WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades can give you boost in certain statistics. Each upgrade increases the item level upgrade (Full Statement) level by +3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.

Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for the latter because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item upgrader mod used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.

You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however, they are always cheaper than buying new gear. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item upgrader kit from another player will costs 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs of item upgraders for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the item's next upgrade level if there are enough materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item and the current level of the item. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Many locations offer item upgraders which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a benefit and a drawback.

In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a specific item upgrading level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will cost less, even if they belong to a different gear set.

The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.

Crests

When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a few options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item upgrader kit, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and pathways.

The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, but it brings some changes to the process of upgrading. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another significant change is that crests have one usage and it's crucial to use them wisely. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the top-quality equipment you can find and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.