World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Upgrades to an item are a way to boost the stats of an item. Based on the type of upgrade, it may increase the rarity of an item, or its Mark Level and boost additional stats.
The process of upgrading equipment in The War Within requires a certain number of Flightstones and Crests and each item has an upgrade track. Each upgrade increases the cost of the following one by a set amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's base stats increase when it is upgraded. This is the sum of all of its upgraded perks (attack, magic attack and defense). Upgrades can be expensive depending on who you hire and what you do. This is because of how many perks must be replaced in order for the item to be upgraded.
It is also used as a gating requirement while queueing for raids, dungeons and scenarios. It is also used to limit how much PvP gear players are able to wear as PvP is restricted at a lower level. Players can view their average level of items on their character sheet.
Utilizing the level of an item can help players compare the potency of gear when deciding to purchase or sell. It's a measure of the item's damage and quality. The level of an item can be used to evaluate items when looking at a vendor's inventory.
On PC, you can check the level of the item using ALT, or by using the left stick on XB1 or PS4. This will show the item's full description, including the ilvl. You can also locate it by hovering over an item and typing in /itemlevel chat.
There are a variety of theories on how the item level is determined. One theory suggests that the item level is determined by formulas that determine the value of an item's stats actually are. It considers the fact that different perks have different worth and that gems in sockets increase the value of the item overall. This can result in a calculated item upgrading's ilvl that is often very close to Blizzards actual level of the item.
However, this isn't the only factor that determines the ilvl of an item, since the level of the region the item is dropped into can change the value of its stats, such as by adding an amount to its crit rating or haste rating. Items that drop in higher-level instances will have higher ilvl.
Item Stats
Stats on an item are a significant component of what determines the value of an item for players. The game utilizes them in various ways to encourage players to not limit themselves to one weapon and to motivate them to try out other weapons. The stat mods of a weapon boost the base stats. These stat mods are then boosted by the 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. For instance, a grey or white item can only be upgraded once, while an item with rare tiers can be upgraded many times, at higher costs.
Affixes are a different method to change an item's stats. They are stat boosts which can be added by the player to an item. The affixes can be used to give items additional damage or special abilities (such as reviving dead or reducing cooling downs) or to distinguish them by adding a name.
Currently, all affixes can be changed by selecting them from the upgrade window and pressing the green button, which is accompanied by circles arrows. This will cost a certain amount in gold and items. These can be used as upgrade gauges, as with other methods of rerolling.
In addition to the possibility of rerolling affixes, players may also choose which of the available stats to keep on an item after it is upgraded. The possible ranges of stats for an item are determined by the level of the item, however all items are guaranteed to have at least one stat within that range, unless it is an item that is unique or a God roll from a boss of a raid.
Another thing that could change is the possibility to upgrade equipment without having to reroll affixes, or choose which stats to increase. Similar to the base equipment, this will have to be done per item, and the item comparison interface wouldn't display all possible stats at once.
Item Luck
The Luck stat of a player stacks up to increase the chances of item discoveries, the properties spawned on loot drops and the intensity of the properties. It does not, however, directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It simply gives players the chance to upgrade their equipment in earlier waves, and is therefore more valuable in the initial game run than in later ones, since most players prefer higher weapon scaling and defenses over the raw damage gain.
In addition to influencing the discovery of items, 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 chances, which increase with each level of the item. It is also possible to be enhanced by using anti-materials, such as a Scroll of Strength and a Jewel of Blessing.
Weapons, armor, and shields can be made or spawn by using the Luck property, with an initial value of 40. These items can be improved with golden ingots, or spined leather (depending on the type of material) to add another 40 luck or to increase the luck of the item to 140.
Certain items, such as the Hollow-infused weapon can also be outfitted to increase the damage dealt by any skill that causes damage by five percent. These items can be bought at the store or crafted using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Item upgrades are costly and not all upgrades will succeed. Cash shop items can be used to increase the chance of success of an upgrade, or to protect players from losing their items if it fails.
When you upgrade an item the success rate is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the probability of completing the upgrade item successfully and it can be increased by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. There are limitations on how much success rates can be increased, and the overall chance of a failed upgrade item cannot exceed 100%..
The Luck of an item can influence the effectiveness of an upgrade. All items have an overall success rate of 25 percent and every item with Luck increases this chance by five percent.
It is important to note that upgrade items are rendered above the inventory items, so enchantment glint and other effects can be obscured 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.