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 added to each upgrade.

Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level upgrade level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.

You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.

The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current item level of the item being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from item upgraders NPCs for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. button, which will show a preview of the item at its next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current level of the item level Upgrade. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.

Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a benefit and an issue.

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

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

Crests

When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

First, you must be aware that the crests can only be purchased for gear with a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complicated can require as much as 20 crests depending on the type of gear being upgraded.

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

Using these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.

Another significant change is that crests only have one usage and it's crucial to use them properly. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the highest-quality gear you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially true for items like rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to take advantage of the discount for all accounts when all slots are full of high-quality equipment.