WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also added to each upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for those with higher variance due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade items their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot 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 every few weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using a button, which displays a preview of the item when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item level upgrade and the current Item Level upgrade level. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Many locations offer item upgrader mod upgraders, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and numerous new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This applies even if the items come from another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available after certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for gear with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade item requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of 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 get their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. It is Best item upgrader to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can locate, and keep 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 take advantage of the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.