The Thunder King PTR Development Notes
This system was, for obvious reasons, met with a bit of frustration as obtaining full best-in-slot was never truly attainable, and with the increased importance of item level in MoP, the difference between a Thunderforged and a Non-Thunderforged weapon was larger than you may think.
How does thunderforing work?
Every time you loot a boss in Throne of Thunder, an item has a small chance to Thunderforge, upgrading the item levels by +6. For example, a Heroic difficulty item has a normal item level of 535, and a Thunderforged version would bring that item level to 541.
Exactly how likely it is for an item to Thunderforge remains unknown. Because of the increased number of drops in 25-man, you're much more likely to see Thunderforged items in that difficulty, which would make it easier to funnel upgraded gear into one particularly strong raider.
Items that have been coined through Mogu Rune of Fate, the new bonus roll token for Phase 3, also have a chance to Thunderforge, adding another layer of RNG to your 3 weekly rolls.
Guaranteed Thunderforge: Ra-den, the Heroic only boss, will always drop its items as Thunderforged with an item level of 541.
Changes to Thunderforging in Classic
To limit frustrations with the system, Blizzard is introducing a modified version into the Classic version of the game. It will limit the impact of getting a Thunderforged drop from the raid and level the playing field.
We don’t want to remove Thunderforging as a concept but we do want to reduced frustrations with the system. To meet our goals:
Thunderforged Normal and Heroic items drop and are 6 item levels higher than their non-Thunderforged versions (same as in original MoP).
Thunderforged Normal and Heroic items cannot be upgraded in item level during Throne of Thunder (same as in original MoP).
Non-Thunderforged Normal and Heroic items can now be upgraded twice, for a 3 item level increase each time, for a total of a 6 item level increase from upgrading (new to MoP Classic).
This means that while you can still obtain Thunderforged items from the raid, it will only benefit the raid in that the person who receives it gets to save their currency that would otherwise be used to upgrade the item.
While the actual upgrade system and how it will work are still under review by Blizzard, the current system that has been communicated by Blizzard staff will work like this:
Non-Thunderforged items will start at 0/2, and each upgrade will grant 3 item levels (for a total of 6).
For the first few weeks, each upgrade will cost 250 Valor Points.
A few weeks after the release of Phase 3, each upgrade will cost Justice Points. Cost is yet to be confirmed, but it would not be unreasonable to assume a cost of 1,000 per upgrade, like the upgrade system in Phase 2.
If changes are announced, this post will be altered to reflect them.
As such, receiving a Thunderforged item early into the phase will still be very beneficial, as you will not have enough Valor Points to upgrade all of your gear. Further, a lot of classes will want to pursue the very powerful trinkets from Shado-Pan Assault, like Brutal Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault, which will cost 1,750. Many casters will also be looking to pursue the Valor Point necklace due to a lack of powerful options from the previous phase.
However, outside of the first few weeks, you will never be time-gated in upgrading your Non-Thunderforged items, but you may need to queue up a few more dungeons to acquire the currency needed to upgrade.
Tier Pieces & Gear From Shado-Pan Assault
Originally, in Mists of Pandaria, neither of these two sources could Thunderforge as they were purchased from a vendor. Blizzard verified that they will not be upgradable this time around either, meaning your tier item level will be capped at 535, and Valor Point gear will be capped at 522. With the increase in item level compared to tier, quite a few classes will find themself pursuing off-pieces rather than tier pieces.
Prepare now, upgrade later.
While preparing Justice Points has limited value as it's not a finite resource, you can avoid scrambling to get Justice Points once the system converts from Valor Points to Justice Points by stockpiling Commendation of Justice, sold for 125 Valor Points from Commander Oxheart. If you do not need Valor Points currently in Phase 2, it is recommended to stock up on these commendations, as Valor Points will be converted to Justice Points, and any Justice Points over 4,000 when the phase hits will be converted to gold.
This saves a bit of time, especially if you're someone who enjoys raiding with multiple characters.
Sentiment Surrounding the New System
The list of pros is much longer than the list of cons, but some players have voiced their opposition to the new system.
Pro
Con
What are your thoughts on this new system? Let us know in the comments down below!
