14 Common Misconceptions Concerning Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item upgrades that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than buying new gear. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item Level upgrade will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and other items. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to item upgrader kit owners in a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon or tool using a button, which displays a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current level of the item upgrader kit as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via various methods that are both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies even if the items come from another set of equipment.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for gear of a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests depending on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons that have a high difficulty for endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade item process. For instance, when an item reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount on the account will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.