WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a an increase in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an Best item upgrade by 3. A random substat is also added to each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less important for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is 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 is located in all major cities, and can be visited at any time to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players through item upgrader NPCs 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. The button will display the Item Level Upgrade's next level of upgrade, when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item upgrade and the current level of the item. For example weapons cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was altered a bit, with some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even if they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number 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 the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for gear of a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too difficult, but the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when an item reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one use therefore it's essential to use them wisely. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you have available and save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan on making. This is particularly applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.