World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’s Embers of Neltharion update introduced a new, more universal gear upgrade system that Blizzard hoped would make gearing in the MMORPG simpler. And while the new system certainly has its share of benefits over the old system, it has also left some players scratching their heads and consulting some complicated-looking charts in order to grasp it.
The new system makes it so PvE gear earned from raids, the open world, and Mythic+ dungeons can be upgraded using currencies called Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests, replacing one-off systems like the old Valor system that was used exclusively to upgrade Mythic+ gear. It sounds good on paper, and it is definitely a great way for those who are more focused on open world content or raiding to continue progressing their characters by doing a wider variety of content. Blizzard said in a FAQ the goal of the system was to keep the “base player experience simple.”
Simple, however, seems up for debate. While Flightstones are earned from just about any endgame activity and are fairly straightforward, the real confusion surrounding the new system stems from the multiple different types of crests, crest fragments, and sub-divisions of gear that dictate how powerful a particular piece of gear can become. Depending on the difficulty of the content the gear was acquired from, it requires different types of crests to be upgraded. That has led to confused players attempting to help their fellow gamers make sense of it all in the form of various different flow charts and “cheat sheets,” like the one below from Reddit user ernest314. Another chart from user ChiefSach breaks it down in a different way.
At this point, it’s still a little too early to tell how much of a success or failure the new system is. Some players seem to be fine with the system, stating that it isn’t all that complicated. Others seem to find it far more confusing than what came before. Blizzard, for its part, seems open to feedback. In a blog post, Blizzard acknowledged the system is a work-in-progress, and that it was designed specifically for Dragonflight Season 2. Over the course of the season, the system will be evaluated and the team will decide whether to keep it going forward. What will happen to the system “depends on how players interact with and react to the system,” Blizzard stated.
WoW: Dragonflight Season 2, which introduces a new Mythic+ dungeon rotation, raid, and PvP season, kicks off May 9. The game’s 10.1 update arrived May 2 and introduced a new underground dragonriding zone, additional story content, and the long-awaited ability to create cross-faction guilds.
Though Dragonflight has failed to sell as well as some of the MMO’s previous expansions, Activision-Blizzard in a recent earnings report did state that player retention numbers are much higher in the West compared to previous expansions, in part due to Blizzard “delivering more content faster than ever before.” WoW: Dragonflight’s 10.1 update is the first of two major updates planned for 2023.
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