WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader kit upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot 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. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current item level of the item being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as 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 to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currency types.
Many locations have upgraders for their items, including the main Island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an Item Level Upgrade upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and several new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will cost less even when they are part of another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for 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 can only be used on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system introduces some modifications to the 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 item their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests wisely, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance it's best to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.