What Freud Can Teach Us About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to certain stats. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). The latter see less value from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by transferring 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 can't be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to enchantments.
You can upgrade your equipment at any time by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended to visit the upgrader once every couple of weeks to keep your equipment up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, however, they are always cheaper than purchasing new gear. Upgrades like upgrading a Benthic chest to 385 ilvl will cost you 20 recycle points. If you purchase a similar item, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that can be used to upgrade tools, armor, weapon, and accessory upgrades. 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 applied to 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 upgrading is based on the item slot and current item level, with weapons costing more than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower cost.
Upgraders for items are available in many places, including the main island and some outposts. The NPCs offer an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting an entirely new recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an item upgrader at beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. The NPCs who can facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a positive and a drawback.
In Season 3, the upgrade system has been modified a bit, and several new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a specific level of an item for a specific armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will cost less even in the event that they belong to another set of gear.
The discount applies to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When it comes to upgrading gear in WoW players have a variety of choices. Flightstones are an option that is accessible to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specific, and are used during specific item level upgrades. Crests are a key element of the Dragonflight gear progression system, which was introduced in 10.1 and are available in four ranks.
The first thing to note is that crests are only able to be spent on equipment that is of a particular rank, and each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, based on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons for gear that is used in the endgame. These crests can then be exchanged at an Item level upgrade upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it does bring some changes to the upgrade process. For example, once an item upgrader kit is at the highest upgrade level of 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 gear up to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
Another significant change is that crests only have one usage, so it's important to make use of them in a responsible manner. It's Best item upgrade to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for items like trinkets and rings that take up multiple slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.