WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade items increases the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll to get 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 weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgraders for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be applied to any weapon or tool using an The button will display the item's next upgrade level when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current item level. For instance, weapons will cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Item upgraders can be found in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting a new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrade upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through various methods, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This applies even if those items are from a different 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 for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a variety of options. Flightstones are an Best item upgrader that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that Crests are only available to gear of a certain rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by engaging in outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once an Item Level upgrade reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. For instance it's a good idea to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the Best item upgrade equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly true for items like rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to benefit from the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.