14 Misconceptions Common To Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item upgrades by 3. A random additional substat is also added to every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees more value in trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the need to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The upgrader for items allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item upgrade is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item level upgrade but they will always be cheaper than buying new gear. For example upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade weapons, armor, tools, and accessory upgrades. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any tool, weapon, or armor. button, which will show an item's preview at its next upgrade level if the player has sufficient materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot for the item and the current Item Level Upgrade level. For example, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers, or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item level upgrade has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrading increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items 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 several new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that same item level will be less expensive, even if they are part of an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut too, but it is only available when certain milestones are achieved.
Crests
Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their gear in WoW. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
First, you must be aware that crests are only available for equipment of a certain rank. Each rank comes with a different upgrade path. The simplest and most straightforward upgrade process costs just 15 crests while the most complex may require 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 mean engaging in outdoor activities or taking on dungeons and raids of all difficulties to get lower-tier gear or Mythic+ raid bosses or dungeons with a heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade routes and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't that difficult however, the system will introduce a few changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests have one purpose and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the best gear you can locate, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to take advantage of the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.