TBC Anniversary Fresh 70 Catch-Up Guide: Zul'Aman Gearing Route

Quick summary

• The fastest TBC Anniversary fresh 70 catch-up is now: normal dungeons to Honored, then heroics, Karazhan and Zul'Aman, badges spent at G'eras, then Tier 6. The October 22 update removed most of the old route.
• No more attunements or Revered keys. Black Temple and Hyjal no longer need attunement, heroic keys need Honored, and heroics are at their final, reduced difficulty (Icy Veins).
• Badges now come from almost everywhere. Every boss in Karazhan, Gruul, Magtheridon, Serpentshrine, Tempest Keep and Zul'Aman drops them, and so do Kazzak and Doomwalker (Warcraft Tavern). By our math, a fresh 70 can earn about 80 or more badges a week.
• G'eras gets the gear to spend them on. He adds 81 items: bracers at 35 badges, most other armor at 60, and chests, helms, legs and trinkets at 75 (Wowhead).
• Zul'Aman is the catch-up raid. It's 10 players with no attunement, a 3-day lockout, 128–141 item level loot, and 13 badges a clear (Blizzard; Wowhead).

This guide covers Phase 3.5, live since the Zul'Aman update of October 22, 2026. Blizzard calls it Phase 3.5; some guide sites call the same update "Phase 4". Blizzard's own Phase 4 is Sunwell Plateau, which has no date yet.

See what the October 22 update changed

What changed	Before October 22	Since October 22	What it means for a fresh 70
Heroic keys	Revered with five factions	Honored	Normal dungeons get you most of the way
Heroic difficulty	Tuned harder than early raids	Final, reduced difficulty	Heroics right after Normals
Badge of Justice sources	Heroic bosses only	Plus every Tier 4, Tier 5 and Zul'Aman boss, and both world bosses	Raids pay as well as heroics
Black Temple and Hyjal	Attunement chains through SSC and TK	No attunement	Skip the attunement chain
Primal Nether and Nether Vortex	Soulbound	Tradeable	Buy instead of farm
Kazzak and Doomwalker loot	Bind on Pickup	Bind on Equip	Buyable on the Auction House
Epic gems	Rare	Magtheridon's Black Sack of Gems and Jewelcrafter's Brilliant Glass can contain them	More epic gems on the market

Since October 22, most of the old catch-up foundation has stopped mattering.

Prepare the character on day one

1. Train every level 70 ability and switch to a raid talent build.
2. Level weapon skills before heroics if you're a physical DPS or a tank.
3. Gem and enchant items you'll keep for more than a week, using cheap options. See our gems and enchants guide.
4. Stock consumables: a flask or two elixirs, buff food and potions for your role. Class guides such as the Druid guide list them per spec.
5. Pick Aldor or Scryer for your shoulder enchant; the Aldor vs Scryers guide compares them.
6. Hit your role targets, not an item level.
7. Install a boss mod and combat log. The best TBC Anniversary addons list covers a raid-ready setup.

Follow the new first-week route

Day	Activity	Goal	Source
1–2	Normal dungeons in each key family	Honored with Honor Hold or Thrallmar, Cenarion Expedition, Lower City, Sha'tar and Keepers of Time	Blizzard (Honored)
2–4	Heroics, starting with the 5-badge ones	Badges, Primal Nether, dungeon drops	Warcraft Tavern (badge counts)
3+	Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair	Tier 4 tokens and badges	Blizzard; Warcraft Tavern
3+	Zul'Aman (3-day lockout)	128–141 loot, 13 badges	Blizzard; Wowhead
Any	Kazzak or Doomwalker when they spawn	BoE loot and badges	Blizzard
7	G'eras	Spend on your first BiS badge pieces	Wowhead

Run Normal dungeons with heroic keys in mind. Our heroic dungeons guide has each key and what it opens, and the TBC Anniversary dungeons guide lists which dungeon feeds which faction. The Cenarion Expedition and Consortium guides show the fastest way to Honored with those two.

Estimate your weekly badge income

Source	Badges per clear (Warcraft Tavern)	Clears a week	Weekly badges (our calculation)
Zul'Aman	13	2 (3-day lockout)	26
Karazhan	22	1	22
Gruul's Lair	5	1	5
Magtheridon's Lair	3	1	3
Shattered Halls, Botanica (heroic)	5 each	2	10
Underbog, Mana-Tombs, Mechanar, Arcatraz, Shadow Labyrinth (heroic)	4 each	5	20
Total			~86

That's enough for one 75-badge item, or a 60 and a 35, each week. One badge in Mana-Tombs, Sethekk Halls and Shattered Halls sits behind a secret objective (Yor, Anzu, or saving the prisoners), so skip those and you get fewer. Warcraft Tavern's counts are "potential badges"; Blizzard doesn't publish numbers.

Spend badges in this order

Priority	Buy	Cost (Wowhead)	Why
1	Your spec's BiS cheap pieces: Carved Witch Doctor's Stick (casters), Slikk's Cloak and Brooch of Deftness (tanks), Fetish of the Primal Gods	25–35	Biggest gain per badge (Wowhead BiS ratings, our count)
2	BiS 60-badge pieces: Nyn'jah's Tabi Boots (Rogue, Feral, Enhancement), Light-Blessed Bonds	60	Hard-to-fill slots
3	Bracers	35	Cheap, and every armor type has one
4	Trinkets, chests, legs, helms	75	Only if no raid drop is close
5	Primal Nether or Nether Vortex for crafted epics	Nether Vortex 15	Tradeable now, so compare it with the Auction House price

Full role lists are in our badge gear guide.

Use Zul'Aman as your catch-up raid

Source	Item level	Badges	Source
Akil'zon, Nalorakk, Jan'alai, Halazzi, Hex Lord	128–132	2 each	Wowhead
Zul'jin	133–138	3	Wowhead
Hostage chests 1–2	128 / 132	—	Wowhead
Hostage chests 3–4	141 rings; chest 4 also has the Amani War Bear	—	Wowhead; Blizzard

Wowhead calls it a raid where "the gear may not be amazing compared with Black Temple gear," and says it fills gaps. Our ZA loot guide lists the best items by spec, and the Zul'Aman guide covers the bosses and the timed hostage run.

Don't skip Tier 4

Karazhan, Gruul's Lair and Magtheridon's Lair now pay badges on every boss, so a fresh 70 gets Tier 4 tokens and badges from the same evening. The Karazhan guide and the Gruul and Magtheridon guide cover the fights; Gruul and Magtheridon are 25-player, so a guild farm run is the easiest way in.

Compare the catch-up methods

Method	Players	Gear level	Badges	Time	Best for
Heroic dungeons	5	Pre-raid blues	2–5 a run	30–60 minutes a run (our estimate)	Day-one fresh 70s
Badge vendor	Solo	Raid-level epics	Spends badges	Instant	Fixed slots
Karazhan	10	Tier 4	22 (Warcraft Tavern)	One evening	First raid
Zul'Aman	10	128–141	13	One evening	Rings, weapons, bear
World bosses	30–40	Tier 5-level BoE	Yes	Depends on the spawn	Guild events
Crafted, BoE and Auction House	Solo	Varies	—	Instant	Weapons, now that Primal Nether trades
Season 1 Honor gear	PvP	Fast weapon swap	—	A few days	Players with no PvE weapon

Join Tier 6 without attunement

Since October 22, Black Temple and Hyjal need no attunement. A fresh 70 can join a guild's Tier 6 runs once the character meets the role targets. Tier 5 still matters for weapons and trinkets, and you no longer need it for access. Our Tier 6 guide lists the tokens and set bonuses, and the DPS tier list shows which specs raids look for this tier.

Example: a returning Warlock reaches 70 in the first week of Phase 3.5. By this route they're Honored with all five factions within a few days. In week one they clear Zul'Aman twice and Karazhan once, buy the Carved Witch Doctor's Stick (25) and a 60-badge piece, and join the guild's Black Temple run in week two. This is our illustration, not a guarantee.

Avoid these catch-up mistakes

• Grinding Revered for keys. Since October 22, Honored is enough.
• Doing the attunement chain for Black Temple or Hyjal. It isn't needed anymore.
• Ignoring secret objectives. Each one is worth a badge in Mana-Tombs, Sethekk Halls and Shattered Halls (Warcraft Tavern).

If you're making an alt or coming back

• With the Honored rule, even a first character gets there quickly.
• Returning players: don't relearn the attunement chain. It hasn't been needed for Hyjal or Black Temple since October 22.
• Primal Nether is no longer soulbound, so you can buy crafted-epic materials instead of farming them. Price them before you spend badges.
• Planning ahead: Sunwell Plateau (Phase 4) has no announced date yet. Its bosses and the Isle of Quel'Danas are previewed in the Sunwell Plateau guide.
• Hubs: see the TBC Anniversary hub and the gearing services page. Our world boss guide covers Kazzak and Doomwalker.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, TBC Anniversary services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Blizzard's End User License Agreement before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

What's the fastest way to gear a fresh 70 in TBC Anniversary? Get Honored with the five key factions, then run heroics, Karazhan and Zul'Aman, and spend the badges at G'eras. Since October 22 every older raid boss drops badges too.

Do I still need attunement for Black Temple? No. From October 22, Black Temple and Mount Hyjal no longer require attunement.

What reputation do I need for heroic keys now? Honored, from October 22. It was Revered before.

How many badges can I earn a week? About 80–90 by our math, using Warcraft Tavern's counts: two Zul'Aman clears, one Karazhan, Gruul, Magtheridon, and seven heroics.

Is Zul'Aman worth it for a fresh 70? Yes. There's no attunement, it resets every 3 days, its loot is item level 128–141, and it gives 13 badges a clear (Blizzard; Wowhead).

What should I buy first with badges? Cheap pieces your spec's list rates BiS, like the 25-badge Carved Witch Doctor's Stick for casters. Then the 60-badge BiS pieces (Wowhead ratings, our count).

Related guides

• TBC Anniversary heroic dungeons and keys
• TBC Anniversary new badge gear: what to buy
• TBC Anniversary Zul'Aman guide
• TBC Anniversary Gruul and Magtheridon guide
• TBC Anniversary dungeons guide