WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.

Upgraded gear generally sees greater value for trade, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as useful for the latter due to the requirement to roll an exact version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader kit upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher item level Upgrade 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 remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be applied to enchantments.

You can upgrade your equipment at any time 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.

Upgrades will cost more depending on the level of the item, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. For instance, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used for weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through item upgrader NPCs in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.

Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For instance weapons are more expensive than bracers, or gloves. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item upgrader mod has been upgraded to a certain degree it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.

Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting the latest recipe. The discount for upgrades 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 start unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as an issue.

In Season 3, the upgrade system was modified a bit, and several new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level will cost less. This is even if the items are from another set of equipment.

The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.

Crests

When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a few options. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item upgrader mod level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in 4 ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests can only be used on equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the more complex one can require as much as 20 crests based on the type of gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by completing content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The use of these currencies isn't too difficult however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade 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 allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also essential to use crests wisely, as they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with the best equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning on making. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to benefit from the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with high-quality equipment.