WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you an increase in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with a button, which will display a preview of the item when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item and the current item level. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety of methods. This is both a positive and an issue.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and numerous new features added. After a player has upgraded to a certain level of item upgrader kit for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if those items are from another set of equipment.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have several options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment with a certain rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item level upgrade - additional resources - in the proper steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached 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 for all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one usage, so it's important to use them wisely. For instance, it's Best item upgrade to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear you have available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.