Summary
This system:
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Functions with gear from Raids, Mythic+ and the Open World
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Does not function with PvP Gear or Top Mythic raid items
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Does not function with Crafted gear.
Flightstones and Crests are the two new currencies being introduced. There are 4 types of crests— Whelping's, Drake's, Wyrm's, and Aspect's— which represent a progressively more challenging level of content. Upgrading an item will cost a different type of Crest, depending on the Item Level that you're trying to upgrade to . If any character on your account has a higher item level in that slot (second higher for rings, trinkets, and 1-handers), there is a significant discount on the upgrading prices, which includes a 50% reduction in the number of Flightstones required.
You are only allowed to obtain a maximum of 10 of each kind of Crest per week. The cap will gradually raise each week, allowing for characters to catch up to the current cap if you happen to miss a week. Enchanters will use Crests to create Enchanted Shadowflame Crests, which will be used to adjust the item level range of a piece of crafted gear in a manner similar to Infusions in Season 1. Crests will go into the reagent bag and stack quite high.
For more clarity, here is a few snippets from the Blizzard Blue Post detailing the system:
How Many Upgrades, Exactly?
Item level
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Shadowflame Crest cost to upgrade from previous level
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Items created at this level will always have upgrade level
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Items upgraded to this level might also be…
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---|---|---|---|
376
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n/
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Explorer 1/
|
|
379
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None
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Explorer 2/
|
|
382
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None
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Explorer 3/
|
|
385
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None
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Explorer 4/
|
|
389
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None
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Adventurer 1/
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Explorer 5/
|
392
|
None
|
Adventurer 2/
|
Explorer 6/
|
395
|
None
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Adventurer 3/
|
Explorer 7/
|
398
|
None
|
Adventurer 4/
|
Explorer 8/
|
402
|
1 Whelpling’s Shadowflame Crest
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Veteran 1/
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Adventurer 5/
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405
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1 Whelpling’s Shadowflame Crest
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Veteran 2/
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Adventurer 6/
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408
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1 Whelpling’s Shadowflame Crest
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Veteran 3/
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Adventurer 7/
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411
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1 Whelpling’s Shadowflame Crest
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Veteran 4/
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Adventurer 8/
|
415
|
1 Drake’s Shadowflame Crest
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Champion 1/
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Veteran 5/
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418
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1 Drake’s Shadowflame Crest
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Champion 2/
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Veteran 6/
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421
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1 Drake’s Shadowflame Crest
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Champion 3/
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Veteran 7/
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424
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1 Drake’s Shadowflame Crest
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Champion 4/
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Veteran 8/
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428
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1 Wyrm’s Shadowflame Crest
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Hero 1/
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Champion 5/
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431
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1 Wyrm’s Shadowflame Crest
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Hero 2/
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Champion 6/
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434
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1 Wyrm’s Shadowflame Crest
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Hero 3/
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Champion 7/
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437
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1 Wyrm’s Shadowflame Crest
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Hero 4/
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Champion 8/
|
441
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1 Aspect’s Shadowflame Crest
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Mythic
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Hero 5/
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444
|
n/
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Mythic
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n/
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447
|
n/
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Mythic
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n/
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450
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n/
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Mythic
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n/
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Redundant Things Are Redundantly Redundant
Example: Vindicator Boros wants to upgrade his new two-handed mace. It’s item level 408, but he already has a two-handed sword that’s item level 415. Upgrading his new mace from 408 to 415 will cost him half the usual Flightstones and won’t cost him any Shadowflame Crests. If he wants to upgrade it further to ilvl 418, it’ll cost him a Drake’s Shadowflame Crest and the usual amount of Flightstones.
Shadowflame Crests and You
Flightstones of Fancy
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At low item levels (376-398), it’ll take 5-8 World Quests to upgrade a piece of armor. Weapons are more expensive, but your weekly capstone quest (like the “Aiding the Accord” quests found in the 10.0.2 content update) will still give you enough Flightstones to upgrade a weapon several times.
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At medium item levels (402-424), it’ll take 3-5 Mythic Keystone dungeons to upgrade a piece of armor, depending on the key level and the armor slot.
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At higher item levels (428-441), it can take upwards of ten Normal dungeons to upgrade an armor piece.
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At all levels, three raid bosses (or two if they’re end bosses) will get you enough Flightstones to upgrade a piece of gear from that tier.