WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Additional Info of upgrading will vary based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They can be purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool with an The button will display the preview of an item's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are 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 costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain amount and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain a new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a positive and an issue.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to that same item level will cost less, even when they belong to another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed 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 achievement.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple of options. They can use Flightstones that are a common upgrade currency that is available to everyone, or crests, which are more specialized and are consumed during upgrades on specific levels of the item. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for gear that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Additional Info can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them wisely. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.