WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the Item Level upgrade has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item level upgrade will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. button, which will display an Best item upgrade's preview when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the item and the current item level. For instance, weapons will cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Upgraders for items are available in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by having players complete some 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 are able to facilitate upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with some new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if the items are from another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one 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, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses 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 paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it will bring some changes to the upgrade process. For example, once an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. It's Best item upgrade to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is especially relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to take advantage of the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.