What Freud Can Teach Us About Item Upgrade
WoW Upgrades - The Item Upgrader
Upgrades give a guaranteed boost to specific stats. Each upgrade increases item level by +3. A random extra substat is also boosted alongside every upgrade.
Upgraded gear generally sees higher trade value as long as it meets low requirements (like the FB shield of the sorc) or has a high stat variation (like the eth titan weapons). The latter are less valuable from upgrading due to the requirement to roll for a perfect model.
Recycle Points
The item upgrades upgrader allows players to upgrade their gear by giving the currency to an NPC. Upgrades can be made on any kind of armor or weapons. The item used to upgrade the item is discarded and cannot be used again. Upgrades can also be applied to the enchantments.
The upgrader is located in all major cities and can be visited at any time to upgrade your gear. To keep your gear up-to-date it is recommended that you visit the upgrader each few weeks.
The cost of upgrading will vary based on the current level of the equipment being upgraded but they will always be less expensive than buying new equipment from other sources. For example, upgrading a Benthic chest piece to 385 ilvl will cost 20 recycle points, purchasing a similar piece from a different player will cost 105.
Valorstones
Upgrades are functional items that can be used to upgrade item weapons tools, armor, and other items. They can be purchased by players through NPCs who sell upgrades for items in exchange for different currencies, and can be found in random treasure lists. Once purchased, an upgrade is able to be applied to any tool, weapon or armor. The button will display a preview of an item's next upgrade level, when there are enough materials.
Upgrade costs differ based on the slot of the item and the current item level. For instance weapons cost more than gloves, bracers or bracers. Each step costs 15 Flightstones plus a specific number of crests. Some upgrades offer discounts on Flightstones. Once an item is upgraded to a certain degree it is able to be degraded and sold back to the upgrader for a lower amount of both currencies.
Many locations offer item upgraders in addition to the main island and some outposts. The NPCs provide an upgrade discount as well as a chance to get a brand new upgrade recipe. The discount on upgrades increases with the number of items that are being upgraded. It can also be increased by having players complete some specific achievements or quests.
Contrary to Cromwell in Baldur's Gate II there is no item upgrader mod upgrader available at 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 as well as an issue.
In Season 3 the upgrade system was tweaked a bit, with numerous new features added. After a player has earned an upgrade to a certain item level for a particular armor slot, upgrading further items to the same level will cost less, even if they belong to an entirely different 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 required to upgrade is also reduced and is not available until players reach certain milestones in their achievement.
Crests
When upgrading equipment in WoW, players have a couple 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 level upgrades. Crests are a crucial part of the Dragonflight Gear Progression System introduced in version 10.1. They come in four ranks.
First, you should know that the crests can only be purchased for gear with a certain rank. Each rank has distinct upgrade paths. The simplest and simplest upgrade costs 15 crests. The most complicated upgrade can require up to 20 crests, contingent on the type or equipment that is being upgraded.
Players can earn crests through finishing content at the appropriate level, which involves walking around and performing outdoor activities to get lower-tier gear, dungeons or raids of any difficulty for higher-tier items, or Mythic+ dungeons or heroic raid bosses to obtain endgame gear. The crests can then be exchanged with an upgrader for the item, such as Cuzolth or Vaskarn in Valdrakken to upgrade the item in the proper steps and pathways.
Using these new currencies isn't too difficult however, the system does introduce some changes to the overall upgrade process. For example, once an Item Level Upgrade is at the highest level of upgrade for any rank (Explorer, Adventurer, Veteran, Champion, Hero, or Mythic) it won't need Flightstones to be upgraded. This is to allow players to upgrade their equipment to the highest possible ilvl on all their characters, instead of relying only on seasonal loot.
Another important change is that crests only have one usage therefore it's essential to use them properly. For instance, it's best to utilize all of your Whelpling rank crests with the best gear you have available and save Drake and Wyrm crests for the next round of upgrades you're planning to make. This is especially relevant for items like rings and trinkets that occupy multiple slots. The discount on the account will only apply when all the slots on the character are filled with top-quality gear.