World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items can be used to improve the stats of an item. Depending on the upgrade type, it may raise an item's Mark level or Rarity, and also boost other stats.
Each item has a track to upgrade it. Each upgrade increases the cost of the following one by a specific amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's base stats increase when it is upgraded. This is the sum of all of an item's upgraded perks (attack magic attack and defense). Upgrades can be costly, depending on the person you hire and what you decide to do. This is due to how many perks need to be replaced in order for the item to get upgraded.
It is also used to enforce gating requirements when queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios. It can also be used to determine a gating condition when waiting for dungeons, raids and scenarios, and to limit the amount of PvP gear a player can wear (since PvP is limited to a lower level). The average item level can be found on the character sheet.
Using the item level can help players compare the strength of equipment when choosing to buy or sell. It's an indicator of the item's condition and quality. The level of an item can be used to compare items when examining the inventory of a seller.
On PC, you are able to view the item level using ALT, or by using the left stick on XB1 or PS4. This will show the item's full description, including the ilvl. It is also accessible by hovering over an item with the mouse cursor and typing /itemlevel in chat.
There are several theories about how the item level is determined. One theory is that the level is a numerical value derived from a formula that calculates how much an item's stats are worth. It takes into consideration that different benefits are valued differently and that gems found in sockets increase the item's value. This can lead to an item's ilvl which is calculated and is typically very close to Blizzard's actual item level.
This is not the only factor that affects the level of an item. The level of the area where the item dropped can also alter its stats. For instance it can add a level to the item's haste or crit score. Items that drop in higher-level situations will have a higher ilvl.
Item Stats
Stats on an item are a significant part of what makes or breaks an item for players. The game uses them in many ways to encourage players not to limit themselves to a single weapon and to motivate players to explore other weapons. The stat mods of a weapon boost the base stats. These stat mods are then enhanced by the player's level.
Upgrades to an item can increase the stats of an item. The rarity of an item determines the upgrade cost. A grey or white item, for example, will only be upgraded one time and items that has rare tiers can be upgraded several times at higher costs.
Another method of altering the stats on an item is through affixes. They are stat boosts that can be added by the player to an item. The affixes are used to give items additional damage, special abilities (such as the ability to revive dead or reduce cooling downs), or to differentiate them by putting a name on them.
Currently, all affixes can be modified by selecting them in the upgrade window and pressing the green button, which is accompanied by circles arrows. This procedure will cost the player a certain amount of gold and other items which can be added to the upgrade item gauge in the same manner as other rerolling options.
Players can choose to upgrade item an item with specific stats or reroll the affixes. The possible ranges of stats for an item are based on the item level, but every item is guaranteed to have at minimum one stat within the specified range, unless it is an item that is unique or a God roll from a boss in a raid.
Another thing that could be changed is the option to upgrade equipment without having to roll the attachments, or pick which stats to enhance. However, as with the base equipment, this would have to be done on a per-item basis and the item upgrader compare interface will not show all the stats that could be gained or lost 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 doesn't directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It merely gives players the chance to acquire better gear in earlier waves and is thus more valuable in the initial game run as opposed to later ones, as most players prioritize more powerful weapon scaling and defenses over damage gains.
Luck can also increase the chances of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This should not be confused with the Blacksmith's overall upgrade chance, which increases with each item level and can be further enhanced through the use of an anti-material such as a Scroll of Strength or a Jewel of Blessing.
Weapons, shields, and armor can spawn or be crafted using the Luck property, which has a default value of 40. These items can be improved with golden ingots or spined leather (depending on the type of material) for a further +40 luck or to boost an item's existing Luck up to 140.
Furthermore some items, like the Hollow weapon that is infused with hollow, can be equipped to increase the damage dealt by any damage-dealing skill by 5percent. These items can be found in the shop or created using the right ingredients.
item upgrading Failure
Upgrades to items can be expensive and not all upgrades will be successful. However, there are cash shop items which allow players to increase their chance of success or stop themselves from losing an item if the upgrade is unsuccessful.
The success rate of an upgrade is displayed 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 chance of success can only be increased by so much, and the chance that the upgrade will fail cannot exceed 100%..
The Luck of an item may affect the effectiveness of an upgrade. Every item has an overall success rate of 25 percent and each item with Luck increases the chance of success by five percent.
The upgrade overlays of the item are rendered above items in the inventory. This can 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.