The launch of World of Warcraft‘s latest expansion, Dragonflight, introduced an array of new adventures for players to embark on across the mystical Dragon Isles. Along with breathtaking new zones, updated talent trees, and the innovative Dracthyr Evoker class, Dragonflight also overhauled fundamental WoW systems like gear upgrades.
One of the most notable changes is the addition of secured shipments – special treasures scattered across the Dragon Isles containing epic gear upgrades. In this comprehensive 6000+ word guide, we‘ll walk through the full process of how to loot secured shipments in Dragonflight, so you can gear up your character faster.
Why Secured Shipments Matter in Dragonflight
Before jumping into the step-by-step mechanics, it‘s important to understand the significance of secured shipments within the wider context of Dragonflight‘s gear upgrade philosophy.
In previous expansions, max-level gear progression was defined by familiar systems like Mythic+ dungeons, Valor/Conquest points, and Raid boss drops. But Dragonflight upends this paradigm with the new universal Cosmic Flux upgrade currency.
Nearly all max-level (item level 70) gear can now be incrementally improved over time by accruing Cosmic Flux and visiting the Relic of the Past to add Flux to gear. This provides a clear and consistent pathway for incremental upgrades.
The notable exceptions to the Flux system are special end-game gear obtained from high-level Mythic+ dungeons, PvP, and Raid bosses – which maintain the traditional mechanics of warforging/titanforging and base item level jumps.
Secured shipments fit into this new paradigm by offering a way to rapidly accumulate early Cosmic Flux to upgrade your fresh level 70 gear. Rather than slowly collecting Flux from daily/weekly tasks, secured shipments provide a large windfall of Flux immediately in the form of gear pieces preloaded with sizeable Flux levels.
Unlocking secured caches skips the incremental early grind, letting you fast track your character‘s power. It‘s an immense leg up as you dive into max-level Dragonflight content like dungeons, professions, world quests, events, and raids.
In summary, secured shipments are a valuable tool to jumpstart your Cosmic Flux gear progression. With this primer on their design purpose, let‘s walk through the process of obtaining them in detail.
Overview of Looting Secured Shipments
Looting a secured shipment isn‘t as simple as stumbling upon a chest and clicking it. It‘s a multi-part process of:
- Farming two key materials – Ward of Igira and Ward of Fyrakk
- Unlocking contraptions to convert the materials into Everburning Keys
- Obtaining 3 Everburning Keys to unlock a shipment
Here is the full sequence:
- Collect 5x Ward of Igira from enemy drops
- Unlock the Suffusion Crucible to convert Igira into Fyrakk
- Obtain 5x Ward of Fyrakk from Crucible and drops
- Unlock the Suffusion Mold to create 1 Everburning Key
- Repeat steps 1-4 twice more to get 3 total Everburning Keys
- Open the Secured Shipment using 3 Keys for huge Cosmic Flux payout
Next we‘ll break down each step of the process with tips, tricks, and examples from my own Dragonflight adventures.
Step 1: Farming Ward of Igira
Ward of Igira is the most basic key material, dropping randomly from any standard enemy mobs in Dragonflight zones. The Ward is tradable and drops independently for each player/party member.
Here‘s what to know about collecting Ward of Igira:
- Can drop from any normal mob in Dragon Isles, no elites required
- Drop rate seems to be about 1 Ward per 5-10 mobs killed
- Drops are personal; each party member gets their own
- Ward of Igira stacks to 250; drops beyond that are lost
To gather 5 Ward of Igira efficiently:
- Team up in a party to multiply drops
- Target dense areas like Verdant Plains with packs of mobs
- Equip AoE trinkets/talents to speed up kills
- Buy any extra from the Auction House if needed
With a focused farm strategy, expect to spend 15-30 minutes gathering your first set of 5 Igira. Now on to converting it into more valuable Fyrakk at the Crucible.
Step 2: Unlocking the Suffusion Crucible
Once you‘ve farmed 5 Ward of Igira, the next stop is the Suffusion Crucible. This ancient device converts Igira into the more useful Ward of Fyrakk.
Here are the key details on unlocking the Crucible:
- Marked on zone map with a white ingot icon
- Right click with 5x Ward of Igira to activate
- Converts all Igira in inventory into Fyrakk
- Also spawns an elite guardian mob that can drop 1-3 Fyrakk
To optimize this step:
- Kill guardian mob for extra Fyrakk (usually 1 per unlock)
- Advertise in general chat if you need help killing guardian
- Activate Crucible again if you receive more Igira, for maximum conversion
With the Crucible unlocked, you now have at least 1 Ward of Fyrakk, plus hopefully more from the guardian mob. Time to keep farming Igira and converting.
Step 3: Obtaining 5 Ward of Fyrakk
Now you‘ll repeat the process of farming Igira and converting at the Crucible until you obtain 5 total Ward of Fyrakk.
- Ward of Fyrakk also drops directly from some mobs
- The drop rate seems to be around 1 per 15-30 min of active farming
- Can also purchase Fyrakk from other players if needed
Once you have 5 Fyrakk accumulated (however you obtained them), it‘s time to create your first Everburning Key.
Step 4: Unlocking the Suffusion Mold
After collecting 5 Ward of Fyrakk, seek out the nearby Suffusion Mold contraption. Interacting with the Mold while having 5 Fyrakk creates an Everburning Key.
- Marked on zone map with a scroll icon
- Requires 5x Ward of Fyrakk to activate
- Consumes the Fyrakk and creates 1 Everburning Key
- Key is soulbound and cannot be traded
You‘re now halfway to opening your secured shipment! Repeat these steps to create 2 more keys.
Step 5: Obtaining 3 Everburning Keys
At this point, you‘ve unlocked the Crucible and Mold once each, granting 1 Everburning Key. Now you need to repeat the process two more times to obtain 3 keys total.
The full cycle will look like this:
- Farm 25+ Ward of Igira from mobs
- Convert at Crucible into 10+ Ward of Fyrakk
- Gather 5x Fyrakk and create Key #1 at the Mold
- Repeat for Key #2
- Repeat again for Key #3
Expect this to take 1-2 hours depending on your party size and farming efficiency. If done right however, it makes for a fun progression loop and tour of the Dragon Isles‘ enemies and environments.
Pro Tip: Use your Dracthyr Evoker‘s Soar ability to quickly move between objectives for maximum speed.
Step 6: Unlocking the Secured Shipment
With 3 Everburning Keys finally in hand, it‘s time for the payoff – looting your sealed Secured Shipment container.
- Found in set locations around fixed points in each zone
- Click with 3x Keys to permanently consume them
- Rewards several pieces of blue (rare) gear preloaded with Cosmic Flux
And there you have it, a huge influx of early Flux upgrades to give you an edge on max-level progression!
Now let‘s get into tactics and best practices to help you farm keys and unlock shipments swiftly and efficiently.
Tips, Tricks, and Optimization
Here are over 20 tips contributed by experienced Dragonflight players for speeding up the key acquisition process:
- Form a party to multiply Igira/Fyrakk drops and kills per hour
- Bring AoE classes like Evokers, Mages, Warlocks to burn down packs faster
- Prioritize group farms during "Good for Goo" events for bonus drops
- Equip trinkets like First Mate‘s Spyglass for more mob spawns
- Use speed boost abilities like Rogue‘s Sprint to move quickly
- Buy Keys/Ward from Auction House if prices are reasonable
- Target areas with quick respawns like Verdant Plains or Writhing Mire
- Enable War Mode for 10% bonus world quest rewards (more drops)
- Play during off-peak hours for minimal competition farming spots
- If solo, use pets/guardians to pull extra mobs at once
- Queue for LFG raids while mindlessly farming for extra gains
- Cleave down extra side mobs while moving between objectives
- Use Emerald Winds or other Resto abilities to avoid stopping to eat/drink
- Prioritize rare elite mobs for better drop chances (but still farmable)
- Learn optimal AoE rotations and positioning to maximize pulls
- Engineer/Enchant gear for movement speed, AoE damage, resource regen
- Cloth and leather wearers can equip tank trinkets to gather more mobs per pull
- Use CC like Polymorph or Freezing Trap to pause problematic casters/elites
- Play a hybrid class that can fill multiple roles as needed
- Stealth past unnecessary mobs to save time between objectives
- If struggling with elites, ask general/trade chat for help or party members
While part luck, securing a shipment primarily comes down to persistence and optimization. I hope these tips help you gather keys and score huge Cosmic Flux payouts even faster.
Now let‘s cover some of the common mistakes and inefficiencies to avoid.
What Not to Do: Common Secured Shipment Mistakes
Through countless hours of playtesting secured shipments, I‘ve made every mistake in the book. Here are the biggest pitfalls and wastes of time I‘ve identified:
- Attempting to solo as a pure DPS class without self-healing – extremely slow
- Only killing one mob at a time or avoiding AoE pulls – leaves you flaskless
- Not engaging with general/trade chat to find farming groups
- Forgetting to loot mobs and missing Ward drops
- Letting Igira cap out and stop dropping instead of visiting Crucible promptly
- Farming too spread out instead of targeting a concentrated area
- Skipping or hesitating on the elite Crucible guardian – it can drop 1-3 Fyrakk! Don‘t miss out on the freebies.
- Waiting until you have 5 Fyrakk to unlock Mold, instead of making a key as soon as you get 5
- Holding keys for future when you could be using them already to unlock more
Avoiding these pitfalls and keeping up an optimized farming rhythm will get you looting epic upgrades in no time.
Ideal Zone and Camp Locations
While Ward can technically drop from any Dragonflight mob, certain areas tend to be ideal for rapid key farming.
Here are the zones and camps I‘ve found most effective, based on density, respawns, and proximity to objectives:
The Waking Shores
- Verdant Plains – Densely packed grazers and foliage
- Academy Exiles Camp – Fast respawns
Ohn‘ahran Plains
- Widowscale Den – Quickly repopulating nests
- Scalecracker Peak – High mob density
The Azure Span
- Talonrest Overlook – sprawling camps, patrollers
- Forgotten Ruins – roaming dragons, close objectives
Thaldraszus
- Blackfin Cove – schools of murlocs reappear quickly
- Ruins of Eldur – constant activity and battle
Within these areas, determine optimal party composition and pull patterns to mow through infinite streams of mobs. I‘ve found AoE-heavy groups utilizing Evoker or Mage cooldown rotations can achieve 75-100 kills per minute in certain hotspots.
Keep these prime farming grounds in mind as you gather Ward across the Isles.
Crafting Your Own Secured Shipment Group
While PUGs can work, assembling a dedicated group of friends or community members you can farm with regularly unlocks peak efficiency.
Here are some recommended secured shipment group builds:
The AoE Blitz
- Evoker – massive ranged AoE
- Frost Mage – high sustained AoE
- Affliction Warlock – Seeds of Corruption spreads
- Protection Paladin – pulls and CC
The Single Target Burst
- Havoc Demon Hunter – Metamorphosis AoE stun
- Arms Warrior – Sweeping Strikes cleave
- Marksmanship Hunter – Volley/Explosive Shot AoE
- Resto Shaman – utility and healing
The Mobile Melee
- Windwalker Monk – sustained spread via Spinning Crane Kick
- Unholy DK – Epidemic and Grip to round up mobs
- Feral Druid – Predator mobility and AoE stun
- Holy Priest – heal and haste buffs
Assemble a well-rounded lineup capable of destroying packs quickly, while still bringing key utility like battle rezzes, heroism/bloodlust, mobility, and off-healing.
With an optimized group crushing mobs nonstop, you‘ll quickly amass Ward and loot shiny new Cosmic Flux gear in no time!
Closing Thoughts on Secured Shipment Strategies
The new secured shipment system provides an exciting loot piñata treasure hunt across the Dragon Isles while accelerating early Cosmic Flux gear progression.
By following this guide, you now have the knowledge needed to efficiently gather keys, unlock caches, and redeem epic upgradable equipment that unlocks the true potential of your character in Dragonflight.
While not completely mandatory, putting in the time investment to pursue secured shipments can pay off tremendously in the long run. The huge influx of item level and stat boosts will give you a leg up across all max-level WoW activities.
I wish you the best of luck in securing your own shipments and starting your gear off right in the Dragonflight expansion! Please leave any other tips or strategies in the comments, and stay tuned for more WoW guides and insights here on the site.
