WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades will give you a boosts in certain statistics. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.

The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less important for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher Item Level Upgrade level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.

The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.

The cost of upgrading will depend on the current item level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive 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 another player will costs 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any tool, weapon, or armor. button, which displays a preview of the item at its next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For example weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.

Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.

Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require various methods which is both an improvement but also a drawback.

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

The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced also, but is only available when certain milestones are achieved.

Crests

Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item upgrading level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by completing content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with 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 in the proper steps and paths.

The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade item process. Once a piece of gear 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 gear up to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.

Another important modification is that crests have one use and it's crucial to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader equipment available, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.