are sold by Mirvedon, and Infused Heliotrope is used to augment the gear during crafting. It is common to fill one or two slots with crafted items where the vendor sets have awkward stats for your spec.
What to Buy First
If you are starting from zero this season, this order works for most specs:
- Spend your first Honor on the Aspirant weapon and the slots with the biggest stats.
- Upgrade Honor pieces with Mistcrests as you earn them, rather than buying every slot at the base level.
- Once you start rated play, put Conquest into the weapon first, then the chest and legs.
- Use a crafted piece for any slot where your spec needs a specific secondary stat.
Your Rank Decides Your Crests
Rated play also rewards crests based on your PvP rank, which helps upgrade the rest of your gear. Combatant I gives Veteran crests, Combatant II gives Champion crests, Rival gives Hero crests, and Duelist and Elite give Myth crests. That is one reason many PvE players also push rating: the crests carry over to their raid and Mythic+ gear.
The seasonal mount, the Vicious Lightbloom Boar, comes from winning rated matches at 1000 rating or higher. It is a nice bonus while you gear up.
Gearing Faster
The biggest bottleneck for most players is Conquest. Honor gear can be farmed in an evening or two, but the full Gladiator set takes weeks of rated games. Players who want to start the season competitive often look at a WoW PvP gear boost to get their Conquest pieces and rank-based crests earlier.
Whichever route you take, the four sets in Season 2 give you more flexibility than PvP has had in years. Start with upgraded Honor gear, add crafted pieces for your stats, and put every point of Conquest into the slots that matter most.