WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like Eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and is accessible anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgrades 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, tool, or armor using a The button will show a preview of an item's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item and the current Item level upgrade level. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currency types.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade items recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After an upgrade has been completed to a certain item level upgrade level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is true even if the items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons that have a high difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one use, so it's important to use them wisely. It is Best item upgrader to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear you can locate, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is especially 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 equipment.