WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less important for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For example upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar Best item upgrader from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and other accessories. They are purchased by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. button, which displays an image of the item level upgrade (related web site) at the next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current level of the item. For instance, weapons will cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via several methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, several new features have been added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is true even if those items are from a different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade items is reduced and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available when certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for gear of a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complicated can require as much as 20 crests depending on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. 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 crucial to choose crests in a wise manner, as they only have one use. It is recommended to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for 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 high-quality equipment.