WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
You can upgrade item 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 each several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the item level, however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that are used to improve the quality of weapons and tools, armor and accessories. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to Item Level Upgrade owners in a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which will display a preview of the item when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and the current level of the item as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Many locations offer item upgraders in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. 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, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less even in the event that they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW, players have a variety of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item upgrader mod level upgrades. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment with a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons to obtain endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item upgrades, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they only have one use. For instance, it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the best equipment you have and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially true for items such as rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.