WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as important for the latter because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item level upgrade will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. For example, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar Best item upgrader from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that can be used to level up weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They are purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which will show an item's preview at its next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item level upgrade has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an Best item upgrader upgrader at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a specific Best item upgrade level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less, even in the event that they are part of another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut also, but is only available after certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that the crests can only be purchased for gear that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible ilvl on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.