WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random additional substat is also added to each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a 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 armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item level upgrade is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgraders 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. button, which displays a preview of the item level upgrade at its next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the item and the current item level. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Many locations offer item upgrading upgraders in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require various methods, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and several new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This is even if those items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a number of choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for equipment that is of a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level. This could mean engaging in outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one usage, so it's important to use them wisely. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrade gear that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.