Blizzard Just Made Delves Less Likely to Give You Another Trinket

World of Warcraft's Delves have apparently been handing out slightly too much jewelry. Blizzard quietly changed their loot distribution in the latest Midnight Season 2 hotfixes with one wonderfully concise line: “Trinkets no longer drop as abundantly in Delves.” There is no percentage attached, no new drop table and no explanation of exactly how aggressive the reduction is. What we do know is that players should now see fewer trinkets among their direct Delve rewards, which could be either excellent news or extremely inconvenient depending on which equipment slot your character has been unsuccessfully trying to replace.

The change arrives at an interesting point because Delves have become a substantial part of Midnight Season 2's Hero-track gearing loop. Bountiful Delves, Trovehunter's Bounties and the new Azta'rec progression all provide reasons to keep returning underground long after ordinary outdoor gear stops being interesting. Having a large portion of those rewards repeatedly land in two trinket slots could therefore become increasingly noticeable.

Blizzard Has Reduced Trinket Drops From Delves

The official September 1 hotfix notes contain only one sentence under this particular Delve change:

“Trinkets no longer drop as abundantly in Delves.”

That wording matters. Blizzard has not removed trinkets from Delves, and there is currently no indication that Delve trinkets themselves are becoming weaker. This is a frequency adjustment. Trinkets can still drop; they should simply occupy a smaller share of the loot players see.

Blizzard also has not published the old or new weighting, so claims that the chance has been cut by 20%, 50% or any other convenient number would currently be invented. We will need considerably more live loot data before anyone can put a reliable percentage on the change.

This Could Actually Make Delve Gearing Feel Better

For many players, fewer trinkets may be welcome. Trinkets are unusually complicated gear because two items with the same item level can have dramatically different value depending on specialization, encounter type and proc behavior. We already covered how Season 2's enormous trinket pool was threatening to become its own gearing spreadsheet, and Blizzard has continued adjusting individual items since then.

Just before the season opened, another large trinket tuning pass buffed and nerfed multiple Season 2 options. A trinket dropping is therefore not automatically useful simply because it has purple text and a larger number in the corner.

If Blizzard's new weighting allows boots, gloves, weapons and other armor slots to appear more often instead, Delves may become better at filling general gearing gaps. That could be particularly valuable for alts and returning players using Delves as catch-up content rather than targeting one specific best-in-slot trinket.

It Is Worse If You Were Actually Farming a Delve Trinket

The opposite is naturally true for anyone who wants a particular trinket. Lowering the overall trinket frequency means another layer of probability between you and the item you are chasing. Season 2 already asks players to navigate several overlapping loot systems, from six-rank upgrade tracks and Mistcrest costs to Bonus Rolls and Great Vault choices.

Delves had become one of the more predictable ways to generate extra high-level loot attempts. Three Nightmare Prey Hunts, for example, can lead to a guaranteed Trovehunter's Bounty and Hero-track Hidden Trove from a Tier 8 Delve. The map guarantees the Hidden Trove. It does not guarantee that the item inside is the slot you wanted.

Anyone specifically hoping that chest contains a trinket now appears to have slightly worse odds.

The Hotfix Does Not Say Great Vault Trinkets Were Nerfed

There is another important distinction. Blizzard's note specifically says trinkets no longer drop as abundantly “in Delves.” It does not say that trinkets have been reduced in the Great Vault's World row.

That matters because Delves contribute directly to weekly Vault rewards. We recently covered the special limitations affecting the first Season 2 Great Vault, followed by the much more important change where players can now turn a disappointing Great Vault into a Nebulous Voidcore. Until Blizzard says otherwise or live data demonstrates a separate change, there is no reason to assume this Delve hotfix has altered the Vault's trinket weighting too.

Delves Keep Becoming More Important to Season 2 Gearing

The timing also shows how closely Blizzard is watching Delves now that the full season is active. Before launch, the developers reduced one of Patch 12.1's nastiest Delve poisons by 25%. Azta'rec then became a source of unusual gearing advantages, including Hero Mistcrests capable of pushing players beyond the ordinary weekly crest cap.

Delves are no longer merely the activity you do when nobody else is online. They feed Hero-track loot, Great Vault progression, Mistcrests, maps and some of Season 2's better solo progression.

Now they should also contain slightly fewer trinkets.

Your fourth pair of boots sends its regards.

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