WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the item upgrading level by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as important for the latter due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade item the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level upgrade level, however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For example upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl 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 to purchase weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show a preview of an item upgrader mod's next level of upgrade, when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the item and the current item level. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. After 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 currency types.
Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via a variety of means that are both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies even if the items come from a different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced also, but is only available once certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of choices. They can use Flightstones, which are a general upgrade currency available to all players, or crests, which are more specialized and consumed during upgrades on specific levels of items. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content at the appropriate level. This could mean engaging in outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once an item upgrades is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all of their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one use and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.