14 Common Misconceptions Concerning Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item level upgrade by 3. A random additional substat is also increased with every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for the latter due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
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 few weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item upgrades being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and other accessories. They can be bought by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon or tool with the help of The button will show a preview of an 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 Level Upgrade and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of 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 is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Upgraders for items are available in many places including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases depending on the amount of items being upgraded. It is also possible to be increased by having players complete specific achievements or complete quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, many new features were added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less, even if they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, depending on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too complicated, but the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it no longer requires Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the best gear that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character that will be able to take advantage of the discount for all accounts when all slots are full of high-quality gear.