WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for the latter due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The
item upgrader kit upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the
item level upgrade used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using an The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and current
Best item upgrade level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to
upgrade items require various methods which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a certain item level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is regardless of whether the items are from an entirely different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW, players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that Crests are only available to equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean engaging in outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one purpose and it's crucial to use them properly. For instance, it's
Best item upgrader to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the
Best item upgrader equipment you have, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to avail the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with top-quality gear.