WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades will give you a boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.

The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as important for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll an exact version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.

The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every few weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.

The cost of upgrading will be based on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For example upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will cost 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from item upgraders NPCs in a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be applied to any weapon or tool using an button, which displays an item's preview at its next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.

The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currency types.

Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations, including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade items discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via a variety of means which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3, the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and some new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is true even if the items are from another set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available after certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are an item level upgrade (Continuing) that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item upgrading like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.

Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible for all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.

Another significant modification is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them properly. It is best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.