WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
Upgraded gear generally sees greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll an exact version.
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 armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item upgrades will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item upgrade, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing 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 that are used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgraders for various currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon or tool using a button, which will show a preview of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item upgrader kit and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. After an item level upgrade (telegra.ph's website) has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade items discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require a variety of means that are both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will cost less even if they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available after certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during 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.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons that have a high difficulty for gear in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, when an item upgrade is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one use and it's crucial to use them properly. It is best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.