What are Ascendant Venomstones?

An upgrade currency from patch 12.1.5. Ten stones raise one fully upgraded Midnight Season 2 weapon, trinket or necklace once, above the cap of its upgrade track: Hero-track items go from 321 to 328 and Myth-track items from 334 to 341.

Where do Venomstones drop?

From Heroic and Mythic raid bosses in Venomous Abyss, Tidebound Grotto and Kith'ix, from Mythic+ keystones at +10 and above, from Tier 11 Bountiful Delve chests (including the Labyrinth of Kindo'jan), from your first two Nightmare Prey hunts each week and from the Prey bonus chest when you use a soul consumable. Blizzard has not announced a weekly cap on the stones; the limits are on the sources.

Can I get Venomstones from the Labyrinth of Kindo'jan?

Yes. A full clear of the Labyrinth on Tier 11 has three Bountiful chests, and each one opened with a Restored Coffer Key gives a Venomstone. Unlike the daily Bountiful Delves, the Labyrinth can be repeated, so it is the easiest way to turn spare keys into stones.

Which items can be upgraded with Venomstones?

Only weapons, trinkets and necklaces from Midnight Season 2 that are fully upgraded on the Hero or Myth track, or maximum-quality Tidal Crafted pieces. Armour is not eligible, half-upgraded items do not accept stones, items that already drop at 344 cannot be raised, and an item can be raised only once.

How much item level does an upgrade give?

Ten stones per item. Hero track 321 becomes 328, Myth track 334 becomes 341, and maximum-quality crafted pieces gain 6 item levels. These are the values after the 23 October hotfix, which corrected wrong item levels in the first days.

Which slot should I upgrade first?

Weapon first, because weapon item level scales all of your damage or healing. Then a trinket you will keep for the rest of the season, then the necklace. Never spend stones on an item you expect to replace with a drop next week.

Ascendant Venomstones: How to Farm Them and What to Upgrade

Q: How do I unlock Ascendant Venomstones?

Take the quest "Ancient Depths, Ancient Venom" from Orin Straylight at the Catalyst in Silvermoon and bring him three Primordial Venom Motes from the Ancient Foes in the Vaults of Atal'Utek or from Venomous Abyss bosses on Raid Finder or higher. Then turn in "Ascending with Venomstones". It unlocks the stones for your whole Warband and only has to be done once per account.

Ascendant Venomstones are live. Since the weekly reset of 20 October (21 October on European realms) they push your best weapon, trinket and necklace past the cap of their upgrade track, and they drop from content most players already run every week. This guide was updated on 24 October with the live drop sources, the fixes of the first week and the final item levels, and it gives you a slot order and a weekly route so the first ten stones go where they matter.

How to unlock Venomstones

Pick up "Ancient Depths, Ancient Venom" from Orin Straylight next to the Catalyst in Silvermoon and bring him three Primordial Venom Motes. They come from the Ancient Foes in the Vaults of Atal'Utek or from Venomous Abyss bosses on Raid Finder or higher. Then turn in "Ascending with Venomstones" at Orin: it unlocks Venomstones for your whole Warband, gives you your first stone and is done only once per account. The stones are used at the Catalyst and stack up to 100.

Where the stones drop

Heroic and Mythic raid bosses in Venomous Abyss, Tidebound Grotto and The Unbinding of Kith'ix. Kith'ix and Nightmare Prey dropped no stones on the first day; Blizzard fixed both on 20 October.
Mythic+ keystones at +10 and above.
Tier 11 Bountiful Delve chests, opened with a Restored Coffer Key. This includes the Labyrinth of Kindo'jan: a full clear has three Bountiful chests, so three keys become three stones, and the Labyrinth can be repeated.
Nightmare Prey: your first two Nightmare Prey hunts each week, plus the bonus chest when you summon the boss with a soul consumable.

Blizzard has not announced a weekly cap on the stones themselves. The limits sit on the sources: your raid lockout, two Prey hunts a week and the Restored Coffer Keys you earn. That makes keys worth saving for Tier 11 and Labyrinth chests instead of lower Delves.

Which items qualify, and the item level you get

Three conditions, all required. The slot is a weapon, trinket or necklace; armour is excluded. The item is from Midnight Season 2 on the Hero or Myth track, or a maximum-quality Tidal Crafted piece. And it is fully upgraded: a Hero piece at 4/6 does not accept stones. Ten stones then raise it once; the item becomes Ascendant Venomforged and cannot be raised again.

Hero track: 321 → 328
Myth track: 334 → 341
Crafted (maximum-quality Tidal Crafted): +6 item levels

These are the values after the 23 October hotfix, which corrected wrong item levels on upgraded gear in the first days. Items that already drop at 344, such as Mythic Ula'tek's weapon, are above that level and are not eligible.

Which slot first

Weapon. Weapon item level scales every ability you press; one upgrade here is worth more than anywhere else. Dual wielders: main hand first.
A trinket you will keep. Only a trinket that stays in your build for the rest of the season. The 22 September trinket tuning settled which Season 2 trinkets are worth that; a situational swap trinket is a waste of ten stones.
Necklace. Real stat weight, newly eligible, but it moves your output less than the other two.

The rule behind the order: every item takes ten stones and the upgrade is final, so spend them only on pieces you will not replace with a drop next reset. A Hero-track weapon tops out at 328 with stones, a Myth-track one at 341, so if a Myth-track weapon is within reach, aim for that first.

A weekly farming route

Heroic raid clear on reset day: Venomous Abyss, Tidebound Grotto and Kith'ix, every boss a stone chance and a shot at loot for the slots you want to push.
Two Nightmare Prey hunts: the quickest stones of the week, and a soul consumable adds the bonus chest.
+10 keys across the week: Vault slots, crests and stones from the same runs.
Restored Coffer Keys into Tier 11 Bountiful Delves and Labyrinth clears: Bountiful Delves rotate daily, the Labyrinth gives three chests per full clear and can be run again.

Still missing crests to max the three target pieces? Spend them first; stones only work on fully upgraded items. Our 12.1.5 guide covers the rest of the patch.

The fastest way into the stone sources

If the Heroic raid is the gap, our Venomous Abyss boost and Kith'ix raid run the clear with you on your own character, self-play. If +10 keys are the gap, Mythic+ keys fill a single dungeon or a full set in one session. For the Labyrinth, see our Labyrinth of Kindo'jan runs; if Tier 11 is not open yet, the Delve tier unlock gets you there and the Delve run bundle chains the Bountiful runs.