- Author: Spannah
- Date: February 6, 2022
- Updated: February 6, 2022
- Expansion: World of Warcraft
A recent blue post on the PTR forums has clarified how the players will be able to get their hands on the upcoming Tier Sets. This being the main feature of patch 9.2, it will be obtainable in Raids, Mythic Plus and rated PvP.
Raids
For raiders, Blizzard decided to go back to the Token system from older expansions. Meaning that instead of dropping the items themselves, bosses will drop Tokens that can then be traded for the Tier Set pieces. As with older Tokens, there will be 4 types of Tokens that can be used by different classes:
- Mystic Token – Druids/Hunters/Mages
- Venerated Tokens – Paladins/Priests/Shamans
- Zenith Tokens – Monks/Rogues/Warriors
- Dreadful Tokens – Demon Hunters/Death Knights/Warlocks
Instead of dropping like any regular item in Raids, each boss with Tier Set Tokens on their loot table will drop 2 for a 20 player raid. As for scaling raids such as on Heroic difficulty, the amount of tokens will depend on raid size. In 10-man Raids only 1 Token will drop, while in a 30-man Raid, 3 Tokens will drop instead.
As for being able to trade these Tokens, you will need to already have a Tier Set item of similar or higher ilevel.
Great Vault
For Mythic Plus and PvP players, Tier Set items have a chance to be one of the rewards in the Great Vault. The item level however will not be the same as in the raid, and instead, it will work exactly like any other item in the vault.
Also, as any other item earned in Mythic Plus, you will be able to upgrade these Tier Sets following the same upgrade paths as other items from that activity. Meaning that Tier Set items from the M+ Great Vault will be upgradeable with 
Valor points, and items from rated PvP will be upgradeable with 
Conquest poins. Do note however that the item level ceiling will also be the same as any regular item from these activities.
Creation Catalyst
Lastly, the 8th week following the release of patch 9.2, players will be able to use the Creation Catalyst to turn any regular item from Season 3 Mythic Plus or PvP, into a Tier Set piece. This Catalyst has charges however, so players will be limited in how many items they can convert every week. When it becomes available, players will be getting 1 charge per week. The rate at which these charges are obtained will increase over time, and these charges are global. Meaning that if you decide to play an alt or simply start playing later, you will have several charges available at once, which will function as a catch-up mechanic.
As for how the Catalyst works, it’s pretty straightforward. Putting in a Chest slot item will transform it into a Tier Set piece of the same slot. The Tier Set item will have the same item level as the piece of gear used for it’s creation, and will also retain its upgrade path, just like the Great Vault items will. Tertiary stats and sockets will also carry over to the created Set Item.
One thing to note for PvP items however, is that while the Tier Set items will have the same item level increase when used in PvP activities, as any other piece of gear, they might not have any versatility on them. As of now, using a PvP item in the catalyst creates a Tier Set item with the same stats as the Raid gear.
Keep in mind that patch 9.2 is still on the PTR, so all of this is subject to change.
Good afternoon, friends! You all have had a lot of questions about how Tier Sets and the Catalyst work, and hopefully these answers clarify some of the questions you’ve raised over the past few days.
Should we expect to see similar class groupings (i.e. Protector, Conqueror, Vanquisher) on tokens as we did in the past?
We liked how the four groups of three classes played out, so we won’t be returning to Vanquisher/Conqueror/Protector. The design intent here is that each token has a thematic link and a variety of folks who can use it.
Our tokens for this tier are:
- Mystic – Druid/Hunter/Mage
- Venerated – Paladin/Priest/Shaman
- Zenith – Monk/Rogue/Warrior
- Dreadful – Demon Hunter/Death Knight/Warlock
How many tier tokens will drop in a raid?
A tier-dropping Mythic boss will drop 2 tier tokens for a Mythic raid containing 20 eligible players. In the case of a scaling raid such as Normal or Heroic, 10 loot-eligible players would see 1 token drop, while 30 loot-eligible players would see 3 tokens.
Are tier tokens tradable if I have equipped an item of the same (or higher) item level in that token slot? Are tier tokens tradable without restrictions?
You need to have soulbound a Tier piece of equivalent or higher item level to be able to trade tier pieces. The same applies to tokens.
How is the item level of a tier piece determined for the Great Vault? Completing one +15 dungeon gives us a 278 piece of loot in the vault, so does that mean tier would be 278 as well in this same slot in the Great Vault?
Yes. The item level is equivalent to what you’ve earned through heroic deeds across the various different game systems.
When creating tier set items with the Creation Catalyst, what is the item level of the tier piece after the process is complete? Is it the same item level as the base piece given to the Creation Catalyst or are there item level ranges that snap to LFR, Normal, Heroic, and Mythic item levels for tier?
The item level of the thing you put in the catalyst. It also keeps Mythic/PVP upgrade paths, tertiary stats, and sockets.
Are tier set items created by the Creation Catalyst upgradeable or do you need to remake the tier with a higher item level base piece?
You’ll want to remake it with a higher item level base piece, unless the initial version had an upgrade path from PVP or Mythic+ and you earned currency to allow it to be upgraded in that way.
How are Catalyst charges going to work?
Catalyst charges will start relatively rare (1/week) then accelerate in acquisition rate as the patch moves towards the future. These values will gradually accelerate over time, to the point where eventually you will be earning a charge every other day.
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