WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give you boost in specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.

The more modernized gear generally has a higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of weapon or armor. However, the item upgrader mod that is used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to Enchantments.

You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every several weeks.

Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are useful items which can be used to level up weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They are purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For instance weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the 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 currencies.

Item upgraders can be found at many locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.

In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require a variety of means which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.

In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once a player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if the items come from an entirely different set of gear.

The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available after certain milestones are reached.

Crests

Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. They can choose to use Flightstones, which are a general upgrade currency that is available to all, or crests, which are more specialized and consumed during upgrades on specific levels of the item level upgrade. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.

First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, based on the kind of equipment that is being upgraded.

Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.

Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but 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 no longer requires Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another significant modification is that crests have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. For instance, it's best to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best gear you have available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to create. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.