Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the item upgrades level by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and is accessible anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the item level, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar Item Level upgrade from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades to item 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 tool, weapon or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the Best item upgrade and the current level of the item. For example weapons cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. After a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is even if the items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple of options. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
First, you must be aware that the crests can only be purchased for gear with a certain rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't complicated to use, but it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once an item level upgrade reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. For instance it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment available and keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to create. This is particularly relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.
