WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the Best item upgrader is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for the latter due to the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows 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 weapon or armor. However, the item upgrades used to upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and can be visited at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks, to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same Best item upgrader from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and other accessories. They can be purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any tool, weapon, or armor. button, which will display a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the Item Level Upgrade and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Upgraders for items are available in many places, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades are acquired via a variety of means that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with some new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a specific level for an item upgrade in an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less even when they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced also, but is only available after certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for equipment with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content at the appropriate level. This could be by engaging in outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one usage and it's crucial to use them properly. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with top-quality gear.