Why You Should Focus On Improving Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear typically has a greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in every major city, 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.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current level of the gear being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For instance, upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used for weapon, armor, tool, and accessory upgrades. Players can purchase them from NPCs of item upgraders for various currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which will show an image of the Item Level Upgrade at its next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item upgrade, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Certain upgrades provide discounts on Flightstones. Once an item level upgrade is upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items being upgraded. It can also be boosted by having players complete some specific 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 are able to facilitate upgrades are available only through a variety means. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage.
In Season 3 the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and numerous new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade item to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will cost less even when they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a few options. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment that is that is of a particular rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade is 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the type of equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by finishing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be by engaging in outdoor activities or doing dungeons or raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons that have a high difficulty for gear in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it brings some changes to the process of upgrading. For example, once an item reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them wisely. For instance it's a good idea to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the top equipment you have and keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to create. This is especially applicable to items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.