Why You Should Concentrate On Enhancing Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give you boost in certain statistics. Each upgrade items boosts the level of an item level upgrade by 3. A random extra substat is also added to every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, 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). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll to get a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader mod upgrader allows players to upgrade gear to a higher level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of armor or weapon. However, the item used for the upgrade will be consumed forever and will not be able to be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities, and can be accessed at any time to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear current it is recommended you visit the upgrader each couple of weeks.
Upgrades will cost more, based on the level of the item but they will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest up to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that are used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor and accessories. They can be purchased by players from NPCs that sell upgrades to items in exchange for different currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade has been purchased it can be applied to any weapon or tool using an button, which will display an image of the item at its next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies based on the item slot and current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones and a number of crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of Flightstones or crests used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader for a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in many places on the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount and a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete specific achievements or quests.
Unlike Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II is no item upgrader available at the start of Icewind Dale. Instead, the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades are acquired via several methods, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been altered a bit, with some new features added. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a certain level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level will cost less even if they belong to an entirely different set of gear.
The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievements.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an important element of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you should know that Crests are only available to equipment with a certain rank. Each rank comes with distinct upgrade paths. The most basic and straightforward upgrade route costs 15 crests while the more complex one may require as many as 20 crests, based on the type of gear that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing tasks at the appropriate level. This could mean doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in all difficulty levels to obtain lower-level gear or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with a heroic difficulty to obtain endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't difficult to use, but it does bring some changes to the process of upgrading. For example, once a piece of equipment reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This change allows players to upgrade items their gear to the highest level possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests with care, since they are only used for one purpose. For instance, it's Best item upgrade to make use of all your Whelpling-rank crests on the Best item upgrade gear you have available and then save Drake and Wyrm crests to use for the next set of upgrades you plan to make. This is especially true for items such as rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The account-wide discount will only be applicable if all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.