14 Common Misconceptions About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an item by 3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value, unless it has inherently low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade items their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item used for the upgrade will remain in use for a long time and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. 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 depend on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They can be bought by players through 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 is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will display the preview of an item's next level of upgrade, if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item upgrader kit and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only accessible through a variety means. This is both a benefit as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, a number of new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific level for an Item Level Upgrade in an armor slot, upgrading further items to that level will cost less, even when they are part of another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is account-wide. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have several options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that the crests can only be purchased for equipment of a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complex may require as many as 20 crests, based on the kind of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade items the item in the proper steps and routes.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. Once a piece of gear reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one use and it's crucial to use them wisely. It's best to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment that you can find, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is particularly true for items like rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character which will only be able to take advantage of the account-wide discount if all of the slots are filled with top-quality equipment.