How To Unlock And Use Valor Points In WoW: Shadowlands

| Tags: | Author
How To Unlock And Use Valor Points In WoW: Shadowlands

The release of patch 9.0.5 sees the return of the Valor Points system to World of Warcraft. With it, sees Mythic Plus players able to purchase loot in a similar way to those in PVP.


Check out our updated guide for Season Two here!

Season One of Shadowlands caused fans to have lots of issues with gearing up their characters. With lower loot drops in raids and poor drop chances in Mythic Plus, players found it nearly impossible to get the gear they wanted. While Blizzard upped the drop rate of gear in raids, the fix for Mythic Plus was to bring back Valor Points. In this article, we’ll explain how to obtain this new currency and how to spend it.

How do you earn Valor Points?

There are currently two ways to earn Valor Points in Shadowlands:

  • Completing your daily Covenant Callings will reward you with 50 Valor points for Epic Callings, and 35 for Blue Callings.
  • The other way is via completed Mythic + dungeons where you’ll earn 135 Valor Points per Mythic+ regardless of level.

What’s the weekly Valor Points cap?

During the first week of Valor Points being unlocked, we’ll have a weekly earnable cap of 5,000 which will increase by 750 per week. This means that if you cap out the 5,000 in week one, week two will net you a maximum of 750. The intention here is that because this is coming mid-season, we need an early catch-up. Previously the Valor Points had a “holding” cap of 1,500. This is no longer the case and Blizzard has since removed this, meaning you can hold as many Valor Points as you like.

The intention here is that you spend the points on upgrades and new gear rather than hoarding it for a full set.

MORE FROM ESTNN
Mage Redesigns Coming in Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5

Where is the Valor Point vendor

The Valor Point vendor is located inside Oribos at the same location as the PvP vendors which you can find at 34.55, 56.55. The command /way 34.55 56.55 will locate it on the map.

How to upgrade Mythic+ gear with Valor Points

Unlocking Valor Point gear is locked behind four different quest/achievement prerequisites. These achievements are account-wide.

Once these are achieved, you’ll then need to spend Valor Points unlocking the specific levels. These will vary slightly depending on the slot we’ve listed the costs for each slot below and how much it costs per level to upgrade that slot – note, you cannot purchase base-level items with Valor Points, you'll need to find the gear inside a Mythic+:

  • 250 Valor – Shield, Offhand, Ring, Cloak, Bracer, Neck
  • 400 Valor – Trinket, Belt, Shoulders, Gloves, Boots
  • 475 Valor – Helm, Legs, Chest
  • 500 Valor – One-Handed Agility Weapon
  • 750 Valor – One-Handed Intellect Weapon
  • 750 Valor – One-Handed Strength Weapon
  • 1000 Valor – Two-Handed Weapon

How much does it cost to upgrade Valor Points gear?

The upgrade cost for gear is going to vary depending on the level you’re upgrading from. In total, we have 12 possible upgrades starting at 184 and going up to 220 Ilvl. The graph above shows how much each slot costs per level to upgrade, this number doesn't change as the item increases in item level. For example, that means a Two-Handed upgrade from level 1 to level 12 (Ilvl 184 > 220) would cost 12,000 valor points, which would take three weeks if you started on week one.

MORE FROM ESTNN
Dragonflight 10.1 Aberrus the Shadowed Crucible RWF Recap

As mentioned above, we will have a weekly cap starting at 5,000 which will increase by 750 each week. Meaning it will still take a long time to upgrade loot from 184 to 220.

Shadowlands Gear ranks

The table below will show the breakdown of what level of gear drops in what key:

  • Rank – Item Level
  • 1 – 184
  • 2 – 187
  • 3 – 190
  • 4 – 194
  • 5 – 197
  • 6 – 200
  • 7 – 203
  • 8 – 207
  • 9 – 210
  • 10 – 213
  • 11 – 216
  • 12 – 220

Can I upgrade pre-9.0.5 gear with Valor Points?

No. Only Mythic+ and Mythic+ Vault Rewards obtained after the patch is live (for vault that would mean the following week) can be upgraded. So you’d need to acquire new items before you can upgrade.

Can I buy base items with Valor Points?

No. Valor Points are designed as a currency for upgrading gear. Not for purchasing base levels of gear. This is a minor change to how the system was in the past and also how it works in PVP currently.

Will Valor Points be used in later Shadowlands patches?

We’re not sure about the long-term use of the system. Though, it must be said an entire currency doesn’t feel like a bandage solution and seems more like a new feature for Shadowlands. If that changes, we’ll update this post.

This article was updated with new information and is correct as of March 11, 2021