WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item upgrading by +3. A random substat is also boosted alongside 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 eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade will be consumed forever and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will vary based on the current level of the item being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest 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 can be used to purchase weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will show a preview of the item at the next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and the current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Upgraders for items are available in many places including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or 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 available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit and an issue.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item upgrader kit - jisuzm.Tv - level, will cost less. This is true even if those items are from another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. Similarly, 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 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 must be aware that Crests are only available to equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can then 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 difficult to use, however it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once an item is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible for all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. For instance it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests with the Best item upgrade equipment you have, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning on making. This is especially applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, that will be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.