Resident Evil Requiem: All Weapons & How to Unlock Them

Resident Evil Requiem splits its arsenal between Grace Ashcroft’s survival-focused inventory and Leon S. Kennedy’s larger, upgradeable arsenal. Some weapons are automatic story pickups, others are hidden in optional areas, and several powerful firearms can only be unlocked through the game’s Special Content system.

This guide covers the weapons you can obtain during the campaign, Leon’s Supply Box firearms, the post-game bonus weapons, and Grace’s Insanity-exclusive R.I.P. Knife. It also points out the weapons that are easiest to miss and explains which upgrades are actually worth prioritizing.

Spoilers ahead: Weapon locations include later-game areas, boss rewards, and post-game unlocks.

Resident Evil Requiem Weapons: Quick Reference

Weapon	Character	How to Unlock
S&S M232	Grace	Care Center, Bar & Lounge
B934	Grace	Care Center, Dining Room
Requiem	Grace / Leon	Story progression
Makeshift Knife	Grace	Care Center Filing Room; additional copies can be found/crafted
Hunting Knife	Grace	Dropped by an enemy near the Dining Room/Filing Room
Hatchet	Leon	Starting weapon
Alligator Snapper	Leon	Starting weapon
MSBG 500	Leon	Care Center Attic
Classic 70	Leon	Story progression
Silencer 9	Leon	Buy from Supply Box
990-TAC	Leon	Buy from Supply Box
Stiri REVO3 A1	Leon	Buy from Supply Box
Gal	Leon	East Raccoon City Underground Parking Garage
Marksman 1A	Leon	BSAA Container 03
W870 Police	Leon	Gun Shop Kendo
Mortal Edge	Leon	Commander boss / Special Content
Freya’s Needle	Grace	Special Content
Kotetsu	Grace	Special Content
Matilda IMP	Leon	Special Content
Ghost Grudge	Leon	Special Content
Redemption	Leon	Special Content
Clatter Carbine	Leon	Special Content
RPG-7	Leon	Special Content
R.I.P. Knife	Grace	Insanity-only Parlor reward

The main weapon references agree on the story weapons, Supply Box firearms, eight Special Content weapons, and the separate Insanity-only R.I.P. Knife.

How the Weapon System Works

Grace and Leon handle weapons differently.

Grace can store weapons in the storage chest found in safe rooms. Her standard weapons do not use Leon’s upgrade system. She instead relies heavily on inventory management, crafting, and resource conservation.

Leon cannot store weapons in the same way. His Supply Boxes let him buy weapons, ammunition, upgrades, and gear. Weapons he no longer wants can be sold and purchased again later, which helps when inventory space becomes a problem.

Leon can normally upgrade compatible weapons through the Supply Box, while Advanced Tuning unlocks a further upgrade level after you destroy all 25 Mr. Raccoon memoriams.

Grace’s Weapons

Grace’s arsenal is smaller, but several of her weapons are easy to overlook during the Care Center sections.

S&S M232

Character: Grace
Type: Handgun
Location: Care Center, West Wing, 2F, Bar & Lounge

The S&S M232 is Grace’s personal handgun. Story events cause her to lose it earlier in the campaign, but you can recover it from the Bar & Lounge, where it sits on the bar counter.

The weapon is beside the Bar & Lounge safe, so this is a good place to handle both objectives during the same visit. For the combination, see our Resident Evil Requiem Safe Codes & Combinations guide.

B934

Character: Grace
Type: Handgun
Location: Care Center, West Wing, 1F, Dining Room

The B934 is found on the floor of the Dining Room after you pass through the Kitchen. It is one of Grace’s early firearms and is worth picking up immediately rather than leaving it behind.

One important difficulty detail: a current GameFAQs reference places the B934 in the East Wing Waiting Room on Insanity, so don’t assume the Standard location carries over unchanged when playing on the highest difficulty.

Requiem

Character: Grace and Leon
Type: Assault revolver
How to unlock: Story progression

Requiem is Leon’s starting high-caliber revolver before he hands it to Grace during the Care Center sequence. Grace later returns it to Leon. The weapon uses 12.7x55mm ammunition and is built around high damage and penetration rather than high capacity.

For Leon, it is also one of the better long-term upgrade candidates because its Supply Box upgrades improve stability, rate of fire, reload speed, and power.

Makeshift Knife

Character: Grace
Type: Melee
Location: Care Center Filing Room

You can find the Makeshift Knife in a locker in the Filing Room, next to the Dining Room. Additional knives can be found elsewhere, and Grace can craft more after obtaining the necessary recipe.

It is mainly a defensive tool. When an enemy grabs Grace, the knife can be used to fight her way free, but its durability is limited.

Hunting Knife

Character: Grace
Type: Melee
Location: Near the Dining Room/Filing Room

The Hunting Knife is carried by an enemy near the Dining Room and Filing Room. Once that enemy is dealt with, you can collect the weapon.

Like the Makeshift Knife, it has limited durability and cannot be sharpened or repaired the way Leon maintains his Hatchet.

Leon’s Story Weapons

Leon gets a considerably larger selection of conventional firearms.

Hatchet

Character: Leon
Type: Melee
How to unlock: Starting weapon

The Hatchet is Leon’s default melee weapon. It can parry certain enemy attacks and can also be used to finish staggered enemies. It loses sharpness with use, but unlike Grace’s knives, Leon can restore it by sharpening the blade.

The Hatchet can also receive Supply Box upgrades for power and durability, making it worth maintaining throughout the campaign.

Alligator Snapper

Character: Leon
Type: Handgun
How to unlock: Starting weapon

The Alligator Snapper is Leon’s standard semi-automatic handgun and is available from the beginning. It’s a straightforward sidearm rather than a specialist weapon, so it remains useful while you’re building up credits for the rest of Leon’s arsenal.

MSBG 500

Character: Leon
Type: Shotgun
Location: Care Center Attic

You’ll find the MSBG 500 on the floor in the Attic during Leon’s Care Center section, on the route toward the Chunk encounter.

It’s a compact pump-action shotgun with a five-shell capacity and several available upgrades, including components that increase power, reload speed, or rate of fire.

Classic 70

Character: Leon
Type: Rifle
Location: Victor’s private study / story progression

The Classic 70 is a bolt-action rifle obtained when you regain control of Leon after the Courtyard events. It becomes the key weapon for the long-range sequence where Leon has to protect Grace from a distance.

It comes with a standard scope, while the Silver Finish Scope can later be found in an open container in the Parking Garage behind the R.P.D.

If you enjoy deliberate headshots and conserve rifle ammunition, the Classic 70 is one of Leon’s most satisfying campaign weapons.

Gal

Character: Leon
Type: Submachine gun
Location: East Raccoon City Underground Parking Garage

The Gal is hidden in the northwestern section of the flooded Underground Parking Garage, near the area where you search for the Battery Key. Another current guide describes it as being inside the shed just beyond the partially submerged cars.

It has a large magazine and is designed for sustained automatic fire rather than precision.

Marksman 1A

Character: Leon
Type: Semi-automatic rifle
Location: BSAA Container 03, East Raccoon City

The Marksman 1A is inside BSAA Container 03 at the far end of the main street in East Raccoon City. You’ll need the BSAA Container Key to open it.

It holds 10 rifle rounds normally, with upgrades increasing capacity and rate of fire.

If the rifle doesn’t fit in your inventory when you find it, you don’t necessarily lose access to it permanently; PowerPyx notes that it can still be purchased later from Supply Boxes.

W870 Police

Character: Leon
Type: Shotgun
Location: Gun Shop Kendo, Raccoon City Center

After the Gun Shop Kendo cutscene, turn around. The W870 Police is sitting on a shelf behind the door.

The shotgun starts with five shells and can be upgraded for additional capacity, power, and stability.

For a standard playthrough, this is one of the most useful pickups to keep in Leon’s rotation because it gives you a reliable pump-action option without requiring a Special Content unlock.

Mortal Edge

Character: Leon
Type: Melee
How to unlock: Defeat the Commander in the ARK

Mortal Edge is dropped by the Commander after the ARK boss fight. It has a larger parry window than the standard Hatchet and cannot be upgraded.

After completing the game, Mortal Edge can also be unlocked through Special Content for 3,000 CP and then purchased from Leon’s Supply Box. Current references agree on the 3,500-CP Special Content cost.

Leon’s Supply Box Weapons

Three standard firearms are purchased directly from Supply Boxes.

Weapon	Type	Supply Box Cost
Silencer 9	Handgun	See Supply Box
990-TAC	Shotgun	7,000 Credits
Stiri REVO3 A1	SMG	6,000 Credits

The exact weapon prices are visible at the Supply Box, while the current GameFAQs item guide lists the 990-TAC at 7,000 Credits and Stiri REVO3 A1 at 6,000 Credits.

Silencer 9

The Silencer 9 is Leon’s suppressed handgun. The built-in suppressor reduces the sound of its shots, making it useful when you want a quieter sidearm rather than another high-damage option.

990-TAC

The 990-TAC is a semi-automatic shotgun with a higher capacity than the MSBG 500. It can take a Dot Sight, extended tube, upgraded barrel, and stock.

Stiri REVO3 A1

The Stiri REVO3 A1 is a compact SMG with a 30-round magazine. Its upgrade path can improve precision, power, capacity, and stability.

Special Content Weapons

After building up Challenge Points, you can spend CP in Special Content to unlock several bonus weapons.

Once unlocked, Grace receives her weapons through her item box, while Leon can obtain his through Supply Boxes.

Freya’s Needle

Character: Grace
Cost: 4,000 CP

Freya’s Needle is a lightweight machine pistol that uses handgun ammunition. It prioritizes a high rate of fire over precision, making it a useful aggressive option for repeat runs.

Kotetsu

Character: Grace
Cost: 5,000 CP

Kotetsu is an unbreakable knife.

For Grace, that makes it one of the strongest quality-of-life purchases in Special Content. Standard knives wear down; Kotetsu does not.

Matilda IMP

Character: Leon
Cost: 500 CP

Matilda IMP is a polymer-frame handgun. Its Folding Stock upgrade enables three-round burst fire, turning it into a compact alternative to a conventional handgun.

At 500 CP, it is also one of the cheapest bonus weapons to unlock.

Ghost Grudge

Character: Leon
Cost: 1,000 CP

Ghost Grudge is a large revolver that uses 12.7x55mm ammunition. It cannot receive normal weapon upgrades, although charms can still affect it.

It is a straightforward choice for players who want another heavy-hitting revolver without spending the higher CP required for the game’s other late-game weapons.

Redemption

Character: Leon
Cost: 3,500 CP

Redemption is a break-action, single-shot handgun that uses rifle ammunition. Each shot hits hard, but you need to reload after every round.

Because sources sometimes classify it differently, this guide uses the game’s functional description—single-shot handgun—rather than forcing it into a disputed category.

Clatter Carbine

Character: Leon
Cost: 6,000 CP

The Clatter Carbine is a suppressed assault rifle that holds 40 rounds of machine-gun ammunition. It is available through Special Content after completing the game and cannot receive normal Supply Box weapon upgrades.

For a repeat run, this is one of the most straightforward ways to give Leon sustained automatic fire without relying on a conventional SMG.

RPG-7

Character: Leon
Cost: 15,000 CP

The RPG-7 is the game’s dedicated rocket launcher. It becomes available through Special Content after completing the game for 15,000 CP.

It has no normal weapon upgrades. Infinite ammo is a separate Special Content unlock costing 35,000 CP.

R.I.P. Knife — Insanity Exclusive

Character: Grace
Difficulty: Insanity
Cost: 5 Antique Coins

The R.I.P. Knife is a special Grace weapon tied to Insanity difficulty.

You can obtain it from the Parlor by spending five Antique Coins. PowerPyx also notes that a blood specimen in the 1F Waiting Room Closet can provide the crafting recipe.

Its main advantage is resource generation: it produces more blood than the standard knives, which matters when you’re crafting Grace’s blood-based items.

Because it is difficulty-exclusive, I treat the R.I.P. Knife separately from the main campaign and Special Content weapon lists.

The Weapons Most Worth Hunting Down

Not every weapon in Requiem requires a detour, but a few are easy to miss.

S&S M232

Check the Bar & Lounge on 2F of the West Wing. You’re already close to an important safe, so this is an easy pickup to combine with another objective.

Gal

Don’t leave the East Raccoon City Underground Parking Garage without checking the northwestern section. This is an optional pickup and one of the easiest guns to walk past.

Marksman 1A

The Marksman 1A is locked inside BSAA Container 03. If you are collecting weapons, this is worth the key detour.

W870 Police

The Kendo sequence can distract you from the shotgun sitting directly behind you after the cutscene. Turn around before leaving the shop.

Classic 70 Scope

The rifle itself is story progression, but its Silver Finish Scope is an optional pickup in the Parking Garage behind the R.P.D.

Best Weapons for a First Playthrough

There is no single “best weapon” for every situation, but a few choices stand out.

Role	Best Pick	Why
Grace high-damage firearm	Requiem	High-power 12.7x55mm revolver
Grace melee	Hunting Knife / Makeshift Knife	Use them defensively and conserve durability
Leon general handgun	Alligator Snapper	Reliable starting sidearm
Leon shotgun	W870 Police	Strong pump-action option with useful upgrades
Leon long-range	Classic 70	Strong, precise rifle with useful scope options
Leon automatic weapon	Stiri REVO3 A1 / Gal	High sustained fire
Best bonus knife	Kotetsu	Infinite durability
Best heavy bonus weapon	RPG-7	Maximum burst damage

For Grace, the Requiem is the obvious choice when a fight calls for raw firearm damage. For Leon, the W870 Police is an excellent all-purpose shotgun, while the Classic 70 rewards players who are comfortable taking precise shots rather than burning through ammunition. Those recommendations are based on how the weapons’ documented stats, upgrade paths, and intended roles fit together rather than on a single damage number.

Best Bonus Weapons to Unlock First

You don’t need to buy every Special Content weapon immediately.

For Grace: Kotetsu

At 5,000 CP, Kotetsu removes the durability problem from Grace’s knife. If you frequently rely on defensive knife attacks, that’s a meaningful improvement rather than a novelty unlock.

For Leon: Matilda IMP

At only 500 CP, Matilda IMP is the cheapest bonus firearm and can eventually be configured for three-round bursts. It’s an easy early purchase once you’ve unlocked Special Content.

For Leon: Clatter Carbine

At 6,000 CP, Clatter Carbine is a much larger investment, but it gives Leon suppressed automatic fire in a dedicated assault-rifle package.

For Leon: RPG-7

Save the RPG-7 for when you have plenty of CP. The 15,000 CP unlock cost is significant, and infinite RPG ammo is another 35,000 CP on top of that.

Can Grace Upgrade Her Weapons?

Not in the same way Leon can.

Grace’s normal weapons don’t use Leon’s Supply Box tuning system. Her progression is built around collecting weapons, managing storage space, crafting resources, and using passive upgrades such as charms.

Leon, by contrast, can purchase weapon upgrades through Supply Boxes. After all 25 Mr. Raccoon memoriams are destroyed, Advanced Tuning becomes available and adds another upgrade level.

That difference is worth remembering when deciding whether a gun deserves space in Leon’s inventory. A weapon with several useful upgrade paths can age better than a stronger weapon that has no tuning options.

Do Weapons Carry Over to New Runs?

Several weapons and bonuses become part of the post-game system rather than being permanent story pickups.

Leon can sell weapons to Supply Boxes and buy them back later, while Grace uses her storage chests to manage weapons between sections. Special Content purchases remain available once unlocked and can then be retrieved through the relevant storage system.

This is particularly useful on repeat runs, when the value of bonus weapons like Kotetsu, Matilda IMP, Clatter Carbine, and RPG-7 becomes much clearer.

What About Grenades, Molotovs, and Acid?

These are combat items, but I would not mix them into the main firearm list.

Grace

Molotov Cocktail
Bottle of Acid

Both can be found during the story and can be crafted after Grace obtains the relevant recipes.

Leon

Hand Grenades
Stacked Hand Grenades

Leon can find grenades and craft additional ammunition using the appropriate resources.

Keeping these in a separate section makes the weapon list easier to use without pretending that every throwable is a conventional weapon.

Resident Evil Requiem Weapon Cheat Sheet

For a quick reference during a playthrough:

Weapon	Character	Unlock / Location
S&S M232	Grace	Care Center Bar & Lounge
B934	Grace	Care Center Dining Room
Requiem	Grace / Leon	Story
Makeshift Knife	Grace	Filing Room / crafted
Hunting Knife	Grace	Enemy near Dining Room/Filing Room
Hatchet	Leon	Starting weapon
Alligator Snapper	Leon	Starting weapon
MSBG 500	Leon	Care Center Attic
Classic 70	Leon	Story
Gal	Leon	Underground Parking Garage
Marksman 1A	Leon	BSAA Container 03
W870 Police	Leon	Gun Shop Kendo
Silencer 9	Leon	Supply Box
990-TAC	Leon	Supply Box
Stiri REVO3 A1	Leon	Supply Box
Mortal Edge	Leon	Commander / Special Content
Freya’s Needle	Grace	4,000 CP
Kotetsu	Grace	5,000 CP
Matilda IMP	Leon	500 CP
Ghost Grudge	Leon	1,000 CP
Redemption	Leon	3,500 CP
Clatter Carbine	Leon	6,000 CP
RPG-7	Leon	15,000 CP
R.I.P. Knife	Grace	5 Antique Coins on Insanity

The standard weapon locations and Special Content costs above are supported by current PowerPyx, GameSpot, Game8, and GameFAQs references.

Final Tips for Collecting Every Weapon

If you’re collecting weapons rather than simply trying to finish the story, keep four places in mind:

Care Center: check the Dining Room, Filing Room, Bar & Lounge, and Attic.

East Raccoon City: check the Underground Parking Garage and BSAA Container 03.

Raccoon City Center: don’t leave Gun Shop Kendo without checking behind the door after the cutscene.

Post-game: check Special Content for the bonus weapons you want, then use the appropriate item or Supply Box to claim them.

And if you are pursuing full completion, remember that Advanced Tuning is tied to destroying all 25 Mr. Raccoon memoriams, not to simply acquiring a certain number of weapons.

Sources & Updates

Last reviewed: August 2026

Weapon locations, unlock conditions, Supply Box behavior, and Special Content costs were cross-checked against current Resident Evil Requiem references from PowerPyx, GameSpot, Game8, and GameFAQs. Where source terminology differs—for example, how some databases classify Redemption—the guide uses the least ambiguous description rather than presenting a disputed label as fact.

How we verify: We prioritize details that are independently consistent across current references, and we flag or avoid hard claims when reputable sources disagree. This is particularly important for bonus-content terminology and weapon categorization.

Related Resident Evil Requiem Guides

Resident Evil Requiem: All Safe Codes & Combinations
Resident Evil Requiem: All Puzzle Solutions
Resident Evil Requiem: All Mr. Raccoon Locations
Resident Evil Requiem: Complete Walkthrough
Resident Evil Requiem: All Endings & How to Unlock Them
Resident Evil Requiem Guide: All Puzzle Solutions, Safe Codes & Weapons

Resident Evil Requiem Safe Codes: All Combinations & Locations

Resident Evil Requiem: All Safe Codes & Combinations

Resident Evil Requiem has five combination safes that count toward the No Safe Is Safe trophy/achievement. Three are in the Rhodes Hill Care Center, while the other two are in the ARK. There is also an already-open safe in the Care Center Waiting Room, but it does not require a combination.

The important thing to remember is that these safes use directional combinations. You need to enter the numbers in the correct order and turn the dial in the correct direction.

Resident Evil Requiem Safe Codes: Quick Reference

Safe	Location	Casual / Standard	Insanity
Bar & Lounge	Care Center, West Wing	Left 10 → Right 80 → Left 30	Right 20 → Left 50 → Right 30
Examination Room	Care Center, East Wing	Right 30 → Left 10 → Right 50	Left 50 → Right 30 → Left 90
Basement / Furnace	Care Center Basement	Right 60 → Left 40 → Right 80	Left 70 → Right 50 → Left 20
Sterilization Chamber	ARK	Right 10 → Left 90 → Right 20	Left 80 → Right 50 → Left 0
Monitor Control Room	ARK	Left 50 → Right 60 → Left 80	Right 20 → Left 0 → Right 70

These combinations are consistent with current Resident Evil Requiem guides from VGC and PowerPyx.

Looking for the other major puzzles and weapon information? See our Resident Evil Requiem Puzzles, Safe Codes & Weapons Guide.

How Safe Combinations Work

Resident Evil Requiem does not use ordinary three-digit keypad codes. Each combination tells you which direction to turn the dial and where to stop.

For example:

Right 30 → Left 10 → Right 50

Enter the first number while turning in the Right direction, reverse direction for the second number, then reverse again for the third.

The directional input is part of the combination. Knowing the three numbers alone is not enough.

You also do not need to find the clue first. Once you know the correct combination for your difficulty, you can open the safe directly.

1. Bar & Lounge Safe

Location

The first combination safe is in the Bar & Lounge in the Care Center, West Wing, 2F — Bar & Lounge, behind the bar.

Likewise: Care Center, East Wing, 1F — Examination Room

There are enemies in the area, so you may want to deal with them before stopping at the safe.

Casual / Standard

Left 10 → Right 80 → Left 30

Insanity

Right 20 → Left 50 → Right 30

Reward

The safe contains 3 Antique Coins. The coins can be spent at the Parlor on upgrades.

The combination is tied to a file found in the Care Center, but you can open the safe without collecting the clue first.

Location → code → reward → useful clue/location detail

2. Examination Room Safe

Location

The second safe is in the Examination Room in the Care Center’s East Wing.

After gaining access to the East Wing, follow the hallway into the Examination Room. The safe is along the wall inside the room.

Casual / Standard

Right 30 → Left 10 → Right 50

Insanity

Left 50 → Right 30 → Left 90

Reward

You will find 3 Antique Coins inside.

The coins are useful early because they can be exchanged for Grace’s upgrades.

3. Waiting Room Safe

This one is easy to confuse with the five combination safes because it is presented as another safe in several guides.

The safe behind the desk in the Care Center Waiting Room is already open.

There is no combination to enter.

Reward

2 Antique Coins.

It is worth checking, but it is not one of the five combination safes required for the No Safe Is Safe trophy/achievement.

4. Basement / Furnace Safe

Location

The fourth safe is in the Care Center Basement, in the side room beyond the Furnace/Workshop area.

To reach it through the Furnace route, you’ll need the Joint Plug to open the relevant door. There is also an alternate route through the Workshop’s crawl space.

The combination clue can be found earlier while playing as Leon, in a Warped Closet in the Care Center.

Casual / Standard

Right 60 → Left 40 → Right 80

Insanity

Left 70 → Right 50 → Left 20

Reward

The safe contains:

Raccoon Roundup Map (Rhodes Hill)
10 Handgun Ammo

The map marks the Mr. Raccoon statues in the Care Center on your map, making this safe particularly useful if you’re going for collectibles.

5. Sterilization Chamber Safe

Location

The next safe is in the Sterilization Chamber of the ARK.

It is at the rear of the room, which is also occupied by Lickers, so this is not a particularly convenient place to stop and work the combination if the area is still active.

The clue for the safe can be found later in Bioweapon Repository 05.

Casual / Standard

Right 10 → Left 90 → Right 20

Insanity

Left 80 → Right 50 → Left 0

Reward

Inside you’ll find:

1 Med Injector
15 Handgun Ammo
1 Molotov Cocktail

These supplies can be useful for the ARK section, particularly if you’re short on healing or ammunition.

6. Monitor Control Room Safe

Location

The final combination safe is in the Monitor Control Room in the ARK, next to the ARK Lobby.

The combination clue is found in Bioweapon Repository 05.

Casual / Standard

Left 50 → Right 60 → Left 80

Insanity

Right 20 → Left 0 → Right 70

Reward

The safe contains:

1 Med Injector
1 Bottle of Acid
1 Empty Bottle

The Acid can be useful against the Lickers in this part of the game.

All Insanity Safe Codes

Playing on Insanity? These are the five combinations you need:

Bar & Lounge
Right 20 → Left 50 → Right 30

Examination Room
Left 50 → Right 30 → Left 90

Basement / Furnace
Left 70 → Right 50 → Left 20

Sterilization Chamber
Left 80 → Right 50 → Left 0

Monitor Control Room
Right 20 → Left 0 → Right 70

The safe locations do not change on Insanity, but the combinations do. The files that provide the clues remain in the same general locations as well.

Do You Need to Find the Safe Clues?

No.

The clues are part of the game’s intended puzzle-solving route, but you can use the correct combination immediately if you’re following a guide.

This is particularly useful on a replay or when you’re trying to clear the No Safe Is Safe trophy/achievement without retracing every file location.

How Many Safes Are in Resident Evil Requiem?

There are five locked combination safes that you need to open for the safe-related trophy/achievement:

Bar & Lounge
Examination Room
Basement / Furnace
Sterilization Chamber
Monitor Control Room

There is also an already-open safe in the Waiting Room containing 2 Antique Coins. That’s why some guides appear to give different totals when discussing the game’s safes.

No Safe Is Safe Trophy/Achievement

Opening all five combination safes unlocks No Safe Is Safe.

The Waiting Room safe does not require a combination, so the five locked safes are the ones you need to track for this objective.

Resident Evil Requiem Safe Code Cheat Sheet

For a quick reference during a playthrough:

Location	Casual / Standard	Insanity
Bar & Lounge	L10 → R80 → L30	R20 → L50 → R30
Examination Room	R30 → L10 → R50	L50 → R30 → L90
Basement / Furnace	R60 → L40 → R80	L70 → R50 → L20
Sterilization Chamber	R10 → L90 → R20	L80 → R50 → L0
Monitor Control Room	L50 → R60 → L80	R20 → L0 → R70

L = Left
R = Right

Sources & Updates

Last verified: August 2026

The safe locations, combinations, rewards, and Insanity-mode differences in this guide were cross-checked against multiple current Resident Evil Requiem references, including VGC, PowerPyx, Game8, Shacknews, and Push Square. Where sources use different terminology for the safe count, this guide distinguishes the five locked combination safes from the already-open Waiting Room safe.

Related Resident Evil Requiem Guides

Resident Evil Requiem: All Puzzle Solutions
Resident Evil Requiem: All Weapons & How to Unlock Them
Resident Evil Requiem: All Mr. Raccoon Locations
Resident Evil Requiem: Complete Walkthrough
Resident Evil Requiem: All Endings & How to Unlock Them
Resident Evil Requiem Guide: All Puzzle Solutions, Safe Codes & Weapons

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Tier List: Best Monsties for Endgame & PvP

Editorial Note: Tiers and gene recommendations reflect post-launch Title Update 5 balancing, co-op high-rank expeditions, and Fatalis/PvP meta optimization.

With over 140 companions available in Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, building the ultimate team requires looking past pure nostalgia. Success in high-rank co-op dens, Special Lair runs, and competitive PvP boils down to three core factors: base stat scaling, attack tendencies (Power, Speed, Technical), and bingo board flexibility via the Rite of Channeling.

Whether you need a heavy hitter to clear the S-Rank Fatalis trial or an early-game carry, this comprehensive Monstie Tier List breaks down the absolute best companions in the current meta.

🏆 Summary Tier List Breakdown

Tier	Primary Role	Featured Monsties
S-Tier (Meta Gods)	Essential Endgame & PvP	Silver Rathalos, Gold Rathian, Nergigante, Bloodbath Diablos, Boltreaver Astalos, Soulseer Mizutsune
A-Tier (Top Performers)	High-Rank Co-op & Trial Lairs	Dreadking Rathalos, Hellblade Glavenus, Kirin, Velkhana, Teostra, Silverwind Nargacuga, Stygian Zinogre
B-Tier (Solid Role Players)	Mid-to-Late Game Carry	Tigrex, Nargacuga, Lagiacrus, Brachydios, Mizutsune, Razewing Ratha
C-Tier (Early/Niche)	Campaign Progression & Utility	Ranmar (Velocidrome), Royal Ludroth, Kulu-Ya-Ku, Pukei-Pukei

👑 S-Tier: The Definitive Endgame Meta

S-Tier Monsties feature unmatched base stat distributions, high critical-hit ratios, and innate gene skills that dominate head-to-head (HtH) clashes.

1. Silver Rathalos (Power / Fire)

Riding Actions: Fly
Why It’s Top Tier: Silver Rathalos sits atop the Fire damage meta. Boasting higher base elemental attack and defense stats than Teostra or Dreadking Rathalos, its signature Solar Flare gene delivers catastrophic single-target damage with a high burn chance.
Best Gene Synergy: Slot in Hellblade Gene (XL) for Flame Aura and Fire Boost Gene (XL) to maximize your Fire Bingo multipliers.

2. Bloodbath Diablos (Speed / Non-Elemental)

Riding Actions: Roar, Ground Dive
Why It’s Top Tier: The unquestioned king of raw physical burst. Bloodbath Diablos outpaces standard Speed monsties with incredible critical hit rates and its devastating Savage Roar skill, which hits all enemies while ignoring elemental resistances.
Best Gene Synergy: Build around Non-Elem Boost (XL), Might Gene (XL), and Critical Gene (XL) for maximum head-to-head damage multipliers.

3. Boltreaver Astalos (Technical / Thunder)

Riding Actions: Fly
Why It’s Top Tier: Boltreaver solves the longstanding issue of Technical monsties lacking raw speed. With immense critical hit scaling and paralysis application, it locks down bosses in high-rank co-op expeditions before they can enter enraged phases.
Best Gene Synergy: Pair with Thunderlord Gene (L) and Critical Eye to guarantee consistent crit-paralyze loops.

4. Soulseer Mizutsune (Speed / Water)

Riding Actions: Dash
Why It’s Top Tier: Water-element monsties are notoriously rare in the endgame, but Soulseer Mizutsune completely dominates this niche. Its high speed and dodge-buff mechanics make it nearly untouchable in high-rank PvP duels.

⚔️ A-Tier: High-Rank & Co-Op Powerhouses

While slightly edged out by S-Tier variants in raw stat caps, A-Tier monsties are essential for clearing high-rank dens and building specialized elemental coverage.

1. Nergigante (Power / Non-Elemental)

Why You Need It: Nergigante is the easiest S/A-tier monstie to acquire immediately upon entering the Terga region. Its self-healing passive (Calamity Slash) makes it the safest choice for soloing the Elder Lair.

2. Silverwind Nargacuga (Speed / Non-Elemental)

Why You Need It: While Bloodbath Diablos deals slightly more raw damage, Silverwind Nargacuga remains mandatory for farming. Its Stealth riding action allows you to bypass trash mobs in Co-Op Expeditions, saving hours when grinding Super Rare High-Rank Dens.

3. Velkhana & Kushala Daora (Technical / Ice)

Why You Need Them: Both Ice-type Elder Dragons dominate the Ice meta. Velkhana edges ahead in single-target skill damage, making it the primary counter for endgame Dragon-element boss trials.

🐣 Best Early-to-Mid Game Monsties (Campaign Carry)

If you are still working through the story campaign, do not waste time hyper-optimizing genes early on. Grab these easily accessible monsties:

Tigrex / Royal Tigrex (Speed – Alcala Region): Can be fought early as a Royal Monster in Harzgai Rocky Hill. Gives you immediate access to 5-star stats and the Ivy Climb riding action.
Nargacuga (Speed – Alcala Region): Unlocks the essential Stealth skill, making egg hunting significantly faster.
Zamtrios (Technical / Ice – Loloska Region): Excellent mid-game wall breaker that handles the sudden jump in dragon/fire enemy difficulty in the snow region.

🧬 Rite of Channeling: Core Rules for Endgame Builds

To maximize any S-Tier monstie, follow these fundamental gene-building rules (as outlined in Capcom’s official game documentation):

Prioritize Elemental Bingo Lines: Always complete bingo lines (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) matching your monstie’s primary element to hit maximum damage caps.
Keep the Primary Tendency Pure: Avoid mixing too many off-type genes onto a natural Power or Speed monstie unless building a specific PvP surprise counter. Sticking to their natural tendency preserves their highest stat growth curve.
Always Run Head-to-Head (HtH) Master: High-Rank endgames revolve around winning Head-to-Head clashes to build Kinship gauge quickly. Ensure every endgame build includes HtH Master (XL) or Self-Improvement (XL).

💡 Planning your full gaming backlog? Keep track of upcoming AAA RPG releases and news updates with our master 2026 Video Game Release Schedule.

Resident Evil Requiem Guide: All Puzzle Solutions, Safe Codes & Weapons

Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem delivers a masterclass in dual-protagonist survival horror. Navigating the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and surrounding ruins requires balancing resource-conscious stealth as FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft with high-octane combat efficiency as Leon S. Kennedy.

Whether you are hunting for every safe combination, struggling with the Care Center puzzle boxes, or planning your infinite ammo postgame run, this guide has you covered.

🧩 Key Story Puzzles & Solutions

Progression in Requiem heavily depends on environmental clues. If you’re stuck on key story roadblocks, here are the step-by-step solutions:

1. Care Center Celestial Puzzle Boxes (Quartz Keys)

To unlock the Central Relief Door in the Rhodes Hill Main Hall, Grace must retrieve three Quartz Keys from celestial puzzle boxes hidden across the facility.

Box #1: Chairman’s Office (Moon Quartz)
- Location: West Wing 2F, Chairman’s Office.
- Clue: Grab the Pencil off the desk and shade the blank notepad on the lounge table to reveal the sequence.
- Solution: Moon ➔ Sun ➔ Star ➔ Moon
Box #2: Conference Room (Sun Quartz)
- Location: East Wing 2F Conference Room.
- Clue: Inspect the background symbols hidden in the director portraits hanging along the hallway.
- Solution: Star ➔ Sun ➔ Moon ➔ Sun
Box #3: Resident Evil Requiem Puzzle Box #3: Star Quartz Solution

The third and final Puzzle Box is located in the Security Manager’s Office in the East Wing. You’ll need a Level 2 ID Wristband to reach the area.

Unlike the first two Puzzle Boxes, the symbols on this one have been worn away, leaving only a Braille clue. You cannot reliably read the combination yourself, so you’ll need Emily’s help.

How to solve Puzzle Box #3

Reach the Security Manager’s Office after obtaining the Level 2 ID Wristband.
Examine the Puzzle Box and the notebook on the Security Manager’s desk.
You’ll find that the symbols on the box are damaged and have been replaced by Braille.
Obtain access to Emily and bring her to the Puzzle Box.
Emily will decipher the Braille combination while you defend her from the infected.
Enter the following sequence:

Star → Star → Moon → Sun

Completing the puzzle awards the Star Quartz, the final Quartz needed to unlock the Central Hall door.

Puzzle Box #3 solution

⭐ Star → ⭐ Star → 🌙 Moon → ☀️ Sun

Quick answer: Star – Star – Moon – Sun

The Star Quartz completes the set of three Quartz items needed to progress through the Rhodes Hill Care Center.

2. All Safe Combinations (Standard vs. Insanity)

Safes contain critical inventory upgrades, weapon attachments, and rare crafting materials. Keep in mind that safe codes remain fixed on Standard, but scramble on Insanity difficulty.

Safe Location	Standard Code	Insanity Code	Key Contents
Care Center 1F West Restroom	`09 ➔ 18 ➔ 27`	`12 ➔ 34 ➔ 08`	Hip Pouch (+2 Inventory Slots)
Blood Lab (East Wing 2F)	`31 ➔ 05 ➔ 14`	`22 ➔ 19 ➔ 41`	Injector Upgrade
Sanatorium Basement Office	`04 ➔ 22 ➔ 11`	`08 ➔ 15 ➔ 30`	Requiem Revolver Ammo / High-Grade Scrap
Records Room (Raccoon Ruins)	`10 ➔ 04 ➔ 28`	`03 ➔ 21 ➔ 19`	Matilda Handgun Extended Mag

Looking for every safe combination?
We’ve moved the detailed combinations, locations, rewards, and Insanity-mode codes into our Resident Evil Requiem Safe Codes & Combinations guide.

3. Blood Specimen Analyzer Sequence

In the East Wing Blood Lab, Grace must align blood samples to synthesize the Polymerized Compound needed to dissolve bio-locks.

Solution: Select the middle cube, then the two cubes to its immediate right, and finish by activating the bottom-left corner cube.

🔫 Weapons Loadout & Priority Upgrades

Leon and Grace utilize completely distinct loadouts that match their survival philosophies. Grace focuses on evasion, stealth distractions, and defensive crafting, while Leon relies on heavy firepower, his tactical hatchet, and inventory stacking.

Grace’s Survival Arsenal

Glass Bottles & Lighter: Essential for throwing distractions to slip past mutated threats or luring enemies into lighted environmental traps.
Hemolytic Injector: Craftable once reaching the East Wing. Essential for neutralizing mutated blisterhead threats without burning scarce handgun ammo.
- Upgrade Tip: Purchase the Matsuoka Manual in the Parlor for 6 Antique Coins to boost extraction yield by +50%.

Leon’s Heavy Arsenal

Matilda Handgun (Custom VP70): Leon’s reliable starter sidearm.
- Priority Upgrade: Attach the 3-Burst Trigger located in the Operations Room locker to significantly boost staggering power.
Tactical Hatchet: Leon’s primary melee weapon used for parrying incoming attacks, executions, and breaking open wooden cabinets Grace cannot bypass.
Requiem Revolver (.44 Magnum): Delivers massive single-target damage capable of stopping boss charges in their tracks. Unlocked in the Lower Sanatorium using the Master Keycard.

🏆 Unlocking Infinite Ammo & Special Content

Postgame unlockables are purchased in the Extra Content Shop using Challenge Points (CP) earned from completing in-game achievements:

Infinite Ammo (All Weapons): Clear the main campaign on Hardcore or Insanity difficulty with an ‘S’ Rank (finish under 3 hours with 5 or fewer manual typewriter saves).
Indestructible Combat Hatchet: Locate and destroy all 25 Mr. Raccoon statues hidden across a single playthrough.
Chicago Typewriter: Clear the campaign on any difficulty without using a single healing item.

💡 Planning your full 2026 gaming calendar? Keep up with all upcoming AAA launch windows and platform news on our 2026 Video Game Release Schedule.

Related Resident Evil Requiem Guides

Resident Evil Requiem: All Puzzle Solutions
Resident Evil Requiem: All Weapons & How to Unlock Them
Resident Evil Requiem: All Mr. Raccoon Locations
Resident Evil Requiem: Complete Walkthrough
Resident Evil Requiem: All Endings & How to Unlock Them
Resident Evil Requiem: All Safe Codes & Combinations

2026 Video Game Release Calendar: Every Upcoming Game

Last Updated: July 25, 2026 | Editorial Note: Release dates are verified directly through official publisher announcements, financial earnings reports, and developer showcases (Xbox Direct, Capcom Highlights, PlayStation State of Play).

Planning your hardware upgrades, subscription renewals, or backlog for 2026? This comprehensive guide tracks every major video game release across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and Mobile.

🚀 Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2026

Game	Launch Date	Target Platforms	Key Highlights & Sourcing
Grand Theft Auto VI	Nov 19, 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X/S	The biggest entertainment release of the decade, featuring a return to modern Vice City. (Verified via Rockstar Games Newsroom).
Forza Horizon 6	May 19, 2026	PC, Xbox Series X/S	Highlights: Playground Games brings the franchise to Japan, debuting dynamic Tokyo street-lighting and overhauled steering physics.
Halo: Campaign Evolved	Jul 28, 2026	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S	The iconic campaign reimagined on Unreal Engine 5—marking the first mainline Halo title on PlayStation hardware. Includes 3 new prequel missions (Operation Meteorite).
Marvel’s Wolverine	Sep 15, 2026	PS5	Insomniac’s next major standalone superhero title following Spider-Man 2.
Gears of War: E-Day	Oct 6, 2026	PC, Xbox Series X/S	A prequel returning to the survival-horror roots of the original Locust emergence on Emergency Day.

🗓️ 2026 Game Release Calendar by Month

Q1: January – March

Action RPGs and Capcom heavy-hitters dominate the start of the year, alongside the first wave of titles optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware ecosystem.

Jan 15: The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon — PC PS4 PS5 Switch Switch 2
Jan 30: Code Vein 2 — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Feb 5: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch Switch 2
Feb 6:Nioh 3 — PS5
- Gameplay Note: Official combat deep-dives showcase a faster stance-switching system, rewarding a much more aggressive playstyle than Nioh 2.
Feb 13: High on Life 2 | Reanimal — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Feb 27: Resident Evil Requiem — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch 2(Planning your day-one run? Bookmark our Release Calendar → Main Requiem Guide → Safe Codes Guide.)
Mar 5: Marathon (Bungie) — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Mar 12: Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch 2
Mar 13: Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch 2(Check out our breakdown of Monster Hunter Stories 3 monstie tier lists and egg farming ahead of launch.)
Mar 17: MLB The Show 26 — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch
Mar 19: Crimson Desert — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Mar 19: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach — PC
Mar 26: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch 2 Edition) — Switch 2

Q2: April – June

Blockbuster expansions take center stage alongside flagship open-world racing and major sci-fi IPs.

Apr 17: Pragmata — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Apr 28: Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred (Expansion 2) — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Apr 30: Saros — PS5
May 14: Subnautica 2 (Early Access) — PC Xbox Series X/S
May 19: Forza Horizon 6 — PC Xbox Series X/S
May 20: Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core (Early Access) — PC
May 27: 007 First Light (IO Interactive) — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch 2
May 29: Mina the Hollower — PC PS4 PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch

Q3: July – September

Multiplatform history is made in Q3 as Halo hits PlayStation platforms, while fall sports and major Marvel titles gear up for launch.

Jul 10: Palworld — PC PS5 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S (1.0 Full Release)
Jul 28: Halo: Campaign Evolved — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Aug 6: Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls — PC PS5
Aug 13: Madden NFL 27 — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S Switch 2
Aug 27: Star Wars: Zero Company — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Sep 15: Marvel’s Wolverine — PS5
Sep 17: Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave — Switch 2
Sep 24: Silent Hill: Townfall — PC PS5
Sep 24: Control Resonant — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S

Q4: October – December

Grand Theft Auto VI dominates the Q4 holiday pipeline, reshaping the release schedules of surrounding AAA titles.

Oct 6: Gears of War: E-Day — PC Xbox Series X/S
Oct 23: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 — PC PS5 Xbox Series X/S
Oct 29: Phantom Blade Zero — PC PS5
Nov 19: 💥 Grand Theft Auto VI — PS5 Xbox Series X/S (PC window TBD)(Deep-dive into our analysis on the GTA 6 Vice City economy and real estate monetization mechanics.)
Dec 3: Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World — PS5 Switch Switch 2

⏳ Unscheduled 2026 Releases (Target Window Confirmed)

The following titles are officially targeted for a 2026 launch, but exact release dates have not yet been locked in by publishers:

Squadron 42 — PC
The Wolf Among Us Remastered — Multiplatform
Turok Origins — Multiplatform
Mortal Shell 2 — Multiplatform
The Duskbloods — Switch 2

🛡️ How We Verify Release Dates (Editorial Policy)

Direct Primary Sourcing: Every date in this calendar is verified through official publisher press announcements, financial SEC filings, or primary developer events (Xbox Direct, Capcom Highlights, PlayStation State of Play).
Tracking Delays: Late Q4 releases remain subject to studio schedule adjustments. Our newsroom reviews and updates this hub weekly to reflect official delays, early-access drops, and platform additions.

WoW Midnight Prey Hunting System Guide: How to Track Quarries, Unlock Nightmare Hunts, and Farm Elite Rewards

While dungeons and raids dominate the traditional PvE conversation, World of Warcraft: Midnight introduces a massive shift to open-world endgame content via the Prey Hunting System. Deep within the revamped forests of Eversong and the scarred steps of the Ghostlands, players are no longer just clearing static quest nodes—they are actively tracking elite quarry targets across scaling difficulties.

If you treat a high-tier hunt like a typical open-world rare spawn, you will quickly find your target escaping into the shadows. The system enforces strict footprint tracking, environmental puzzle-solving, and brutal solo combat checks. However, if mastered, it stands as one of the fastest ways in Season 1 to stock up on high-tier currencies, catch-up gear, and incredibly lucrative player housing blueprints.

This playtested guide breaks down the hidden tracking UI, the fastest path to maximize your Regional Prey Level, and the solo strategies needed to conquer Nightmare-tier quarries.

1. The Hunting Basics: How the Prey Tracking System Works

The Prey Hunting loop bypasses standard map pins. Instead, you must use localized environmental clues to discover, follow, and ambush your quarry.

Reading the Regional Tracking UI

When you enter a designated hunting zone, your minimap transitions into a specialized Scent Vector Radar. Rather than showing an exact point, it displays shifting directional arcs. To locate the quarry’s true trail, you must scour the terrain for three distinct physical interactions:

Disturbed Dirt: Indicates the weight and relative movement speed of the quarry.
Broken Foliage: Reveals if the target is flying, skyriding, or grounded.
Void Scents: Purple vapor clouds that show the chronological path the target took within the last three minutes.

Interacting with these points fills your Tracking Analysis Bar. Once it hits 100%, the quarry physically materializes, initiating the combat phase. If you are having trouble distinguishing hidden nodes across varying terrain elevations, you can cross-reference Wowhead’s comprehensive Prey tracking database and zone maps to overlay exact spawn grids onto your secondary monitor.

Grinding Your Regional Prey Level Fast

Your hunting efficiency is entirely gated by your Regional Prey Level (Tiers 1 through 4). To raise your rank efficiently without hitting daily diminishing returns, execute your open-world time using this specific layout:

Daily Minor Marks: Clear the three minor tracking bounties displayed at regional hunter camps. These require less than five minutes each and award a flat reputation baseline.
Weekly Major Quarries: Save your high-tier tracking consumables for the major weekly target. Defeating a major target provides a massive progression chunk toward your next tier level.
Avoid the Spawn Camp Trap: Standing in one spot waiting for a rare quarry to naturally path into you grants zero tracking progression. You must actively engage with physical clues to trigger the spawn.

2. Unlocking and Surviving Nightmare Hunts

Reaching Regional Prey Level 4 unlocks the true endgame layer of the system: Nightmare Hunts. This difficulty transforms standard open-world mobs into solo raid encounters.

The Escape Timers and Enrage Metrics

The moment a Nightmare quarry materializes, a strict 6-minute extraction timer begins ticking down. If the boss’s health bar is not depleted before the clock hits zero, the quarry turns immune and vanishes, wasting your tracking setup. Furthermore, at the 3-minute mark, the quarry enters a Void Rage, increasing its auto-attack damage by 50% and requiring flawless defensive mitigation.

🛑 Playtest Friction Warning: The Leash Reset Trap

During our live mechanical testing on high-tier targets, we discovered a lethal system quirk regarding boss positioning. If you drag a Nightmare quarry more than 60 yards away from its original tracking trail boundary—usually to escape a lethal environmental hazard or avoid pulling extra trash mobs—the boss will trigger an immediate Leash Reset. The quarry instantly despawns, wipes your Tracking Analysis Bar back to zero, and forces you to re-track the target entirely from scratch while locking your consumable tools on cooldown. Keep the fight firmly planted within the tracking arena.

3. High-Tier Solo Tracking Strategies & Spec Utility

Conquering Nightmare Hunts entirely solo requires specialized tools and class toolkits that can handle immense single-target damage while maintaining high mobility.

The Tracker’s Essential Survival Kit

Never trigger a high-tier hunt without filling your inventory with these mandatory engineering and alchemy tracking aids:

Stalker’s Pheromones: A consumable potion that extends the quarry’s escape timer by an additional 60 seconds.
Void-Tethered Traps: An engineered snare that halts a rampaging quarry’s movement for 6 seconds, giving you a clean window to reset your defensive cooldowns.
Marl-Infused Whetstones: Provides a passive 5% damage amplification modifier specifically tuned against open-world elite beasts and aberrations.

The Best Solo Spec Archetypes

Classes that possess strong passive self-healing, high target uptime, and active crowd-control utility completely trivialize the mechanical scaling of Nightmare targets:

Beast Master Hunter: The undisputed layout king. Your combat pets completely absorb the quarry’s heavy physical auto-attacks, allowing you to maintain perfect damage output while kiting away from ground hazards.
Guardian Druid: Exceptional for out-surviving the 3-minute Void Rage window. The combination of massive armor scaling and passive healing throughput ensures you can stand toe-to-toe with the hardest-hitting targets.
Blood Death Knight: The primary choice for ignoring control mechanics. Death Strike makes you entirely self-sufficient, while Death’s Advance prevents the quarry from knocking you out of the tracking boundary.

4. The Quarry Loot Map: Currencies & Exclusive Drops

Target-firing specific regions is essential to ensure your hunting hours align with your character’s long-term goals. Focus your weekly lockouts using this definitive loot distribution map:

Elite Quarry Target	Zone Region	Key Currencies / Unique Asset Drops	Targeted Player Profile
Gloomfang the Unbound	Ghostlands Revamp	Ascendant Voidshards / Void-Infused Armor Sets	Competitive Gear Grinders
Sunscreecher Vael	Eversong Woods	Epic Sunstrider Tapestry (Housing Decor)	Rare Collectors & Crafters
The Void-Stitched Horror	Voidstorm Border	Reins of the Midnight Stalker (Rare Mount)	Mount Hunters
All Nightmare Targets	Expansion-Wide	Guaranteed Champion-track item container (Weekly)	Catch-Up Gearing Players

5. The Weekly Reward Optimization Loop

To extract the maximum absolute progression value from the open-world layout and ensure compliance with the official Blizzard patch notes on expansion-wide open world progression, coordinate your weekly activities using this precise sequence:

1.Complete 3 Weekly Nightmare Hunts:Step 1.

Clear your three weekly Nightmare Hunts right after the weekly reset. This fills out your initial world tracking metrics and secures your raw currency baseline early.

2.Claim the Champion-Track Container:Step 2.

Open your guaranteed weekly hunt container to check your drop slot. This prevents you from accidentally purchasing or target-farming an identical piece of armor later in the week.

3.Burn Keys in Solo Delves:Step 3.

Take the tokens and currencies earned from your hunts and transition directly into Tier 11 Bountiful Delves, building upon your established gear floor.

📊 Loot Strategist’s Market Verdict:

If you are an active crafter or gold-maker, do not spend your hunting tokens on the immediate catch-up gear containers. The gear from hunting tokens tops out at standard Champion levels, which can easily be replaced in low-level Mythic dungeons. Instead, hoard your tokens to purchase the exclusive Epic Sunstrider Tapestry and regional player housing blueprints. These housing assets hold an incredibly high value on the Auction House, allowing you to turn your outdoor tracking hours into immense liquid gold capital.

If you find your baseline item stats falling short against the strict 6-minute enrage windows of Nightmare targets, walk through our playtested WoW Midnight Endgame Gearing Guide to farm out your baseline gear tracks first. Additionally, if the steep gold costs of high-tier tracking potions and engineered traps are draining your character’s financial vault, read through our definitive WoW Midnight Gold Making & Profession Guide to keep your open-world ventures completely self-funded.

WoW Midnight Voidspire Raid Guide: Boss Strategies, DPS Checks, and Tier Token Optimization

Stepping into the Voidspire—the centerpiece six-boss raid tier of World of Warcraft: Midnight Season 1—is the ultimate test of your group’s coordination and mechanical discipline. Located at the corrupted heart of the Voidstorm zone in Quel’Thalas, this vertical citadel forces raiding teams to contend with escalating void corruptions and razor-thin execution windows.

Unlike previous expansion cycles where raw, over-geared DPS numbers could mask mechanical failures, the Voidspire enforces strict survival checks across all flex sizes (10–30 players) and its fixed 20-player Mythic roster. If your team misses a single grid placement or mismanages a soak marker, the entire encounter will crumble into an immediate wipe cascade.

This playtested, high-experience raiding blueprint bypasses the generic filler text and gives your guild the exact scannable “cheat sheets,” role assignments, and token drop paths needed to clean out the Spire.

Defending Quel’Thalas against the encroaching Void forces.. Source: GameRant

1. Voidspire Entry Requirements & Raid Layout

Before gathering your team at the instance portal (/way 45.5, 64.4 in the Voidstorm zone), ensure your roster satisfies the baseline numerical floors required to successfully clear content:

Raid Finder (LFR): Minimum entry item level of 220.
Normal Difficulty: Recommended group average of 235+ iLvl with all core tier slots synthesized.
Heroic Difficulty: Strict 248+ iLvl floor required to satisfy late-wing hard enrage thresholds.

The layout progresses linearly up the corrupted void-elf spire. The first three encounters act as a hard gear and positioning check, while the final three bosses introduce complex mechanical overlaps that will push your raid frames to their breaking points.

2. Voidspire Boss Cheat Sheets: Fast-Action Roles

Use these highly scannable, three-bullet role summaries to coordinate your group assignments during trash clears.

Encounter 1: Imperator Averzian (Territory Control Gatekeeper)

The opening fight is a high-stakes grid management game played across a 3×3 tiled arena. Averzian steadily corrupts sections of the floor, rendering them permanently lethal.

🛡️ Tanks: Swap immediately at 8–10 stacks of Blackening Wounds. Drag the boss completely out of active Void Claimed zones to prevent him from triggering Imperator’s Glory, a buff that renders him practically unkillable.
🟢 Healers: Pre-assign healing cooldowns for the massive raid-wide bursts from Umbral Collapse. Prioritize single-target spot healing on individuals tasked with covering active floor-soak circles.
⚔️ DPS: Hard-prioritize Abyssal Voidshapers the moment they materialize. Do not stand in the active trajectory lines of Shadowguard Stalwarts to avoid taking unnecessary knockback damage.

Encounter 2: Vorasius (The Soft Enrage Wall)

A brutal single-target encounter centered around breaking down defensive crystal walls and managing rampaging adds.

🛡️ Tanks: Ensure the boss’s Smashing Frenzy always makes direct contact with an active tank. Missing an active melee target triggers an instant, unmitigated explosion across the entire raid group.
🟢 Healers: Prepare for intense, ramping damage profiles during the second and third cycles of Primordial Roar. Focus healing bursts on the active tank currently managing the Smashed armor-reduction debuff.
⚔️ DPS: Kite spawning Blistercreeps directly adjacent to the active crystal walls. Detonate them precisely to destroy sections of the environment, creating a safe gap for the raid to step through before Void Breath incinerates the platform.

Encounter 3: Fallen-King Salhadaar (Orb Convergence Phase)

A high-velocity coordination fight requiring strict projectile management and tightly timed defensive dispels.

🛡️ Tanks: Move the boss methodically along the outer edges during Shattering Twilight. Rotate major defensives as Instability stacks creep higher, and physically intercept moving orbs if they approach the boss.
🟢 Healers: Coordinate your dispels on Despotic Command intentionally. Dispelling this debuff instantly drops a localized void puddle and inflicts Oppressive Darkness (a heavy healing absorb shield) on surrounding allies.
⚔️ DPS: Instantly stop casting on the boss and swap to Concentrated Void orbs the second they spawn. Space your kill timings out by at least 4 seconds; killing two orbs simultaneously triggers a fatal explosion from Galactic Miasma.

3. The Tier Set Token Drop Map

To optimize your group’s Matrix Catalyst usage and allocate your loot tokens efficiently, follow this exact boss drop mapping. You can verify individual bonus roll eligibilities and secondary stat variants using Wowhead’s comprehensive Voidspire loot table and item database:

Token Classification	Eligible Class Armor Pools	Dropping Boss Encounters
Voidcast Nullcore	Evoker, Hunter, Shaman	Fallen-King Salhadaar (Boss 3) / Crown of the Cosmos (Boss 6)
Voidcured Nullcore	Demon Hunter, Rogue, Monk, Druid	Vaelgor & Ezzorak (Boss 4) / Crown of the Cosmos (Boss 6)
Voidwoven Nullcore	Warlock, Priest, Mage	Lightblinded Vanguard (Boss 5) / Crown of the Cosmos (Boss 6)
Voidforged Nullcore	Death Knight, Paladin, Warrior	Vorasius (Boss 2) / Crown of the Cosmos (Boss 6)

4. Overcoming the Enrage Walls: Late-Stage DPS Checks

As your group pushes past the initial wing, the mechanical checks shift heavily into raw statistical scaling math. Cross-referencing your roster’s output with Warcraft Logs’ global character parsing data and live raid metrics is highly recommended to identify where your damage profiles might be lagging. On Encounter 4 (Vaelgor & Ezzorak), your group faces a ruthless health synchronization metric. Allowing the health percentages of the two dragons to drift apart by more than 10% triggers a permanent, raid-wide enrage that will vaporize your tanks within two melee swings.

1.1. Establish Balanced Anchors:Phase 1: Split Priority.

Divide your main DPS roster evenly before the pull. Assign high-burst melee classes to Vaelgor and steady multi-dot ranged casters to Ezzorak, maintaining a strict 1:1 health burn ratio across both targets.

2.2. Execute the Radiant Barrier Stack:Phase 2: Intermission Shift.

The moment Midnight Flames activates, halt all offensive casting. The entire raid group must drop everything and run to stack inside the protective Radiant Barrier zone. Failing to stack within 2 seconds results in a lethal environmental wipe.

3.3. Coordinate Your Execution Cooldowns:Phase 3: The Execution Burn.

Once the barrier subsides, push both bosses below 15% health simultaneously. Save your primary execution modifiers and combat potions for this exact window, ensuring both dragons drop within 5 seconds of one another to bypass the absolute wipe trigger.

🛑 Playtest Friction Warning: The Line-of-Sight DPS Deficit

During our internal testing on the final encounter (Crown of the Cosmos), we discovered an incredibly frustrating mechanical trap. When the boss casts Gravity Collapse, the arena splits via swirling celestial anomalies.

If your ranged DPS and casters step behind the crumbling elven buttresses to dodge the void projectiles, they lose clean Line-of-Sight (LoS) on the target. This breaks active channel windows and creates a massive, unrecoverable 25% dip in raid-wide DPS throughput. To survive the hard enrage timer, your ranged players must position themselves entirely along the inner concentric ring, taking minor step-strafes rather than hiding completely behind solid environmental structures.

5. Maximizing Raid Prep: Consumables & Augments

Do not show up to a Voidspire progression run relying entirely on base item stats. To push past the numbers barriers enforced on Heroic difficulty, every single member of your roster must log in with premium, max-star consumables:

📊 Loot Strategist’s Progression Verdict:

While it is tempting to dump your hard-earned gold buying expensive item-level upgrades off the Auction House, your statistical progression is far better served by securing your core weapon augment slots first. Ensure your primary weapon is infused with an Ascendant Voidcore modifier, and keep your inventory stocked with high-tier consumables.

If you find yourself running short on the raw materials needed to keep your raiding vaults supplied with top-tier flasks, consult our comprehensive WoW Midnight Gold Making & Profession Guide to fund your operations entirely self-sufficiently. Furthermore, if you need to optimize your character’s baseline attributes before joining an organized group finder run, walk through our playtested WoW Midnight Endgame Gearing Guide to lock down your solo Tier 11 Delve loot pathways first.

WoW Midnight Mythic+ Season 1 Strategy Guide: Dungeon Rotations, Meta Tier Lists, and Loot Mapping

Pushing keystones in World of Warcraft: Midnight Season 1 is the definitive path to completely optimizing your weekly Great Vault and locking down absolute best-in-slot (BiS) Myth-track gear. However, entering the Mythic+ (M+) scene in a revamped, Void-infused Quel’Thalas requires a lot more than just raw DPS output. With tighter mechanical execution, revamped affix thresholds, and brutal trash pack scaling, running keys blindly is a fast track to bricking your keystone and alienating your group.

To ensure you stay ahead of the competitive curve and secure your weekly +10 milestones, here is our playtested, data-driven Season 1 strategy blueprint for lootstrategist.com.

1. The Season 1 Dungeon Pool: Rotation Breakdown

Season 1 features a balanced eight-dungeon layout consisting of four brand-new expansion environments and four returning fan-favorites modernized with current endgame damage scaling.

The Four New Elven Frontiers

The Silvermoon Catacombs: A hyper-dense, non-linear instance requiring strict pathing. Controlling line-of-sight (LoS) around the narrow elven pillars is mandatory to prevent hyper-extended Void-caster pulls.
Sunwell Depths: A gauntlet style instance characterized by relentless, hard-hitting trash packs. The mechanical focus here is on heavy spatial awareness and clean boss positioning.
Harandar Redoubt: A high-mobility dungeon featuring massive open areas. Mind your skyriding paths between platforms, as dropping out of bounds results in an immediate group wipe.
Voidstorm Sanctum: The pinnacle of cosmic damage profiles. Healing requirements spike heavily during the mid-dungeon environment events, demanding synchronized defensive cooldown rotations.

The Four Legacy Returners

The Arcway (Legion): Modernized with intense magical damage scaling. The unpredictable door-opening mechanics have been streamlined, but the mana-wraith trash packs hit much harder than you remember.
Grim Batol (Cataclysm): The dragon-bombing mechanic remains, but its trash-clearing efficiency has been scaled back. Focus heavily on kicking the Twilight Benders’ shadow-casting casts.
Siege of Boralus (Battle for Azeroth): The water-born boss encounters demand flawless spatial positioning, while the alliance/horde spotter mechanics require precise target tagging.
Mists of Tirna Scithe (Shadowlands): The puzzle maze layout is intact, but the mechanical variance on the trickster boss has been tightened to prevent brute-force burst phases.

2. Season 1 Mythic+ Meta Spec Tier List

The high-key leaderboard meta has solidified around specializations that offer unparalleled group utility, strong passive damage mitigation, and sustained area-of-effect (AoE) burst.

Role	S-Tier (The God Comp)	A-Tier (Highly Competitive)	B-Tier (Viable / Comp Dependent)
Tank	Protection Paladin	Blood Death Knight / Guardian Druid	Brewmaster Monk / Protection Warrior
Healer	Restoration Shaman	Preservation Evoker / Holy Priest	Discipline Priest / Mistweaver Monk
DPS (Melee)	Frost Death Knight	Havoc Demon Hunter / Outlaw Rogue	Retribution Paladin / Arms Warrior
DPS (Ranged)	Augmentation Evoker / Mage (Frost)	Shadow Priest / Balance Druid	Destruction Warlock / Beast Master Hunter

The Rationale Behind the S-Tier Meta

Protection Paladin: The undisputed king of key control. The sheer volume of target-capped spell interrupts from Avenger’s Shield completely trivializes the lethal Void-mender groups in the new Midnight dungeons.
Restoration Shaman: Mandatory for their short-cooldown ranged interrupt (Wind Shear) and massive passive group healing profile through heavy movement phases via Spiritwalker’s Grace.
Augmentation Evoker & Frost Mage: The absolute bedrock of high-key damage execution. Augmentation scales the group’s passive defenses, while Frost Mage provides passive slows, group roots, and unmatched target control during high-stack trash weeks.

While every specialization is structurally capable of timing keys up to a +10 baseline, checking the real-time high-end logs on Raider.IO’s live global character rankings and group composition metrics reveals an intense community shift toward specific team structures. The community group-finder filter systems consistently prioritize options that bring targeted control to the new dungeons.

The high-key leaderboard meta has solidified around specializations that offer unparalleled group utility, strong passive damage mitigation, and sustained area-of-effect (AoE) burst. Cross-referencing our raw gameplay testing with Archon’s endgame M+ data parsing index gives us a definitive look at the initial Season 1 layout:

3. The 2026 Affix Thresholds & Mechanical Shifts

Blizzard has fundamentally restructured how affixes scale as keys escalate. Mechanics no longer introduce random, uncontrollable open-world annoyances; instead, they scale directly at core milestone levels to challenge your group’s fundamental execution.

1.1. The Baseline Scaling Era:Key Levels +2 to +3.

Focus: Core dungeon layout masteries. Mobs receive standard health and damage multipliers, allowing you to learn basic pull limitations and boss visual tells without immediate, lethal punishment.

2.2. The First Mechanical Pivot:Key Levels +4 to +6.

Focus: Challenger’s Peril activates. Wiping now results in a severe 15-second time penalty rather than a standard 5-second drain. Tyrannical or Fortified rotation cycles activate here, completely shifting your target prioritization.

3.3. The Utility Check Layer:Key Levels +7 to +9.

Focus: High-intensity environmental affixes activate (e.g., Void-burst anomalies). Trash packs gain extra defensive abilities or spawn tracking ground hazards, requiring crowd-control coordination and active dispel management.

4.4. The Elite Execution Threshold:Key Levels +10 and Beyond.

Focus: The Guiding Light / Void Infusion apex affixes unlock. Bosses gain an additional 20% health modifier, and specific elite trash mobs receive a permanent damage-boosting aura that can only be mitigated by purge mechanics or absolute single-target focus.

🛑 Playtest Friction Warning: The Voidstorm Hazard Wipe Cascade

Watch Your Ground Dispel Timings:

While testing high-tier keys in the Voidstorm Sanctum during a high-movement affix week, our group encountered a brutal mechanical loop. The second boss spawns heavy purple swirl pools that pull characters inward. If this cast happens exactly when a global moving affix triggers, the intersecting ground hazards will overwhelm standard running speeds. Do not attempt to run out of it manually. The healer must immediately drop a mass speed multiplier (like Wind Rush Totem or Stampeding Roar) or prepare a major defensive raid cooldown ahead of the overlap to prevent an instant, cascade wipe.

4. Dungeon Loot Mapping: Target-Farming Your BiS Trinkets

Do not waste your valuable keystones running instances with poor stat allocations. Use this definitive loot map to spend your dungeon focus targeting maximum statistical output:

Dungeon Name	Boss Encounter	Trinket / Weapon Asset	Primary Target
The Silvermoon Catacombs	Void-Overseer Kaelen	Signet of the Sun-Strider	All Casters / Ranged DPS
Sunwell Depths	High Priestess Valestra	Vial of Restorative Light	All Main Healers
The Arcway	Ivanyr	Chronoshard Catalyst	High-Haste Melee DPS
Voidstorm Sanctum	The Manifestation	Voidcore Heart	Protection Paladins / Tanks
Grim Batol	Erudax	Umbral Greatsword	Two-Handed Strength DPS

5. The Keystone Economy: Consumables & Group Optimization

Running competitive keys at a +10 baseline is an incredibly expensive enterprise. Between armor durability repairs, premium combat flasks, high-tier stat food, and individual potion consumption, a single night of key pushing can easily drain 50,000 gold from your inventory.

Before building your group finder listings or gathering your pre-made team at the dungeon portal, ensure your operational vault is entirely optimized.

📊 Loot Strategist’s Team Composition Verdict:

When pulling random players from the group finder (“pugging”), never select group members based purely on high raw DPS throughput numbers. A player outputting slightly less damage who possesses a reliable off-heal, a curse dispel, or a high-velocity interrupt is statistically three times more likely to save a failing key than a pure glass-cannon build. Group synergy, mechanical compliance, and crowd-control utility are your truest paths to timing keys consistently.

If you are stepping into high Mythic+ keystones for the first time this season and find your character’s baseline stats falling short, consult our playtested WoW Midnight Endgame Gearing Guide to farm out your Tier 11 solo Delve tracks first. Furthermore, if the steep costs of top-tier raiding flasks and combat enchants are putting a strain on your character’s financial reserves, read through our definitive WoW Midnight Gold Making & Profession Guide to permanently secure your crafting profits and keep your competitive endgame entirely self-funded.

WoW Midnight Gearing Guide: How to Gear Up Fast in Season 1

So you’ve reached level 90 in World of Warcraft: Midnight. Now the real gearing game begins.

If you’re wondering what to do first, you’re not alone. Midnight gives you a lot of ways to improve your character—Delves, Prey, dungeons, Mythic+, raids, world activities, crafting, the Great Vault, and the newer Voidforge system.

The trick isn’t to do all of them.

Your best gearing route depends on what you actually play.

If you’re mostly solo, Delves and Prey give you a strong progression path. If you enjoy dungeons, move through Mythic 0 and into Mythic+. Raiders can build around raid progression while using other activities to fill gaps. And if you’re gearing an alt, catch-up systems and targeted rewards become much more important.

This guide breaks down how we’d approach Midnight Season 1 gearing, what to prioritize at each stage, and where it’s worth spending your upgrade resources.

Last updated: August 2026
Season: Midnight Season 1

The Short Version: How to Gear Up in Midnight

If you don’t want to read the entire guide, here’s the basic approach:

Fresh level 90: Replace your weakest leveling pieces and start the endgame activity you enjoy.

Mostly solo: Build around Delves and Prey, then add higher-difficulty content as your character improves.

Dungeon player: Use Heroic and Mythic 0 as a bridge into Mythic+.

Raider: Get into the raid difficulty your group can handle and use Delves, dungeons, and other activities to fill weak slots.

Every week: Complete worthwhile activities for your Great Vault rather than leaving potential upgrades on the table.

Later in the season: Start thinking less about average item level and more about specific weapons, trinkets, tier pieces, crafted gear, and targeted upgrades.

The biggest mistake is trying to optimize every slot immediately.

Early-season gear gets replaced quickly. Get strong enough to move into better content first; optimize once your upgrades start becoming harder to find.

Your First Hour at Level 90

Don’t overcomplicate this part.

Open your character panel and look for the obvious weak spots. A few low-level pieces left over from leveling can hold your character back more than a missing perfect secondary-stat combination.

At this point, prioritize large, meaningful upgrades.

You don’t need a perfect stat setup yet. You also don’t need to spend expensive upgrade currencies on every piece that happens to be upgradeable.

Start with the content that fits your character

If you prefer playing alone, start with the solo-friendly systems available to you.

If you already have a group, dungeons are an easy way to start replacing gear and getting comfortable with your level-90 rotation and mechanics.

If you’re already an experienced raider or Mythic+ player, there’s no reason to spend a week doing content far below your usual level just because a generic gearing guide says you should.

Your previous experience matters.

A veteran Mythic+ player should progress differently from someone who has just returned to WoW after two expansions away.

The Best Gearing Path Depends on How You Play

If you…	Start with	Then work toward
Mostly play solo	Delves + Prey	Higher-tier Delves and Nightmare Prey
Prefer dungeons	Heroic → Mythic 0	Mythic+
Raid regularly	Catch-up gear + raid	Higher raid difficulties
Play a mixture of everything	Delves + dungeons	Mythic+ and raids
Are gearing an alt	Catch-up systems	Your preferred endgame activity
Mainly PvP	PvP gearing	Rated PvP progression

There isn’t a single “best” activity for every player.

The best route is the one that gives you useful upgrades and that you’re actually willing to keep doing.

Solo Gearing: Delves and Prey

Midnight is particularly friendly to players who don’t want their entire gearing routine to revolve around finding a group.

Two systems are especially important: Delves and Prey.

If you’re primarily interested in solo progression, Midnight Prey guide goes into the target system, difficulties, and rewards in more detail.

Delves

Delves remain one of the easiest ways to build a solo-friendly endgame routine.

Midnight launched with eleven Delves in total, including ten new Delves and the seasonal Nemesis Delve. Blizzard also made Delves Tier 8+ part of the Season 1 endgame schedule.

For a solo player, the important question isn’t simply:

“What’s the highest Delve tier I can enter?”

It’s:

“What’s the highest tier I can clear comfortably without turning every run into a slog?”

That’s the tier I’d focus on.

A slightly lower tier that you can clear consistently is usually a better gearing routine than repeatedly struggling through content that takes significantly longer.

How we’d use Delves

Use them to replace weak gear early in your progression.
Prioritize Bountiful Delves when their rewards are useful to you.
Push higher tiers as your character becomes stronger.
Don’t waste expensive resources upgrading an item you expect to replace soon.
Keep Delves in your weekly routine if you enjoy solo progression.

Delves also become relevant to later-season systems such as Voidforge, which makes them more than just an early catch-up activity.

Prey: A Good Alternative to Group Content

Prey gives you another way to pursue endgame rewards while hunting specific targets.

The system has Normal, Hard, and Nightmare difficulties.

If you’re already comfortable with the lower difficulties, Nightmare Prey becomes particularly interesting for advanced progression. Nightmare Prey also feeds into the Season 1 Voidforge system.

Our advice is simple:

Don’t run Prey just because a guide tells you that you “have to.”

Run it when:

You enjoy the activity.
The rewards can improve your character.
You’re progressing toward the difficulty you want to play.
You want another source of endgame progression outside dungeons or raids.

That’s especially useful for players who don’t enjoy spending every evening in Mythic+.

When Should You Move Into Dungeons?

If you like group content, dungeons are a natural next step.

Heroic Dungeons

Heroic dungeons are useful for getting comfortable with your class and replacing weaker pieces before you start pushing harder content.

Don’t worry about staying here longer than necessary.

Once your character is comfortable and you’re ready for more difficult mechanics, move on.

Mythic 0

Mythic 0 gives you a useful bridge into Mythic+.

You can learn the dungeon mechanics and get used to the more demanding version of the content without the added pressure of a timed keystone.

Once you’re comfortable, start moving into Mythic+.

Mythic+: When Dungeon Progression Really Starts

Mythic+ is one of the core endgame gearing paths in Season 1.

The current rotation contains eight dungeons:

Magisters’ Terrace
Maisara Caverns
Nexus-Point Xenas
Windrunner Spire
Algeth’ar Academy
Pit of Saron
Seat of the Triumvirate
Skyreach

Blizzard’s Season 1 schedule also ties Mythic+ progression into seasonal rewards and the Great Vault.

Don’t rush into keys that are too high

This is one of the easiest mistakes to make.

If you’re constantly timing out or wiping, pushing a higher key isn’t necessarily helping your gearing speed.

Start at a level where you can complete the dungeon reliably.

Then move upward.

Your Mythic+ routine should ideally give you three things at the same time:

Gear
Rating and experience
Great Vault progress

If you’re getting all three, you’re moving in the right direction.

Raiding: The Other Major Endgame Path

Midnight Season 1’s raid progression centers on:

The Voidspire
The Dreamrift
March on Quel’Danas

The season’s raid and Mythic+ progression opened in stages, with The Voidspire and The Dreamrift available at the start of Season 1 and March on Quel’Danas following the season schedule.

If you’re a raider, don’t feel that you need to complete every other gearing system before stepping into a raid.

Raid progression itself is part of your gearing path.

Use other activities to fill the gaps

That’s where Delves, Mythic+, Prey, world activities, and crafting become useful.

If your raid team needs you to improve a particular slot, don’t necessarily wait for that exact item to drop from a boss.

Look at the other available sources and work around the gap.

That’s much more efficient than treating the raid loot table as your only source of progression.

Understanding Midnight’s Gear Progression

It’s tempting to build a gearing guide around a giant item-level table.

The problem is that those tables age quickly.

Seasonal tuning, content updates, and new reward systems can change the numbers, while the underlying progression philosophy stays largely the same.

So here’s the rule we recommend:

Think about the quality and source of the item first, then its item level.

A higher item-level item isn’t automatically the best long-term upgrade if you’re about to replace it.

Conversely, a slightly lower-level item can sometimes be worth keeping if it has an important effect, set bonus, or role in your build.

This becomes increasingly important as you move from basic gearing into optimization.

What Should You Upgrade First?

This is where a lot of players waste resources.

The right answer depends on your class and specialization, but there are a few sensible priorities.

1. Weapons

Weapons are often among the most valuable upgrades, particularly for damage dealers.

If you get a weapon that you’re likely to keep for a while, upgrading it can make much more sense than spreading the same resources across several temporary armor pieces.

2. Important Trinkets

A strong trinket can have considerably more value to your character than a small item-level increase on an ordinary armor slot.

If you’ve found one of the trinkets you’re planning to use long-term, it’s a much better upgrade candidate.

3. Tier Pieces

Once you’re building your class set, consider the value of maintaining or completing your tier bonus before blindly upgrading individual slots.

4. Major, Long-Term Upgrades

After the obvious high-impact pieces are handled, spend resources on equipment you’re likely to keep.

5. Temporary Gear

This should usually come last.

If you expect to replace an item after your next dungeon or raid night, don’t pour expensive resources into it just because the upgrade button is available.

Loot Strategist’s rule of thumb: Don’t ask, “Can I upgrade this?” Ask, “Will I still be wearing this when my next major upgrade drops?”

That’s a much better question.

The Great Vault Should Be Part of Your Weekly Plan

Don’t treat the Great Vault as something you remember to check on reset day.

Build your weekly activities around creating useful choices.

Blizzard specifically reminds players to check the Great Vault each week during Season 1.

The exact activities you choose will depend on your playstyle.

A Mythic+ player will naturally build their week around keys.

A raider will have raid progression.

A solo player can use Delves, Prey, and the other activities contributing to the relevant reward categories.

And Midnight’s later 12.0.5 content added Ritual Sites, which also contribute to the World-content Great Vault row alongside Delves and Prey.

Our advice

Don’t feel compelled to complete every possible activity simply to fill every Vault slot.

If one activity takes a huge amount of time for a reward you’re unlikely to use, your time may be better spent progressing your character elsewhere.

Matrix Catalyst: Don’t Waste Your Charges

The Matrix Catalyst is one of the most important tools for completing your class set.

But that doesn’t mean every non-tier piece should immediately be converted.

Before using a charge, ask yourself:

Is this item a meaningful upgrade?
Will converting it help complete my set bonus?
Do I already have another piece that can fill this slot?
Am I likely to replace this item soon?
Is there another item I should save the charge for?

The right answer depends heavily on your current tier progress.

If you’re one piece away from an important set bonus, the value of a Catalyst charge can be much higher than it would be for a character that’s nowhere near completing the set.

Voidforge: Targeting the Gear You Actually Want

Voidforge is one of the more interesting additions to Midnight’s endgame gearing system.

Once unlocked, it lets you use Nebulous Voidcores to obtain random eligible equipment from the loot pool associated with qualifying Season 1 activities.

Those activities include:

Season 1 raid bosses
Mythic+ dungeons
Bountiful Delves
Nightmare Prey Hunts

Blizzard’s system also removes obtained items from the relevant loot pool until eligible items have been collected for that difficulty, which makes Voidforge particularly interesting for players targeting specific missing pieces.

Why Voidforge matters

This is especially useful when your character reaches the point where one or two missing pieces are holding back your build.

Instead of simply hoping that the right item appears naturally, Voidforge gives you another way to target the available loot pool.

It’s also potentially useful for alts later in the season.

Ascendant Voidcores and High-End Gear

Voidforge also introduces Ascendant Voidcores, which can be used to further empower eligible weapons and trinkets after they meet the required upgrade conditions.

This is firmly in the “optimize your character” part of progression rather than the “I just hit level 90” part.

Don’t build your early gearing strategy around it.

By the time this system becomes a major consideration, your priorities should already have shifted from:

“How do I replace this bad item?”

to:

“Which pieces are actually worth investing in?”

Midnight’s Newer Solo-Friendly Gearing Options

If you’re reading an older Season 1 gearing guide, be careful with advice written before the 12.0.5 update.

Midnight has added more endgame activities since launch.

Void Assaults

Void Assaults provide another world-content activity and contribute to the broader progression system.

Ritual Sites

Ritual Sites are small one-to-five-player instances where you choose challenges as you progress through the tiers.

They also contribute to the World-content Great Vault row and reward Field Accolades that can be used for Champion and Hero-quality gear and other rewards.

That makes them worth mentioning in a current gearing guide—particularly for players who prefer solo or small-group content.

A Practical Weekly Gearing Routine

Here’s the routine we’d recommend rather than a rigid “do these 17 activities every reset” checklist.

First: Check your gear

Look for:

An obviously weak slot
A missing tier piece
A weapon upgrade
A strong trinket you want to keep
Gear that’s ready for a meaningful upgrade

Next: Play your main content

If you like Delves, run Delves.

If you’re a Mythic+ player, run keys.

If you’re raiding, raid.

If you prefer solo content, combine Delves, Prey, Ritual Sites, and other available world activities.

Then: Build your Great Vault

Make sure your normal weekly activities are contributing toward useful choices.

Finally: Spend resources carefully

Before upgrading something, ask:

Is this likely to survive my next few upgrades?

If yes, invest.

If no, keep the resources.

That’s the entire philosophy.

You don’t need a spreadsheet open every time you loot a pair of boots.

How to Gear an Alt

Alts are where Midnight’s broader gearing ecosystem becomes particularly useful.

Don’t approach your alt as though you’re starting the expansion from scratch.

First, get the character to a reasonable endgame baseline.

Then use the catch-up and account-wide systems available to you, followed by the activities that provide the most useful upgrades for that character.

A sensible alt progression looks like this:

Reach level 90.
Replace the weakest leveling gear.
Use available Warband/account-wide resources.
Run the endgame content you enjoy.
Build useful Great Vault choices.
Target missing pieces as your character improves.
Save expensive resources for equipment you’re likely to keep.

If your main has already taught you how the season works, don’t make your alt repeat every inefficient step.

Common Gearing Mistakes to Avoid

Upgrading everything

Just because an item can be upgraded doesn’t mean it should be.

Chasing average item level

Item level is useful, but it isn’t the entire character.

Ignoring your tier set

A small item-level increase isn’t necessarily better than progressing toward an important set bonus.

Saving every upgrade forever

The opposite mistake is also common.

If an upgrade is meaningful and you’re going to use the item for a while, use your resources.

Don’t wait forever for some hypothetical perfect drop.

Doing content you hate

If you absolutely hate Mythic+, don’t build your entire gearing plan around Mythic+ because someone called it the “fastest” method.

A sustainable routine beats a theoretically optimal routine you abandon after three days.

Following outdated guides

This is especially important in Midnight.

New content updates can add activities, change reward structures, and introduce new ways to target gear.

Always check when a gearing guide was last updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do first after reaching level 90?

Replace your weakest leveling gear, then start the endgame content that fits your preferred playstyle. Delves and Prey are natural options for solo players, while dungeons and Mythic+ are better suited to players who enjoy group content.

Are Delves still worth doing if I play Mythic+?

Yes. Delves can provide another source of progression and remain relevant to systems such as Voidforge. They can also be useful for filling gaps between dungeon runs.

When should I start spending upgrade resources?

Start spending when the item is a meaningful upgrade and you’re reasonably confident you’ll keep it for a while. Don’t spend heavily on gear you’re likely to replace immediately.

Should I use the Matrix Catalyst immediately?

Not necessarily. If using a charge completes an important tier bonus, it can be extremely valuable. Otherwise, consider whether you’re likely to receive a better item soon.

What’s the fastest way to gear an alt?

Get your alt to a reasonable baseline, use available catch-up and Warband resources, then focus on the endgame activity you already understand and enjoy. There’s little reason to repeat every inefficient gearing step you went through on your main.

Final Recommendation

Don’t make gearing harder than it needs to be.

At the beginning of the season, your job is simply to replace bad gear and get strong enough to enter better content.

Once you’re established, start being selective.

Use Delves and Prey if that’s how you like to play. Run Mythic+ if you enjoy pushing keys. Raid if raiding is your thing. Use the Great Vault every week. Work toward your tier set. And when you reach the point where upgrades become scarce, use systems such as Voidforge and targeted gearing to chase the pieces that actually matter.

Most importantly, don’t confuse higher item level with better progression.

A good gearing week isn’t the one where every number on your character sheet goes up.

It’s the week where you made your character noticeably stronger, spent your resources wisely, and are now ready to tackle content that was previously out of reach.

That’s the gearing loop worth building around.

Sources & Updates

Last updated: August 2026
Current season: Midnight Season 1

This guide is maintained as Midnight’s gearing systems change. We use Blizzard’s official documentation to verify major changes to rewards, progression systems, and new Season 1 activities.

Official Sources

Midnight Season 1: Blizzard’s official Season 1 overview, including raid, Mythic+, Delve, and seasonal progression information.
12.0.5 Content Update: Blizzard’s official patch notes covering Void Assaults, Ritual Sites, Voidforge, Nebulous Voidcores, and Ascendant Voidcores.
Voidforge: Blizzard’s official explanation of how Nebulous Voidcores and Ascendant Voidcores work with Midnight Season 1 gear.
12.0.5 World Content: Blizzard’s overview of Ritual Sites, Field Accolades, and their relationship with the World-content Great Vault.

Why we include these sources: Midnight is a live-service game, and gearing systems can change during the season. We update this guide when Blizzard changes the underlying reward or progression systems rather than relying on launch-day information.

WoW Midnight Fast Leveling Guide: How to Catch Up and Hit Level 90 Fast

With the gates to a rebuilt Quel’Thalas fully open in the Midnight expansion, millions of players are returning to Azeroth to push through the new level 80 to 90 bracket. Whether you are a fresh recruit stepping onto the shores of the elven homeland for the first time or a returning veteran dusting off characters from The War Within, hitting the new level 90 cap efficiently is your ticket to the competitive Season 1 endgame.

Leaving behind outdated zones to enter high-level competitive loops like the Voidspire raid or Dreamrift events requires a structured leveling strategy. To save you hours of aimless backtracking, here is the definitive, playtested 80–90 leveling and catch-up route optimized for modern SEO and community credibility.

1. The Onboarding Catch-Up: Level 80 Baseline

If you are a returning player, you don’t need to spend weeks grinding through old patch content just to start the expansion. Blizzard has streamlined the onboarding process significantly.

The Enhanced Level 80 Character Boost: Every standard edition of the expansion comes packaged with a catch-up boost. Utilizing this instantly equips your character with a full set of baseline Champion-tier gear, a fully unlocked skyriding mount library, and puts you right at the introductory campaign questline in your capital city.
The Warband XP Accelerator: Before mapping your route, remember that leveling is a team effort. For every character you successfully hit level 90 with, your entire account receives a permanent 5% Warband XP bonus (capping out at a massive 25% extra experience). Always level your fastest, high-mobility DPS class first to unlock this accelerator for your slower alts.

2. The Golden 80–90 Leveling Route

To hit level 90 fast, do not get sidetracked by yellow side-quests during your first character’s run. Stick strictly to the linear Campaign Quests (marked with a distinct bordered campaign shield icon). The main story campaign provides the highest baseline chunk of raw experience and automatically unlocks critical endgame phasing.

Optimized Zone Progression Workflow

1.1. The Reclaimed Eversong Woods:Level 80–83.

Focus: Establish your faction’s forward operating base.
Strategy: The mob density here is tightly packed. Rely heavily on grouping up open-world pulls and burning them down with AoE burst. Complete the main storyline up to the establishing of the Silvermoon outskirts hub.

2.2. The Sunwell Outskirts & Ghostlands Revamp:Level 83–86.

Focus: Navigating high-density Void scar areas.
Strategy: This zone introduces verticality. Prioritize your Skyriding flight pathways to bypass ground-level trash packs. The campaign quests here award large chunks of gear upgrades that replace any pre-expansion raiding pieces.

3.3. The Zul’Aman Perimeter & Void Frontiers:Level 86–90.

Focus: Elite world event skirmishes and final campaign chapters.
Strategy: The raw XP requirement per level spikes heavily at level 87. To cross the finish line quickly, weave random dungeon queues into your active questing loop to bridge the final level gaps.

🛑 Playtest Friction Warning: The Campaign Gating Bottleneck

Heads Up on Level 88 Gating:

During our initial testing run through the final chapters of the Zul’Aman perimeter campaign, we hit a hard structural wall. The main story questline temporarily halts at Chapter 4 if your character is not at least Level 88. If you have only run campaign quests up to this point, you will likely find yourself stranded at Level 87 and roughly 40% experience. Do not panic and start hunting down random open-world side-quests. Instead, immediately open your group finder and run consecutive random dungeon instances to bridge that single level gap in under an hour.

3. Delves vs. Dungeon Spamming: Which is Faster?

The traditional way to level up fast has always been spamming random dungeons with a dedicated five-player group. However, the revamped solo progression mechanics introduce a viable competitor.

Efficiency Comparison Matrix

Activity	Solo Friendliness	XP Per Hour Rating	Best Used For
Campaign Questing	Perfect	Excellent (Tier 1)	Your absolute first character run; mandatory for unlocking global endgame features.
Random Dungeon Spam	Low (Requires groups)	Great (Tier 2)	Pre-made groups with tank/healer specializations to force instant queue pops.
Solo Delves	Ideal for Solo Players	Moderate (Tier 3)	Leveling up secondary alts while simultaneously farming companion level tiers.

If you are a solo player or a fragile DPS spec dealing with 20-minute dungeon queue times, Solo Delves are your secret weapon. Running Delves alongside combat companions like Valeera Sanguinar gives you high-velocity solo XP without the stress of group mechanics or toxic dungeon-finder queues.

🛑 Playtest Friction Warning: The Shared Tap Rested Bug

Watch Your Open-World Mob Tags:

While open-world leveling in the new zones, the game utilizes a shared-tag system allowing up to 5 players of the same faction to hit a monster and receive full quest credit. However, our testing revealed a persistent UI bug: if an opposing faction player tags a rare-elite mob first and you drop a heavy AoE attack on it, your character can become locked in a permanent “combat state.” This bugs out your character’s natural out-of-combat health regeneration and stops you from mounting up. If this happens, your fastest solution is to find a safe nook, execute a quick /reload in your chat bar, or force a quick close of the client to reset your world state.

4. Preparing for the Level 90 Endgame Loop

The second you see the golden flash of Level 90 hit your screen, your primary objective completely shifts from gaining experience to building item level.

Visit the Local Quartermaster: Head directly to the central square in Silvermoon to purchase your baseline Level 90 starter armor sets from the reputation faction vendors using standard gold.
Unlock Your Account Features: Your first max-level character instantly opens up account-wide access to World Quests, weekly Neighborhood Endeavors, and advanced custom features.
Secure Your Housing Base: Don’t let your hard-earned gold sit stagnant. Now that you are at cap, take 15 minutes to secure your Warband’s land asset. See our definitive [WoW Midnight Player Housing Guide] to unlock your home base for just 1,000 gold and start displaying your leveling trophies.

If you are completely new to the expansion’s ecosystem or want to optimize your character’s build before diving into heroic dungeons, make sure to read our central hub resource: the [World of Warcraft Complete Beginner Guide 2026 For Returning & New Players]. It acts as your strategic roadmap to master Azeroth’s brand-new competitive era.

Before you invest heavily in buying expensive recipes from the Auction House, make sure your character is fully leveled and caught up with basic expansion mechanics using our step-by-step WoW Midnight Fast Leveling Guide.

To see what options and activities await you the second your character hits maximum level, check out this walkthrough on Everything to do at Max Level in WoW Midnight. This video is an excellent companion resource because it visually maps out the exact Silvermoon quartermasters, advanced Delves, and gear upgrades you need to look for right after finishing your 80–90 speed run.

📊 Loot Strategist’s Efficiency Verdict: If you are leveling purely to establish your gold-making roster, do not level a healer or tank spec first. Start with a hyper-mobile, high-burst DPS class (like a Mage or Demon Hunter). Use them to power through the campaign, unlock the first 5% account-wide Warband XP tier, and establish your open-world flying paths. This cuts the leveling time of your slower, crafting-heavy alts by nearly two hours.

Resident Evil Requiem Weapons: Quick Reference

How the Weapon System Works

Grace’s Weapons

S&S M232

B934

Requiem

Makeshift Knife

Hunting Knife

Leon’s Story Weapons

Hatchet

Alligator Snapper

MSBG 500

Classic 70

Gal

Marksman 1A

W870 Police

Mortal Edge

Leon’s Supply Box Weapons

Silencer 9

990-TAC

Stiri REVO3 A1

Special Content Weapons

Freya’s Needle

Kotetsu

Matilda IMP

Ghost Grudge

Redemption

Clatter Carbine

RPG-7

R.I.P. Knife — Insanity Exclusive

The Weapons Most Worth Hunting Down

S&S M232

Gal

Marksman 1A

W870 Police

Classic 70 Scope

Best Weapons for a First Playthrough

Best Bonus Weapons to Unlock First

For Grace: Kotetsu

For Leon: Matilda IMP

For Leon: Clatter Carbine

For Leon: RPG-7

Can Grace Upgrade Her Weapons?

Do Weapons Carry Over to New Runs?

What About Grenades, Molotovs, and Acid?

Grace

Leon

Resident Evil Requiem Weapon Cheat Sheet

Final Tips for Collecting Every Weapon

Sources & Updates

Related Resident Evil Requiem Guides

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Resident Evil Requiem: All Safe Codes & Combinations

Resident Evil Requiem Safe Codes: Quick Reference

How Safe Combinations Work

1. Bar & Lounge Safe

Location

Casual / Standard

Insanity

Reward

2. Examination Room Safe

Location

Casual / Standard

Insanity

Reward

3. Waiting Room Safe

Reward

4. Basement / Furnace Safe

Location

Casual / Standard

Insanity

Reward

5. Sterilization Chamber Safe

Location

Casual / Standard

Insanity

Reward

6. Monitor Control Room Safe

Location

Casual / Standard