WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a an increase in certain statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item level upgrade 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 Eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the Item Level Upgrade will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
The cost of upgrades will depend on the current level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl 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 are purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with a button, which will display an image of the item when it is upgraded when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item level upgrade and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item upgrades has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through a variety of means, which is both an improvement but also 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 of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will be less expensive, even when they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids 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 to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one usage therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. It is recommended to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can locate and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.