WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it is not required 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 need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. The item upgrader mod used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item level upgrade, but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment. Upgrades like 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 are used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They are purchased by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with the help of The button will display a preview of an item's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade items costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades require several methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even in the event that they are part of a different gear set.
The discount applies to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a few choices. They can choose to use Flightstones which are a general upgrade currency that is available to all players, or crests, which are more specialized and are consumed during upgrades at specific item levels. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
First, you must be aware that crests are only available for equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the kind of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which 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+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to get their gear up to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.