WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also increased with each upgrade.
item upgrading upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variance (like 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 gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and is accessible anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than buying new gear from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that can be used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be bought by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool using a The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level when there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.
Item upgraders can be found in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.
In Season 3, several new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less, even when they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a variety of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. They can choose to use Flightstones, which are a general upgrade currency that is accessible to everyone players, or crests, which are more specialized and are used to upgrade specific levels of the item. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be spent on gear of a specific rank, and that every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest level possible for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important modification is that crests have one usage and it's crucial to use them wisely. For instance it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.