WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give you boosts in certain statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. A random additional substat is also added to 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 has a high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll 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 to any type of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.

The upgrader can be found in every major city, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item upgrader kit, however, they are always cheaper than buying new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item upgrader kit will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are useful items that are used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the item slot, and the current Item Level Upgrade level. For example weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.

Many locations have upgraders for their items, including the main Island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through various methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will cost less, even if they belong to a different gear set.

The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available when certain milestones are achieved.

Crests

When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item upgrader kit level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.

First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment of a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The use of these currencies isn't too complicated, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, once an item reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's Best item upgrade to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests on the top equipment you have, and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning on making. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.