WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item upgrade by 3. A random additional substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.

The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.

Recycle Points

The item level upgrade upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.

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

Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item however, they are always cheaper than buying new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and other accessories. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for various currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using a button, which will display a preview of the item at its next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current item Level upgrade level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded, and can be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.

In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After a player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item upgrade level will cost less. This is true regardless of whether the items come from an entirely different set of gear.

The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.

Crests

Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

First, you should know that crests are only available for gear of a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the type or gear that is being upgraded.

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

Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece reaches 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 to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they only have one use. It is best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear that you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round 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 discount for all accounts when all slots are full of high-quality gear.