WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also increased with each upgrade.
The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very 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 item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an 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.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current Item Level upgrade level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. For example upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and accessories. They can be purchased from item level upgrade upgraders NPCs in a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon, or armor. The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Upgraders for items are available at many locations including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades must be acquired through various methods which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with some new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will cost less, even if they are part of another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for equipment with a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses to obtain endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it brings some changes to the upgrade item process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important modification is that crests have one usage therefore it's essential to use them wisely. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items like trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to take advantage of the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.