14 Common Misconceptions About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item level upgrade Upgrader
Upgrades give you boosts in specific stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item level upgrade 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 those with higher variance due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of armor or weapons. However, the item used to upgrade will be consumed for the duration of time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear up-to-date, it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items that can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be bought by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon, or armor. The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade level, if there are enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item slot and current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a number of 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 degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Many locations offer item upgraders which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item level upgrade upgrader available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades require various methods which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been tweaked a bit, with some new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a specific item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less, even when they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a few options. 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 an important part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, depending on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing content at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons that have a high difficulty for gear in the endgame. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you have available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly applicable to items like rings and trinkets that occupy several slots. The discount for the entire account will only be applicable if all slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.