How to upgrade gear in WoW Dragonflight season 2

Upgrading made simple.

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

In Dragonflight season two, you’ll need two currencies to upgrade your gear—Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests. Since gearing and upgrading your gear isn’t straightforward in Dragonflight season two, here are the basics you need to know, including all types of gear and how to upgrade them.

Valor as a currency is rendered useless in the second season and you won’t be needing that at all. So, you’ll be spending most of your time in Zaralek Cavern, Mythic+ dungeons, and raids grinding the new currencies.

Unlike season one where you had separate types of gear dropping in Mythic+ dungeons and raids, season two will have one gear system for PvE content and a different one for PvP content. PvE gear in total has six unique types of gear—Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, and Mythic gear. Each type of gear has its own item level range and once you reach the maximum item level of that gear type, you’ll have to swap your gear for the next type of gear.

All types of gear in Dragonflight season two

As mentioned, Dragonflight season two has six types of gear to offer. Each type of gear, except for Mythic, has a specific item level range and can be upgraded. So, here’s a quick overview of all types of gear, their item level range, and the main sources of this gear.

Gear type nameItem level rangeSource
Explorer gear376-398Mobs and quests in Zaralek Cavern
Adventurer gear389-411World quests in Zaralek Cavern
Veteran gear402-424Fyrakk Assaults, special Zaralek Cavern activities, Aberrus Raid Finder, final chapters of Embers of Neltharion campaign, and Mythic+ dungeons 
Champion gear415-437Normal Aberrus, the Great Vault, weekly bonus events, and Mythic+ dungeons
Hero gear 428-441Heroic Aberrus, the Great Vault, and Mythic+ dungeons
Mythic gear441-457Mythic Aberrus and the Great Vault

Which gear can you upgrade in Dragonflight season two?

Of the six types of gear, the only one you can’t upgrade is Mythic gear. While Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, and Champion gear has eight levels of upgrades, Hero gear has only five levels of upgrades. 

How can you upgrade your Dragonflight season two gear?

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

To upgrade your gear in the second season of Dragonflight, you’ll need two currencies—Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests. Flightstones will be awarded to you for completing any activity on the Dragon Isles, from world quests to Mythic+ dungeons and raids. Shadowflame Crests are more difficult to stumble upon and generally drop in more demanding content like Mythic+ dungeons and raids. There are four different types of Shadowflame Crests, and each of them upgrades your gear to a certain item level.

Type of Shadowflame Crest SourceItem level upgrade
Whelpling’s Shadowflame CrestAberrus bosses in Raid Finder, Mythic+ dungeons at level five and below, world quests, and treasuresUpgrades your gear up to item level 411
Drake’s Shadowflame CrestAberrus bosses on Normal difficulty, Mythic+ dungeons between levels six and 10, and weekly events in Zaralek CavernUpgrades your gear to levels 242-415
Wyrm’s Shadowflame CrestAberrus bosses on Heroic difficulty and Mythic+ dungeons between levels 11 and 15Upgrades your gear to levels 428-437
Aspect’s Shadowflame CrestAberrus bosses on Mythic difficulty and Mythic+ dungeons at level 16 and aboveUpgrades your gear up to item level 441

To upgrade your gear, you need to collect Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests. Then, head to one out of three vendors on the Dragon Isles to upgrade your gear, select the desired item level, and click Upgrade.

Where can you upgrade your gear in Dragonflight?

When upgrading your gear, you’ll have three location options—Valdrakken, Forbidden Reach, and Zaralek Cavern. 

In Valdrakken, you can find Corxian at the 43, 37 coordinates.

Screenshot by Dot Esports

If you’re hunting in the Forbidden Reach, you can speak to Researcher Baneflare and he’ll upgrade your gear.

Screenshot by Dot Esports

Finally, in Zaralek Cavern, Cuzolth at the 56, 56 coordinates will be helping you out with your gear upgrading needs.

Screenshot by Dot Esports

So, you’ll have more than one option and gear upgrades will be accessible in almost any corner of the Dragon Isles.

About the author
Izabela Tomakic

Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.