Why You Should Focus On Improving Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items 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. However, the item used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar Best item upgrade, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using an button, which will display an image of the Item level upgrade when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item upgrader mod slot and current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. After an item has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in many places including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining the latest recipe. The discount for upgrades increases according to the number of items being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
In contrast to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available at 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 and a drawback.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific level for an item upgrades in an armor slot, upgrading other items to that level will cost less, even when they are part of another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available once certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a few choices. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is of a particular rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests, based on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through working through content at the appropriate level. This could be by engaging in outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons that have a high difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and routes.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system does introduce 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 change is intended to allow players to get their gear up to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests with care, since they have only one purpose. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The discount on the account is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.