WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also added to each upgrade.

The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll the perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item upgrades used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.

You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks to keep your equipment up to date.

Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar Item Level upgrade will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs of item upgraders for a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show the item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.

Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the item level upgrade and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.

Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations on 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 discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.

Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for Item Level upgrade items available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.

In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and some new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This is true regardless of whether 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 also cut and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.

Crests

When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

The first thing to remember is that crests can only be spent on gear of a specific rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one requires as many as 20 crests depending on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrade upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.

Another important change is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to use them properly. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrade gear you can locate and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.