WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boost in certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item upgrader kit used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also 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 are always cheaper than buying new gear. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to level up weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They can be bought by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of button, which will display a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Certain upgrades provide a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via various methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade item to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading additional items to that level will be less expensive, even in the event that they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have a variety of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific upgrades to the level of an item. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used on gear of a specific rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item level upgrade in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it does bring some changes 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 won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all of their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important modification is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. It is best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrader gear you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as 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 high-quality equipment.