WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also increased with each upgrade.

Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter due to the requirement to roll an exact version.

Recycle Points

The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item upgrades will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.

You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each few weeks.

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 to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are useful items that can be used to upgrade weapons tools, armor, and accessories. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgraders in a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. The button will display a preview of an item upgrader mod'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 and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain degree and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currency types.

Upgraders for items can be found in many places on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.

In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.

In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. 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 cost less even when they are part of an entirely different set of gear.

The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is reduced also, but is only available after certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrade level upgrades. Crests are an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.

First, you must be aware that crests are only available for equipment that is of a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade items path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade item path costs 15 crests, while the most complicated requires as many as 20 crests based on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.

Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in all difficulties to get lower-level gear or Mythicbosses of raids or dungeons with heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.

The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it will bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.

Another important change is that crests have one purpose, so it's important to use them properly. For instance it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the Best item upgrader equipment available and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.