WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the Item level Upgrade by +3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows 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 armor or weapon. However, the item upgrades used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current item level of the item being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show the item's next upgrade level when there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Contrary 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 a variety of means that are both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was modified a bit, and several new features added. After a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is even if those items come from another set of equipment.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade items. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item Upgrading level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the kind of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrading upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only 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 to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with top-quality gear.