WoW The Waterworks Delve Guide

In our WoW The Waterworks Delve guide, we are taking a closer look at the fourth Delve added in The War Within. This system has indeed revolutionized the way endgame content works. It is now possible to earn high-tier rewards playing solo or in a group, whatever you like more. Keep reading to find a step-by-step walkthrough for this activity, its location, and more.

What is The Waterworks in The War Within?

The Waterworks is the fourth Delve you encounter after you enter The War Within expansion. Similarly to Kriegval’s Rest, you need to move quickly and always watch for timings here. The reason for this is Suffocating Fumes that will reduce your character’s maximum HP if you are not within purified air. This effect stacks, and it can go up to 99%, leaving you with only 1% health, meaning you become a one-shot target.

This mechanic is applied to all three The Waterworks variants, such as:

• Captured Engineers
• Trust Issues
• Stomping Some Sense

You can only get rid of Suffocating Fumes when you are near purified air. To get it, you can pick up Air Totems scattered around the location. You will also encounter Air Purifiers, which are immovable versions of totems you can stay around as long as you want.

By using Air Totems, you can dissipate deadly fumes and restore HP to full. Initially, each totem has a large fuel reserve. It will decrease gradually as you move. For every meter traveled (regardless your character’s speed), the totem loses 0.5 seconds of its 2-minute duration.

If you stand still, the totem’s fuel reserve stays at the same level. This allows you to remain in the Suffocating Fumes as long as you do not move. If your totem runs out of fuel, our The Waterworks walkthrough. Just move away a bit from a totem’s spawn and return there a few seconds later to pick up a new totem.

Yes, this mechanic is almost a complete copy of what we have already seen in Kriegval’s Rest. The developers have also added fire-breathing candles. They can either breathe fire in a specific direction on a timer or rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. These candles deal damage to everybody around them, including NPCs.

The Waterworks Location

You can find The Waterworks location in The Ringing Deeps, a bit south of Gundargaz. Follow these coordinates, and you will get there in no time – 46.3, 48.6. Once it is possible, we will add a map from the game to show exactly how to find The Waterworks.

How to Do The Waterworks in The War Within

Once you get the hang of the Suffocating Fumes mechanic, this Delve is no longer that hard. If you are a complete beginner, you might have trouble watching for the timing while moving from one safe point to another. Depending on the Delve’s variant, your main task will be different. Despite the variant chosen, you will need to cope with Suffocating Fumes anyway. We have prepared a walkthrough on how to do The Waterworks in all its three variants.

Note: Always check twice what tier you have chosen. The higher the tier, the more difficult your run will be. If you manage to complete harder tiers from 4 to 11, expect better rewards.

As you keep reading our The Waterworks guide, we will also share a complete table with all tiers and the requirements to enter them. BLOG20

Captured Engineers

In the Captured Engineers variant of Delve, your only task is to rescue five Earthen Workers. They were captured by kobolds while working and are kept in different locations around the area. Grab an Air Totem, talk to Foreman Bruknar, and you are good to go. Beat all the kobolds you meet on your way watch for the Suffocating Fumes debuff.

Once you save the five Earthen Workers, you will only need to defeat the final boss to complete the Delve. No matter what variant of The Waterworks you are going through, the boss always stays the same. His name is Waxface, and you will encounter him right at the end of your run. Once the final boss is defeated, you can collect your rewards and leave the instance.

Trust Issues

This version of The Waterworks has a slightly more interesting storyline. You will be helping Karnk and Pugsley to retrieve items stolen from the Earthen by another group of kobolds. Make your way to the kobold stash, it is marked with the sign "This Way!". Next, tell Pugsley to start looting the stash and defend him from several waves of kobolds.

Once all kobolds are slain, wait for Waxface, the final boss, to appear again. His mechanics stay the same and do not change a bit.

Stomping Some Sense

The Stomping Some Sense variant of the Delve is not that straightforward compared to the two others. When you start your run, you will not find any Air Totems right away. All Air Purifiers will be broken as well. Both issues can be solved using a new item you receive from Foreman Bruknar – Heavy Boots.

When used, these boots will restart an Air Purifier within a small radius. After that, an Air Totem will spawn nearby. These boots also need to be used to retrieve missing gear from the defeated kobolds. If you take damage when channeling the boot cast, it will be ceased. Once you recover the gear, Waxface will appear. Defeating the final boss ends the Delve, and you can get the deserved rewards.

The Waterworks Tiers

Currently, there are 11 The Waterworks tiers available for completion. Each tier becomes more difficult compared to the previous one as you progress through this ladder. To ensure you do not lag behind, level up your Companion by collecting XP sacks during your runs.

After finishing tier 8, this is the cap for reward quality you can obtain. Moving further only makes sense only if you wish to unlock specific achievements. BLOG20

The Waterworks Rewards

To get better The Waterworks rewards, you need to complete higher tiers. Be prepared for tougher enemies who have more HP and deal more significant damage. While you can never predict what drops you are going to get, each Delve is worth it. Here is a list of possible The Waterworks loot categories:

• Cosmetics
• Gold
• Resplendent Keys
• Other currencies

Respondent Keys are the main thing you are interested in this list. They are used to open Resplendent Chests. The latter contains the highest item level of gear you can obtain from the Delves activity. They can be compared to Heroic Raids and M+ keys. While this is obviously not enough, Delves can be a good start to progress through the endgame content later on. Currently, level 616 of gear is the cap you can obtain in Delves during TWW Season 1.

The Waterworks Achievements

You can complete two The Waterworks achievements, such as:

• The Waterworks Stories – Complete all three variants of The Waterworks.
• The Waterworks Discoveries – Find and open all Sturdy Chests scattered around The Waterworks.

The first achievement is a must-have requirement if you wish to finish Delve Loremaster: War Within. The latter is also needed for Glory of the Delver, the main meta-achievement within this system. Completing all these steps will reward you with the unique Ivory Goliathus mount.

Conclusion

To sum up our WoW The Waterworks guide, we have shared a walkthrough for all three variants of this Delve. You are now fully prepared to tackle this challenge and defeat all kobolds on your path to glory. Explore the dungeons, defeat Waxface, and claim your rewards. This is everything we have for you now, heroes. Good luck and we will see you in Azeroth!

F.A.Q.