What You Should Be Focusing On Improving Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the item upgrading level by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for those with lower requirements due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item that is used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item however, they are always cheaper than buying new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be purchased by players from NPCs of item Level upgrade upgraders in a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display a preview of an item upgrader kit's next level of upgrade, when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading varies based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For instance weapons cost more than bracers, or gloves. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items are available at many locations on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It can also be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a positive and an issue.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. Once the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This is even if the items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one usage therefore it's essential to use them properly. It's best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrade gear that you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly applicable to rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to benefit from the account-wide discount when all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.