Is Technology Making Item Upgrade Better Or Worse
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases item level upgrade (the advantage) level by +3. A random additional substat is also boosted alongside each upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrades upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapon, armor, tool and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon, or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item upgrader mod slot and the current level of the item, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item upgrader kit is upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Many locations have upgraders for their items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via several methods, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will be less expensive, even when they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut too, but it is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content that is of the appropriate level, which means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can be exchanged with an item upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, when an Best item upgrader is at 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 ilvl on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one usage and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrade equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.