Upgrade Items (Crafted Gear)
- See also: Upgrade Items and Endgame Gear Guide
Upgrade Items for Crafted Gear are endgame tokens that are used to Augment crafted gear at vendors in the Endgame Hubs. Upgraded endgame crafted gear first began in Stormblood patch 4.3. The process improves the gear's item level by 10, and it remains dyeable (as crafted gear typically is). Crafted gear only becomes augmentable the major patch after it is introduced. This means new crafted gear on even patches and new augmentation items and certificates on odd patches.
Unlike with tomestone gear, this is a two-part process. First you need to turn in the base un-Augmented gear to a vendor in that expansion's Endgame Hub to receive a quantity of certificates. Then you need to purchase a Rain item with Allagan Tomestones. For current level-cap gear, this always uses the uncapped tome. With both the certificates and the Rain item, you can then exchange for the Augmented gear. You always receive enough certificates to purchase one upgraded item for the same slot, but the amount of certificates per item has varied from tier to tier. In addition, normal quality (NQ) gear always exchanges for much fewer certificates than High Quality gear.
This certificates process also means the specific gear you craft and the gear you exchange for do not have to be the same. For example, you can turn in Scouting gear and exchange for Fending gear. Or you can turn in Foot gear and get Hands instead.
In another departure from the tomestone gear process, Upgrade Items for Crafted Gear are not phased out when a new expansion releases. However, the Rain item is transitioned forward with the tomestone rotation, eventually ending up as Poetics.