WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boost in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. A random substat is also added to each upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with higher variance due to the need to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item upgrader mod used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and is accessible anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
The cost of upgrades will be based on the current level of the gear being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item level upgrade will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to improve the quality of weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgraders in a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with an The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through several methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will be less expensive, even if they belong to another 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 after certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for gear with a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade items can require up to 20 crests, based on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrades upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system introduces some changes to the overall 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 change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the top-quality equipment that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.