WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of the item by +3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter due to the need to roll 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 on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapons, armor, tools 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 on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with a The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item upgrader kit slot, and the current item level. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. Once 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 both currencies.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade item discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded, and can be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit as well as an issue.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade items system. Once a 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 even if the items are from an entirely different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW, players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that Crests are only available to gear of a certain rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item Level Upgrade in the proper steps and paths.
The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to get their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to benefit from the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.