WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item upgrade by +3. A random substat is also increased with each upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new gear. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon or tool with a button, which will display an image of the item at its next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade items cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item upgrades is upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded, and can be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no Item level upgrade upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit as well as an issue.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and several new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a certain level of item upgrader mod for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items are from a different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW, players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be spent on gear of a specific rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one requires as many as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, when an item reaches the highest level of upgrade for 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 to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests with care, since they only have one use. For instance it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top gear you have available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan on making. This is particularly relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount for the entire account will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.