WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade items boosts the item level by +3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with lower requirements due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item upgrades used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For example upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item upgrader kit from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item level upgrade (hop over to this website), with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Upgraders for items are available in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through a variety of means, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with some 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 those items come from another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that 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 a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it will bring some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one use, so it's important to use them properly. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with high-quality equipment.