WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades can give you boost in certain stats. Each upgrade increases Item level Upgrade level by +3. A random extra substat is also increased with every upgrade.

The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for the latter due to the requirement to roll the perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't 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 every several weeks.

Upgrades will 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 to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are functional items that can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and other items. They can be purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will display a preview of an item upgrading's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current item level. For instance weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.

A lot of locations offer upgraders for items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade items coupon and the possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades must be acquired through a variety of means which is both an improvement and a drawback.

In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if those items come from a different set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced too, but it is only available when certain milestones are achieved.

Crests

When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item upgrade level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

First, you must be aware that Crests are only available to gear of a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that 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 or dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, 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 changes to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This is to allow players to get their equipment to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another important change is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's best to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader equipment you have and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to take advantage of the account-wide discount when all of the slots are filled with high-quality gear.