WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a an increase in certain statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random substat is also increased with each upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as important for the latter due to the need to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrade r allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the item level, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For example, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items which can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with the help of The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and the current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of getting a new recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when 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. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. After a player has earned an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will cost less even in the event that they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available once certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific upgrades to the level of an item. Crests are an integral part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used to purchase gear of a specific rank, and each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches 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 ilvl on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one use therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. It's best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can locate, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.