WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade, unless it has inherently 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 necessity to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any kind of armor or weapons. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and is accessible anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the item upgrades level, however, they are always cheaper than buying new equipment. For example, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items which can be used to level up weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to Item Level Upgrade owners for various currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with a button, which will display an item level upgrade's preview when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and the current level of the item and the weapon's price is higher than gloves or bracers for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an Best item upgrade is upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via a variety of means, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After a player has earned an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will cost less, even if they belong to another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a number of choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
First, you must be aware that the crests can only be purchased for equipment with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons that have a high difficulty for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all of their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning on making. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.