Gear Item Level Upgrade System Guide in The War Within

Two dragon-like characters standing in a fantasy shop, with scrolls and a hammer on the table.

Introduction

The system of upgrading items has always played an important role in WoW because it allows you to raise the level of items with suitable stats or other features. This is especially true for gear from M+ raids and dungeons, as well as other endgame mechanics. In the new expansion, The War Within has undergone some changes, so we will look at the system of improvement including its new features.

Necessary currency to improve equipment

Valorstones

This currency is known to you from other add-ons, but it has a new shell. In the previous expansion, it was called Flightstones. Although the name of this currency has changed, in general, its mechanics remain the same.

Earning Valorstones

You can earn them simply by playing the game. This allows you to enjoy completing various content and performing activities while passively receiving an important resource. Such activities include: open-world events and quests, completing Mythic+ dungeons, defeating Raid bosses, completing Delves, etc. The amount of resources received depends on the complexity of certain game mechanics. Players also often use the WoW power leveling service to obtain it quickly.

Valorstones cup

Valorstones have a 2000-character inventory limit. Once this limit is reached, further accumulation becomes impossible, so it is important to spend them promptly so as not to waste resources. This will help maintain steady progress in improving equipment.

Harbinger Crests and how to obtain them

This is a new seasonal Crests and the second important item for upgrading, which can also be used to create equipment. Unlike Valorstones it has tiers. Each tier of currency is obtained by the player for completing certain activities:

  • Weathered Harbinger Crest: World Quests, Outdoor Treasures, Delves, Heroic difficulty Dungeons, LFR Difficulty Raid Bosses.
  • Carved Harbinger Crest: Normal Raid Bosses, Mythic and Mythic+3 Dungeons, World Bosses, Weekly World Events.
  • Runed Harbinger Crest: Mythic+ Dungeons from +4 to +8, Heroic difficulty Raid Bosses.
  • Gilded Harbinger Crest: Mythic+ Dungeons +9 and up, Mythic difficulty Raid Bosses.

This can cause inconvenience because you have to focus on the same mechanics to farm certain crests, but as you level up and get better equipment, some types of currency will become useless. If you don't want to farm them, you can buy the appropriate WoW leveling service for that.

Gear Upgrade Tracks

Each piece of equipment has its upgrade track, allowing players to enhance their PvE gear up to a certain limit depending on the type of content from which the gear was obtained:

  • Explorer (558 – 580ilvl): The most basic track for regular items obtained from normal dungeons and Delves Tiers 1-2.
  • Adventurer (571 – 593ilvl): Track for gear acquired from heroic dungeons, world quests, and Delves Tiers 3-4.
  • Veteran (584 – 610ilvl): This track is for items obtained from mythic dungeons, LFR raids, and Delves Tiers 5-6.
  • Champion (597 – 619ilvl): Applied to gear dropped in Delves Tiers 7-11, Mythic+ dungeons from level 2 to 6, and normal difficulty raids.
  • Hero (610 – 626ilvl): Available for items obtained from heroic raids and the most challenging Mythic dungeon keys.
  • Mythic (623 – 639ilvl): Track for gear obtained from the most difficult versions of activities, including Mythic Level 10 dungeons and Mythic Difficulty raids.

Upgrade vendors in the War Within

In War Within, there are two upgrade vendors associated with equipment: Cuzolth and Vaskarn. Vaskarn assists players with enchanting crests for creating gear, while Cuzolth specializes in upgrading your items. Both vendors are located in Dornogal, the capital of the Earthen race, at coordinates 51.8, and 42.1.

The specifics of equipment upgrade

As we know, upgrading items requires the use of Valorstones and Harbinger Crests, and there are a few key patterns here. Regardless of the Gear Upgrade Track, each level-up step costs 15 corresponding Harbinger Crests. The number of Valorstones varies depending on several factors: the item's slot, its level, and its quality. The higher one of these indicators the more resources are needed. This is because Valorstones are easy to earn and do not have their rarer counterparts. In this way, the game tries to balance the process of improving equipment.

Valorstones and Crests Discounts

To make it easier to level up new equipment, the developers have added a cost-reduction system that significantly saves your resources, especially crests. When you receive an item on the next Upgrade Track, its initial level will be less than the maximum level of the previous one. In order not to spend a huge amount of resources to obtain the same level, players receive a discount. The Valorstones discount is Warbind-wide while the Harbinger Crest discount is NOT Warbind-wide.

Conclusion

The item leveling system in World of Warcraft provides the ability to improve equipment, which significantly affects the effectiveness of the gameplay. It allows you to adapt equipment for more complex tasks and active mechanics, such as raids and dungeons. This is especially true for the best items because this is the only way to get the maximum available level in the game. Improvement requires the use of special resources, which you can obtain by performing various activities, or by ordering a WoW power leveling service.