WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
upgrade item can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than buying new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an The button will display the item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number 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 beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via several methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and numerous new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will cost less, even in the event that they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
Players have several options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. They can make use of Flightstones, which are a general upgrade currency that is accessible to all players, or crests that are more specialized and consumed during upgrades on specific levels of items. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that crests are only available for equipment with a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one purpose, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the best equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.