WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapons. However, the item used to upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that are used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They are purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any tool, weapon or armor. button, which will show an image of the item when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and the current item level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrade r available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through a variety of means which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. After a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true regardless of whether the items are from a different set of equipment.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. 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 a number of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. They can make use of Flightstones that are a general upgrade currency that is accessible to everyone, or crests, which are more specialized and used to upgrade specific levels of the item. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could be done by engaging in outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The new currency system isn't too 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 is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the best equipment you have and keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.