Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as important for the latter due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item upgrader mod level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up 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 through NPCs who sell upgrades to Best item upgrade owners in a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade level when there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item upgrade and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through several methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade item system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular level of an item upgrades for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will be less expensive, even if they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. 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.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and simplest upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for 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 later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to create. This is especially true for items such as rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.