First Week of Dragonflight To-Do List

Key Takeaways

• Mythic 0 dungeons were the best non-crafted gear in launch week at item level 372, with a once-per-week lockout on each dungeon.
• Spark of Ingenuity gated every epic crafted item (item level 382 to 392), and the catch-up handed out roughly one Spark every two weeks up to a cap of five.
• Engine of Innovation unlocked at the end of the Valdrakken campaign and was the only place to forge a Spark from a Bottled Essence.
• Primal Chaos, farmed mainly from Heroic dungeons, fed those same crafted recipes; Blizzard later removed it in Patch 10.1.
• Aiding the Accord was the weekly Renown driver, asking for 3,000 reputation split across the four Dragon Isles factions.
• Dragon Glyphs scattered across the Dragon Isles bought Dragonriding talents for extra Vigor, more abilities, and higher speed.
• Valdrakken Accord Renown 5 opened the Obsidian Citadel weekly quest hub, a Waking Shores location packed with reputation work.

Here is how a focused launch week actually played out, starting with leveling.

Leveling Through the Campaign

When Dragonflight launched on November 28, 2022, the smartest opening move was to slow down just enough to follow the Main Story Quest line from start to finish. The campaign was not optional flavour: skipping it left World Quests locked and, more importantly, kept the Engine of Innovation sealed off, which mattered a lot later for crafting.

The campaign alone carried a character to about level 67 of the level 70 cap, so the last few levels came from side content. Players who cared about a specific faction's recipes, transmog, or mounts ran that faction's side quests while leveling: the Dragonscale Expedition quests sat in the Waking Shores, and the Valdrakken Accord quests sat in Thaldraszus. Even players who did not chase Renown were well served by the Thaldraszus side quests, because reaching Valdrakken Accord Renown 5 opened the Obsidian Citadel weekly hub over in the Waking Shores, and those weeklies fed reputation back into the system. If you want to skip the climb on a second or third character, our team can level your alts faster while you focus on the main.

Picking Up Dragon Glyphs

Dragon Glyphs were the next early stop. These static collectibles sat in fixed spots across the Dragon Isles, and gathering them awarded the currency used to learn Dragonriding talents, the points that granted more Vigor, extra movement abilities, and faster flight. Dragonriding unlocked very early in the campaign, around level 60 or 61, so a player could start sweeping up Dragon Glyphs almost immediately.

A full sweep took roughly twenty minutes. Players who preferred to read the map rather than follow a route installed the HandyNotes addon, which dropped every glyph location onto the world map and minimap so they could grab glyphs naturally while questing. Dragon Glyphs were worth collecting, but they never sped up leveling much, so there was no harm in picking them up at a relaxed pace.

✏️ The fastest launch-week routine was simple: run the campaign to about 67, sweep Dragon Glyphs in one twenty-minute loop, then finish the last levels on whatever faction side quests you actually wanted rewards from.

The Player-Power To-Do List

Dragonflight deliberately ran fewer power systems than Shadowlands, Battle for Azeroth, or Legion. Most of its major features were collection or cosmetic rather than raw character power. That left a short, sharp list of things that actually raised item level in the first week.

Spark of Ingenuity

Finishing the main campaign unlocked the Engine of Innovation, and a follow-up quest there let a player forge their first Spark of Ingenuity from a Bottled Essence. The Spark was the gate for crafting high item level gear, and it was deliberately scarce: the catch-up handed out one roughly every two weeks until a player banked five, after which they came freely.

Because a Spark was consumed on use and never refunded, the launch-week advice was to plan before crafting. It made sense to decide which slots to fill first, since you could not craft a belt, change your mind, and reclaim the Spark for boots instead. A launch-day player typically had only about two Sparks by the time Vault of the Incarnates opened on December 13, 2022, so each one counted. Crafted epics started at item level 382 and reached 392 at higher crafting quality.

📌 The most common launch-week mistake was burning a Spark of Ingenuity on a throwaway item. Sparks were capped at five and trickled in slowly, so a wasted one set a character's crafted gear back two full weeks.

Mythic 0 Dungeons

Mythic 0 was the highest non-crafted item level available in week one at item level 372, sitting one tier above Heroic. The catch was the lockout: each Mythic 0 dungeon could be cleared only once per week, so the efficient play was to rotate through all eight on the first reset. Players who wanted a clean, fast run with a coordinated group could clear a Mythic 0 run with our team rather than pugging it.

Primal Chaos

After the weekly Mythic 0 clears, the next farm was Primal Chaos, the soulbound material that fed almost every high item level crafted recipe. Heroic dungeons were the fastest early source, awarding a chunk per run. Stockpiling it early paid off, because the better crafted pieces demanded a lot of it. Worth noting for anyone reading this as history: Blizzard removed Primal Chaos in Patch 10.1 and folded crafting onto a different reagent, so this step only applied to the launch season.

The Non-Power To-Do List

Renown and professions did not hand out direct character power, so this half of the list was optional. It still mattered for anyone chasing rewards, recipes, or long-term convenience.

Renown

Renown came from doing side quests for a faction while leveling and from the weekly cadence afterward. Hitting certain Renown levels early unlocked extra dailies and weeklies, which then fed even more Renown, so reaching those breakpoints quickly compounded. Valdrakken Accord Renown 5, for example, opened the Obsidian Citadel weekly quests.

Once a character hit level 70 and wrapped the campaign, the weekly Aiding the Accord quest became the main Renown engine. It asked for 3,000 reputation earned toward any of the four major factions, which tended to accumulate naturally from World Quests and dailies. Speaking of World Quests, there was no need to rush them: each set stayed up for three and a half days before rotating, with some weekly and a handful of daily PvP and pet battle variants.

Professions

For professions, Herbalism and Mining were a strong leveling pair even for players who planned to drop them later, because the gathered materials fed other professions down the line. Gathering also built up Artisan's Mettle, the soulbound currency used for recrafting items, and since it was a limited resource, banking it early while leveling was a free head start.

First-Week Checklist

Boiled down, the launch-week priority order looked like this:

1. Level through the Main Story Quest line, then top off the last few levels with side quests for factions whose rewards you wanted.
2. Clear all eight Mythic 0 dungeons once for the best non-crafted gear at item level 372.
3. Farm Heroic dungeons for Primal Chaos, the crafting material you would need for high item level pieces.
4. Forge and spend Sparks of Ingenuity carefully on the slots you most wanted upgraded.
5. Once power was handled, turn to Renown and professions at your own pace.

With that order in hand, a few questions came up often during launch week.

FAQ

What item level was Mythic 0 gear in Dragonflight's first week?

Mythic 0 dungeon gear dropped at item level 372, the highest non-crafted gear available before Season 1 and Vault of the Incarnates opened. Each of the eight Mythic 0 dungeons had a once-per-week lockout, so clearing the full rotation on the first reset was the efficient play.

How did Spark of Ingenuity work at launch?

Spark of Ingenuity was a soulbound reagent forged at the Engine of Innovation in Valdrakken and required for every epic crafted item. The catch-up granted roughly one Spark every two weeks until a player had five banked. Because a Spark was consumed permanently on use, it was worth saving for the gear slots that mattered most.

What was Primal Chaos used for?

Primal Chaos was a soulbound crafting material that fed the high item level Dragonflight recipes, sourced mainly from Heroic and Mythic dungeons. It was a launch-season mechanic only: Blizzard removed Primal Chaos in Patch 10.1 and moved crafting onto a different system.

When did Vault of the Incarnates and Season 1 open?

Vault of the Incarnates, Dragonflight's first raid, and Season 1 went live on December 13, 2022, about two and a half weeks after the November 28 launch. That gap is why a launch-day crafter usually had only two Sparks of Ingenuity by the time the raid opened.

How early could you start Dragonriding and collecting Dragon Glyphs?

Dragonriding unlocked very early in the campaign, around level 60 to 61, so players could begin gathering Dragon Glyphs almost immediately. Glyphs were the currency for Dragonriding talents that added Vigor, abilities, and speed, and a complete first sweep of the Dragon Isles took about twenty minutes.

What did Valdrakken Accord Renown 5 unlock?

Reaching Renown 5 with the Valdrakken Accord opened the Obsidian Citadel weekly quest hub, a Waking Shores location tied to the Wrathion and Sabellian storyline. Those weeklies returned more reputation, which is why pushing a faction to its early Renown breakpoints paid off quickly.

Is this checklist still relevant for the current expansion?

No. This guide describes Dragonflight's late-2022 launch. Several systems it covers are gone: Primal Chaos was removed in Patch 10.1, Aiding the Accord was retired in Patch 10.2.6, and Dragonriding became Skyriding Proficiency in Patch 11.0. It stands as a record of how Dragonflight's opening week worked, not as current-patch advice.

Last reviewed 2026-06-23 against Patch 10.0.2 Dragonflight. Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.