WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item level upgrade has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item that is used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item upgrader mod, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new gear. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar Item level Upgrade 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 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 used on any weapon or tool using the help of The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 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 is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The upgrade discount increases when 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 the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if those items come from another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is account-wide. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have several options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part 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 are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, depending on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one purpose, so it's important to use them properly. It's Best item upgrader to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can find and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.