WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They can be purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the item's next level of upgrade, when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.
Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will be less expensive, even in the event that they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available when certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific level upgrades for items. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. upgrade item could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing 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 for gear in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an 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, but it will bring some changes 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 allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to use them wisely. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to take advantage of the account-wide discount when all of the slots are filled with high-quality equipment.