Unquestionable Evidence That You Need Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boosts in specific statistics. Each upgrade increases item level by 3. Each upgrade also boosts the random substatus.
Upgraded gear is generally more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like the eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as valuable for the latter due to the need to roll a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear to a higher item level by providing the appropriate currency to the NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any kind of weapon or armor. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create the enchantments.
You can upgrade your gear anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. To keep your gear current it is recommended that you visit the upgrader every several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will depend on the current level of the item upgrade being upgraded but they will always be cheaper than purchasing new gear from other sources. Upgrades such as upgrading a Benthic chest to the level of ilvl385 will cost you 20 recycle points. A similar item will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to improve the quality of weapons, tools, armor, and accessories. They can be purchased from item upgraders NPCs for a variety of currencies. They can also find them on random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade can be used on any weapon, tool or armor. button, which will show an image of the item at the next upgrade level in the event that the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the slot of the item and the current item level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones and a few crests, with certain upgrades having a discount to lower the cost of the Flightstones or crests that are used. Once an item has been upgraded to a certain level and is degraded, it can be sold and returned to the upgrader for a lesser amount of the two currencies.
Many locations offer item upgraders, including the main Island and some outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade discount as well as a chance to obtain a new upgrade recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an Item Level upgrade upgrader at the start 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 has been tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. When a player has an upgrade to a particular item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading additional items to that same item level will be less expensive, even in the event that they are part of a different gear set.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is affixed to all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is also reduced 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 item that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more special, and are used during specific item upgrader kit level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System, which was introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to be aware of is that crests can only be spent on gear of a specific rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for its upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade requires up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by working through content that is of the appropriate level, which involves walking around and engaging in outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulty for items of higher tier, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses or dungeons to obtain endgame gear. Crests can be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to obtain the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. When a piece of equipment attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer), it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This change is designed to allow players to upgrade items their gear up to the highest ilvl possible for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests wisely, as they are only used for one purpose. It's best to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the top-quality equipment you can locate, and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is especially relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill several slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all slots on the character are filled with top-quality equipment.