WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a an increase in specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified 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 has a high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for the latter due to the need to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create Enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear at any time 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 every several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For example upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any tool, weapon or armor. The button will show the item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety means. item upgrading is both a benefit and an issue.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After a player has earned an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that same item level will be less expensive, even when they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is available to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut also, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a number of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. They can choose to use Flightstones which are a general upgrade currency that is available to all, or crests, which are more specific and consumed during upgrades on specific levels of items. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests can only be used on equipment of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their gear up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also crucial to choose crests wisely, as they are only used for one purpose. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can find and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The discount for the entire account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.