14 Common Misconceptions About Item Upgrade

WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.

The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll an exact version.

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 weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.

The upgrader is located in all major cities and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the item upgrader kit level, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from another player will cost 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that are used to level up weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They can be purchased by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrades varies based on the item level upgrade slot and the current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an Item Level upgrade upgrader at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.

In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain item level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if the items come from another set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced also, but is only available once certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a few choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.

The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade items path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.

The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it will bring some changes to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another notable change is that crests have one use, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance, it's Best item upgrade to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment you have and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to create. This is especially relevant for rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.