The War Within October 10 Hotfixes: Dungeon and Crest Tuning
Blizzard's October 10, 2024 War Within hotfixes lowered Gilded Crests to Mythic+8, retuned the Xal'atath affixes, and fixed Dawnbreaker and Boralus bugs.
By:
John Langan
Key Takeaways
On October 10, 2024, Blizzard deployed a round of The War Within Season 1 hotfixes aimed at Mythic+ rewards, dungeon and raid bugs, and two class fixes. This is an archived recap of that build — the live game today is Midnight (patch 12.0.5), so the crest thresholds and affix values below reflect Season 1 as it stood in October 2024, not current content.
- Runed Crests began dropping up to Mythic+7, and Gilded Crests started appearing from Mythic+8 — a meaningful widening of the crest grind for Season 1 gearing.
- Xal'atath's Bargain buff duration rose from 20 to 30 seconds, while Xal'atath's Guile dropped its enemy health-and-damage penalty from 20% to 10%.
- Demonology Warlocks stopped breaking enemy stealth when summoning Vilefiend, Charhound, or Gloomhound — a PvP bug, not a damage change.
- Fury Warriors running Mountain Thane had Bloodthirst reliably proc Thunder Blast again, even after swapping out of Protection.
- Three dungeon bugs were squashed across The Dawnbreaker, Mists of Tirna Scithe, and Siege of Boralus, plus a Silken Court intermission fix in Nerub-ar Palace.
- The Delver's Pouch of Reagents got cheaper and richer (500 Undercoin for 3 reagents), and the Profaned Tinderbox became buyable from two Blacksmithing Supplies vendors.
The rest of this recap breaks the October 10 build into class fixes, Mythic+ rewards, dungeon and raid bugs, and vendor changes.
Class Fixes: Demonology Warlock and Fury Warrior
Only two specializations were touched in this batch, and both were bug corrections rather than tuning passes.
For Demonology Warlock, Blizzard fixed an issue where summoning Vilefiend, Charhound, or Gloomhound would break the stealth of nearby enemy players. That made the pet summon a quiet anti-stealth tool in rated play — clearly unintended, and patched out here.
Fury Warriors playing the Mountain Thane hero talent tree had a frustrating dead spot resolved: Bloodthirst could fail to proc Thunder Blast in some cases if the player had swapped over from the Protection specialization. After the fix, the Thunder Blast proc fired as designed.
Mythic+ Crests and Affix Tuning
The reward half of the build is what most key-pushers remembered. Runed Crests were extended to drop through Mythic+7, and Gilded Crests — the top Season 1 upgrade currency — started dropping from Mythic+8 and up. That pulled the Gilded grind down a key bracket and made mid-range runs more rewarding.
The Xal'atath affix family was rebalanced on both ends:
| Affix | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Xal'atath's Bargain (buff duration) | 20 seconds | 30 seconds |
| Xal'atath's Guile (enemy health & damage) | +20% | +10% |
With those affix values settled for the season, the dungeon and raid bug fixes were where the rest of the build landed.
Dungeon and Raid Bug Fixes
Four encounter-level corrections shipped, three in Mythic+ dungeons and one in the Season 1 raid:
- The Dawnbreaker: the previsual telegraph for Dark Orb on Anub'ikkaj no longer scaled with the player's character size, which had made the warning misleading for larger models.
- Mists of Tirna Scithe: Dodgeball stopped inflicting damage on illusions and adds created by Xal'atath, so the mechanic only punished real mistakes.
- Siege of Boralus: Chopper Redhook could no longer be pulled out of position by ranged abilities such as Halo and Starfall.
- Silken Court (Nerub-ar Palace): Anub'arash was corrected so it burrowed during the first intermission and reliably cast Spike Storm in the second — two phase scripts that had been misfiring.
On the interface side, Blizzard also restored the Rated PvP tab, which had been unintentionally grayed-out for some players.
Vendor and Reward Changes
Two crafting-economy tweaks rounded out the build. The Delver's Pouch of Reagents sold by Sir Finley Mrrgglton at the Delver's Headquarters in Dornogal had its price cut from 1,500 to 500 Undercoin, and the pouch began holding 3 random Delve reagents instead of 2 — a clear win for anyone funnelling Undercoin into crafting mats.
The Profaned Tinderbox also became far easier to obtain. It could now be purchased from the Blacksmithing Supplies vendors Borgos and Sofee Batalsworn in exchange for any one of: 3 Ringing Deeps Ingots, 3 Vial of Kaheti Oils, 3 Viridian Charmcaps, or 3 Gloomfathom Hides.
If you are catching up in current Midnight content rather than this Season 1 snapshot and want to skip the key grind, you can compare our Mythic+ dungeon boosts for the live season instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did these War Within hotfixes go live?
Blizzard published this batch on October 10, 2024, during The War Within Season 1. It is a historical build; the game's current patch is Midnight 12.0.5, so the crest and affix values here are no longer in effect.
What changed for Mythic+ crests on October 10?
Runed Crests were extended to drop up to Mythic+7, and Gilded Crests began dropping from Mythic+8 upward. That lowered the difficulty floor for farming the season's top upgrade currency.
How did the Xal'atath's Bargain affix change?
The Xal'atath's Bargain buff duration increased from 20 to 30 seconds, while the companion Xal'atath's Guile reduced its enemy health-and-damage penalty from 20% to 10%.
Which classes were adjusted in this hotfix?
Only two, and both were bug fixes: Demonology Warlock pet summons no longer broke enemy stealth, and Fury Warrior's Mountain Thane build had Bloodthirst proc Thunder Blast reliably after a spec swap from Protection.
What dungeon bugs did the October 10 build fix?
The Dawnbreaker's Dark Orb telegraph stopped scaling with player size, Mists of Tirna Scithe's Dodgeball stopped hitting Xal'atath's illusions, and Siege of Boralus's Chopper Redhook could no longer be pulled by Halo or Starfall.
What happened to the Delver's Pouch of Reagents?
Its price dropped from 1,500 to 500 Undercoin and its contents rose from 2 to 3 random Delve reagents, making it a much better Undercoin sink for crafters.
Are these changes still relevant in Midnight?
No. The crest thresholds, Xal'atath affixes, and Season 1 dungeon pool described here were specific to The War Within. For live tuning, check the current Midnight patch notes.
Last reviewed 2026-06-22 against The War Within Season 1 (patch 11.0.2). Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.