World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a way to increase the stats of an item. Based on the type of upgrade, it may increase an item's Mark Level or Rarity and boost additional stats.
Each item has a track for upgrading it. Each upgrade increases the cost of the next one by a set amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's base stats increases as it is upgraded. This value is the total of all the leveled up benefits (attack, magic attack and defense). The cost of upgrading items can be high, depending on the upgrader you choose and what type of upgrade you choose to perform. This is due to the sheer number of perks that have to be modified to upgrade an item.
The level of an item is a widely used measure of power, and is visible on all item tooltips. It is also used as a gating requirement while queueing for dungeons, scenarios, and raids, as well as to limit the amount of PvP gear that a player can wear (since PvP is restricted to the lower levels). The average level of an item can be found in the character sheet.
When deciding to purchase or sell gear players can look at the item level. It's a sign of the item's condition and its quality. The level of the item can be used to evaluate items when examining the inventory of a seller.
On your PC, you can see the level of the item by pressing ALT or using the left stick on XB1 or PS4. This will show the item's full description, including the ilvl. It can also be found by hovering an item with the mouse cursor and typing /itemlevel into chat.
There are a few theories about how the item level calculation is done. One theory suggests that the level of an item is determined by a formula that calculates the worth of an item's stats really are. It takes into consideration that different benefits are valued differently and that gems in sockets increase the value of the item. This can result in a calculated amount for the item's ilvl which is usually quite close to Blizzard's real level of the item.
It's not the only factor that affects the ilvl of an item. The location of where the item was dropped can change its stats. For example it can add a level to the item's haste or crit score. Items that drop in higher-level situations will have a higher value.
Item Stats
The stats of an item can be the difference between a good or bad item for players. The game uses a variety of them in different ways to encourage players to play with multiple weapons, and prevent one weapon from being "the most effective." The base stats on a weapon are enhanced by the weapon's stat mods, which are themselves boosted by the player's level.
The upgrades to an item can boost its stats. The cost of upgrades is determined by the rarity of the item. An item that is white or grey for instance, can only be upgraded one time however, items that has rare tiers can be upgraded multiple times at higher costs.
Affixes are a different method to alter the stats of an item. These are special stat boosts that can be added to an item by the player, and they come in all shapes and sizes. The affixes can be used to provide items with extra damage or other special capabilities (such as the ability to revive dead or reduce cooling downs) or to differentiate them by adding a name.
Currently, all affixes can be modified by selecting them in the upgrade window and pressing the green button using circling arrows. This will cost a certain amount of gold and other items. They can also be used as upgrade gauges as with other rerolling methods.
Players can upgrade an item with a specific stat or reroll attaches. The possible stat ranges for an item are based on the level of the item, however every item is guaranteed to have at least 1 stat within the specified range, unless it is an item that is unique or the result of a God roll from a boss in a raid.
Another thing that could be changed is the possibility to upgrade equipment without having to reroll attachments, or pick which stats to increase. Like the base equipment, it must be done per item, and the item level upgrade comparison interface wouldn't display all possible stats at once.
Item Luck
The Luck stat of a player can increase the probability of obtaining items as well as the properties generated by loot, and the intensity of these properties. However, it does not, directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It gives the player the chance to upgrade their equipment earlier in the game. This is especially beneficial in early game runs because players tend to put defenses and weapon scaling over raw damage gains.
In addition to influencing item discovery, Luck also increases the chance of success when upgrading items using the Blacksmith. This isn't to be confused with the Blacksmith's overall chance of upgrading, which increase with each level of the item. It is also possible to be enhanced by using anti-materials like the Scroll of Strength and a Jewel of Blessing.
Armor, shields and weapons can be created or spawned using the Luck property, which has an initial value of 40. These items can be enhanced by golden ingots, spined leather, or oak boards (depending on the type of material used) to give +40 Luck, or to increase the existing Luck of an item up to 140.
Certain items, such as the weapon with Hollow-infused components, can also be equipped to increase the damage of any skill that deals damage by 5%. These items are available in the shop or crafted using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Not all upgrades are successful. However, there are some cash shop items that allow players to increase their chance of success or stop them from losing an item if the upgrade fails.
The success rate of an upgrade can be seen in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the chance of successfully upgrading that item, and it can be increased by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. The chance of success can only be increased so much, and the chance that an upgrade will fail can't exceed 100%..
The success of an item upgrades is also influenced by the luck of that item. Every item has a base success rate of 25% and each item with Luck increases the chance of success by 5percent.
The item upgrade overlays are rendered above items in the inventory. This could cause obscurity to enchantment effects or 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.