WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade item increases item level by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with higher variance due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The Item Level Upgrade upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item that is used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current item level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than buying new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which displays an item upgrade's preview at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For example weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item upgrader mod has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through various methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and several new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will cost less even in the event that they are part of another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a few options. 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 an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader for the item upgrade, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. When a piece attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests with care, since they are only used for one purpose. For instance it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment you have and keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to create. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.