item upgrading - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to certain stats. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value regardless of whether it has low requirements (like the FB sorc's shield) or has a high stat variance (like eth titan weapons). Upgrades are less useful for the latter because of the requirement to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To ensure that your equipment is up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will be based on the current item level of the gear being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest up to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items which can be used to level up weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be purchased by players from NPCs of item upgraders for a variety of currencies. They can also find them in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be used on 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 upgrades varies based on the slot of the item and current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currency types.
Upgraders for items can be found in a variety of locations on the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases according to the number of items being upgraded, and can be boosted by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that can be used to upgrade are acquired via a variety of means, which is both an improvement and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with some new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a certain level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading additional items to that same item level will cost less, even if they belong to a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed for upgrades is reduced, and the discount is available across all accounts. In the same way, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW, players have a variety of choices. They can use Flightstones, which are a common upgrade currency that is accessible to all, or crests, which are more specialized and are consumed during upgrades on specific levels of the item. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system introduced in 10.1, and come in 4 ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be used on equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has different requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of all difficulty for items of higher tier or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests are then exchanged with an item upgrader such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't that difficult however, the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece has reached the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change allows players to upgrade their gear to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests wisely, as they have only one purpose. For instance, it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the best equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next batch of upgrades you plan to make. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that take up multiple slots on the character, which will only be able to avail the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with top-quality gear.