WoW Upgrades - The item level upgrade Upgrader

Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.

Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item upgrader kit has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any kind 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 equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least 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, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 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. They are purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of button, which displays an image of the item upgrading when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item and the current level of the item. For example weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Upgraders for items can be found in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit and a drawback.

In Season 3, several new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once a player has upgraded to a certain item upgrading level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items come from an entirely different set of gear.

The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.

Crests

Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used on equipment of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The use of these currencies isn't too complicated however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.

Another notable change is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them properly. It's best to put 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 particularly true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to benefit from the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.