WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item upgrade is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the gear being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. For example upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to upgrade weapons, tools, armor, and accessories. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade item level if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and current item upgrades level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items are available in many places including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and the chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item Level Upgrade level will be less expensive, even when they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element 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 are only available for equipment of a certain 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 gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying solely 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 utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests with the best equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are filled with top-quality gear.