WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the Item Level Upgrade is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and can be visited anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new gear. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using an button, which displays an item's preview at its next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item and current item level upgrade level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Many locations have upgraders for their items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade items discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader mod upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and several 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 will cost less. This is even if those items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have several options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special 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 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain 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 an item is at the highest level of upgrade item for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. For instance it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you have available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan on making. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount on the account will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.