WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less important for the latter due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade item the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can 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 that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than buying new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgrade upgraders for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon or tool with the help of button, which will display a preview of the Best item upgrader when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the Best item upgrader slot, and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Many locations offer item level Upgrade upgraders which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
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 level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less, even when they belong to another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut also, but is only available once certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for gear that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type or gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons that have a high difficulty for gear in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when an item is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to use them properly. It is recommended to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.