WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level upgrade (use Algowiki here) level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade items will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For instance, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of button, which will display an item's preview when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item upgrading and current item upgrader kit level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item upgrades is upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
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 getting the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain 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 only available via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with some new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a certain item upgrader kit level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies even if those items are from an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be spent on gear of a specific rank, and every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear 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 upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they are only used for one purpose. For instance it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.