WoW Upgrades - The item level upgrade Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
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). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
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 on any type of weapon or armor. The item level upgrade used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current item level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. 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 purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display the item upgrade's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and the current Best item upgrader level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an Item Upgrade has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades must be acquired through a variety of means, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, several new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items are from an entirely different set of equipment.
The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific level upgrades for items. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an item upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, when an item reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all of their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them wisely. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to benefit from the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.