WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the
Best item upgrade 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 necessity to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to
upgrade items their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapons. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed forever 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 anytime to upgrade your gear. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. button, which displays an image of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an
item upgrade has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via several methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and several new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies even if the items come from another set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that crests are only available for equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complicated can require as much as 20 crests based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an
item upgrader mod upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the
item upgrade in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains 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 up to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one use, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top gear you have available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to create. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount on the account will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.