The 10 Scariest Things About Item Upgrading
From Shiapedia
World of Warcraft Upgrades and Item Upgrading
Upgrades can boost the value of certain numeric statistics on armor, weapons and rings. Upgrades can also boost bonuses like Crit chance and PvE Damage.
If the weapon's upgrade template is %, it will increase 3% of its previous damage every time it is upgraded.
The cost of upgrading an item upgrade increases as it reaches the item's current level. The cost increases as the level of the item rises.
Components
Upgrade components are items that can be slotted into armor, weapons and trinkets to provide a stat bonus or extra effect when they're used. These can be obtained by crafting, purchasing from vendors, trading with other players, or looting. Some upgrades have special cosmetic effects.
Upgrade components can be placed in equipment that has a slot for them; the item must have been at a minimum upgraded to blue level for a component to be used. Upgrade components, unlike other mods can only be applied once. They cannot be replaced or applied multiple times. Infusions and Enrichments are type of upgrade component that can be used to upgrade non-amulet legendary and ascending equipment, as in some items that aren't ascended. Infusions and enrichments can be recovered by salvaging gear that is ascended or by completing an elite mission in the Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall campaigns.
An upgrade may have a prefix or suffix that alters the name of the equipment with the upgrade (for examplethe "Canthan Armor Insignia' becomes Canthan Armor of Minor Vigor). Some upgrades increase an item's Mark Level or Rarity, allowing players to create stronger versions of the equipment with the smallest amount of Upgrade Crystals than would be required to reach the same level of upgrade through normal methods.
A 'boost upgrade' can modify the attack or defense properties of a weapon, or armor. Once the player has completed the cutscene and defeated Crazed Mechanist the upgrades can be created at the Portative Forging Station. These upgrades can be obtained by purchasing them from the cash shop or collecting them from enemies when upgrading other equipment.
The player is able to have up to five boost upgrades at one time. Each upgrade increases the likelihood that a better-quality version of the item will be available in the next reset. This gives players an incentive to upgrade their gear, even if they are unsure what will be improved following an update.
The process of upgrading an item upgrader kit could be expensive and it's possible that the item will become obsolete, or even break, if the upgrade is unsuccessful. Upgrade Crystals and assist powders are also destroyed when an upgrade fails. Cash shop items can be used to decrease or eliminate the risk of failure. Some upgrades also offer an additional bonus when they are reinserted.
Glyphs
Glyphs are upgrade components which can be put in special sockets on the Paragon Board. Glyphs boost the power of nodes within a radius, including any pre-existing affixes. Glyphs are upgraded in a variety of ways, and we recommend upgrading them to 15 levels whenever you can.
In the endgame, you will often find that the most effective way to upgrade your gear is by placing Glyphs. They are the only upgrade components that can be upgraded directly to level 15, and they provide an enormous boost to your power and radius on the Paragon Board, enabling you to get higher nodes more quickly.
Glyphs, which is the only upgrade component which can be removed without restriction and then replaced with no restrictions, are the most common. Only legendary equipment can be salvaged and replaced by using a Black Lion Salvage Kit.
The value of each Glyph is displayed when you select it in your inventory. You can replace it with a Glyph that is of the same or higher rank to boost the value of the Glyph.
Glyphs are available in the Black Lion Trading Post as part of the Gem Store bundle or purchase, with certain unlimited-use tools, and during Faction Crypt Raids. Each Faction Crypt could drop one of these Glyphs. There are also some rare glyphs which you can find in any of the Faction Crypts.
After you have acquired the desired Glyphs you'll require them to be placed on your equipment. Each Glyph unlocks a unique bonus that will boost the stats of a specific set of nodes that are within a radius of the Glyph. It could be +40 for one of your primary stats or +25 for two of your secondary stats depending on the Glyph.
The use of the Glyph will boost all nodes that are linked to it, and you should aim to place your Glyphs close to key nodes on the Graph to maximize the impact. Druids, for example should put their Glyphs close to their primary damage nodes. They might also consider placing them near their critical damage nodes.
Leveling
The item upgrading system lets players increase the performance of specific items by putting upgraded components into them. This is also known as "upping". Each upgradeable item upgrades has an amount that determines its upgraded stats. Upgraded items can be upgraded until they reach a maximum level of ilvl 385. Each level of an item requires a different number of components, and the upgrade costs increase as the item is leveled up.
Some upgrades require an ingredient to be activated. This ingredient can be obtained by making Upgrade Recipes. These recipes are available in the upgrade tab of a crafting table or purchased from some NPCs. Each Upgrade Recipe completed will result in a certain amount of Technology points. These points can be used to the upgrading of an item. When enough points have been earned you will be able to claim the upgrade and receive its additional bonuses.
When a player upgrades a piece of equipment it is replaced by an item upgrader that is new. The same armor can be transformed into an weapon or shield when upgraded. The new item comes with its own bonus. This can be a disadvantage, as it can make the item more expensive if you do not require it.
If the player has enough tokens they can reroll item upgrades. This causes the item to be exchanged for a brand new one, with an initial level and a completely different set of extra bonuses. This is a good idea, but shouldn't be done often as it could waste resources.
Some upgrades can increase their value, allowing players to customize their equipment. Dolphin's Gift is a good example, as it provides a buff if the player repeatedly enters or exits water. This can be upgraded several times, each time increasing the maximum roll by an increment of 10. This item can be extremely valuable in PvP, as a perfectly rolled version of it could be worth between 20 and 50 times its non-upp'd value.
Requirements
The upgrade of items allows players to upgrade the level of their equippable equipment - weapons, armor, and trinkets over ilvl 385 by offering the appropriate currency and items to an item upgrader NPC. Upgrades to armor set pieces improve the strength of their base defense and weapon upgrades items increase their base damage and also increase their strength and dexterity.
All items can be upgraded up to five times, with the exception for hero equipment, which can be upgraded eight times. Every time you upgrade a piece of equipment, it has a chance of failing. The failure rate increases when you exceed the maximum number. Failures can cause the item to revert to its original state, requiring the player to spend more materials than they would have to had they stopped upgrading at the highest number of upgrades.
If an item fails to upgrade the amount of experience in its growth bar is reset to zero. Additionally the item will lose any bonus it earned such as crit chance, attack damage, as well as any other effects that are associated with that effect (for instance, an increase in heal over time or speed of reload). The player is able to use their weapon or armor even after the failure.
Whenever an item is upgraded, the upgrades are applied in order from the lowest to the highest. This means that should a weapon gain an increase in the chance of crit the increase is applied prior to any increase in attack damage. Slots is a new attribute that has been added to the definitions of items. The value is recalculated each time an upgrade occurs.
The amount of resources needed to upgrade an item is determined on the rarity rating and number of upgrade slots. The cost of upgrading non-premium items is equal to the base value of the upgrade. For example, a common equipment item could have five upgrades, each costing 25600 Technology Points 4x Quality Improvement Opportunity. Hero grade items have lower costs per upgrade.
Premium items could have different upgrade requirements from regular gear. For instance they may require less sowels, but they will require more minerals and orons. The player will still need to take each piece of gear they wish to upgrade to NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine. In addition to the upgrade costs mentioned above, each upgrade will require a different amount of the ingredients needed to upgrade.
