WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade item their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new gear. 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 tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display the preview of an Item Level Upgrade's next upgrade level if 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 example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Upgraders for items are available in many places, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through a variety of means, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade items system was altered a bit, with some new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This applies even if those items come from another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a variety of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item upgrader mod level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complicated can require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade item pathways and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one usage and it's crucial to use them wisely. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.