WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades will give you a an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.

Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) 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 version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the 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 cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.

The upgrader can be found in all major cities 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.

The cost of upgrades will be based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For example upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 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 tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon or tool using a The button will show a preview of an Best item upgrade's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item level upgrade (read this blog post from Timeoftheworld) 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 Best item upgrade has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.

Upgraders for items are available in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and a possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades must be acquired through several methods that are both an improvement but also a drawback.

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

The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.

Crests

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

The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complicated may require as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level. This could be done by engaging in outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.

The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it brings some changes to the upgrade process. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another important change is that crests only have one use and it's crucial to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea make use of all 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 plan to make. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which will only be able to avail the account-wide discount if all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.