WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the Item Level Upgrade used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that are used to level up weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgraders in a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which displays an item level upgrade's preview when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item 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 and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade item system has been altered a bit, with several new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is even if the items are from a different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. It is best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.