WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
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). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the 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.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current item level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that are used to improve the quality of weapons and tools, armor and other items. They can be bought by players from item upgrades upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will display an item's preview at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
item upgrade upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as an issue.
In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular level for an item upgrades in an armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level upgrade level will cost less, even if they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a few options. They can use Flightstones which are a common upgrade currency that is available to everyone, or crests, which are more specialized and are consumed during upgrades on specific item levels. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used to purchase gear of a specific rank, and each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item upgrading in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one purpose and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's a good idea to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the Best item upgrader equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan on making. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character that will be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.