Players can acquire Veteran Gear in WoW, which has 8 upgrade ranks, however, it requires specific materials to be upgraded.
World of Warcraft (WoW) is an tactical video game that invites players to take control of a Warcraft hero to explore a fictional universe.
All players will begin their character at level 1, but as you level up, your character will require stronger gear. One of the gear types that you can obtain in WoW is Veteran Gear.
Equipment
Equipment in WoW refers to any item that can be equipped in an equipment slot, as distinguished from items that can only be carried in your inventory.
All items are ranked by their quality in WoW. The rarer an item is, the more powerful it is. Players can identify an item’s rarity by looking at its color.
Uncommon items are green, while rare items are generally blue. Purple indicates that it is an Epic item while orange means that it is a Legendary item. You can also acquire Common items, which are white. Poor items are the lowest-quality items, and they are gray.
WoW: Veteran Gear
As your character progresses in WoW, they will reach higher levels. A higher level requires better gear, as the enemies that you have to defeat become stronger. There are different types of gear that you can acquire in WoW, one of which is Veteran Gear.
Veteran Gear was introduced to WoW with Dragonflight’s second season. It has a specific item level and can be upgraded. Veteran Gear has an item level from 402 to 424, but it can only be acquired from specific sources.
Players can acquire Veteran Gear in Fyrakk Assaults, special Zaralek Cavern activities, Aberrus Raid Finer, final chapters of Embers of Neltharion campaign and in Mythic+ dungeons. As you can see, all of these activities are endgame content.
This means that your character must be at the maximum level, which is level 70, to procure Veteran Gear. Once you have Veteran Gear, you can upgrade it.
Bear in mind that when you reach the maximum item level of Veteran Gear, you need to obtain the next tier of gear.
It is worth noting that Veteran Gear has 8 levels of upgrades to increase its efficiency. To upgrade your gear, you need Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests.
Once you have enough Flightstones and Crests, you can go to one of the 3 vendors on the Dragon Isles to upgrade your gear.
Players can either go to Corxian in Valdrakken, Researcher Baneflare in the Forbidden Reach or Cuzoloth, who is in Zaralek Cavern.
Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests
Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests are 2 new currencies that are used to upgrade gear. Players can acquire Flightstones by completing any activity on the Dragon Isles. The activities range from world quests to Mythic+ dungeons and raids.
Shadowflame Crests are more difficult to procure as there are 4 different types of crests. In order to upgrade your Veteran Gear, you need to farm Drake’s Shadowflame Crests.
Players can acquire this crest by destroying Aberrus bosses on normal difficulty. However, it also drops in Mythic+ dungeons between level 6 and 10. Alternatively, you can complete weekly events in Zaralek Cavern to get Drake’s Shadowflame Crests.
Keep in mind that Drake’s Shadowflame Crests are only required from rank 6, 7 and 8 upgrades.
Does upgrading Veteran Gear really make a difference?
Farming the required materials for upgrading your Veteran Gear will take a while and therefore, several WoW players wonder if upgrading their gear is worth it.
The following table outlines the details of an upgraded and normal Sunless Tunic:
| Feature | Normal Sunless Tunic | Upgraded Sunless Tunic |
| Item Level | 402 | 424 |
| Upgrade Level | Veteran 1/8 | Veteran 8/8 |
| Armor | 497 | 570 |
| Agility | 417 | 512 |
| Stamina | 1042 | 1383 |
| Critical Strike | 381 | 427 |
| Mastery | 321 | 359 |
Fully upgraded veteran gear
In order to fully upgrade your Veteran Gear, you need to upgrade it 8 times. Once you have upgraded your Veteran Gear to the maximum, you need to procure the next tier of gear, which is Champion Gear.
Champion Gear has 8 upgrade ranks and features a level 415 to level 437 item level. This gear type drops in Aberrus, and players can find it in the Great Vault. Alternatively, you can complete the weekly bonus event quests to get it.
As with Veteran Gear, Champion Gear requires Flightstones to be upgraded. However, you also need to farm Whelpling’s Shadowflame Crests and Wyrm’s Shadowflame Crests for rank 5-8 upgrades.
