World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades can be used to improve the stats of a particular item. Based on the type of upgrade it could boost 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 item by a specific amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's basic stats increases when it is upgraded. This value is the total of all the upgraded perks (attack magic attack, attack defense). Upgrades to items can be costly depending on the upgrader you choose and what kind of upgrade you decide to do. This is because of how many perks must be replaced in order for the item to be upgraded.
Item level is a popular measurement of power and can be seen on all tooltips for items. It also serves to limit the amount of PvP gear players can use since PvP is not available at a lower level. The average item level can be found in the character sheet.
When deciding to purchase or sell gear players can look at the item level. It's an excellent indicator of an item's quality and how much damage it's capable of causing. The level of the item can be used to evaluate items when evaluating the inventory of a vendor.
On your PC, you can check the level of the item by pressing ALT or by using the left stick on XB1 or PS4. This will display the complete description of the item, including its value. It can also be located by hovering over an item with the mouse cursor and typing /itemlevel in chat.
There are various theories about how the calculation of an item's level is made. One theory says that the level of an item is calculated using formulas that determine the worth of an item's stats actually are. It considers the fact that different perks have different worth, and also that gems in sockets add to the overall value of the item. This process could result in a calculated amount for the item's ilvl which is usually quite close to the actual Blizzard level of the item.
It's not the only factor that affects the level of an item. The location of where the item dropped can also alter its stats. For instance it can increase the item's haste or crit rating. Items that drop in higher-level situations will have higher ilvl.
Item Stats
Item stats are a big element in what makes or breaks 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 to prevent one weapon from being "the most effective." The stats of a base weapon are enhanced by the weapon's stat modification which are then increased by the player's skill.
The upgrades to items add by boosting certain stats on the item. The rarity of an item determines the cost of upgrading. A grey or white item for instance, can only be upgraded one time, while an item with rare tiers can be upgraded multiple times with higher costs.
Affixes can also be used 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. Affixes are used to give items additional damage or special abilities (such as revitalizing dead or reducing cooling downs) or to make them unique by putting a name on them.
Currently, all affixes can be changed by selecting them from the upgrade window and pressing the green button, which is accompanied by the arrows that circle. This procedure will cost the player a specific amount of gold and other items, which can be used to add to the upgrade gauge in the same manner as the other rerolling options.
In addition to Rerolling affixes and rerolls, players can select which of the available stats to be kept on an item after it is upgraded. The possible stat ranges for an item are determined by the level of the item, however every item is guaranteed to have at minimum one stat within the range, unless it is an item that is unique or an item that is a God roll from a boss of a raid.
This is another aspect that could be altered by adding the option to upgrade the equipment without having to reroll the affixes or deciding which stats to enhance. Similar to 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 stacks up to increase the odds of finding items as well as the properties that appear on loot drops and the strength of these properties. It does not, however directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It merely gives players a chance to acquire better equipment earlier in the game and is thus more beneficial in early game runs than later ones as most players prioritize more powerful weapon scaling and defenses over raw damage gains.
Luck can also boost the chances of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This should not 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.
The shields, armor and weapons come with an initial Luck value of 40. These items can be enhanced by golden ingots, spined leather or oak boards (depending on the type of material used) to grant an additional +40 Luck or to boost the existing Luck of an item up to 140.
Certain items, like the weapon that is infused with hollow, can also be equipped to increase the damage of any skill that causes damage by 5%. These items are available from the shop, or they can be made using the correct ingredients.
Item Failure
Not all upgrades are successful. However, there are cash shop items which allow players to increase their chances of success or even prevent themselves from losing an item in the event that the upgrade fails.
When you upgrade an item the rate of success is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the likelihood of successfully upgrading the item. This can be increased by using Additional Materials or Special materials. There are limitations on the extent to which the success rates can be improved and the probability of a failed upgrade cannot exceed 100%..
The performance of an upgrades is also influenced by the luck of that item. Every item has an overall success rate of 25 percent, and each item that has Luck increases the chance of success by 5percent.
It is important to note that upgrade item s are rendered above the inventory items, so enchantment glint and other effects may be obstructed by the overlays. 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.