WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher
item upgrading level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the
Item Level Upgrade that is used to upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and can be visited at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. 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 functional items that are used to level up weapons tools, armor, and other accessories. They can be purchased by players from NPCs of
item upgrade upgraders for various currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon or armor. button, which will show an image of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For example weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. After an
item upgrades has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through various methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and some new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This is true even if those items are from another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. 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 achievement.
Crests
Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is designed to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one usage and it's crucial to use them properly. It's best 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 true for items like trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to take advantage of the account-wide discount if all slots are full of high-quality equipment.