WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. A random extra substat is also added to each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.
upgrade item have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain a new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require a variety of means which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with several new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even in the event that they belong to another set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
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 utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to use them wisely. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.