Is Technology Making Item Upgrade Better Or Worse
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. However, the item that is used for the upgrade items will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities and can be visited at any time to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item upgrader kit, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to purchase tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs vary depending on the slot for the Item Level Upgrade 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 offer discounts on Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.
Item upgraders can be found in many places, including the main island as well as 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 with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with some new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will be less expensive, even when they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available after certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
Players have several choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade item process. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest upgrade level of any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests with the best equipment available and keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount when all slots are full of high-quality gear.