i wish i got lots of shards honestly would kill for them and i've only ever gotten 8 so far. and ya you need 6 per upgrade with other mats 4 upgrades per item that require the 6 + mats... I think my math is off that comes out to 120 shards just to upgrade 5 pieces of gear to full and have level 30........... and people are bitching that they are getting them lol....