How to get Soulbind Conduits in Shadowlands

In Shadowlands, Conduits are a bit like gems: we’ll slot them in our Soulbind trees to give ourselves buffs and abilities. But getting them isn’t as simple as running to the Auction House. Every kind of max level end game content in World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands expansion can reward Conduits, so you have lots of options to gather them. But more options also means more confusion, so we’ll go into detail on every way you can get Conduits. (But please note that Shadowlands is still in beta, and so all of the locations discussed below are subject to change.)

Let’s start by taking a quick moment to review exactly how Conduits work.

Soulbind Conduits basics

Conduits are an integral part of the interlocking end-game systems of the Shadowlands along with the Covenants, Soulbinds, Torghast, the Maw, and the Great Vault. They give you a way to improve your character beyond just collecting gear and let you customize your gear to your playstyle. This new system is a blend of gems from Jewelcrafting and the the Heart of Azeroth Essence system from Battle of Azeroth, letting you socket Conduits in your Soulbind trees (rather than your gear) to gain power.

• Each Conduit is placed into specific, color-coded sockets in your Soulbind trees. There are three colors of Conduit:
  • Potency (throughput) – Red
  • Endurance (survival) – Yellow
  • Finesse (utility) – Blue
• As you acquire Conduits, you’ll learn them — similar to Azerite Essences — so you can later slot them into your Soulbind trees.
• Conduits have ranks. When you acquire a higher rank of a Conduit already collected, you’ll learn the higher rank version which will upgrade it in your collection.

Now that we know these basics, let’s look at where we’ll find Conduits.

Conduits from the Covenant Campaign

You’ll acquire Conduits progressing through the Covenant campaign. At the end of Chapter 3, all players receive a Potency Conduit which enhances the unique class ability that your Covenant teaches. Along with a signature ability available to all members of a Covenant regardless of class, each Convent teaches a unique class spell. For example, Night Fae Hunters will learn Wild Spirits, while Necrolord Hunters learn Death Chakram. Kyrian Priests learn Ascended Blast, while Venthyr Priest learn Mindgames.

At the end of Chapter 3, Night Fae Hunters can look forward to the Spirit Attunement Conduit which increases the duration of Wild Spirits by 3 seconds and the damage dealt by 10%. Meanwhile, Kryian Priests will receive the Courageous Ascension Conduit which causes Ascended Blast to deal an additional 10% damage, and Ascended Eruption to deal an additional 1% damage per stack of Boon of the Ascended. Venthyr Priests get the Shattered Perceptions Conduit which makes Mindgames last an additional 3 seconds and deal an additional 20% damage or healing.

Conduits from Dungeons

Drops from the eight 5-player dungeons in Shadowlands are a major source of Conduits — but they’re a little different than your standard loot. Conduits are considered their own drop and will not count towards the amount of loot your party recieves. If your Mythic chest drops two pieces of gear, you’ll get two pieces for the party. You might or might not get a Conduit, but that will be in addition to the two pieces that are in the chest. If you do get a Conduit, you can’t trade it to anyone else in your party, even if they’re the same class as you.

Conduits are class-coded, and you’ll get a chance at all class-specific Conduit drops regardless of your loot spec, even though some enhance spells specific to a specialization. If a boss drops a Conduit, you’ll have a chance to see it drop. For example, Royal Decree enhances Guardian of Ancient Kings, a major cooldown for Protection Paladins. It drops in from Oryphrion the Spires of Ascension dungeon and all Paladins will have a chance to loot it, regardless of their current chosen loot spec.

Each class will be looking for Conduits from different bosses. Death Knights have three different bosses in Plaguefall while Mages have three different bosses in The Necrotic Wake and the Theatre of Pain. We’ve provided a list below of what bosses drop Conduits for your class. Be warned: some Dungeon or boss names may be spoilers so if you’re looking to avoid that, you might want to skip down to the next section.

Death Knight

• De Other Side: Mueh’zala
• Halls of Atonement: Halkias the Sin-Stained Goliath, High Adjudicator Aleez
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Tred’ova
• Plaguefall: Domina Venomblade, Globgrog, Margrave Stradama
• Sanguine Depths: Executor Tarvold
• Spires of Ascension: Oryphrion
• The Necrotic Wake: Amarth the Harvester, Nalthor the Rimebinder
• Theatre of Pain: Gorechop, Kul’tharok, Xav the Unfallen

Demon Hunter

• De Other Side: The Manastorms
• Hall of Atonement: Lord Chamberlain
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Tred’ova (x2)
• Plaguefall: Domina Venomblade (x2)
• Sanguine Depths: Executor Tarvold
• Spires of Ascension: Oryphrion
• The Necrotic Wake: Surgeon Stitchflesh
• Theatre of Pain: Xav the Unfallen

Druid

• De Other Side: Hakkar the Soulflayer, Mueh’zala
• Hall of Atonement: Lord Chamberlain, Echelon
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Ingra Maloch, Mistcaller, Tred’ova
• Plaguefall: Globgrog, Margrave Stradama
• Sanguine Depths: Grand Proctor Beryllia, Kryxis the Voracious
• Spires of Ascension: Devos Paragon of Doubt, Kin-Tara
• The Necrotic Wake: Amarth the Harvester, Blightbone
• Theatre of Pain: Dessia the Decapitator, Mordretha the Endless Empress

Hunter

• De Other Side: Hakkar the Soulflayer, Dealer Xy’exa
• Halls of Atonement: Echelon
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Ingra Maloch, Tred’ova
• Plaguefall: Domina Venomblade
• Sanguine Depths: Kryxis the Voracious
• Spires of Ascension: Azules, Devos Paragon of Doubt
• The Necrotic Wake: Amarth the Harvester
• Theatre of Pain: Mordretha the Endless Empress, Xav the Unfallen

Mage

• De Other Side: The Manastorms
• Hall of Atonement: Lord Chamberlain, Halkias the Sin-Stained Goliath
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Mistcaller
• Plaguefall: Doctor Ickus, Margrave Stradama
• Sanguine Depths: Grand Protector Beryllia
• Spires of Ascension: Ventunax
• The Necrotic Wake: Amarth the Harvester, Nalthor the Rimebinder, Surgeon Stitchflesh
• Theatre of Pain: Dessia the Decapitator, Kul’tharok, Mordretha the Endless Empress

Monk

• De Other Side: Hakkar the Soulflayer, Mueh’zala
• Halls of Atonement: High Adjudicator Aleez (x2)
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Mistcaller
• Plaguefall: Doctor Ickus
• Sanguine Depths: General Kraal, Kryxis the Voracious
• Spires of Ascension: Devos Paragon of Doubt, Ventunax
• The Necrotic Wake: Blightbone, Surgeon Stitchflesh
• Theatre of Pain: Dessia the Decapitator

Paladin

• De Other Side: Mueh’zala
• Halls of Atonement: Halkias the Sin-Stained Goliath, High Adjudicator Aleez
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Ingra Maloch
• Plaguefall: Globgrog
• Sanguine Depths: General Kraal, Grand Proctor Beryllia
• Spires of Ascension: Devos Paragon of Doubt, Oryphrion, Ventunax
• The Necrotic Wake: Nalthor the Rimebinder
• Theatre of Pain: Xav the Unfallen

Priest

• De Other Side: Mueh’zala
• Hall of Atonement: Lord Chamberlain, High Adjudicator Aleez
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Ingra Maloch
• Plaguefall: Doctor Ickus, Margrave Stradama
• Sanguine Depths: Grand Proctor Beryllia
• Spires of Ascension: Devos Paragon of Doubt
• The Necrotic Wake: Nalthor the Rimebinder
• Theatre of Pain: Mordretha the Endless Empress

Rogue

• De Other Side: Hakkar the Soulflayer, Dealer Xy’exa
• Halls of Atonement: Echelon
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Mistcaller
• Plaguefall: Globgrog
• Sanguine Depths: General Kraal
• Spires of Ascension: Kin-Tara
• The Necrotic Wake: Blightbone, Surgeon Stitchflesh
• Theatre of Pain: Dessia the Decapitator, Gorechop

Shaman

• De Other Side: Hakkar the Soulflayer, Mueh’zala
• Halls of Atonement: Echelon
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Ingra Maloch, Tred’ova
• Sanguine Depths: General Kraal, Grand Proctor Beryllia
• Spires of Ascension: Devos Paragon of Doubt, Kin-Tara, Oryphrion
• The Necrotic Wake: Nalthor the Rimebinder
• Theatre of Pain: Kul’tharok

Warlock

• De Other Side: Mueh’zala, The Manastorms
• Hall of Atonement: Lord Chamberlain
• Mists of Tirna Scithe: Mistcaller
• Plaguefall: Doctor Ickus, Margrave Stradama
• Sanguine Depths: Executor Tarvold
• Spires of Ascension: Ventunax
• The Necrotic Wake: Amarth the Harvester, Surgeon Stitchflesh
• Theatre of Pain: Kul’tharok, Mordretha the Endless Empress

Warrior

• De OtherSide: Dealer Xy’exa
• Halls of Atonement: Echelon, Halkias the Sin-Stained Goliath
• Sanguine Depths: Kryxis the Voracious
• Spires of Ascension: Kin-Tara, Oryphrion
• The Necrotic Wake: Amarth the Harvester, Blightbone
• Theatre of Pain: Dessia the Decapitator, Gorechop

Big thank you to Felinae from the Blizzard Watch Discord for assisting in compiling the Dungeon list.

Conduits from World Quests, treasures, and rares

Conduits are awarded from World Quests just like any other piece of gear. Players will want to check each day to see if a World Quest awarding a Conduit they need is up. One quest that awards a Conduit is Flight School: Up and Away! in Bastion, which some players already consider one of the more frustrating World Quests in the game, so getting Conduits this way may not be as easy as you think.

Good thing that that quest isn’t the only way to find Conduits in the open world. Several rare mobs in each zone will have Conduits as part of their loot. Players will also find treasure chests in certain zones which could contain Conduits. I’m sure the HandyNotes addon will showcase these important locations.

Conduits from PVP

Many Conduits are sold by a Zo’sorg in Oribos for Conquest Points. Like in Battle for Azeroth, players will earn Conquest through Rated Arena and Rated Battlegrounds, as well as (to a lesser amount) Unrated Battlegrounds. There are World PVP activities like Bounties and War Mode which also provide Conquest.

Each PVP Conduit will cost 200 Conquest which is about half the weekly cap.

The devs are committed to giving us multiple sources of Conduits

The developers had stated that there would be more than one source for most Conduits, which is wonderful news. I don’t PVP much (and by much, I mean not at all) and I never got the Conflict and Strife Essence in Battle for Azeroth despite it being one of the better options for Holy Paladins.

Many (but not all) Conduits sold for Conquest can also found as Dungeon drops, so you should be able to get the Conduits you need by running the content you enjoy. Several Conduits drop from multiple bosses. And perhaps the plan is for all the PVP Conduits to also be drops and they haven’t been implemented yet — there’s plenty of time for drops to be adjusted in the Shadowlands beta.

Conduits already have a catchup mechanism

The Manifest Aethershunt is sold by Ve’nari in the Maw for Stygia, one of the new currencies in Shadowlands. It acts as both a catchup mechanism and a form of bad luck protection. It will upgrade one of your Conduits (chosen at random from your lowest ranked ones) to the next rank.

But it will only do that once you have a full collection. Should you have lousy loot luck, or I don’t know, not PVP at all, the Manifest Aethershunt will grant you a Conduit to your collection that you don’t have. It will be important to fill out your Conduit collection so your Aethershunts always grant upgrades.

There may be even more ways to get Conduits

In that same post where developers said there would be multiple sources for Conduits, they listed reputation as one of the ways players would get Conduits. Thus far, none of the reputation vendors are selling them. But the Conduit system has been changed multiple times since that late July post — perhaps Reputation vendors will no longer sell Conduits or these Conduits simply aren’t implemented yet.

Conduits will be an important part of preparing your character to take on the most difficult content World of Warcraft has to offer. With all the various way to acquire them, players will be running all kind of content and spending precious currency to fill in their collections.

Best of luck to you as your hunt down your BiS Conduits.