WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give you boosts in certain statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.

Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.

You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks.

Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the Item Upgrade but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same Best item upgrade from another player will cost 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are functional items that are used to upgrade weapons, tools, armor, and accessories. They can be bought by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which will show a preview of the item upgrade when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.

The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the Item level Upgrade and the current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item upgrades is upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Upgraders for items can be found in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and a possibility of getting a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and some new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will cost less even when they belong to another set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available when certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.

First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests based on the type of equipment being upgraded.

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

Using these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also crucial to choose crests wisely, as they only have one use. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the top-quality equipment you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount when all of the slots are full of high-quality gear.