14 Questions You Might Be Afraid To Ask About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random additional substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The Best item upgrader used to upgrade the Best item upgrader will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For example upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that can be used to improve the quality of weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They are purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of button, which will show an item's preview at its next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item upgrade and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade items costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain amount and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and an issue.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with some new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies even if those items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The discount applies to all accounts. Similarly, 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 it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are used for specific upgrades to the level of an item. Crests are an integral component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulties to get equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. For instance it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrader equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which will only be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with top-quality gear.