WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item 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 will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to 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 ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which displays an item's preview when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once item upgrading is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
Many locations have upgraders for their items, including the main Island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades are acquired via a variety of means that are both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will be less expensive, even in the event that they are part of another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut also, but is only available when certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a variety of options. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific upgrades to the level of an item. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on gear of a specific rank, and each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests with care, since they have only one purpose. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.