WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you an increase in specific stats. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is 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 enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current item level of the equipment being upgraded however, they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from item upgraders NPCs in a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with the help of The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current level of the item. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree and is degraded, it can be sold and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currency types.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require various methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was modified a bit, and numerous new features added. When Full Post has an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will be less expensive, even in the event that they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific upgrades to the level of an item. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complicated can require as much as 20 crests depending on the type of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and pathways.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This is to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important modification is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance, it's best to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment you have and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.