WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like the eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for 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 to any type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and can be accessed at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item level Upgrade however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to upgrade weapons, tools, armor, and other items. Players can purchase them from item upgraders NPCs for a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item upgrader mod and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting the latest recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader kit upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as an issue.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. 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 is even if those items are from a different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required 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 few choices. 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 an integral component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for gear with a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade item process costs just 15 crests while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader equipment you have and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to create. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.