WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.

The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of weapon or armor. However, the item used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.

The upgrader can be found in all major cities and can be visited at any time to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.

The cost of upgrading will be based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will show an image of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.

The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for example. Each upgrade cost 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 has been upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.

Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.

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

In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with some new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item upgrades level, will cost less. This applies even if the items come from a different set of equipment.

The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available after certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

Players have a number of options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests can only be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests based on the type of gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through 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 equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, 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 get the appropriate upgrade item routes and steps.

Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to get their gear up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters instead of relying only on seasonal loot.

It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance it's best to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment you have and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to create. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.