WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside 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). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader enables players to upgrade item gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item level upgrade (special info) that is used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.

The upgrader can be found in all major cities and can be visited anytime to upgrade your equipment. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up to date.

The cost of upgrades will depend on the current level of the item upgrader mod being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool or armor. The button will show the preview of an item upgrader kit's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.

The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.

Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to acquire a new upgrade items recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.

Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no upgrader for items at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback.

In Season 3, a number of new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that level will be less expensive, even in the event that they belong to another set of gear.

The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is reduced as well, but is only available when certain milestones are achieved.

Crests

Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.

First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for equipment of a certain rank. Each rank comes with an upgrade path that is different. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the kind of equipment that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. 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 that difficult, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level for all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.

Another notable change is that crests have one usage and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the top-quality equipment that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character that will be able to benefit from the account-wide discount if all slots are full of high-quality gear.