WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in certain statistics. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for the latter because of the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They are purchased by players from 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 applied to any weapon or tool using a The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade item level in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item and the current item upgrade level. For instance weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and an issue.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items are from an entirely different set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. They can choose to use Flightstones which are a common upgrade currency that is accessible to all players, or crests that are more specialized and are consumed during upgrades at specific levels of items. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be used on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it brings some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, once an item 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 allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear that you can find and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.