What Freud Can Teach Us About Item Upgrade

WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.

Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as important for the latter due to the requirement to roll 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 applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.

You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each several weeks.

The cost of upgrades will be based on the current level of the item being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar Best item upgrade will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are useful items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and other accessories. 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 used on any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display the item's next upgrade level if there are enough materials.

The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and the current item upgrade level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.

Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of getting a new recipe. The discount for upgrades increases according to the number of items that are being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade require various methods which is both an improvement and a drawback.

In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with some new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a particular level of an item upgrade for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even in the event that they belong to a different gear set.

The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.

Crests

When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level Upgrade level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be spent on gear of a specific rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, depending on the type or gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by completing content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.

Using these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another important modification is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to use them wisely. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.