WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you an increase in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item level upgrade upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item used to upgrade will be consumed forever and cannot be used again. Upgrades can 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, based on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from item upgraders NPCs for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will display a preview of the item at its next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and the current item level upgrade level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item upgrader kit has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via various methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with several new features added. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same Item Level Upgrade level, will cost less. This is true even if the items are from an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that Crests are only available to equipment of a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment you have and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan on making. This is particularly true for items such as rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.