WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the gear being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than buying new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item upgrades will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items which can be used to upgrade weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade item is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade item level, if there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades must be acquired through various methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with some new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will cost less, even when they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific Item level upgrade level upgrades. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons that have a high difficulty to obtain endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests wisely, as they only have one use. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the top-quality equipment that you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.