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 can boost an item's Mark Level or Rarity, as well as boost other stats.
Each item comes with a track for upgrading it. Each upgrade increases the price of the next item by a specific amount.
Item Level
When an item gets upgraded, its stats are increased in value. This is the sum of the perks that are leveled up (attack magic attack and defense). Upgrading items can be expensive, depending on the upgrader and the type of upgrade you choose to make. This is due to the fact that many perks must be replaced to allow the item to get upgraded.
It can also be used as a gating requirement while queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios. It also serves to limit how much PvP gear players can wear, since PvP is limited at lower levels. Players can see their average level of items on their character sheet.
When deciding to purchase or sell gear players can look at the level of an item. It's a sign of the damage and its quality. The level of an item can be used to evaluate items when looking at a vendor's inventory.
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, as well as its level. You can also find it by hovering over an item and typing in /itemlevel chat.
There are several theories on how the item level calculation is carried out. One theory states that the item level is determined by a formula that calculates the worth of an item's stats really are. It takes into consideration the fact that various perks have different value and that sockets have gems that increase the value of the item overall. This can result in a calculated value for the item's ilvl, which is typically close to Blizzard's real level of the item.
This isn't the only factor that affects the level of an item. The level of the area where the item dropped can also change its stats. For instance, it could increase the item's haste or crit score. This means that items dropped at higher levels will have more ilvl than those from lower-level instances.
Item Stats
Stats on an item are a significant component of what makes or breaks an item for players. The game utilizes them in various ways to encourage players not to limit themselves to a single weapon and to motivate them to try out other weapons. The stat modifications of weapons boost base stats. These stat mods are then boosted by a player's level.
Item upgrades add to that by increasing certain stats on the item. The upgrade costs are determined by the rarity of the item. For instance, a gray or white item will only be upgraded once, while an item with rare levels will be upgraded multiple times, at higher costs.
Another method of altering the stats of an item is through affixes. These are special stat boosts that can be added to an item by the player and are available in all sizes and shapes. Affixes can do things like give the item additional damage, or give a specific capability to the item (such as reviving dead or cutting down the duration of cooldowns), or make the item unique by putting a special name to the item.
At present, 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 will cost a certain amount in gold and other items. These can be used as upgrade gauges, similar to other rerolling methods.
In addition to the possibility of rerolling affixes, players may also choose which stats to keep on an item after it is upgraded. The possible ranges of stats for an item are based on the level of the item, but every item is guaranteed to have at minimum one stat within that range, unless it is a unique item or a God roll from a raid boss.
Another thing that could be changed is the possibility of upgrading equipment without having to reroll the attaches, or select which stats to boost. As with the base equipment, this will have to be done per item level upgrade and the interface for item comparison will not show all possible stats simultaneously.
Item Luck
The Luck stat of a player increases the probability of obtaining items, the properties that are created by loot and the intensity of these properties. However, it doesn't directly affect damage or ability to upgrade items. It gives the player an opportunity to get better gear earlier in the game. This is particularly useful in the early game, since players tend to prioritize weapon scaling and defenses above raw damage gains.
Luck can also boost the chance of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This should not be confused with the Blacksmith's overall upgrade probability, which increases with each level and can be further increased by using an anti-material such as a Scroll of Strength or a Jewel of Blessing.
Armor, shields and weapons can be made or spawn by using the Luck property, which has the default value of 40. These items can be enhanced by golden ingots, spined leather, or oak boards (depending on the item's material type) to grant a further +40 Luck, or to increase the existing Luck of an item up to 140.
Furthermore there are certain items, such as the Hollow infused weapon can be outfitted to boost the damage of any damage-dealing skill by 5percent. These items are available in the shops or made using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Upgrades to items can be a costly process and not all upgrades will succeed. However, there are some cash shop items that allow players to boost their chance of success or stop them from losing an item in the event that the upgrade fails.
When you upgrade an item, the success rate is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the likelihood of successful upgrading an item. This can be increased by using Additional Materials or Special materials. The probability of success can only be increased by so much, and the likelihood that an upgrade will fail can't exceed 100%.
The success of an upgrades is also influenced by the luck of that item. Each item has an initial success rate of 25% and every Best item upgrade with Luck increases that chance by 5percent.
The upgrade overlays for items are displayed above items in the inventory. This could cause obscurity to enchantment effects or other effects. If you wish to disable the upgrade item overlays, the config option decoration.renderUpgradeOverlays can be set to False in the Item Upgrader CORE client config.