WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in certain statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, and can be accessed at any time to upgrade your equipment. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show the item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the item and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through various methods that are both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will be less expensive, even in the event that they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment that is of a certain rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests depending on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
upgrade item can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or 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 paths.
Using these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is designed to allow players to get their gear up to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance it's best to make use of all 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're planning to make. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, that will be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are full of high-quality gear.