WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random additional substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up to date.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They can be 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 applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using a The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current item level upgrade 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 number of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item upgrader mod level will cost less. This applies even if the items are from a different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced too, but it is only available once certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade items costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it will bring some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once an item upgrader mod is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying solely 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 a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the best equipment available and keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning on making. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.