WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current item level of the gear being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. For instance, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and accessories. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners in a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Many locations offer item upgraders which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require various methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and numerous new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same Item Level Upgrade level will cost less. This is true even if the items are from a different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available once certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be used to purchase gear of a specific rank, and that every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the kind of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment 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 allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to use them wisely. For instance it's Best item upgrade to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan on making. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are full of high-quality equipment.