5 Killer Quora Answers To Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The item upgrading Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. Each upgrade also increases a random substat.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and can be accessed anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader every couple of weeks.
The cost of upgrades will be based on the current item level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than buying new gear from other sources. For instance upgrading a chest piece from Benthic to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon and accessory upgrades. They can be bought by players through 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 tool, weapon, or armor. The button will display the preview of an item's next upgrade level, in the event that there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the Item level upgrade and the current level of the item and the weapon's price is higher than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. After an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
A lot of locations offer upgraders for items, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. The NPCs that can assist with upgrades are only accessible via a variety of ways. This is both a positive and a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was modified a bit, and some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less even when they are part of a different gear set.
The discount is applicable to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is cut too, but it is only available after certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have a number of choices when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests can only be used on equipment of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, whether that means walking around and doing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. These crests can then be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, however it does bring some changes 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 won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all of their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one purpose, so it's important to use them wisely. For instance, it's a good idea to use all of your Whelpling-rank crests with 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 applicable to trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character which can only be eligible to benefit from the account-wide discount when all slots are full of high-quality gear.