WoW Upgrades - The item level upgrade Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current item level of the item Level upgrade being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. For instance, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from item upgrader kit upgraders NPCs for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon, or armor. button, which displays an image of the item at its next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via a variety of means, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item upgrades level, will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items are from a different set of equipment.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for gear that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complicated requires as many as 20 crests based on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.