14 Common Misconceptions Concerning Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by +3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like the eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. However, the item that is used to upgrade will remain in use for a long time and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your gear. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every few weeks, to ensure that your equipment is up-to-date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the item however they'll always be cheaper than buying new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and other items. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be applied to any tool, weapon, or armor. The button will show a preview of an item's next upgrade level if there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item upgrade and current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item level upgrade has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items which include the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount and the chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players finish certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items available at the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades are acquired via various methods which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was altered a bit, with some new features added. After a player has upgraded to a certain item level for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same item upgrader kit level will cost less. This applies even if the items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a crucial element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used on gear of a specific rank, and that every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade is 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an Item Level Upgrade upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. For instance, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrading for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it will no longer require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change is intended to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest level possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests have one purpose, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance, it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you have available and keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you're planning to make. This is particularly true for items such as trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.