If you pulled a nice piece of raid armor from the Great Vault this week and then discovered the Creation Catalyst wanted absolutely nothing to do with it, Blizzard has good news.
One of Season 2's more frustrating gearing bugs has now been fixed.
Raid armor from The Coiled Altar and Ula'tek that came from either the Great Vault or a Nebulous Voidcore Bonus Roll can now be converted at the Creation Catalyst as intended.
Even better:
Items you already received before the hotfix have been fixed too.
No replacement drop required.
No waiting another week.
Your trousers have finally been accepted by the machine.
Great Vault and Voidcore Raid Gear Can Now Be Catalyzed
Blizzard confirmed the fix in the August 26 Patch 12.1 hotfixes.
The problem specifically affected raid armor rewards from The Coiled Altar and Ula'tek when those items were obtained through the Great Vault or through a Voidcore roll.
The same underlying armor obtained from the raid itself could behave normally, while the Vault or Bonus Roll version could refuse Catalyst conversion.
That was particularly annoying because these are exactly the sorts of high-value Season 2 items players are likely to want to convert into tier.
Blizzard says those items can now be catalyzed properly.
And the fix is retroactive.
Do Not Vendor the Item You Thought Was Broken
This is the most important practical part of the hotfix.
If you already received one of the affected pieces, try the Creation Catalyst again.
Blizzard explicitly says existing items can now be catalyzed.
So if you kept a high-item-level Coiled Altar or Ula'tek armor piece because it looked like something Blizzard would eventually fix, congratulations.
Your suspicious hoarding has been rewarded.
If you were planning to replace or disenchant the item because the Catalyst would not accept it, give it another check first.
This Matters More Because Season 2 Catalyst Gear Is Better
The Catalyst is particularly interesting in Midnight Season 2 because Blizzard changed what happens when eligible armor is converted.
According to the official Patch 12.1 gearing changes, class set armor created through the Catalyst now inherits the original item's secondary stats, tertiary stats and certain special cantrip effects.
That makes unusual raid pieces significantly more valuable as Catalyst candidates.
You are no longer necessarily sacrificing everything distinctive about an item just because you want the corresponding tier slot.
Which is precisely why having high-end Coiled Altar or Ula'tek armor arbitrarily rejected by the Catalyst was such an irritating bug.
Voidcore Gear Is Becoming a Bigger Part of Season 2 Gearing
The fix also arrives just as Nebulous Voidcores are becoming much more relevant.
As we covered in our Season 2 Great Vault guide, players who unlock enough Vault slots can choose a Nebulous Voidcore instead of taking one of the offered gear pieces.
That Voidcore gives you another targeted attempt at raid loot.
And because Bonus Roll items are treated similarly to Great Vault rewards in terms of item level, a lucky roll from one of the final raid encounters can be extremely valuable.
It would be somewhat unfortunate to win the lottery and then discover the Catalyst considered your prize legally unrelated to armor.
That particular problem should now be gone.
Blizzard Also Fixed Missing Sockets on Season 2 Gear
The Catalyst issue was not the only item bug addressed in the hotfix.
Blizzard also fixed a separate problem where some Season 2 items could not have a socket added.
The hotfix notes do not provide a complete list of every affected item, but if you previously had an eligible Season 2 piece that refused a socket upgrade, it is worth trying again.
That makes this a good day to revisit the pile of gear you placed in your bank under the increasingly crowded category:
"Probably bugged, check later."
The Great Vault Got Another Small Fix Too
There is one more Great Vault clarification in the same update.
Players who are offered Silvermoon Splendor in their Great Vault can still select that option and receive a Nebulous Voidcore.
So the Voidcore alternative remains available even in that situation.
Between this fix and the recent introduction of Voidcores directly through the Season 2 Great Vault, Blizzard is still ironing out some fairly important edges around the new gearing system.
Check Your Old Gear Before Tuesday
If you have been sitting on raid armor from The Coiled Altar or Ula'tek because the Catalyst rejected it, there is no reason to keep waiting.
Take it back to the Creation Catalyst and check it again.
The same goes for Season 2 gear that previously refused a socket.
These were bugs.
They have now been fixed.
And crucially, Blizzard fixed the items players already own rather than only fixing future drops.
Sometimes the best hotfix is not another 7% damage adjustment.
Sometimes it is simply making the expensive piece of gear you already won actually work.
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