WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the Item level upgrade will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than buying new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to 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 are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items 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 weapon, tool or armor. The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item level upgrade slot, and the current item upgrading level. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of getting the latest recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrade upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require several methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and numerous new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a specific level 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 equipment.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have several options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one requires as many as 20 crests, based on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated, but the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when 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 allows players to upgrade item their equipment to the highest possible level on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they only have one use. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can locate, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items like trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are full of high-quality gear.