WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give you boosts in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item level upgrade by 3. A random substat is also increased with every upgrade.

The more modernized gear generally has a more value in trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll to get a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.

The upgrader is located in all major cities, and is accessible anytime to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.

Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item, but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up 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 weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be used on any weapon or tool using a button, which will display an image of the item upgrading when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For example weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Upgraders for items can be found at many locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via a variety of means, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.

In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even when they belong to an entirely different set of gear.

The discount is applicable to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.

Crests

Players have a variety of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific Item Level Upgrade level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. Once a piece of gear attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another notable modification is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. It is best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.