WoW Upgrades – The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren’t as important for the latter due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any kind of armor or weapons. However, the item upgrades that is used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can’t be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the item being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For example upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item level upgrade (one-time offer) from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the item’s next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot for the item upgrades and the current item level. For example weapons cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item upgrading has been upgraded to a certain level, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Many locations offer item upgraders in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur’s Gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available through a variety of methods. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will cost less, even if they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced too, but it is only available after certain milestones have been reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn’t complicated to use, however it brings some changes to the process of upgrading. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won’t require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is designed to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one purpose and it’s crucial to use them properly. It’s Best item upgrade to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are filled with high-quality gear.