WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boost in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
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 less important for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving 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 be used to create Enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item, however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For example upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool using the help of button, which will show an item's preview at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and the current item level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require several methods which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with numerous new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a particular level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will cost less even when they belong to another set of gear.
The discount is available to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific level upgrades for items. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to gear with a certain rank. Each rank has an upgrade path that is different. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. 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 require Flightstones to be upgraded. item upgrading is to allow players to upgrade their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one use, so it's important to use them properly. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.