WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The Item Level Upgrade (Vester-Law.Technetbloggers.De) upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current level of the equipment being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that are used to level up weapons and tools, armor and other items. They can be purchased by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the item's next level of upgrade, if there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item upgrader kit and the current level of the Best item upgrade. For instance weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations, including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain a new recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can 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 at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via several methods that are both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will be less expensive, even when they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader mod upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, once an item is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests with care, since they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.