WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you an increase in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random extra substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). These types of gear get 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 applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item upgrades that is used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be visited at any time to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrades will be based on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they 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. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items which can be used to upgrade items weapons, tools, armor, and other items. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners in a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon, or armor. button, which will display an image of the item upgrading at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item upgrading slot and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. After an item upgrade has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require several methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that same item level upgrade level will be less expensive, even in the event that they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. 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 on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached 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 upgrade their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one use, so it's important to use them wisely. It is recommended to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the account-wide discount when all of the slots are filled with high-quality equipment.