WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.

Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as important for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll an exact version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.

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 couple of weeks.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item upgrade will cost you 105.

Valorstones

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

The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade item cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.

Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.

In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a positive and an issue.

In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and some new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will cost less even if they belong to an entirely different set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced too, but it is only available when certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

When upgrading gear in WoW players have a few choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System 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 every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type of equipment being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by working through content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons that have a high difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.

The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another important change is that crests have one usage therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrade gear you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which will only be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.