WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the necessity to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. upgrade item can be made on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be accessed at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from NPCs of item upgraders for various currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level if there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the item and the current level of the item. For example weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back 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 an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and an issue.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will be less expensive, even when they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. They can use Flightstones, which are a common upgrade currency available to all, or crests, which are more specific and consumed during upgrades on specific levels of items. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one use, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best gear you have available and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.