Midnight Season 2 Opening Week

Two Opening Weeks, Two Different Plans

Patch 12.1 and Midnight Season 2 do not begin on the same reset. The patch arrives on August 11 in North America and August 12 in Europe. The raid, Mythic+, and the rest of the Season 2 endgame open one week later on August 18 in North America and August 19 in Europe.

Think of that first reset as prep week. You can finish the new unlocks, improve weak gear slots, and get your character ready before every major gearing path opens at once.

Patch Week: August 11 and 12

Patch week includes the 12.1 campaign and outdoor content, Tidebound Grotto, Altar of Fangs, Heroic and Mythic dungeons, and every Delve tier. Delves are not Bountiful yet, so save your Bountiful Delve plans for the following reset.

For a character you want to raid on, focus on the things that will still matter after Season 2 begins:

• Complete the campaign and any unlocks your character needs.
• Collect your weekly Spark of Tides source.
• Run Season 2 Mythic 0 dungeons where their 292 Champion 1/6 loot can replace a weak slot.
• Unlock the Delve tiers you expect to run once Bountiful Delves become active.
• Complete enough qualifying activities for the Great Vault slots you actually value.
• Set your loot specialization before content that can award spec-specific gear.

A full Mythic 0 tour is useful when you can upgrade a lot of slots. Don't force it on a character that will replace almost everything immediately in raid or Mythic+.

Season 2 Week 1: August 18 and 19

The second reset is the real endgame opening. Everything below becomes available together:

• Venomous Abyss on Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulty
• Raid Finder Wing 1
• The Season 2 Mythic+ rotation
• Bountiful Delves and Restored Coffer Keys
• Nightmare Prey
• Season 2 PvP
• Season 2 gear in the Great Vault

This is why there is no universal "raid as soon as the servers come up" rule. Raid now competes with Mythic+, Bountiful Delves, and other weekly objectives. The best schedule depends on your raid hours, your progression goal, and how much your roster is expected to do outside raid.

Opening Week Ilvls

Blizzard increased Season 2 rewards by 46 ilvls over Season 1↗. These are the dungeon breakpoints that matter most for opening week:

Activity	End-of-run loot	Great Vault
Season 2 Mythic 0	292, Champion 1/6	302, Champion 4/6
Mythic+ 6	305, Hero 1/6	312, Hero 3/6
Mythic+ 8	309, Hero 2/6	315, Hero 4/6
Mythic+ 10 or higher	312, Hero 3/6	318, Myth 1/6

Venomous Abyss uses four ilvl bands based on boss position:

Difficulty	Nek'zali	Bosses 2 and 3	Bosses 4 to 6	Coiled Altar and Ula'tek
Raid Finder	279	283	286	289
Normal	292	296	299	302
Heroic	305	309	312	315
Mythic	318	322	325	344

The 344 drops from the last two Mythic bosses are special Myth 9-equivalent rewards. This isn't the normal upgrade step after 325.

These values use Blizzard's final 46-ilvl Season 2 increase and the current 12.1 upgrade bonus IDs. Some guides still show the older PTR ladder with 295, 298, 308, and 311. Check the in-game dungeon and raid interfaces after August 18 or 19 in case Blizzard changes anything at launch.

Planning Your Venomous Abyss Clear

Venomous Abyss has eight bosses. Five bosses drop the regular armor-type tier tokens:

Boss	Tier slot
Entombed Sentinels	Hands
The Lost Explorers	Shoulders
Vashnik the Malignant	Chest
Sszorak	Legs
The Twin Fangs	Helm

Ula'tek drops the Slumbering Coil Curio, which can be exchanged for any tier slot. Nek'zali and the Coiled Altar do not drop regular tier tokens.

There isn't one correct clear order for every progression guild. The real question is which kills give you the most value in the time you have:

• Prioritize the tier bosses that complete important 2-piece or 4-piece bonuses.
• Include Ula'tek when your group can kill it efficiently and the curio or other final-boss loot justifies the time.
• Clear Normal before Heroic when the extra tier opportunities matter more than reaching Heroic bosses quickly.
• Start on Heroic when stronger loot and progression information matter more than an additional Normal clear.
• Protect Mythic progression time once repeated lower-difficulty clears stop producing enough upgrades.

Review this after your first live clear. PTR clear times won't tell you exactly how long each boss, trade, or character swap takes for your group.

Split Runs Without Guesswork

If your guild runs splits, build the schedule around the loot you actually want. Don't assume every character needs every boss.

Before raid, record:

• Which characters need each tier slot
• Which characters already have Catalyst or Vault routes to their set bonus
• Which bosses carry high-priority weapons, trinkets, or special-effect items
• The loot specialization each character should use
• How much time is reserved for Normal, Heroic, and Mythic

Update the plan after every split and before handing out curios or spending scarce resources. Someone who completed 4-piece early might not be the best target for the next tier token anymore.

The First Two Great Vaults

Qualifying activity completed during patch week can fill the Great Vault that opens on August 18 in North America and August 19 in Europe. Check the Vault while you play so you know which slots actually received credit.

That Vault does not offer a Nebulous Voidcore. It was earned before Season 2 activity began. The first Vault earned from Season 2 activities opens on August 25 in North America and August 26 in Europe, and that is the first Vault that can offer the Voidcore fallback.

A Practical Weekly Order

Your exact order depends on your guild, but this is a good starting point:

1. Finish time-sensitive weekly quests and collect your Spark source.
2. Complete any Bountiful Delves or targeted Mythic+ runs needed before raid.
3. Raid in the order your group chose for tier, progression, and special loot.
4. Use remaining Mythic+ runs to fill weak slots and complete desired Vault options.
5. Recalculate crafting, Catalyst, and loot plans after raid drops are known.

If an upgrade helps you kill a progression boss now, use it. Waiting for perfect efficiency only makes sense when the group doesn't need the power yet.

The official Season 2 schedule↗ has the complete regional unlock timeline.