WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases item upgrade level by 3. A random extra substat is also added to each upgrade items.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item upgrading will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item level upgrade (see this page), however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from item upgraders NPCs in a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than gloves or bracers for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain amount and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded, and can be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and several new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will be less expensive, even in the event that they belong to another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced also, but is only available after certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone 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 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade item path. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complicated requires as many as 20 crests depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean engaging in outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. When a piece of equipment 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 equipment to the highest possible level on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one usage and it's crucial to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader equipment you have, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning on making. 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 of the slots are filled with high-quality gear.