WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item upgrader kit will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and can be accessed at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new gear. For example upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. button, which will display an item's preview at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current Item level upgrade (posteezy.com) level. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Many locations offer item upgrader kit upgraders in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with some new features added. After the player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies even if those items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a few choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons 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.
Using these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them properly. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.