10 Misconceptions Your Boss Holds About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. A random substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless the item upgrade has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as important for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and is accessible at any time to upgrade item your gear. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrades will vary based on the current level of the item being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than buying new gear from other sources. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl 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 to upgrade weapons, armor, tools and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will show a preview of the item when it is upgraded in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item upgrades and the current item Level upgrade level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by requiring players to complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via several methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. After the player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item level, will cost less. This applies even if the items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available after certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few options. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used on equipment of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complicated requires as many 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, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too difficult however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic), it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another significant modification is that crests have one use, so it's important to use them properly. 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 make. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.