WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.

Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll to get a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.

The upgrader can be found in all major cities and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up to date.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the item level, however they'll always be cheaper than buying new equipment. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and other accessories. They can be purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show a preview of an item upgrade (index)'s next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item upgrades has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.

Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade item coupon and the possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via a variety of means, which is both an improvement and a drawback.

In Season 3, the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with several new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even in the event that they are part of an entirely different set of gear.

The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available once certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

When it comes to 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 specialized, and are used during specific upgrades to the level of an item. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.

The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complicated can require as much as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and item Upgrade routes.

Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.

Another important change is that crests have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. It is Best item upgrade to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to benefit from the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with high-quality equipment.