WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the Best item upgrader level by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with each upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The Item Level Upgrade upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level upgrade level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade item level, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items are available in many places including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades must be acquired through various methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with some new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is even if the items are from a different set of equipment.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a variety of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type or gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and 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 routes.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, once an item reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests in a wise manner, as they only have one use. For instance it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrade equipment available and keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan on making. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.