World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items can be used to improve the stats of an item. Depending on the upgrade item (Keep Reading) type, it may boost an item's Mark Level or Rarity, as well as boost other stats.
Upgrades to gear in The War Within requires a specified number of Flightstones and Crests, and each item comes with an upgrade track. Each upgrade increases the cost of the following one by a set amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's stats base increases as it is upgraded. This value is the sum of an item's leveled-up perks (attack magic attack and defense). The cost of upgrading items can be high depending on the upgrader and the kind of upgrade you decide to perform. This is due to the fact that many perks have to be replaced to allow the item to get upgraded.
It can also be used to enforce gating requirements when queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios. It also serves to limit how much PvP gear players are able to wear, since PvP is limited at a lower level. The average level of an item can be found in the character sheet.
The level of an item will allow players to compare the potency of gear when choosing to buy or sell. It's a good gauge of an item's worth and how much damage it will be capable of dealing with. Comparing items from the inventory of a seller is possible using the item level.
On PC, you can see the level of the item using ALT, or by using the left stick on XB1 or PS4. The item will be displayed with its full description, including the ilvl. It is also accessible by hovering an item with the mouse cursor and typing /itemlevel into chat.
There are several theories on how the item level calculation is carried out. One theory is that the level is a numerical value derived from a formula that calculates the value of an item's stats are worth. It is based on the fact that different advantages are valued differently and that gems in the sockets boost the value of the item. This could result in a calculated item's ilvl that is usually very close to Blizzards actual level of the item.
However, this isn't the only factor that affects an item's ilvl, because the level of the area the item dropped in can change the value of its stats, for instance by adding a level to its haste or crit rating. Items dropped in higher-level instances will have higher ilvl.
Item Stats
Item stats can be the difference between a good or bad item for players. The game makes use of a lot of them in various ways to encourage players to play with a variety of weapons, and to prevent one weapon from being "the Best item upgrader." The stat mods on an weapon increase the base stats. These stat mods are then enhanced by a player's level.
The upgrades to items add by increasing certain stats of the item. The costs for upgrades are determined by the rarity of the item. An item that is white or grey for instance, can only be upgraded once and items that has rare tiers can be upgraded multiple times at more expensive costs.
Affixes are a different method to change an item's stats. These are special stat boosts that can be added to an item by the player, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Affixes can provide the item additional damage, or give a specific capability to the item (such as reviving dead or cutting down the duration of cooldowns), or make the item unique by adding an exclusive name to the item.
Currently, all affixes can be modified by selecting them in the upgrade window and pressing the green button using circles arrows. This process will cost the player a certain amount of gold and other items which can be added to the upgrade gauge in the same way as the other options for rerolling.
Players can upgrade an item with a specific stat, or reroll affixes. The stat ranges are determined by the item's level. However, all items will have at least one stat in the same range, unless it's an exclusive item or the item is a God Roll from a raid boss.
Another thing that could change is the possibility to upgrade equipment without having to reroll affixes, or choose which stats to increase. But as with base equipment, this would have to be carried out on a per-item level, and the interface for item comparison will not show all the stats that could be that were gained or lost at the same time.
Item Luck
The Luck stat for a player adds up to increase the chances of finding items, the properties spawned on loot drops, and the intensity of these properties. It doesn't, however directly impact damage or the ability to upgrade items. It gives players a chance to upgrade their gear in earlier waves and is thus more useful in the early game as opposed to later ones, as most players prioritize higher weapon scaling and defenses over the raw damage gain.
Luck can also increase the likelihood of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This is not to confuse with the Blacksmith’s overall upgrade chances that increase with each level of the item. They can also be increased with the use of anti-materials, such as a Scroll of Strength and a Jewel of Blessing.
Weapons, armor, and shields can spawn or be crafted using the Luck property, which has the default value of 40. These items can then be enhanced with golden ingots, spined leather, or oak boards (depending on the type of material used) to grant a further +40 Luck, or to increase the Luck of an item, up to 140.
Certain items, like the weapon that is infused with hollow can also be outfitted to increase the damage of any ability that is able to deal damage by 5%. These items are available in the shop or created by using the appropriate ingredients.
Item Failure
Item upgrades are a costly process and not every upgrade will be successful. Cash shop items can be used to boost the chance of success of an upgrade or to stop players from losing their item in the event that it is not successful.
When you upgrade an item, the success rate is shown in the Honing UI. The percentage indicates the probability of successfully upgrading an item. This can be increased with Additional Materials or Special Materials. The percentage of success can only be increased as much, and the likelihood that the upgrade will fail cannot exceed 100%.
The luck of an item upgrade can also affect the effectiveness of an upgrade. Each item has an average success rate of 25%, and every item that has Luck increases the chance of success by an additional 5%.
It is important to note that upgrade items are rendered above the items in the inventory, so enchantment glint and other effects may be obstructed by the overlays. If you wish to disable the upgrade overlays, the config option decoration.renderUpgradeOverlays can be set to False in the Item Upgrader CORE client config.