WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item upgrades by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be accessed 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 level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items which can be used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item level upgrade (more info). For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item upgrader kit has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Many locations have upgraders for their items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining 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 complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and an issue.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will cost less, even in the event that they are part of a different gear set.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available once certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used to purchase gear of a specific rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one requires as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader for the item like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the Best item upgrade equipment you have and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning on making. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount on the account will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.