WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. A random substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item upgrader mod 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 cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item upgrade however, they are always cheaper than buying new equipment. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and other items. Players can purchase them from item upgraders NPCs for various currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool using a button, which displays an item upgrader's preview when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current item level, with weapons costing more 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 Level Upgrade is upgraded to a certain level and is degraded, it can be sold and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items are available at many locations on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked 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 is true regardless of whether the items are from a different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, when an item is at the highest upgrade level of 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 get their gear up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since 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 for the next batch of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.