5 Killer Quora Answers To Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the level of the item by +3. Each upgrade also increases an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear typically has a higher trade value regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or a very high stat variance (like Eth titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for those with higher variance because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader enables players to upgrade gear to a higher level by supplying the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type of armor or weapon. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enhancements.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up-to-date.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the equipment being upgraded, but will always be cheaper than buying new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, while buying a similar item from another player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to level up weapons, tools, armor, and other accessories. They are purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for a variety of currencies, and may also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased, it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor using an button, which displays a preview of the item at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrading is based on the slot of the item and the current item level as well as the level of the weapon, which is more than gloves or bracers, for instance. Each step costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with some upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of the Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currency types.
Upgraders for items are available in a variety of locations on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the chance to obtain the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or quests.
Unlike upgrade item in Baldur's Gate II there is no upgrader for items in the beginning of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via a variety of means, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system was altered a bit, with several new features added. After an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies regardless of whether the items come from an entirely different set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is reduced also, but is only available once certain milestones are reached.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading equipment in WoW players have a couple of choices. They can use Flightstones that are a general upgrade currency available to all players, or crests that are more specific and used to upgrade specific levels of items. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System that was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and every rank has different requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the type or gear that is being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons of 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 obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system does introduce some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece of equipment has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it no longer requires Flightstones. This change lets players upgrade their gear to the highest possible level on all their characters, instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another notable change is that crests only have one purpose therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance, it's a good idea make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests with the best gear you have available and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you're planning on making. This is particularly relevant for trinkets and rings that occupy multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all of the slots are full of high-quality equipment.