World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a way to boost the stats of an item. Depending on the type of upgrade you choose, it can boost the rarity of an item, or its Mark Level, and also boost other stats.
Each item has a track to upgrade it. Each upgrade increases the cost of the next item by a specific amount.
Item Level
When an item gets upgraded, its base stats increase in value. This value is the sum of all of the perks that are leveled up (attack magic attack and defense). Upgrading items can be expensive depending on the upgrader and what type of upgrade you choose to perform. This is due to how many perks need to be replaced to allow the item to be upgraded.
The level of an item is a widely used measure of power, and can be seen on all item tooltips. It can also be used to limit the amount of PvP gear players can wear since PvP is not available at a lower level. The average level of the item can be found on the character sheet.
When deciding whether to purchase or sell equipment players can evaluate the level of an item. It's a useful indicator of the quality of an item and how much damage it's capable of dealing with. Comparing items in a vendor's stock can be done using the level of the item.
On PC, you are able to view the item level using ALT, or by using the left stick on XB1 or PS4. The item will be displayed with its full description, including ilvl. It can also be located by hovering an item with the mouse cursor and typing /itemlevel in chat.
There are a few theories about how the calculation of the item's level is made. One theory says that the item level is calculated using a formula that calculates the value of an item's stats actually are. It considers the fact that various perks have different value and that sockets have gems that increase the overall value of the item. This can lead to an item's ilvl calculated, which is typically very close to Blizzard's real level of the item.
It's not the only factor that influences the ilvl of an item. The location of where the item was dropped can alter its stats. For example, it could add a level to the item's haste or crit rating. This means that items dropped at higher levels will have higher the ilvl than items from lower level instances.
Item Stats
Item stats are a big part of what determines the value of an item for players. The game uses a variety of them in a variety of ways to encourage players to play with multiple weapons, and also to stop one weapon from being "the best." The stat mods on a weapon boost the base stats. These stat mods are then boosted by the player's level.
Upgrades to an item upgrades may increase its stats. The cost of upgrades is determined by the rarity of the item. An item that is white or grey, for example, will only be upgraded one time and items with rare tiers may be upgraded multiple times at more expensive costs.
Affixes are a different method to alter the stats of an item. They are stat boosts which can be added by the player to an item. The affixes can be used to give the item additional damage, or give a specific ability to the item (such as reviving the dead or cutting down the cooldowns), or make the item unique by putting an additional name to the item.
Presently, all affixes are able to be changed by selecting them from the upgrade window and pressing the green button with circling arrows. This procedure will cost the player a certain amount of gold as well as items that can be used to add to the upgrade gauge in the same way as other options for rerolling.
In addition to rerolling affixes, players can select which stats to keep on an item after it is upgraded. The stat ranges are determined by the item's level. However every item will include at least one stat in that range unless they are an exclusive item, or a God Roll from a raid boss.
This is another thing that can be modified by adding an option to upgrade the equipment without having to reroll the affixes or choosing which stats to boost. As with the base equipment, it must be done per item, and the interface for item comparison wouldn't display all possible stats at once.
Item Luck
A player's Luck stat stacks up to increase the likelihood of item discoveries as well as the properties that appear on loot drops and the strength of these properties. However, it does not directly impact damage or the ability to upgrade items. It provides players with the chance to upgrade equipment earlier in the game. This is particularly useful in the early game, since players tend to prioritize defenses and weapon scaling over raw damage gains.
Luck can also boost the likelihood of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This is not to confuse with the Blacksmith's overall chance of upgrading that increase with each new level of item. These can also be increased with the use of anti-materials like the Scroll of Strength and a Jewel of Blessing.
The shields, armor, and weapons have a default Luck value of 40. These items can then be upgraded with golden ingots, spined leather, or oak boards (depending on the material of the item) to grant an additional +40 Luck, or to increase the existing 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 five percent. These items can be found in the shops or made using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Upgrades to items are a costly process and not all upgrades will succeed. Cash shop items can be used to boost the success rate of an upgrade or to stop players from losing their item in the event that it fails.
When you upgrade an item upgrader mod, the rate of success is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the chance of completing the upgrade successfully, and can be increased by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. The percentage of success can only be increased so much, and the likelihood that the upgrade item will fail cannot exceed 100%.
The success of an can be affected by the luck of the item. Each item upgrades has a success rate of 25%, and each item that has Luck increases the chance of success by 5percent.
Note that upgrades to items are rendered above the inventory items therefore enchantment glints and other effects could be masked by them. 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.