WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades can give you an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also increased with every upgrade.

The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for those with higher variance due to the need to roll an exact version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also 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 once every few weeks to keep your equipment up to date.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used for weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from item upgraders NPCs in a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade item can be used on any tool, weapon, or armor. The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current item level. For example, weapons will cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.

Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.

In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. After the player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level upgrade level will cost less. This applies even if the items come from an entirely different set of equipment.

The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade items is reduced and the discount is account-wide. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.

Crests

Players have a number of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players 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 the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade items paths. The simplest and simplest upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests based on the type of gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.

It's also essential to use crests with care, since they only have one use. For instance it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the best equipment available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly true for items like trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to benefit from the account-wide discount when all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.