How to get the most out of Torghast every week

With everything there is to do in Shadowlands, Torghast can seem like it eats up a huge chunk of your gaming time — but how much time should it take? Do you need to run it sixteen times a week? Do you need to farm it for a specific drop? What is in the Tower of the Damned that’s so important?

It can be confusing what you need to run to get the most out of your time in Torghast. Let’s look at how many times you should run Torghast each week, what you should expect to get from it, and when to stop.

What Layer should you run?

Before you can run any Layer in Torghast, you must have completed the Layer before it in any wing. This is not limited by week, or by wing. Let’s say last week you completed Layer 4 of The Upper Reaches, and that was the highest Layer you ever completed. This week you may begin at Layer 5 on either of the two wings available this week, Coldheart Interstitia and Mort’regar. Completing Layer 5 on either one will allow you to go to Layer 6 on either one of them, or on the wings available next week.

Playing Torghast on an alt? All of the Layers you’ve completed on your main will be unlocked, but proceed with caution as your alts may not be able to handle as much as your main.

When joining as a party, you will only be able to queue for the Layers that are available to everyone. If one player in your group has only cleared a Layer 4 — allowing them to queue for Layer 5 or lower — then the group as a whole can only queue for Layer 5 or lower even if everyone else has cleared a Layer 8. There is no cheesing your way into a higher Layers with a more advanced group.

There is no need to run lower Layers once they are completed. Besides party level mismatch, the only reason to run lower Layers once you’ve unlocked higher ones is if you’re struggling — or just want to stab things distractedly while you watch Netflix — and the lower Layers are easier to complete. Any rewards you would receive from the lower Layers are rolled into the ones above it, so it’s far more efficient to run through once at the highest difficulty you can manage.

Torghast’s main reward is Soul Ash

The main reason to run Torghast is to craft Legendary armor by acquiring Soul Ash. It is also possible to obtain it from Adventures — the new term for mission tables — but that is less frequent, and not a guaranteed success, so if you want a Legendary it’s time to hit Torghast.

Each Layer rewards a different amount of Soul Ash upon your first Layer completion of the week, and the higher the Layer the less it rewards by itself. However, completing a higher Layer will reward the Soul Ash given by the all Layers below it at the same time — assuming you haven’t completed them yet that week. This means you don’t have to work your way through all the Layers every week, just the most difficult one you dare.

Each wing rewards a possible total of 570 Soul Ash for completing Layer 8. There are two wings available each week for a total of 1140 Soul Ash available, if both wings are cleared completely.

Rewards other than Soul Ash

Additionally, different wings drop Legendary Memories to return to the Runecarver’s Chamber. These vary by Class and Spec. To determine if what you want drops in Torghast — and which wing it drops in — open up the Powers tab in the Adventure Guide in game. Placing your cursor over the Power will show the source for it. If it drops in Torghast, it is looted off the final boss of a Layer available on Layers 3+. If this is your first time running the wing it doesn’t matter if it is Layer 3 or Layer 8, it will be a guaranteed drop.

The only other reward to carry away from Torghast is a companion or three for Adventures. On some floors, the Runecarver will tell you there is a prisoner, and state the Covenant they are from. If the prisoner is from the same Covenant as you there is a chance that completing the Bonus Objective will spawn a quest. Accepting and completing it will add them as a companion for the Adventure table. In addition to Covenant races, Meatball can also appear and become a companion.

What is the most efficient way to run Torghast?

In the beginning, running Torghast can be a bit of a mess. You have to run it Layer by Layer to access each higher one, so set aside a chunk of time to do so. Sometimes if you’re running it with friends, and someone may not have unlocked their Layers yet. And then gear can be an issue — you’ll want to be about ilevel 170 for Layer 7, and a little higher for Layer 8, unless you know the group you’re running with. Each week, run Torghast on the highest Layer you have unlocked, and keep going with the highest Layer you feel comfortable with.

Once your Layers are unlocked, gear isn’t an issue, and you’re ready to dive in, then you can start running Torghast just twice a week. Layer 8, both wings, and you’re finished. This will net you 1140 Soul Ash and complete your the Bolvar quests in Oribos, depending where you are in that six-week quest chain — you did remember to pick those up before you left, right?

Other than companions for the Covenant Adventures, running the normal wings doesn’t net any fun cosmetics, only Legendary Memories and Soul Ash. For cosmetic items, that requires running The Twisting Corridors, the challenge mode.

Originally published 12/28/2020, updated 2/2/2021