WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as important for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. item upgrading can be made on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgraders in a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which will show a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require several methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with several new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less, even when they belong to a different gear set.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a variety of options. They can use Flightstones that are a common upgrade currency that is accessible to all, or crests, which are more specialized and consumed during upgrades on specific item levels. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. When item upgrades has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all of their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment available and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with high-quality gear.