The History Of Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a 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 valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with lower requirements due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade items gear to a higher item level upgrade level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. The item upgrade used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and is accessible at any time to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item, however they'll always be less expensive than purchasing new gear. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl 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 weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon or tool with an button, which will show a preview of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the Item Level Upgrade slot, and the current level of the item. For example, weapons will cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give discounts on Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades require several methods that are both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item upgrader mod level will be less expensive, even in the event that they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have a variety of choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral component 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 the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult, but the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. For example, once an item is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one use therefore it's essential to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's Best item upgrade to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the best gear you have available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.