WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter due to the need to roll 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 will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. 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 are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar Item Level Upgrade will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items which can be used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using an The button will display the preview of an item upgrade's next level of upgrade, when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item upgrade and the current item level. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
item upgrades upgraders can be found at many locations, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was modified a bit, and some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will be less expensive, even when they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available once certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a few choices. Flightstones are an item upgrade that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that Crests are only available to equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade items paths. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complicated may require as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it will bring some changes to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests with care, since they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment you have and keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.