10 Undeniable Reasons People Hate Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades provide a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases the item level by +3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
Upgraded gear is generally more valuable, unless it has a low requirement by nature (like FB sorc shields) or a high stat variance (like Eth Titan weapons). These types of gear get less value from upgrading due to the necessity to roll for a perfect version.
Recycle Points
The item upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by offering the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item will be consumed and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be used to create enhancements.
You can upgrade your equipment anytime by visiting the upgrader in any major city. It is recommended that you visit the upgrader at least once every few weeks, to keep your equipment up-to-date.
Upgrades can cost more based on the level of the Item Level Upgrade, but they will always be cheaper than buying new equipment. For example upgrading a Benthic chest piece to ilvl 385 will cost 20 recycle points while purchasing the same item upgrade from another player will costs 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that are used to improve the quality of weapons and tools, armor and other items. They are 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 purchased, an upgrade can be used on any tool, weapon or armor. button, which displays an image of the item at the next upgrade level when the player has enough materials.
The cost of upgrades varies 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 cost 15 Flightstones and a variety of crests, with certain upgrades offering discounts to reduce the cost of Flightstones or the crests used. Once an item upgrades is upgraded to a certain amount, it can be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lesser amount of both currencies.
Many locations have upgraders for their items in addition to the main island and a few outposts. The NPCs offer both an upgrade coupon and a possibility of obtaining a new recipe. The discount on upgrades increases as more items are upgraded. It can be increased by having players complete certain achievements or complete quests.
Icewind Dale does not have an upgrader for items at the beginning, unlike Cromwell from Baldur's Gate II. Instead the NPCs that are available to help with upgrades require a variety of means, which is both an improvement as well as a disadvantage.
In Season 3, many new features have been added to the upgrade system. Once a player obtains an upgrade to a particular level for an item in an armor slot, upgrading further items to that same item level will cost less even when they are part of another set of gear.
The discount is available to all accounts. Similarly, the amount of Harbinger Crests required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players have reached certain achievement milestones.
Crests
When upgrading gear in WoW players have a variety of options. Flightstones are a currency that is available to everyone who wants to upgrade. Crests are more specialized and are used for specific item upgrader kit level upgrades. Crests are an important component of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They are available in four ranks.
The first thing to remember is that the crests can only be purchased for equipment that is with a certain rank. Each rank has a different upgrade path. The easiest and most straightforward upgrade item costs 15 crests. The most complex upgrade can require up to 20 crests, depending on the type or gear being upgraded.
Players can obtain crests by finishing content at the appropriate level, whether that involves walking around and performing outdoor activities for lower-tier gear, raids or dungeons with all difficulties for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ heroic raid bosses and dungeons to obtain endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn, in Valdrakken for the appropriate upgrade steps and paths.
The new currency system isn't too difficult to use, however it does bring some modifications to the upgrade process. When a piece reaches the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer or Adventurer) it will no longer require Flightstones. This change is intended to allow players to get their equipment to the highest ilvl possible on all their characters rather than relying solely on seasonal loot.
Another notable modification is that crests have one usage, so it's important to use them wisely. For instance, it's a good idea utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests on the best equipment available, and then keep Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to create. This is particularly relevant for rings and trinkets that fill multiple slots on the character that will be able to avail the account-wide discount if all slots are full of high-quality gear.