14 Questions You Shouldn t Be Afraid To Ask About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random additional substat is also added to each upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll the perfect version.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of weapon or armor. The item upgrader kit used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up to date.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to improve the quality of weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They are purchased by players from item upgrader NPCs 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 weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show the preview of an item's next upgrade level in the event that there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current item level. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. After an Item Level Upgrade has been upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
Many locations offer item upgraders which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting a new recipe. The upgrade discount increases with the number of items that are being upgraded, and can be increased by requiring players to complete specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only available via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with some new features added. After a player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same item level will cost less. This is regardless of whether the items are from another set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific Best item upgrader level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for its upgrade item path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade path costs 15 crests, while the most complicated may require as many as 20 crests, based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by taking on dungeons and raids of any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons that have a high difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. For instance, when an item is at 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 is designed to allow players to get their gear up to the highest level possible for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
It's also essential to use crests with care, since they are only used for one purpose. It is recommended 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 especially true for items like rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to avail the account-wide discount if all of the slots are full of high-quality gear.