WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boost in certain statistics. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random substat is also added to each upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a more value in trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter due to the need to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. upgrade item can be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up to date.
The cost of upgrading will vary based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to upgrade weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They are purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will display the preview of an item's next level of upgrade, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require several methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will cost less, even when they are part of another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available once certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a few options. They can use Flightstones which are a common upgrade currency available to all players, or crests that are more specialized and used to upgrade specific levels of items. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could be done by engaging in outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulties to get equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons that have a high difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and pathways.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, when an item is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all of their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them wisely. For instance, it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character which will only be able to take advantage of the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.