Upgrades give you an increase in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for the latter because of the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item level upgrade will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgraders for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with a 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 for the item and the current item level. For example 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 amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Upgraders for items can be found in many places on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are available only via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with several new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will be less expensive, even in the event that they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item upgrade level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item upgrader mod such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it will bring some modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade items for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This is to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one use, so it's important to use them wisely. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.
