Well, that did not take long.
Midnight Season 2 gearing briefly looked like it was about to become a financial horror story written by a crest vendor with no soul. Patch 12.1 PTR data showed scaling upgrade costs returning, meaning later gear upgrades would cost more crests the higher you pushed an item.
Players noticed. Players did math. Players made the noise people make when gearing suddenly needs a spreadsheet and emotional support.
Now Blizzard has cleaned it up.
Scaling Crest Costs Were Not Intended
According to the latest Patch 12.1 PTR update covered by Wowhead, gear upgrade costs no longer scale. Each upgrade level now costs a flat 20 crests, just like Midnight Season 1.
Blizzard’s note is short but important: the scaling upgrade costs were fixed, and gear now has flat costs to upgrade each track.
Translation: the scary version of the upgrade system appears to have been a PTR issue, not the intended Season 2 economy.
That is very good news for anyone who saw the earlier numbers and started calculating whether one pair of boots was worth a small national budget.
The Old PTR Version Looked Rough
The concern came from the earlier Patch 12.1 PTR build, where upgrade costs appeared to scale upward: 10 crests, then 20, 30, 40, and 50 as an item moved through a six-rank track.
That would have made a full six-rank upgrade cost 150 crests instead of the familiar 100 crests.
On paper, that sounds like “just more progression.” In practice, it would have made upgrades feel much more punishing, especially during early-season crest caps when every mistake already feels like you personally insulted the gearing gods.
It also raised concerns about raid loot advantages, since Patch 12.1 is already bringing stronger raid reward structures into Season 2.
Flat Costs Make Gearing Less Annoying
The flat 20-crest model is not glamorous, but it is clear.
You know what an upgrade costs. You know how many crests you need. You do not need to perform weekly upgrade astrology before deciding whether your gloves deserve attention.
That matters.
World of Warcraft gearing is already layered enough. Players are tracking item level, upgrade tracks, Great Vault options, raid drops, Mythic+ rewards, crafted gear, tier pieces, Delves, crests, and whatever cursed trinket is currently simming 0.7% higher than common sense.
Making crest costs scale on top of all that would have added more friction than excitement.
Season 2 Still Has Big Gear Numbers
This does not change the bigger Season 2 gearing picture.
Midnight Season 2 still raises the item level ceiling significantly, with Icy Veins listing the top end at item level 337 for Myth 9/6 loot from very rare drops and penultimate or final boss loot.
So the chase is still there. The gear ceiling is still high. The upgrade tracks still matter.
The difference is that upgrading should now feel less like getting mugged by the interface.
This Is Exactly What PTR Is For
Honestly, this is the good version of PTR drama.
A scary system appears. Players spot it. Community sites dig into the numbers. People yell a little. Blizzard clarifies or fixes the issue before it becomes a live problem.
That is how testing should work.
Not every ugly PTR detail is a disaster. Sometimes it is just a build showing something unfinished, old, or unintended. The important part is whether it gets corrected before launch.
In this case, the nasty crest bill is gone for now.
Season 2 gearing still has plenty of moving parts, but at least players can stop worrying that every late-track upgrade is about to demand a blood sacrifice in Mistcrests.
The vendor has been restrained.
For now.
Post a Comment