Five Things Everybody Gets Wrong On The Subject Of Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. The item upgrade used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every few weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current level of the gear being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon, or armor. button, which will show a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and the current level of the Item level upgrade and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrades upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. After a player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is even if those items come from a different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item upgrader kit level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, depending on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it will bring some modifications to the upgrade item process. Once a piece of gear attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one purpose, so it's important to use them properly. For instance it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear you have available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning on making. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.