WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level upgrade level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item upgrader mod used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be visited at any time to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than buying new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and other items. They can be bought by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade item can be used on any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will display a preview of the item at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and the current item upgrade level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Item upgraders can be found in many places on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as an issue.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and numerous new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if those items are from a different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available once certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. They can make use of Flightstones, which are a general upgrade currency that is available to all, or crests, which are more specialized and consumed during upgrades at specific levels of items. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader; More inspiring ideas, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the highest-quality gear you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.