WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less important for those with lower requirements due to the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader mod upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item upgrade used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will be based on the current level of the item being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show the preview of an item level upgrade's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current item level upgrade level. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. Once an item upgrader mod has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through several methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with several 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 applies regardless of whether the 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. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a variety of choices 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 utilized during specific item upgrade level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for gear with a certain rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons that have a high difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important modification is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them properly. For instance, it's best to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the best equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.