WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

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

The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or very high stat variance (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 lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. The item level upgrade used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.

You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.

The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. For example, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same item level upgrade from another player will costs 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased from item upgrade upgraders NPCs for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which displays an image of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.

The cost of upgrades varies based on the slot of the item level upgrade and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.

Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon as well as the chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete specific achievements or quests.

Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are available only via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.

In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with numerous new features added. Once the player has upgraded to a specific level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if those items come from an entirely different set of equipment.

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

Crests

Players have a variety of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests can only be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complicated requires as many as 20 crests, based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with heroic difficulty for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and routes.

Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

It's also important to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top gear you have available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to create. This is especially applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, that will be able to avail the account-wide discount if all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.