WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, 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 necessity to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item used to upgrade will be consumed forever and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new gear. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of button, which will display an image of the Item Level Upgrade at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item upgrader kit slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Upgraders for items can be found in many places, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through several methods which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will be less expensive, even when they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut too, but it is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a few choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the kind of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like 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 will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible for all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's Best item upgrader to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with high-quality gear.