WoW Upgrades - The item upgrades Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item Level Upgrade by 3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item that is 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 enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and is accessible at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which displays an image of the item when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and the current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade item system was tweaked a bit, with some new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true regardless of whether the items come from another set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a variety of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade route costs 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all of their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to use them properly. It's best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrader gear that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to 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.