item-upgrades
Latest
Currency Changes coming for Patch 6.0
We mentioned already that item upgrades would become purchasable with Lesser Charms of Good Fortune. Now, Blizzard has clarified a host of changes to how currency will work in Patch 6.0 and beyond. In addition to being used to upgrade items, Lesser Charms will now be directly tradeable for Warforged Seals, and there's no longer a restriction on how many you can get in a week - You can dump literally all of your Lesser Charms to Seals if you so desire. Other changes include the utter removal of Valor and Justice points (not Honor/Conquest, those remain), the removal of the Test of Valor component of the legendary cloak quest (you can still get the cloak, you just don't need to get the Valor points first), and the switching of all honor/justice items over to costing gold to purchase, including heirloom items. You can read the post here.
You'll still be able to buy item upgrades and heirlooms in 6.0
There are lots of changes headed to WoW in patch 6.0, but perhaps the scariest change is the removal of valor and justice points, which have served as a primary form of in-game currency for quite a while. However, Blizzard staff have been working to reassure people that the loss of these currencies isn't the end of the world (or even the end of World of Warcraft). Almost everything you'd currently buy with valor or justice you'll be able to buy with gold moving forward, so heirlooms will have a gold cost. The one exception is with item upgrades, which you'll be able to purchase with Lesser Charms of Good Fortune (for Mists gear only; Warlords gear won't be upgradable) after patch 6.0 lands. Though the number may change before release, currently the cost is 50 charms per upgrade, with no cap on the amount of charms or how many upgrades you can do a week. Additionally, with valor being gone, the Test of Valor phase of the legendary quest chain is being removed. For those of you trying to level and gear alts before Warlords of Draenor arrives, this will be a big help -- provided patch 6.0's arrival date leaves enough time to make use of them.
Patch 5.4.8 and the wait for Patch 6.0
With patch 5.4.8 we're seeing a new way to achieve an old goal - allow players to get further in established content while it remains the most recent content available. In essence, with this patch, we will be able to buy slightly increased ability to progress with valor points. This isn't new - it's what the item upgrade system has always been. I've been thinking about the new item upgrades and the Deeds of Valor since they were announced. I haven't been able to play WoW as I'd like lately (health reasons) but one of the things that immediately came to mind when they announced Deeds of Valor was that this was an entirely new way to nerf raid content at the end of an expansion. Instead of a progressive buff to the players, or a progressive nerf to the bosses, we're seeing a mechanical way to spend valor points to gain the same ultimate aim. Making it possible to trade in your Timeless Coins for valor points is a good way for players who are flush from constant Timeless Isle grinding to convert them to something useful, and allowing players to upgrade items an additional 2 times (for a total of four upgrades) serves to nerf content without nerfing it. Everyone will be stronger, will hit harder, will have more mana for heals. I have some opinions about this, of course. Others have already expressed theirs - and to be fair I accept the basic premise that these are quality of life changes that will cease to matter in patch 6.0. And I'm okay with that, because again, I see this primarily as a way to nerf Siege of Orgrimmar without actually doing so. It gives us another valor dump, of course. But with changes like Heart of the Valorous (which won't be live when 5.4.8 drops) it feels as if valor itself is being made into a progression mechanic.
Patch 5.4.8: Deeds of Valor, Valor upgrades, and Garrosh heirlooms
It's interesting to me how valor point upgrades have replaced raid wide player buffs or debuffs to the fights, as we saw in Icecrown Citadel and Dragon Soul respectively. Perhaps it's because valor upgrades can serve a variety of functions beyond just making one raid easier. At any rate, in patch 5.4.8 (undergoing PTR testing right now) we'll see the valor upgrade system get a bump. But it's not just the valor upgrades that will be changing. Players who spend a lot of time on the Timeless Isle and have a lot of coins they can't do anything will now be able to exchange the coins for Deeds of Valor, which will be a straightforward swap of 3000 timeless coins for 100 valor points. You'll still have your weekly and monthly valor caps to contend with, but now, you can at least do something with all those timeless coins on your currency tab. Finally, because we'll be able to upgrade our items twice more (up to the 4/4 upgrade level) the special heirloom weapons from Garrosh Hellscream will also be automatically upgraded, gaining an additional 8 ilevels. This is to make sure that players using those heirlooms as their main weapon don't have to abandon them for an item which can be upgraded. Head to the official site's forums for more details.
Patch 5.3 and more with Ghostcrawler
In case you hadn't heard the news, patch 5.3 is set to hit live servers tomorrow. While 5.3 doesn't include a new raid, there are a host of different new activities, including four new scenarios, heroic scenarios, a ton of pet battle changes, and of course the advancement of Mists of Pandaria's storyline as the heat ramps up between Alliance, Horde, and an outlier faction of Horde rebels. It's back to the Barrens again -- and this time, Crossroads isn't the area of contention. But on top of all of the new content comes a ton of different class and content changes as well. We sat down to chat with Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street about patch 5.3's changes, as well as some upcoming changes for patch 5.4, response to subscription losses, Vengeance changes, that big unannounced feature we've all been dying to hear more about, and much more.
Legendary Meta Gem restrictions for upgraded items
The Legendary meta gems, added in patch 5.2, as the reward from the latest part of Wrathion's quest chain are getting quite the reputation. Amongst others, top EU guild Method asserted that these items were key to their World First Ra-den kill, as the buff they provide to gear, particularly the proc, is so substantial. But there's some confusion around regarding their usage. A cursory glance at the tooltip indicates that they can be socketed in any item with an ilvl of more than 504. A poster on the EU forums has asked today for explanation on why his ilvl 496 helm, which he had upgraded to ilvl 504, is still considered too low-level for the gem. Blizzard Community Manager Draztal responds as follows: Draztal Quote: Is it intended that you aren't able to socket upgraded gear prior to 5.2 with the legendary Meta? I have a 496 helm upgraded to 504 but it still denies that it is high enough to be socketed. Some dev feedback be appreciated. Yes, it is intended that you can't put the legendary meta gem on an upgraded 496 helm, but the developers are currently discussing how upgraded items may behave down the road. No promises or any specifics we can share at this time, though. source What's your take on this? I suspect that it's potentially born of an issue with the way upgrades are designed. It seems odd that, while the item has the required ilvl, an error is still generated. Perhaps it's an effort on the developers' part to ensure the Legendary meta can only be equipped in gear obtained from Throne of Thunder normal mode, or last tier's heroic gear. Ghostcrawler tweeted the following, which seems slightly contradictory to Draztal's post, but does clarify Blizzard's intent: @xxvanitasxx1 The intent was always for Throne of Thunder helms. Apologies that we did not communicate that intent well. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) April 17, 2013 Given that we've had reports of the gem working in last tier's Heroic items, it seems a little odd that upgraded gear should be excluded. Nonetheless, forewarned is forearmed, so we thought we should inform you!
Patch 5.3: Item upgrades to return for PvE, not for PvP
Blizzard posted a blog today on the much-discussed return of the item upgrades to the game in patch 5.3. Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street had commented in recent interviews that the system would be very unlikely to return for PvP, so there's no great surprise in that statement. There will still be upgrades available in patch 5.3 for season 12 gear, which was always upgradeable, at its original cost, so 750 Conquest for four item levels, useable twice. As the blog states, "no other PvP items are upgradable, and no new PvP items for the foreseeable future will use the upgrade system." This is a good thing. There are already potential issues emerging thanks to the item levels of the new gear, where the gaps in between the lower tiers and the upper tiers look to be too great, and adding item upgrades into the mix would only cause more problems. For PvE, as expected, the item upgrade system will be reappearing in patch 5.3. However, some changes have been made that iron out some issues the Blizzard team was unhappy with.
Blizzard clarifies patch 5.2 item upgrade changes, upgrade NPC gone
To help alleviate the confusion about the absence of gear upgrades come patch 5.2, Lead Systems designed Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street recently tweeted the following: @panterpe No gear. The NPC is gone. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) January 11, 2013 Naturally, this response prompted a flurry of tweets from players concerned about various aspects of the proposed changes. Ghostcrawler responded to several, with further explanation, and Blizzard Community Manager Bashiok subsequently posted a longer explanation on the US forums. Players concerns related, understandably, to gear which had already been upgraded. Would it keep its upgrades? The response, reassuringly, from Ghostcrawler, was yes, it would. This fact itself brings other issues with it, particularly for PvP gearing. Upgraded Conquest gear is already so much higher than honor gear, with a maximum item level of 491 compared to honor's maximum of 466. The new honor gear arriving in 5.2 would have brought the two levels closer together, but it was then downgraded from 483 to 476. There have been several posts from various Blizzard sources saying that PvP gearing would be totally revamped for 5.2, the outcome of which PvP players await with trepidation. And for PvE, the issue is pretty similar -- the pressure is now on to get gear upgraded before patch 5.2 arrives, when, currently, the ability to do so will be removed. From Ghostcrawler's follow-up tweets, it will return in patch 5.3, if it returns at all.
Gear that's used as a currency will keep its upgraded status
If the title confused, you, fear not, you're not alone. WoW Insider had to read Bashiok's post a few times to wrap our collective heads around it, too. Bashiok Quote: So here is my question.. If you upgrade the Regular Season 12 Malevolent gear twice and then say you get 2200 and upgrade to the elite, does your upgrades you already made to the previous gear remain or do you now have to spend additional conquest to upgrade the 2200 gear twice now? They remain. If a piece of gear is used as currency for a new piece of gear, upgrades are preserved. source Say, for example, you have a piece of the standard-issue Malevolent set, the current conquest set. You achieve a rating of 2200, and in order to upgrade your piece to the Elite equivalent, you have to hand in the original piece. It's a straight swap. And players can now upgrade the standard-issue Malevolent pieces with conquest points, so what Bashiok's saying is that those upgrades will remain in place on the Elite equivalent. The Elite equivalent can, of course, also be upgraded with conquest points. This is only currently relevant for conquest gear changes, as this is the only situation where gear items are used to purchase other gear items. It would not apply to raid finder tokens, as it's the token that is redeemed, rather than the item itself. That is not to say that other applications of this rule will not arise in future, as they have in the past. Wrath heroic raid upgrades used a similar system, and, of course, both Cataclysm legendary weapons. With the minimum item level for upgrades set at 458, these items will not be applicable for the upgrade system. However, it will be interesting to see if it applies with the Elite conquest weapons. These, unlike the armor, are a substantial upgrade in item level, going from 470 to 490. If the upgrades are passed on with these items, it could result in an even more problematic gear escalation situation than currently exists in PvP. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will offer item upgrades
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will feature an item upgrade system, as revealed in the above Gamespot interview with Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen at Comic-Con. After 13 minutes of discussing the game's art style and motion controls, Trinen drops the bomb about the shield, explaining that while Link begins with a traditional shield, he can craft different ones throughout the game by combining rupees with artifacts left behind by defeated enemies. Trinen said upgrades will apply to Link's beetle, shield and "other items," which we guess would include his sword, bow, whip and slingshot, but probably won't be applicable to the game's graphics.
Nexon brings Shakespeare's Hamlet to Mabinogi
To play Mabinogi or not to play Mabinogi, that is the question. Classic literature fans may have an easier time answering it after viewing two new trailers for Nexon's free-to-play fantasy MMORPG. The tortured Shakespearian prince will be making an appearance in Chapter 4 of the game's story campaign, and if you're scratching your head as to why, Nexon explains all on its official website. "Both Mabinogi and Hamlet are rich stories filled with twists, intrigue, and memorable characters. These similarities, along with the legacy of being one of the most famous of Shakespeare's works, made the story of Hamlet a natural to fit within the world of Mabinogi," it reads. The update will also be bringing new gameplay to Mabinogi in the form of theater missions and a new destiny system that allows for further skill specialization. Additionally, new character skills, shadow mission updates, and item upgrades are coming with the patch. Hit the jump to check out the two new videos and head to the official site for further details.
