10 Misconceptions That Your Boss May Have Regarding Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades will give you a boost to specific stats. Each upgrade boosts the item level by +3. Each upgrade also boosts an unspecified substat.
The upgraded gear is usually more useful, unless the item is not required by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like eth Titan weapons). Upgrades aren't as useful for those with higher variance due to the need to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by transferring the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be applied to any type 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. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader every few weeks to ensure that your equipment is up to date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the item level, but they will always be cheaper 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 level Upgrade, it will cost you 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that are used to upgrade weapons and tools, armor Item level upgrade and other accessories. They are purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for various currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be used on any weapon, tool, or armor with a button, which will display a preview of the item at its 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 level of the item, with weapons costing more than gloves or bracers for instance. Each upgrade costs 15 Flightstones plus a set number of crests. Some upgrades give a discount on the Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain amount it can be re-downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in many places including the main island as well as some outposts. The NPCs provide both an upgrade coupon and the possibility of getting the latest recipe. The upgrade discount increases as more items are upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the start, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to facilitate upgrades must be acquired through several methods which is both an improvement but also a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and numerous new features added. Once an upgrade has been completed to a certain level of item for an armor slot upgrading other items to the same Best item upgrade level, will cost less. This is true regardless of whether the items come from an entirely different set of equipment.
The amount of Valorstones needed to upgrade is reduced and the discount is available across all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required for upgrades is also cut and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
Players have a number of options when it comes to upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an item that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more special and are utilized during specific item level upgrades. Crests are an essential part of the Dragonflight gear progression system that was introduced in 10.1, and come in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that crests are only available for equipment that is of a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The simplest and easiest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade items could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the type or equipment being upgraded.
Players can earn crests by working through content at the appropriate level. This could be done by doing outdoor activities, or by doing dungeons or raids in any difficulty to earn lower-level gear or Mythicbosses for raids, item level upgrade or dungeons that have a high difficulty for endgame gear. The crests can later be exchanged at an item upgrader NPC, such as Cuzolth in Dornogal or Vaskarn in Valdrakken, for the appropriate upgrade pathways and steps.
Using these new currencies isn't too complicated, but the system does introduce 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 is intended to allow players to get their equipment up to the highest level possible on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they have only one purpose. It is recommended to use your Whelpling-rank Crests on the highest-quality gear you can locate and save Drake and Wyrm Crests to be used for the next set of upgrades. This is particularly relevant for items like trinkets and rings that fill multiple slots. The account-wide discount is only applicable when all the slots on the character are filled with high-quality equipment.