WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade items increases the item upgrader mod level by +3. A random substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgrader kit upgraders in a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which will show an image of the item at its next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the Item Level Upgrade and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through several methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and several new features added. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one requires as many as 20 crests, based 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 completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader for the item upgrades such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one use and it's crucial 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 with the best equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.