WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item upgrading by 3. A random additional substat is also increased with each upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the Best item upgrader is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less important for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll the 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. However, the item upgrades that is used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through 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 used on any weapon, tool, or armor using an button, which displays an image of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item upgrader mod and the current level of the Item upgrader mod. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade item recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via several methods, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will be less expensive, even if they belong to another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available when certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few choices. They can use Flightstones, which are a common upgrade currency that is accessible to all players, or crests, which are more specialized and consumed during upgrades at specific levels of the item. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece 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 level possible for all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan on making. This is especially relevant for rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, that will be able to benefit from the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.