15 Reasons Why You Shouldn t Ignore Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of an Item Level Upgrade by 3. A random substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a high variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are less valuable for the latter due to the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrading upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. The item upgrade used to upgrade the item will be consumed and can't be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item, however, they are always less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. Buying a similar item upgrader kit will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to upgrade weapons, tools, armor, and accessories. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor. The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current level of the item. For instance, weapons will cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to lower the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be degraded and returned to the upgrader for a lower amount of the two currencies.
Upgraders for items can be found at many locations including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and a chance to obtain an entirely new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrade upgrader at the beginning unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade must be acquired through a variety of means which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with some new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading additional items to the same level will cost less, even when they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is account-wide. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
Players have a variety of options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are a currency that is available to all players for upgrading. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used to purchase gear of a specific rank, and each rank has different requirements for upgrading. The most basic and straightforward upgrade items process costs just 15 crests while the most complex requires as many as 20 crests based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for gear of lower tiers, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The use of these currencies isn't too difficult however, the system will introduce a few modifications to the upgrade process. For example, 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 is to allow players to get their equipment to the highest possible ilvl for all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one purpose, so it's important to use them properly. For instance it's best to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the top gear you have available and then save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only apply when all slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.