WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (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 lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 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 purchase weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with a button, which displays an item's preview at its next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, upgrade item that are available to facilitate upgrades are acquired via various methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item 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 equipment.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have a number of choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to create. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.