10 Unquestionable Reasons People Hate Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you an increase in certain stats. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. Each upgrade also increases the random substatus.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as important for those with higher variance due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of weapon or armor. The item upgrading used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be applied to the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear 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 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 example, upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 levels will cost 20 recycle points while buying a similar item from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are useful items which can be used to upgrade weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They are purchased by players from NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor using the help of button, which will show an item's preview at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the Best item upgrade level upgrade (visit) and the current item level, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for example. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with some upgrades having a discount to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item upgrades is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.
Item upgraders can be found at many locations on the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases depending on the amount of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3, several new features were added to the upgrade system. 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 even if the items come from another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players achieve certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a couple of options. Flightstones are an item that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item level upgrades. Crests are the main component of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests are only able to be used on equipment of a particular rank, and that every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade process costs just 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 completing content of the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons for endgame gear. These crests are then exchanged with an upgrader like Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and pathways.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it brings some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it will no longer require Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all of their characters rather than relying on seasonal loot.
Another important modification is that crests have one use therefore it's essential to use them wisely. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear that you can find, and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set 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 account-wide discount if all slots are full of high-quality gear.