WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. A random extra substat is also added to each upgrade item.

Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.

Recycle Points

The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.

You can upgrade item your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks to keep your equipment up to date.

The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the item being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from a different player will cost 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will display an item upgrader kit's preview when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item upgrader mod and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currency types.

Upgraders for items can be found in many places including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by requiring players to complete 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 can facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback.

In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and numerous new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a certain level of Item level upgrade for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is even if the items are from an entirely different set of gear.

The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.

Crests

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

The first thing to remember is that crests can only be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.

Using these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also important to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear you can find and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all slots are full of high-quality gear.