WoW Upgrades - The item upgrading Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item level upgrade; my review here, that is used to upgrade item will remain in use for a long time and cannot 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. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than buying new gear from other sources. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners in a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any tool, weapon or armor. The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each step costs 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 degree, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require several methods which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with some new features added. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This applies even if those items are from a different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut also, but is only available after certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during 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 four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be spent on gear of a specific rank, and every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 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 working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once an item is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their gear up to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant 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 utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests with the Best item upgrade gear you have available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are full of high-quality gear.