Item upgrading
Item upgrading provides players the ability to upgrade item levels of equippable items, such as armor, weapons, and trinkets above from specific sources. Players can upgrade items by spending appropriate currencies at any item upgrader NPC.
As stats on items are based upon the item's level, upgrading an item's level will upgrade its stats as well.
Upgrade rules and NPCs
The War Within
The War Within Season 1 will continue with the 
[Flightstones] as 
[Valorstones] and the seasonal crests.
Dragonflight
Dragonflight Season 1 continued with the Mythic dungeon gear upgrade with 
[Valor].
With Dragonflight Season 2 and onward, players can upgrade items with an upgrade track with [Flightstones] and seasonal crests. 50% discounts for Flightstones are applied when a character on an account has reached the ilvl in a given slot, allowing other alts to spend less Flightstones to the same ilvl in a given slot. Going from 470 to 473 for the hands slot for one character will allow alt characters to use the discount up to ilvl 473 for the hands slot.[1]
Item upgraders include:
- Vaskarn in Valdrakken (Season 4), Central Encampment (Season 3), Loamm (Season 2)
- Corxian in Valdrakken
Shadowlands
All item upgraders can upgrade any type of gear, so long as the proper currency and items are provided.
These gear types and sources can be upgraded:
- Covenant set armor with
[Reservoir Anima] - PvP gear with
[Honor] - Mythic dungeon gear with [Valor] (requires 9.0.5 or newer drops)
- Korthian (9.1) gear with
[Cataloged Research]
Item upgraders include:
Forgehand Phillo <Kyrian Armor Enhancer> in Elysian Hold
Goreguts <Covenant Armor Upgrades> in Seat of the Primus
Craftsmaster Lamda <Advanced Night Fae Armorsmith> in Heart of the Forest
Guy Yearmo <Covenant Armor Upgrades> in Sinfall
Aggressor Zo'dash <Facilitator of Conflict> in Oribos
Assistant Scholar Kah-Vez <Item Upgrades> in Keeper's Respite, Korthia
Battle for Azeroth
Benthic gear can be upgraded with 
[Prismatic Manapearls] by 
Voidbinder Zorlan in Newhome or 
Voidbinder Sturzah in Mezzamere.[2] Upon obtaining a new Benthic gear, they start at ilvl 385. The first upgrade will cost 20 and after would depend of the type of gear in the list below.
Upgrading will increase its item level by 5 unless it is an Azerite Armor which will increase by 15.
- Non-Azerite
- 400 to 405: Costs 10
- 405 to 410: Costs 15
- 410 to 415: Costs 25
- 415 to 420: Costs 50
- 420 to 425: Costs 100
- Azerite
- 400 to 415: Costs 50
- 415 to 430: Costs 350
Warlords of Draenor
In patch 6.2.3, items from Hellfire Citadel, crafted profession items, items created from Baleful tokens in Tanaan Jungle, and Draenor dungeon drops can be upgraded twice, gaining five item levels at a cost of 250 [Valor] per upgrade. See the Valor article for sources of the currency. All the items already obtained are eligible for upgrades retroactively, and can be upgraded from the following vendors:
- Voidbinder Tarazuuk in Stormshield
- Voidbinder Selebrembor in Warspear
- Voidbinder Sturzah in Stormwind City
- Voidbinder Zorlan in Orgrimmar
Mists of Pandaria
Item upgrading was introduced with patch 5.1.0, available for at least rare quality of PvE gear that is either crafted, dropped from a dungeon, or purchased and Season 12 gear. All items are required to have a minimum item level of 458 to be upgraded from the following vendors:
Voidbinder Lunshur in Shrine of Seven Stars- Voidbinder Shadzor in Shrine of Two Moons
- Voidbinder Sturzah in Stormwind City
- Voidbinder Zorlan in Orgrimmar
The item upgrading feature was retired with patch 5.2.0 then returned with patch 5.3.0 but only for PvE gear at a reduced cost[3] and continued to be used with patch 5.4.0. The cost would change once again with patch 6.0.2 from [Valor Points] and 
[Justice Points] to 
[Lesser Charm of Good Fortune].
| Item type | 5.1.0 cost | 5.3.0 cost | 6.0.2 cost | Stat increase | # of Upgrades Available | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PvE | Rare-quality crafted, dungeon or purchased items |
1,500
|
750
|
50
|
+8 ilvl | 1 |
| Epic-quality crafted, dungeon, raid or purchased items |
750
|
250
|
50
|
+4 ilvl | 2[n 1] | |
| PvP | Season 12 Rare-quality gear | 1500 
|
— | — | +8 ilvl | 1 |
| Season 12 Epic-quality gear | 750 
|
— | — | +4 ilvl | 2 |
- ^ Epic items from Siege of Orgrimmar and Timeless Isle were able to be upgraded four times instead of two (for a total of 16 item levels).
Notes
- With the way the item upgrading works, any NPC that offers the service is able to upgrade between any expansion item that is allowed. For example as of Dragonflight, the Battle for Azeroth benthic gear can be upgraded at the item upgrader NPCs in Valdrakken or a Dragonflight Season 4 item can be upgraded from the NPCs in Nazjatar.
- The item upgrading system is an improved version of the Reforging system.
Patch changes
- Patch 10.1.0 (2023-05-02): UI updated.
- Patch 9.1.0 (2021-06-29): UI updated.
- Patch 8.2.0 (2019-06-25): UI updated.
- Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Honor and Justice upgrades now cost 50 for each, and are only available from the upgraders in the Shrine of Seven Stars and Shrine of Two Moons.
- Patch 5.4.8 (2014-05-20): All upgradable epic quality items introduced in Patch 5.4 (items found in Siege of Orgrimmar and on the Timeless Isle) will now be eligible to be upgraded an additional 2 times for a total increase of 16 item levels. Please note, this change does not apply to PvP gear.
- Patch 5.3.0 (2013-05-21): The Voidbinders are back in capital cities and shrines.
- PvE Item Upgrades
- Items upgradable by Valor now require 250 Valor to upgrade per 4 item levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Valor.
- Items upgradable by Justice now require 750 Justice to upgrade per 8 item levels, for a total of 750 Justice for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Justice.
- PvP Item Upgrades
- Malevolent Gladiator's Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
- Dreadful Gladiator's Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
- No other PvP items are upgradable.
- PvE Item Upgrades
- Patch 5.2.0 (2013-03-05): The ethereals that offered to upgrade items using Valor or Justice Points have departed Azeroth for the moment. They may yet return in a future patch.
- Patch 5.1.0 (2012-11-27): Added.
See also
C_ItemUpgrade - A list of API related to item upgrading.
References
- ^ Squishei 2023-11-27. How to Unlock 50% Flightstone Discount on Gear Upgrades. Wowhead.
- ^ Rise of Azshara Preview: Navigate the Perils of Nazjatar in New Benthic Gear
- ^ Perculia 2013-03-22. Item Upgrades in Patch 5.3, Oondasta's Health Reduced by 50%. Wowhead.
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