In the last two 9.2.5 PTR builds, some interesting items have been added which seems to allow players to deterministically upgrade their Items to Heroic and Mythic raid quality!
Upgrade Empowered ItemsBoth of these special upgrade items reference «Empowered Raid Items», which may be part of Shadowlands Season 4.
Upgrade to HeroicThe first item was datamined in last week's PTR build, which allows players to upgrade an Empowered raid item to Heroic quality. Cosmic Creation Impetus — Use: Realize the potential in an Empowered raid item, upgrading it to Heroic quality.
Upgrade to MythicThe second item was datamined in this week's PTR build, which allows players to upgrade an Empowered raid item to Mythic quality.Sacred Creation Impetus — Use: Fulfil the destiny of an Empowered raid item, upgrading it to Mythic quality.
How to Obtain?In order to get these upgrade items, it seems you'll need to obtain 20 Cyphers from your respective difficulty.
Confounding Antique Cypher — Use: Combine 20 Confounding Antique Cyphers to create the Cosmic Creation Impetus, which can be used to improve Empowered raid items to Heroic quality. Confounding Ancient Cypher — Use: Combine 20 Confounding Ancient Cyphers to create the Sacred Creation Impetus, which can be used to improve Empowered raid items to Mythic quality.Perhaps for every Heroic raid boss you kill you'll get 1 Confounding Antique Cypher which will eventually allow you to upgrade a piece of gear to Heroic quality and similarly for Mythic? This item seems very similar to PvP trophies from previous expansions, allowing players to upgrade their gear deterministically with bad luck protection rather than hoping for another drop of the exact same item at a higher item level.
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