WoW Upgrades - The item upgrades Upgrader

Upgrades can give you boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random additional substat is also increased with each upgrade.

The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect model.

Recycle Points

The Item Level upgrade upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item upgrading used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.

The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and is accessible at any time to upgrade items 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.

Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the Best item upgrade however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For example upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.

Valorstones

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

The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than gloves or bracers for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.

A lot of locations offer upgraders for items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via a variety of means which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with numerous new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is true even if those items come from another set of equipment.

The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut too, but it is only available after certain milestones are reached.

Crests

Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.

The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for equipment of a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the kind of equipment that is being upgraded.

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

Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their gear up to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also crucial to choose crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader gear you have available and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.