This Is The Ultimate Guide To Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in certain statistics. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as important for those with higher variance due to the need to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be accessed at any time to upgrade your gear. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new gear. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners in a variety of currencies. They can also find them 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 if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item upgrading level upgrade (talking to) is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade item recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are available only through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was altered a bit, with numerous new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less even in the event that they are part of another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrade level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader for the item like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For example, once an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one usage, so it's important to use them properly. For instance it's a good idea to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best 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 particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, that will be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.