The War Within Myth Track: Extended From 4 to 6 Upgrades
The War Within Season 1 stretched the Myth upgrade track from four to six levels, so ordinary drops could match Very Rare gear at item level 639.
By:
John Langan
Key Takeaways
- In The War Within Season 1 (launched September 10, 2024), the Myth gear upgrade track grew from four to six upgrade levels.
- The two extra rungs let regular Myth-track drops climb to item level 639, the ceiling that had belonged only to Very Rare pieces.
- Very Rare items, such as Queen Ansurek's ring from Nerub-ar Palace, lost their intrinsic higher item level and capped at Myth 6/6 like everything else.
- The payoff was flexibility: any class could push a favored drop to full item level instead of chasing one specific Very Rare slot.
- The cost was grind, since a 6/6 piece demanded far more Gilded Harbinger Crests and more Mythic+ and raid clears.
- The crest-and-track system itself dates to Dragonflight Patch 10.1.0 and its Patch 10.2.0 revamp, not to any 10.0.x patch.
Here is how the Season 1 change played out, why it reshaped end-game gearing, and where the crest grind actually came from.
What Changed in The War Within Season 1
When The War Within Season 1 opened on September 10, 2024, the Myth gear upgrade track picked up two more rungs. It had capped at four upgrade levels; Season 1 stretched it to six. The extra range did more than lengthen the climb: it changed how the very top of the gear ladder worked.
Before the change, a Very Rare raid piece carried an intrinsic higher item level than anything else in its slot. After it, every Myth-track slot shared the same 6/6 ceiling, so a regular drop upgraded to the top matched a Very Rare piece exactly. The Myth track ran item level 629 to 639, and 6/6 landed on 639.
Regular Drops Reach the Very Rare Ceiling
The headline consequence sat with items like the Very Rare ring from Queen Ansurek, the eighth and final boss of Nerub-ar Palace. Under the old rules that ring simply outclassed a normal ring of the same slot. Once the Myth track reached six levels, a regular ring upgraded to 6/6 hit the same item level 639, so players were no longer forced to equip a specific Very Rare piece to reach the ceiling.
That opened up gearing choices. Every class and specialization could raise a preferred drop, with the stats or set bonus they actually wanted, all the way to top item level rather than settling for a Very Rare with an off-stat line.
| Reward Source | Before Season 1 | The War Within Season 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Myth-track drops | Upgrade levels 1-4 | Upgrade levels 1-6 (to ilvl 639) |
| Great Vault Myth reward | Up to 4/4 | Up to 6/6 |
| Very Rare items | Fixed higher item level | Capped at Myth 6/6 (ilvl 639) |
With the ceiling shared across every slot, the deciding factor became how many crests a player could bank rather than which rare piece happened to drop.
The Trade-Off: More Crests, More Runs
Six levels cost roughly half again as much effort as four. Each Myth-track step up the ladder burned Gilded Harbinger Crests, the top crest tier in Season 1, and those came from the hardest content. A full set meant weeks of high keys and raid nights rather than a quick top-off.
The three feeders were the same three the Great Vault paid out from. Mythic+ was the steadiest crest source, so most players ran a stack of keys each week. If you want a modern equivalent for the current season, you can explore our Mythic+ dungeon carries to bank keys faster.
The Mythic raid tier dropped the Myth-track pieces themselves, which is why progression guilds filled their 6/6 slots first. Groups chasing that loot could clear the Mythic raid tier with a coordinated team instead of pugging wipes.
Delves rounded out the week and fed a third Great Vault slot, a route solo players leaned on hard. Anyone short a Vault pick could book a Delves Vault run to round out the weekly haul.
Where the System Came From
The upgrade track was not new in The War Within. The modern system of crests, item-level bands, and named tracks arrived in Dragonflight Patch 10.1.0 "Embers of Neltharion" (Season 2, May 2023) and was overhauled in Patch 10.2.0 "Guardians of the Dream" (Season 3, November 2023), which is where the Myth track first landed at four levels. The War Within simply extended that four to six.
The trade-off drew plenty of community discussion. Analysts like Mythic+ specialist Dratnos pointed out that the longer track fell hardest on players who sourced Myth-track gear from a single activity, since they now needed more weeks of the same content to finish a set.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many upgrade levels did the Myth track have in The War Within Season 1?
Six. Blizzard extended it from four to six upgrade levels for Season 1, so regular Myth-track drops could reach the same ceiling of item level 639 as Very Rare pieces.
What item level did fully upgraded Myth gear reach?
Item level 639 at Myth 6/6. The Myth track ran from 629 to 639 across its six upgrade steps.
Why did Blizzard extend the Myth track from four to six levels?
To let ordinary Myth-track loot match the item level of Very Rare items, giving players more freedom in which pieces they equipped, at the cost of needing more crests to reach the top.
Did Very Rare items like Queen Ansurek's ring still have a higher item level?
No. Under the extended track, Very Rare items capped at Myth 6/6 (639) like everything else, rather than carrying an intrinsic higher item level.
Which crests upgraded Myth-track gear to the top?
Gilded Harbinger Crests, the highest crest tier in The War Within Season 1, fueled the final Myth-track steps.
When was the WoW crest and upgrade-track system first introduced?
In Dragonflight Patch 10.1.0 "Embers of Neltharion" (Season 2, May 2023), then revamped in Patch 10.2.0 "Guardians of the Dream" (Season 3, November 2023).
Last reviewed 2026-07-20 against Patch 11.0.2, The War Within Season 1 — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.