Midnight Update: Valorstones, Gilded Crests Removed, New Transmogs

Key Takeaways

Valor Stones are fully removed with the Midnight expansion launch — gear upgrades now cost only Dawncrests and a small gold fee.
All seasonal crest names (Gilded, Runed, Carved, Weathered) replaced by track-named Dawncrests: Myth, Hero, Champion, Veteran, and Adventurer Dawncrests.
Collecting a full mythic tier set automatically unlocks Heroic, Normal, and LFR appearances for that set — retroactive for all legacy content.
Items in Midnight no longer change appearance when upgraded — cosmetics are locked to the difficulty at which the item dropped.
Each upgrade step costs 20 Dawncrests of the matching track type, capped at 100 Dawncrests per tier per week.

These are live Midnight expansion mechanics as of patch 12.0.5 "Lingering Shadows." Here is how each change affects your progression and transmog collection.

How Transmog Collection Changed in Midnight

Blizzard introduced a quality-of-life improvement for transmog collectors with the Midnight expansion. When a player completes an entire class tier set on a higher difficulty, every lower-difficulty variant of that set unlocks automatically:

Collect all Mythic appearances → unlocks Heroic, Normal, and LFR
Collect all Heroic appearances → unlocks Normal and LFR
Collect all Normal appearances → unlocks LFR

This applies only to full set completions, not individual pieces — a player must collect every piece of a Mythic tier set to trigger the unlock for lower difficulties. The change is retroactive, meaning all legacy tier sets benefit upon logging in. Elite PvP and Gladiator tier sets continue to use their traditional unlock methods.

A companion transmog change also went live: items in Midnight no longer change visual appearance when upgraded. A piece obtained at Heroic difficulty retains its Heroic visual even if upgraded to Myth track — cosmetics are tied to the drop difficulty, not the upgrade level. Players who want the Mythic appearance for a set piece must obtain it on Mythic. For players targeting a complete Mythic set to trigger the appearance unlock cascade, securing a Mythic raid carry for the full set in a single lockout is the most efficient path.

The Dawncrest System — Crests Renamed for Midnight

Blizzard redesigned the entire crest naming system for Midnight, replacing the seasonal suffix names (Gilded Undermine Crests, Runed Harbinger Crests) with track-named Dawncrests that map directly to their upgrade path:

Myth Dawncrests — for Myth track gear. Replaces "Gilded Crests" as the highest upgrade currency for Myth track content.
Hero Dawncrests — for Hero track gear. Replaces "Runed Crests."
Champion Dawncrests — for Champion track gear. Replaces "Carved Crests."
Veteran Dawncrests and Adventurer Dawncrests — cover the remaining upgrade tracks.

The upgrade cost is a flat 20 Dawncrests per step, with a weekly cap of 100 Dawncrests per tier. Alt characters benefit from a doubled discount compared to The War Within Season 2. Each Dawncrest type upgrades only the gear track that matches its name — no more hoarding Gilded Crests in case a Myth piece drops.

Valor Stones Are Gone

Valor Stones — the secondary upgrade currency required alongside crests throughout all three seasons of The War Within — are fully removed at the Midnight expansion launch. The pain points that came with Valorstones no longer apply:

No more hitting the Valorstone cap while gearing alts.
No more being short on Valorstones at the start of a new season.
No secondary resource to track alongside crests — only Dawncrests and a gold fee are needed for every upgrade step.

Valor Stones were present and required through The War Within Season 3 and removed only at Midnight's launch date, not via any TWW patch. Players who want to get up to speed on the current progression system quickly can catch up on the Season 1 progression bundle to hit the right item level without the Valorstone grind that defined TWW gearing.

What This Means for Gear Progression

Together, these changes make Midnight's upgrade loop the most straightforward in recent WoW history:

Resource clarity: One Dawncrest type per track, capped at 100 per week — easy to plan around and impossible to accidentally waste on the wrong track.
Progression consistency: The crests you earn from the content you run are exactly what upgrade your gear. No mismatched currencies from prior seasons.
Alt-friendliness: Doubled Dawncrest discounts for alts and no Valorstone gating means gearing a second character is faster than any TWW season.

For players ready to engage with Myth track content and the Myth Dawncrest grind, catch up on the Season 1 progression bundle to hit the right item level quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Valor Stones completely removed in Midnight?

Yes. Valor Stones were removed with the Midnight expansion launch. Gear upgrades now cost only Dawncrests and a small gold fee — no secondary currency is required at any stage of the upgrade process.

What replaced Gilded Crests in Midnight?

Myth Dawncrests replaced Gilded Crests as the highest-tier upgrade currency. The full replacement chain: Weathered → Adventurer Dawncrests, Carved → Champion Dawncrests, Runed → Hero Dawncrests, Gilded → Myth Dawncrests. A new Veteran Dawncrest tier was added between Adventurer and Champion.

Does collecting a full Mythic set automatically unlock Heroic appearances?

Yes. Collecting all pieces of a Mythic tier set automatically unlocks Heroic, Normal, and LFR appearances for that set. This applies retroactively to all legacy tier sets — not just Midnight sets.

Do items change appearance when upgraded in Midnight?

No. In Midnight, an item's appearance is locked to the difficulty at which it dropped. Upgrading a Heroic item to Myth track does not grant the Mythic appearance. You must obtain the item at Mythic difficulty for the Mythic look.

How many Dawncrests does each upgrade step cost?

Each upgrade step costs 20 Dawncrests of the matching track type, plus a small gold fee. The weekly cap per tier is 100 Dawncrests.

Can I use Champion Dawncrests on Hero track gear?

No. The Dawncrest system is a strict one-to-one match. Champion Dawncrests upgrade only Champion track gear; Hero Dawncrests upgrade only Hero track gear. This eliminates the cross-track hoarding that was common with Gilded Crests in The War Within.

Were these changes introduced in a The War Within patch or in Midnight?

All of these changes — Valor Stone removal, the Dawncrest renaming system, and the transmog set-completion unlock — went live with the Midnight expansion launch. None of them were introduced in a The War Within patch. Valor Stones remained active and required through TWW Season 3.