How To Save Money On Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades can give you an increase in specific statistics. Each upgrade boosts the level of an item by 3. A random additional substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
The upgraded gear is usually more valuable, unless the item upgrader mod has low requirements by nature (like FB sorc shields) or has a large variance in stats (like Eth Titan weapons). Upgrades are not as valuable for the latter because of the requirement to roll an exact version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader lets players upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any type of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can be used to create the enchantments.
The upgrader can be found in all major cities, and can be visited anytime to upgrade your equipment. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended you visit the upgrader each several weeks.
The cost of upgrading will vary based on the current item level of the item being upgraded, but will always be less expensive than purchasing new equipment from other sources. For instance upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are items that are used to improve the quality of weapons tools, armor, and accessories. They can be bought by players from item upgrader NPCs in exchange for various currencies, and can also be found in random treasure lists. Once an upgrade is purchased it can be applied to any weapon, tool, or armor with an button, which will show an item's preview at its next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The upgrade cost depends on the item upgrader kit slot and the current Item level upgrade level and the weapon's price is higher than bracers or gloves, for example. Each upgrade cost 15 Flightstones plus a certain number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain level it is able to be downgraded and sold to the upgrader at a lower price.
Item upgraders can be found in a variety of locations, including the main island, as well as a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon as well as the possibility of getting the latest recipe. The discount on upgrades increases when more items are upgraded. It can be increased if players finish certain achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II, there is no upgrader for items available in the beginning of Icewind Dale. The NPCs who are able to facilitate upgrades are only available through a variety means. This is both a benefit and a drawback.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was modified a bit, and some new features added. Once a player has upgraded to a certain level of item for an armor slot, upgrading other items to the same level, will cost less. This applies even if the items come from another set of gear.
The amount of Valorstones required for upgrades is decreased, and the discount is available across all accounts. The amount of Harbinger Crests needed to upgrade is reduced as well, but is only available when certain milestones are reached.
Crests
Players have several options for upgrading their equipment in WoW. Flightstones are an Best item upgrader that is available to everyone for upgrading. Crests are more specialized and are utilized 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 used to purchase equipment that is of a particular rank, and that each rank has its own requirements for upgrading. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade could require as much as 20 crests, contingent on the kind of gear being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through completing content at the appropriate level. This could be by doing outdoor activities or completing dungeons and raids in any difficulty to earn equipment of lower tier or Mythicbosses for raids, or dungeons with heroic difficulty for gear in the endgame. The crests can later be exchanged at an upgrader NPC like Cuzolth in Dornogal, or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to get the appropriate upgrade paths and steps.
Utilizing these new currencies isn't too complicated however, the system introduces some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece attains the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it is no longer required to purchase Flightstones. This allows players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible level for all their characters instead of relying on seasonal loot.
It's also important to use crests in a wise manner, as they only have one use. It's Best item upgrade to put your Whelpling-rank Crests on the Best item upgrade gear you can locate and keep Drake and Wyrm Crests for the next round of upgrades. This is especially applicable to rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character, that will be able to benefit from the discount for all accounts when all slots are filled with high-quality gear.