WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade items also increases an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as important for those with lower requirements due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon or armor. button, which displays an item's preview when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and the current item level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Many locations offer item upgraders which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete some specific 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 can be used to upgrade items require various methods that are both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will be less expensive, even if they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade item is reduced as well, but is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, when an Item level upgrade (Sciencewiki.Science) is at the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. It's Best item upgrade to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can locate, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.