WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with each upgrade items.
The upgraded gear typically has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item Level upgrade (http://nutris.net/members/swisssteven6/activity/1980790) 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 type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every few weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and other items. Players can purchase them from item upgraders NPCs in a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool with the help of The button will display the preview of an item's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item upgrading slot, and the current item level. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree, it can 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 some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. After the player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is even if those items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced too, but it is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific Best item upgrader level upgrades. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used to purchase gear of a specific rank, and that every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons that have a high difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning on making. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character which will only be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.