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Catalyst in Midnight: Key Facts (October 2026)
Reviewed on 12 October 2026 for Season 2 (patch 12.1). The 12.1.5 update due on 13 October brings Ascendant Venomstones, an upgrade item that is used at the Catalyst; the sections below cover it.
The Catalyst turns a piece of non-set seasonal gear into a piece of your class tier set. The converted item keeps its item level and, since patch 12.1, its secondary stats. You pay one charge per conversion.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where is it? | Silvermoon City, in the Bazaar next to the Voidforge |
| What are the charges called? | Crystallized Venomblight Manaflux (Season 2) |
| How do I get charges? | One when the season begins, then one every two weeks. Maximum 8 on a character |
| Which slots give set bonuses? | Head, shoulder, chest, hands, legs |
| Which items can be converted? | PvP gear (Honor, Conquest, War Mode) and PvE gear of Veteran rank or higher |
| What changed in 12.1? | Converted pieces keep the secondary stats and cantrips of the original item |
What is Catalyst in Midnight?
The Catalyst is a console that converts eligible seasonal non-set gear into class set pieces. It works as bad-luck protection: you do not need the exact helm or shoulders to drop from the raid, and you can complete set bonuses on several characters without raiding each week.
The conversion changes the item’s look to the matching tier set appearance. In patch 12.1 Blizzard made one important change, according to Icy Veins: converted pieces keep the secondary stats and cantrips of the original piece. Before 12.1 a Catalyst piece came with the set’s fixed secondary stats, which forced awkward stat choices on some classes. Now you can convert the item that already has the stats you want. See our Midnight tier sets guide for the set effects of each class.
Older gear from previous seasons can no longer be upgraded, but it can still be converted for transmog. The Warcraft Wiki notes that past-season items typically cost nothing to convert, while current-season items spend a charge.
Where to Find Catalyst in Midnight
The Catalyst is in Silvermoon City, in the Bazaar. The Voidforge, which collects Nebulous Voidcores for bonus rolls, stands next to it. Icy Veins lists the Catalyst as available from the launch of patch 12.1, in the week of 11 August 2026, so you do not need to wait for Season 2 to open before you can find it.
Patch 12.1.5 adds more reasons to visit. Orin Straylight, also in Silvermoon, starts research on Ascendant Venomstones in the week of 13 October (quest “Ancient Depths, Ancient Venom”) and finishes it in the week of 20 October. Ten Venomstones, used near the Catalyst, raise the item level of a fully upgraded Season 2 Hero or Myth item. Venomstones drop from Heroic and Mythic raid bosses, Mythic+ keystone dungeons at +10 and higher, and Tier 11 Bountiful Delves, among other sources.
How to Get Catalyst Charges in Midnight
Every conversion of current-season gear costs one Crystallized Venomblight Manaflux. Charges arrive in three ways:
- Seasonal schedule. You receive your first charge when the season starts and another every two weeks after that. A character can hold at most 8 charges.
- The Serpent Scion achievement (see the next section): one extra charge per season.
- Catalyst Unbound. When you complete the 4-piece bonus of your class set, you earn a character-specific Feat of Strength, Midnight Season 2: Catalyst Unbound. From then on, Catalyst charges can drop from raid bosses, Mythic+, Bountiful Delves and rated PvP on that character for the rest of the season.
There is no catch-up mechanic. If you log in after a long break you receive only one charge, so it is worth logging in on max-level alts when a new charge is due. The Catalyst Unbound feat reduces the problem, because the characters you actually play will collect charges as drops.
Bonus Catalyst in Midnight
The achievement Midnight Season 2: Serpent Scion gives a Crystallized Venomblight Manaflux, which is +1 Catalyst charge, once per season. According to Icy Veins you earn it by doing any one of these:
| Requirement |
|---|
| Reach a rated PvP rating of 1,600 |
| Reach a Mythic+ rating of 2,000 |
| Defeat the final boss of The Venomous Abyss on Heroic or Mythic difficulty |
Method’s gearing guide lists slightly different thresholds (Ahead of the Curve, Keystone Master and 1,800 PvP rating) and the Season 2 PTR showed different charge counts, so check the achievement tooltip on your character before you plan around it. If you want to clear the raid by run instead of by group, Onlyfarms offers WoW raid runs.
Which Gear Slots Work with the Catalyst?
Only five slots count toward the 2-piece and 4-piece set bonuses: head, shoulders, chest, hands and legs. You can convert other slots, but the result changes only the appearance and does not count toward the set.
The tier appearance depends on the item level of the converted piece. Icy Veins lists these breakpoints for Season 2:
| Item level of the converted piece | Set appearance you get |
|---|---|
| 279 to 289 | Raid Finder look |
| 292 to 302 | Normal look |
| 305 to 315 | Heroic look |
| 318 to 344 | Mythic look |
Slot priorities are class-specific; Icy Veins’ best-in-slot pages list which catalyzed pieces each spec wants, and our tier set guide covers tokens from the raid. For where each item level comes from, see the gearing guide.
Catalyst, Token, Curio or Vault: Which Route?
A Season 2 set piece has four sources, and the Catalyst is the only one where you pick both the slot and the base item. How they compare for a slot you still need:
| Route | What you control | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Raid boss token | Nothing beyond the boss you kill; tokens are shared by armor type | Depends on the drop and on the weekly loot limit |
| Slumbering Coil Curio | Any set slot, at the item level of the difficulty it dropped on | Only Ula’tek drops it, and you can hold one at a time |
| Great Vault | One pick from the week’s row, which may include a set piece | A single choice per week |
| Catalyst | Slot and base item, as long as the piece is Veteran rank or higher | One charge, with a cap of 8 and one new charge every two weeks |
This comparison is our reading of the sources above, not a ranking from Icy Veins. Since 12.1 keeps the original secondary stats, the Catalyst suits a slot where you already own a well-rolled piece. Save the Curio for a slot that no other route has delivered.
Catalyst Hotfixes in Season 2
Early in Season 2 some items could not be converted. The Warcraft Wiki lists these fixes:
- 26 August 2026: raid armor from the Coiled Altar and Ula’tek that came from the Great Vault or Voidcore rolls could not be catalyzed; this was fixed, and existing items can now be converted.
- 2 September 2026: the remaining Great Vault items that could not be converted were fixed, along with some non-armor items that looked convertible.
- 4 September 2026: some non-set class armor items that appeared eligible for a redundant conversion were fixed.
The Slumbering Coil Curio from Ula’tek, the omni-token for any tier slot, is traded in at a vendor near the Catalyst. For which boss drops which slot, see the tier set guide linked above.
The War Within Catalysts (Dornogal)
This section is about The War Within, not Midnight.
In The War Within the Catalyst was one of four consoles in Dornogal, and converting a current-season item cost a currency that recharged once every two weeks (Warcraft Wiki). The currency changed each season:
| Season | Catalyst currency |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Harmonized Silk |
| Season 2 | Essence of Kaja’mite |
| Season 3 | Ethereal Voidsplinter |
These currencies are no longer used. In Midnight, follow the sections above.