I have been around for like a year but I’m posting in new player guides because it’s my first new expansion.
As the title suggests: Do I have to start from scratch with gearing when the new expansion comes out? I recently reached 430 iLvl so I would like if I could keep doing things I can do now with this gear. Also it’s relevant for the way I’m gonna plan my gearing since the expansion is soon.
Yep. Basically they keep increasing gear ilvl each patch. So the first green items you’ll find in Shadowlands will be similar to what Mythic 0 is looting right now. By the time you climb to the new max level, all your current BfA gear will be worth nothing.
Each major patch, the basic gear available increases significantly. We are in 8.3, the third major patch of the expansion. Base gear for a 120 in 8.0 was ilevel 300; now it’s about ilevel 385 or 400.
In Shadowlands, there will be a numbers squish, but if there weren’t, it would probably start with questing gear at 440 or 450.
Every expansion get major increase so by the time you reach the new max level all your past expansion gear is worthless and major patch with a new raid add +30 ilvl compared to previous raid.
At end of expansion, people with the best possible gear can be about 470, so following previous patterns, you would hit 130 in Shadowlands somewhere in 470-500 (if they weren’t going to squish everything).
No, it’s incorrect.
The 30 ilvl gap is only between raid tiers withing the same expansion.
If they don’t shrink ilvl, Shadowlands will be something like this:
Starting quest rewards ~ 430
Max level quest rewards ~ 530
Heroic dungeons loot ~ 545
First season MM+ dungeons ~ 560 (+0) to 590 (+10)
First raid loot ~ 560 (LFR) to 605 (Mythic)
Second raid loot ~ 590 (LFR) to 635 (Mythic)
Third raid loot ~ 620 (LFR) to 665 (Mythic)
Fourth raid loot ~ 650 (LFR) to 695 (Mythic)
Graveýard, this whole thing is a non-issue, and not something you need to worry about. We’ve probably gone into possible item level equivalents too much in trying to explain.
One thing that is constant in this game - whatever level, whatever gear level you are at, the game WILL provide suitable content and gear rewards for you.
When Shadowlands comes out, the first gear you get will be about the same as the gear you’ve got now, and as you level in Shadowlands, you will keep getting gear of increasing power. Then at 130 (or 60 after the level squish) you will keep getting gear of increasing power. That’s pretty much what the game IS.