WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you an increase in specific stats. Each
upgrade item increases the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapons. However, the item used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. For instance, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic 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 to upgrade weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items 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 or tool with a button, which displays a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item and the current item level. For example weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once 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 even if those items come from a different set of equipment.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for 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.
First, you should know that crests are only available for gear with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complicated may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by engaging in outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an
item upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the
item upgrader Kit in the proper steps and paths.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when an
item upgrader kit is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one usage, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the
Best item upgrader gear you can locate, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.