World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a method to boost the stats of an item. Depending on the upgrade type, it may increase an item upgrader mod's Mark Level or Rarity, as well as boost other stats.
Each item has a track to upgrade it. Each upgrade increases the cost of the next one by a specific amount.
Item Level
When an item is upgraded, its stats improve in value. This is the sum of all the upgraded perks (attack magic attack, attack defense). Upgrades can be expensive, dependent on who you employ and what you do. This is due to how many perks need to be replaced in order for the item to be upgraded.
It can also be used to enforce gating requirements when queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios. It also serves as a gating requirement while queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios, and to limit the amount of PvP gear players can wear (since PvP is restricted to an lower level). Players can see their average level of item upgrading on their character sheet.
When deciding whether to buy or sell equipment players can evaluate the level of an item. It's a good indicator of an item's quality and the amount of damage it will be capable of causing. The item level can also be used to compare items when examining the inventory of a seller.
The item level can be viewed by pressing the ALT key on a PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will display the complete item description, including its value. You can also find it by hovering over an item and typing in /itemlevel chat.
There are several theories on how the calculation of the item's level is made. One theory is that the level is a number derived from a formula which calculates the value of an item's stats are worth. It is based on the fact that different benefits are valued differently and that gems in the sockets boost the value of the item. This could result in a calculated item's ilvl that is often very close to Blizzards actual item upgrading level.
However, this isn't the only factor that determines the ilvl of an item, because the size of the area the item was dropped in could change the value of its stats, for example by adding an additional level to its crit rating or haste rating. This means that items that drop at higher levels will have more value than items dropped in lower-level instances.
Item Stats
The stats of an item are a major component of what determines the value of an item for players. The game uses a variety of them in various ways to encourage players to use multiple weapons, and prevent one weapon from being "the best." The base stats on a weapon are boosted by the weapon's stat modifications, which are themselves increased by the player's skill.
The upgrades to an item can boost its stats. The rarity of an item determines the cost of upgrading. For instance, a grey or white item can only be upgraded once, while an item with the rare tiers can be upgraded many times at higher prices.
Another method of altering the stats on an item is by affixing it. These are special stat boosts that can be added to an item by the player, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Affixes can be used to give the item additional damage, or add a unique capability to the item (such as reviving dead or cutting down the duration of cooldowns), or make the item unique by adding an exclusive name to the item.
Currently, all affixes can be modified by selecting them in the upgrade window and pressing the green button using circling arrows. It will cost a set amount in gold and items. They can also be used as upgrade gauges, as with other rerolling methods.
In addition to the possibility of rerolling affixes, players may also choose which stats they want to keep on an item when it is upgraded. The possible stat ranges of an item are determined by the item level, but every item is guaranteed to have at least 1 stat within that range, unless it is an exclusive item or the result of a God roll from a raid boss.
Another thing that could change is the possibility of upgrading equipment without having to reroll attachments, or pick which stats to enhance. However, as with the base equipment, this would have to be performed on a per-item basis and the interface for comparing items wouldn't show all possible stats that were gained or lost at the same time.
Item Luck
The Luck stat of a player increases the chance of finding items and the properties that are created by loot and the strength of these properties. However, it does not directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It provides players with the chance to upgrade gear earlier in the game. This is especially advantageous for early game runs, because players tend to put weapon scaling and defenses above raw damage gains.
Luck can also boost the likelihood of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This is not to be confused with the Blacksmith's overall chance of upgrading that increases with each level of the item and can be further increased by using an anti-material, such as a Scroll of Strength or a Jewel of Blessing.
Weapons, shields, and armor can be made or spawn by using the Luck property, which has a default value of 40. These items can be improved by using golden ingots or spined leather (depending on the type of material) for a further +40 luck, or to increase the Luck of an item up to 140.
Furthermore, certain items, like the Hollow weapon that is infused with hollow can be outfitted to increase the damage dealt by any damage-dealing skill by five percent. These items can be found in the shop or created using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Upgrades to items are a costly process and not all upgrades will be successful. However, there are cash shop items that allow players to increase their chances of success or even prevent themselves from losing an item in the event that the upgrade is unsuccessful.
When you upgrade an item, the success rate is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the likelihood of successfully upgrading an item. This can be increased by using Additional Materials or Special Materials. There are limitations to how much the success rates can be improved, and the overall chance of an upgrade failing can't be greater than 100%..
The luck of an item may influence the success of an upgrade. Each item has a success rate of 25%, and each item with Luck increases the chance of success by 5percent.
Note that upgrades to items are rendered above the items in the inventory, so enchantment glint and other effects may 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 (click through the next document) CORE client config.