WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a an increase in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also added to each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item Level upgrade upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece 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 purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display the item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade item coupon and the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require various methods which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade items to a particular level for an item upgrader mod in an armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will cost less even when they are part of another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item upgrade level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for gear that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one usage therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance, it's Best item upgrade to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment you have and keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.