WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give you an increase in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also increased with each upgrade items.

The more modernized gear generally has a greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or a very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less useful for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll the perfect version.

Recycle Points

The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item upgrading level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.

The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every several weeks.

Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item however, they are always cheaper than buying new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show a preview of an item level upgrade's next level of upgrade, when there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.

Upgraders for items can be found in many places, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and some new features added. After a player has upgraded to a certain item upgrader kit level for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies even if those items are from an entirely different set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.

Crests

When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.

First, you should know that crests are only available for equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and simplest upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.

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

The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once an item is at the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all of their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.

It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment you have and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning on making. This is particularly relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount for the entire account will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.