20 Fun Informational Facts About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you boost in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
Upgraded gear generally sees greater value for trade as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or very high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The Item level upgrade upgrader enables players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied on any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in every major city, and is accessible at any time to upgrade your equipment. 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 depend on the current item level of the gear being upgraded however, they will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points, while purchasing the same item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items which can be used to level up weapons, tools, armor, and other items. They can be purchased by players from NPCs of item upgraders for a variety of currencies. They are also available on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will show the preview of an item upgrading's next upgrade level when there are enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the item slot and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than gloves or bracers for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations, including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The discount for upgrading increases when 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 start of Icewind Dale. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via various methods, which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. Once a player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This is true even if those items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is account-wide. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players achieve certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a couple of choices. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specific and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an integral element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that 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 that is of a particular rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade requires up to 20 crests, depending on the type of equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't that difficult, but the system introduces some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an item upgrades reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't require Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest possible level for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests have one use and it's crucial to make use of them in a responsible manner. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrade gear that you can find and save Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is especially true for items such as trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.