WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give you boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.

The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll to get a 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 armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item level upgrade will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.

You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.

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

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon, 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 an upgrade item is purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool using an button, which will display an item's preview at the next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.

Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot of the item upgrade and the current item level. For example weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.

Upgraders for items are available at many locations on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting a new recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.

Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through various methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is even if those items are from an entirely different set of gear.

The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.

Crests

Players have several options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.

The first thing to remember is that Crests are only available to gear that is of a particular rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 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 at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for item Level Upgrade raids, or dungeons that have a high difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.

The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all of their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.

Another notable change is that crests have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. For instance it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character which will only be able to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.