WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of the item upgrading by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from item upgraders NPCs for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using an button, which will display an item's preview when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and the current level of the item level upgrade and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require a variety of means that are both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that level will cost less, even if they belong to another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade items is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment of a certain rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content at the appropriate level. This could be by engaging in outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item level upgrade like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all of their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the Best item upgrader equipment you have and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.