Are You Making The Most From Your Item Upgrade

WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader

Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. A random extra substat is also increased with each upgrade.

Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item level upgrade has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for those with lower requirements because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.

Recycle Points

The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.

You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader 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 are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.

Valorstones

Upgrades are functional items which can be used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and other accessories. They can be purchased through NPCs who sell upgrades to item owners for various currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on any weapon, tool, or armor. button, which will show an image of the item when it is upgraded if the player has sufficient materials.

The cost of upgrading is based on the Item level upgrade slot and the current item upgrader kit level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests used. Once an item upgrade has been upgraded to a certain degree, it can be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.

Many locations offer item upgraders which include the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade discount and a chance to acquire a new upgrade recipe. The discount for upgrades increases with the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete specific 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 can be used to upgrade are acquired via a variety of means that are both an improvement and a drawback.

In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. When a player has an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to the same 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 affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is cut as well, but is only available when certain milestones have been reached.

Crests

When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple of options. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.

The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the most complex can require as much as 20 crests, based on the type of gear being upgraded.

Players can earn crests by working through tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn lower-tier gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons that have a high difficulty for endgame gear. These crests can be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and pathways.

The new currency system isn't complicated to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. For example, once an item is at 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 allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all of their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.

Another significant change is that crests have one use and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. For instance, it's a good idea make use of all 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 plan to make. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up several slots. The discount for the entire account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality gear.