WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item upgrading by 3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less useful for the latter due to the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrading will vary based on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item upgrader kit will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that are used to level up weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They can be purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using an button, which displays an item level upgrade's preview when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the Item Level Upgrade slot, and the current item level. For example weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item upgrading has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found in many places including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that level will be less expensive, even if they belong to a different gear set.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced too, but it is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the best equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.