WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current item level. For example weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
Many locations offer item upgrader s in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety of methods. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with several new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is regardless of whether the items are from another set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve 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 all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific level upgrades for items. Crests are an important element 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 every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them wisely. For instance it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.