WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an Item Level Upgrade by 3. A random substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variance (like the eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader mod upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and is accessible anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will vary based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item upgrader kit will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to upgrade weapons tools, armor, and other items. They can be purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will display a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item upgrades slot, and the current level of the item. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level and is degraded, it can be sold and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded, and can be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require a variety of means, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level of an item upgrades for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will be less expensive, even in the event that they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number of choices 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 special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used on equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complicated requires as many as 20 crests depending on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too difficult however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one use therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's best to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round 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 is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.