Aside from the usual content that players have come to expect, every expansion for World of Warcraft adds something new and exciting to the game. Whether it was flying mounts in The Burning Crusade or the revamp of Azeroth in Cataclysm, expansions provide new ways for players to experience World of Warcraft.
In the case of The War Within, the biggest feature added is arguably Delves. Serving as a bite-sized, scaling mini-dungeon, Delves can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes and can be done solo or with four other players.
Updated on March 4, 2025 by Paul Woodward: Mythic+ dungeons and Liberation of Undermine aren’t the only PvE endgame content for players to enjoy in Season 2 of World of Warcraft: The War Within. Delves also get refreshed and updated when a new season launches. This includes new gear, cosmetics, and a challenging Nemesis to eventually overcome in the Undermine. While you will be starting from scratch in terms of Curios that are available to you, Brann does have a new Tank spec that can be used instead of setting him as a DPS or Healer. There are also some new Delves that were added as part of Patch 11.1 as well, so the maps below have been updated to show where they can be found.
Minor spoilers below, proceed with caution.
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When Do Delves Unlock?
In order to unlock Delves, you will first need to have made enough progress in the campaign. Once you’ve arrived at the Isle of Dorn, one campaign quest will direct you to the location of a Delve. You cannot progress the story until you’ve completed the Delve. On Tier 1, Delves are not particularly difficult. Unlike later tiers, you have unlimited revives as well. From Tier 4 onward, you have a limited number of revives, and if you deplete them all you have to start the Delve all over again.
How Do Delves Work?
Once your party is assembled (or if you are solo), right-click on the smoky barrier at the entrance to select a difficulty tier. There are 11 Tiers in total, but players will only have access to the first one at the start. Once you’ve selected it, you will enter the Delve. Each Delve has three separate variants that rotate daily, but typically the objectives will involve collecting items, rescuing NPCs, or killing monsters.
No matter the objective, you will always have to fight a boss at the end. Mechanically speaking, boss fights in Delves are pretty simple as it is mostly just telegraphed attacks that you can get out of if you are paying attention.
Delve Companion
During the Delve, you will be accompanied by an AI companion. In this case, Brann Bronzebeard will join your adventures. Brann can either be a DPS, Healer, or a Tank. His role can be changed at any time when you interact with the Explorers’ League Supplies inside the Delve. Killing enemies grants Brann experience along with completing Delves. You can also gain additional experience for Brann from looting various treasures found within a Delve. Once Brann has gained enough experience, he can level up and learn new abilities. Currently, Brann’s level cap is 70.
As you complete more Delves on higher difficulties, you will unlock Curios that you can equip to Brann. These Curios add a variety of unique abilities that can make your life much easier while running a Delve. Brann can have two different types of Curios equipped at once, a Combat Curio and a Utility Curio. Curios can be upgraded from Rank 1 all the way to Rank 4.
All Combat Curios
|
Curio Name |
Effect |
|---|---|
|
Automatic Footbomb Dispenser |
Brann’s spells and abilities have a chance to drop footbombs on the field. Running into a footbomb kicks it at an enemy target, dealing fire damage to all enemies within range. |
|
Goblomagnetic Bouncing Grenade |
Brann has a chance during combat to toss a GMB grenade at an enemy, dealing nature damage and providing a chance to stun the target for 1.5 seconds. Also has a chance to bounce to a new target. |
|
Impact Conversion Matrix |
Upon entering combat, Brann activates the conversion matrix for 10 seconds. A small bit of all party damage dealt while the conversion matrix is active will be converted to primary stat and split between the entire party. This buff lasts for 10 seconds, but cannot occur more than once every 2 minutes. |
|
Mechasaur EZ-Build Kit |
Converts Brann’s Epic Egg to a mechasaurs that taunts enemies while in the egg. Mechasaurs will use all the same abilities and will deal fire damage. |
|
Pinged Augment Chip |
Increases Brann’s maximum health, damage done, and healing by 20%. During combat, Brann will periodically be targeted by a robot. If it reaches Brann before it is destroyed, Brann takes 30% of his health in damage and is stunned. |
|
Pocket Factory |
Brann’s spells and abilities have a chance to spawn a turret that will assist him for ten seconds. |
|
Reverse Engineered Goblin Death Bomb |
When a player’s health falls below 50% during combat, Brann will throw this bomb. The explosion will knock back enemies and slow them for a short time. This explosion also heals nearby party members. This effect can only occur once every minute and a half. |
All Utility Curios
|
Curio Name |
Effect |
|---|---|
|
Biofuel Rocket Gear |
Every time an enemy is slain, your Movement Speed and Haste are increased by 2% for 10 seconds. Stacks 10 times. |
|
Comically Large Magnet |
When Brann gathers resources, there is a 100% chance that he will grant party members a shield that is 5% of their maximum health. |
|
Kaja’Cola Carrier |
Mislaid Curiosities have a chance to contain a Kaja’Cola. There are several flavors of Kaja’Cola and each one has a different effect. |
|
L00T RAID-R |
Every 60 seconds (5 seconds while in combat), Brann will scan the environment for Mislaid Curiosities. Enemies below 95% health take 4% more damage for ten seconds. |
|
Overdirve Pylon |
After 30 seconds, Brann and all party members deal 5% more damage and healing for 20 seconds. This effect can only occur once while in combat. |
|
Pacifist Rig |
A Pacifist Rig MK-1 drops down and knocks back nearby enemies. |
|
Three Dimensional Bioprinter |
Damaging an Elite below 40% health creates a copy of it at 50% of its regular strength. This copy fights alongside you. The device will periodically create copies of Brann instead. |
All Delve Locations
While The War Within launched with twelve Delves available, there is one that will not be available until the start of Season One. The 12 Delves that are available are scattered across Khaz Algar, and they can be found in the following zones. Based on the in-game map, the 13th Delve, Zek’vir’s Lair, will be in Azj-Kahet.
Isle of Dorn
- Kriegval’s Rest
- Fungal Folly
- Earthcrawl Mines
The Ringing Deeps
- The Dread Pit
- The Waterworks
- Excavation Site 9
Hallowfall
- Mycomancer Cavern
- Skittering Breach
- The Sinkhole
- Nightfall Sanctum
Azj-Kahet
- The Spiral Weave
- Tak-Rethan Abyss
- The Underkeep
- Zekvir’s Lair
Undermine
- Sidestreet Sluice
- Demolition Dome
Bountiful Delves
Once you’ve reached Level 80 and completed the campaign, you will unlock the endgame version of Delves. In addition to higher difficulty tiers, this also unlocks Bountiful Delves. Across Khaz Algar, you will find Delves where the icon now has a glowing light coming from the doorway. This indicates that the Delve is now a Bountiful Delve. What this means is that there is a chest at the end with significantly better loot.
In order to open this chest, you will need to get a Restored Coffer Key, which can be obtained by completing weekly quests and by combining 100 Coffer Key Shards. Once you’ve started the Level 80 campaign, you will get a quest that introduces you to all of these mechanics. Completing this quest will reward you with a unique mount called Delver’s Dirigible. This mount can be customized in a way similar to dragon mounts in Dragonflight, and these customization options are a part of the Seasonal Delve rewards.
Speaking of Seasons, the Great Vault now has a slot for outdoor activities like Delves. By completing two, four, or eight Delves, you can unlock slots in the Great Vault that will allow you to pick a piece of loot the following Tuesday. The higher tier the Delves are completed on, the better the reward will be.
How to Unlock the Nemesis Lair
In addition to the challenges presented by Tier 8 -11, there is a hardmode only Delve where the current seasonal Nemesis lurks. Unlike other Delves, this Nemesis Delve only has two difficulties. The first is “Tier ?” and the second is “Tier ??”. While it won’t take much effort to unlock “Tier ?”, you will need to complete a Delve on Tier 10 to unlock “Tier ??”.
These Nemesis encounters are similar to the Mage-Tower challenges from back during Legion where they are extremely difficult and will require you to spend time learning the fight and gearing up to have even the slightest chance of beating it. When a new season begins, the old Nemesis is not removed from the game. You can still fight them, but the achievements to beat them before the next release of Delve content will no longer be obtainable.
