WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter see 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 offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. For example, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon or tool with an button, which will display an item's preview when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current level of the item. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. After item upgrades has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through various methods, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This is true regardless of whether the items are from 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 too, but it is only available after certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple of choices. They can choose to use Flightstones, which are a common upgrade currency that is available to everyone players, or crests that 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 come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to note 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 simplest upgrade is 15 crests. item upgrading complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the kind of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached 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 to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. It is recommended to use 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 true for items such as rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.