With the announcement of Embers of Neltharion, World of Warcraft will be getting some important changes. One of these is the new upgrade system for max level content that will replace many of the other upgrade systems. The WoW team has an extensive devblog to walk us through just what to expect from this overhaul.
The new upgrade system is designed to streamline the experience and make things more intuitive. The new single upgrade system will have a new currency, Flightstones, and Shadowflame Crests. Flightstones will be drops and rewards from almost everything, from world quests, to killing a raid boss. Shadowflame Crests and their fragments will also be dropping from a variety of content. This includes, but isn’t limited to Mythic+ dungeons, raids, and outdoor gameplay.
These are the two key items you’ll use in the new system coming in Season Two. There’s no weekly cap on Flightstones, so you can earn them as you go. Shadowflame Crests have four varieties, and you’ll need to collect the specific type needed to upgrade an item to the equivalent of something you’d get from Raid Finder. Get the ones you need by completing those levels of content that you’re aiming your upgrades to.
Some gear is not included in the new upgrade system. Crafted gear, PvP gear, and the very top end max level Mythic Raid-level type gear. PvP gearing won’t changefrom the first season. Items will still have limits on how many times they can be upgrades and how. If you somehow want to upgrade an item and it is lower than the highest level that you have in that slot, the process will come at a discount. This will vary based on the stats and type.
There’s a lot more detail on just how this will all work over at the full devblog. The new system is coming in Season Two, but will begin to hit the PTR in stages. The team even admits that they’re not sure if the new system will be successful, or even if it will continue past the new season, but feedback is going to help to shape its final form.
