WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in certain stats. Each upgrade increases Best item upgrade level by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrades upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
The cost of upgrading will be based 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 to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgraders for various currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon or tool with an button, which will display an image of the item at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the item slot, and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are 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 available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with several new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level of an item upgrader mod for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that level will cost less even when they are part of another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a variety of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific Item level upgrade level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that crests are only available for equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests wisely, as 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 gear you have available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially applicable to 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 top-quality equipment.