Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of the item by +3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less useful for the latter due to the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to 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 that you visit the upgrader every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will be based on the current item level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same Best item upgrader from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items which can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be bought by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item upgrades and the current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and the chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no Item upgrade (Humanlove.stream) upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades are acquired via several methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is even if the items come from another set of equipment.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few choices. They can choose to use Flightstones which are a common upgrade currency that is available to everyone, or crests, which are more specialized and consumed during upgrades on specific levels of the item. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that Crests are only available to equipment of a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by engaging in outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it will bring some modifications to the upgrade process. For example, once an item upgrading reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one usage and it's crucial to use them properly. For instance it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests with the Best item upgrade equipment you have and keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.