World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades can be used to boost the stats of a particular item. Depending on the upgrade type it could boost an item's Mark Level or Rarity and boost additional stats.
The process of upgrading equipment in The War Within requires a set number of Flightstones and Crests, and each item comes with an upgrade track. Each upgrade increases the cost of the next one by a specific amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's basic stats increases as it is upgraded. The value is the sum of all of an item's upgraded perks (attack magic attack and defense). Upgrading items can be expensive, depending on the upgrader and what type of upgrade you choose to do. This is due to the sheer number of perks that need to be altered to upgrade an item.
It can also be used to enforce gating requirements when queueing for raids, dungeons and scenarios. It can also be used to limit how much PvP gear players can use, since PvP is limited at a lower level. The average item level can be found in the character sheet.
Using the item level will allow players to compare the power of equipment when deciding to purchase or sell. It's a useful gauge of an item's worth and how much damage it's capable of causing. The level of the item can be used to evaluate items when looking at the inventory of a seller.
The level of the item can be checked by pressing the ALT key on your PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will display the full description of the item, as well as its ilvl. It can also be located by hovering over an item using the mouse cursor and entering /itemlevel into chat.
There are several theories on how the calculation of an item's level is done. One theory is that the level is a numerical value derived from a formula which calculates the amount an item's stats are worth. It considers that different advantages are valued differently and that gems in the sockets increase the value of the item. This process could result in a calculated amount for the item's level, which is usually close to the actual Blizzard item level.
This isn't 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 increase the item's haste or crit score. Items dropped in higher-level instances will have a higher ilvl.
Item Stats
The stats of an item are a major element in what determines the value of an item for players. The game uses them in various ways to encourage players to not limit themselves to one weapon and to encourage players to explore other weapons. The stats of a base weapon are enhanced by the weapon's stat modification, which are themselves increased by the player's skill.
Item upgrades add to that by boosting certain stats on the item. The cost of upgrades is determined by the rarity of the item. For instance, a grey or white item will only be upgraded once, whereas an item with rare levels will be upgraded multiple times with higher prices.
Another way to change 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. The affixes are used to give items additional damage or special capabilities (such as the ability to revive dead or reduce cooling downs) or to distinguish them by adding a name.
Currently, all affixes can be modified by selecting them in the upgrade window and pressing the green button, which is accompanied by circling arrows. It will cost a set amount in gold and other items. These can be used as upgrade gauges, similar to other methods of rerolling.
In addition to the possibility of rerolling affixes, players may select which stats to be kept on an item after it is upgraded. The stat ranges are determined by the item's level. However, all items will contain at least one stat within that range unless they are an item that is unique or a God Roll from a boss in a raid.
Another thing that could be altered by adding an option to upgrade the equipment without rolling the affixes or choosing which stats to enhance. Similar to the base equipment, this would have to be done per item and the interface for item comparison will not show all possible stats at once.
Item Luck
A player's Luck stat stacks up to increase the chances of finding items and the properties that are spawned from loot drops and the strength of those properties. item upgrades doesn't, however, directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It gives the player the chance to upgrade gear earlier in the game. This is especially advantageous in early game runs 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 item level and can be further enhanced by using an anti-material, such as a Scroll of Strength or a Jewel of Blessing.
Armor, shields and weapons can spawn or be crafted using the Luck property, with the default value of 40. These items can be augmented by using golden ingots or spined leather (depending on their material type) to add another 40 luck or to increase the luck of the item to 140.
Certain items, like the weapon that is infused with hollow can also be outfitted to increase the damage of any ability that deals damage by five percent. These items are available from the shop or constructed using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Upgrades to items are expensive and not all upgrades will succeed. Cash shop items can be used to increase the chances of success for an upgrade or to prevent players from losing their item in the event that it is not successful.
When you upgrade an item, the success rate is shown in the Honing UI. The percentage is the chances of successfully upgrading the item, and can be enhanced by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. The percentage of success can only be increased as much, and the likelihood that an upgrade will fail cannot exceed 100%..
The Luck of an item can also affect the effectiveness of an upgrade. Every item has an initial success rate of 25%, and every item with Luck increases the chance of success by an additional five percent.
The upgrade overlays for items 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.