Why You Should Concentrate On Improving Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The item upgrading Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts a random substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it has a low requirement 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 the 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 to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and can't be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and is accessible anytime to upgrade items your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that are used to level up weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They can be bought by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which will show an item's preview at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of 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 degree, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.
Upgraders for items are available at many locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a positive 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 particular level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading additional items to that same item Level Upgrade level will be less expensive, even if they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons to obtain endgame gear. Crests can 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 too complicated however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. Once a piece of gear has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their gear up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one purpose, so it's important to use them wisely. It's Best item upgrade to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrader gear you can find and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount when all slots are filled with top-quality equipment.