World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a way to increase the stats of an item. Depending on the upgrade type it could raise an item's Mark level or Rarity and boost additional stats.
Each item comes with a track for upgrading it. Each upgrade increases the cost of the next one by a specific amount.
item level upgrade Level
When an item is upgraded, its basic stats increase in value. This is the sum of all the leveled up perks (attack, magic attack and defense). Upgrading items can be expensive dependent on the upgrader and what kind of upgrade you decide to make. This is because of how many perks need to be replaced to allow the item to get upgraded.
Item level is a commonly used measurement of power and is visible on all tooltips for items. It also serves to limit how much PvP gear players can use, since PvP is limited at a lower level. The average level of the item is listed on the character sheet.
Using the item level can help players compare the strength of equipment when choosing to buy or sell. It's a measure of the damage and quality. The level of an item can be used to compare items when looking at a vendor's inventory.
The level of the item can be viewed by pressing the ALT key on your PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will show the full description of the item, including its ilvl. It can also be located by hovering over an item with the mouse cursor and entering /itemlevel into chat.
There are various theories about how the item level calculation is carried out. One theory is that the level is a numerical value derived from a formula which calculates the amount an item's stats are worth. It takes into consideration that different perks are valued differently, and that gems in sockets increase the item's value. This can lead to a calculated item's ilvl that is typically very close to Blizzard's actual level of the item.
This is not the only factor that influences the value of an item. The degree of the area in which the item was dropped can change its stats. For instance it can add a level to the item's haste, or crit rating. Items dropped in higher-level instances will have higher ilvl.
Item Stats
The stats of an item can make or break an item for players. The game uses a variety of them in various ways to encourage players to play with a variety of weapons, and also to stop one weapon from being "the most effective." The base stats on a weapon are increased by the weapon's stat mods, which are themselves boosted by the player's level.
Upgrades to an item can increase its stats. The costs for upgrades are determined by the rarity of the item. A grey or white item for instance, will only be upgraded one time however, items with rare tiers can be upgraded multiple times with higher costs.
Another way to change the stats on an item is by affixing it. They are stat boosts which can be added by the player to an item. The affixes could be used to give the item additional damage, or add a unique ability to the item (such as reviving the dead or cutting down the duration of cooldowns), or make the item unique by adding an additional name to the item.
At present, all affixes can be rerolled by selecting them from the upgrade window and pressing the green button using the arrows that circle. This process will cost the player a specific amount of gold and other items that can be used to add 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 the affixes. The possible ranges of stats for an item are based on the item level, but all items are guaranteed to have at least one stat within the specified range, unless it's an item that is unique or a God roll from a boss in a raid.
Another thing that could change is the possibility to upgrade equipment without having to reroll the attachments, or pick which stats to increase. As with base equipment, it would have to be done per item, and the interface for item comparison would not display all the possible stats at once.
Item Luck
The Luck stat of a player increases the chance of finding items, the properties that are created by loot and the strength of these properties. However, it does not directly impact damage or the ability to upgrade items. It provides players with an opportunity to get better gear earlier in the game. This is especially beneficial in early game runs since players tend to prioritize weapon scaling and defenses above raw damage gains.
In addition to influencing item discovery, Luck also increases the chances of being successful when upgrading items using the Blacksmith. This is not to be confused with the Blacksmith's overall upgrade probability, which increases with each item level and can be further increased through the use of an anti-material such as a Scroll of Strength or a Jewel of Blessing.
Armor, shields and weapons can be created or spawned by using the Luck property, which has a default value of 40. These items can be enhanced by using golden ingots or spined leather (depending on their material type) for a further +40 luck, or to increase the Luck of an item up to 140.
Additionally, certain items, like the Hollow weapon, which is infused with Hollow can be used to increase the damage dealt by any damage-dealing skill by 5percent. These items are available in the shops or made using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Not all upgrades work. However, there are some cash shop items that allow players to boost their chance of success or stop them from losing an item in the event that the upgrade is unsuccessful.
The rate of success of an upgrade can be seen in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the probability of completing the upgrade successfully, and can be enhanced by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. There are limitations to how much the success rates can be improved and the probability of an upgrade failing cannot be greater than 100%..
The Luck of an item may affect the effectiveness of an upgrade. All items have a base success rate of 25%, and each item with Luck increases that chance by an additional five percent.
The item upgrade overlays are rendered above the items in the inventory. This could block enchantment effects as well as other effects. 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.