WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item upgrade by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll the perfect version.
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 on any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities and can be visited anytime 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 upgrades will depend on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item upgrader mod will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.
Many locations offer item upgraders in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded, and can be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After a player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies even if the items are from another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available once certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrade level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used on gear of a specific rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item upgrader kit in the proper steps and routes.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their gear up to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one purpose, so it's important to use them properly. It's Best item upgrade to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character which will only be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.