World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Upgrades to an item are a way to increase the stats of an item. Based on the type of upgrade it could raise an item's Mark level or Rarity, and also boost other stats.
Each item has a track for upgrading it. Each upgrade increases the price of the next item by a specified amount.
Item Level
When an item is upgraded, its stats are increased in value. The value is the sum of an item's upgraded perks (attack magic attack and defense). The cost of upgrading items can be high dependent on the upgrader and the kind of upgrade you decide to do. This is because of how many perks need to be replaced to allow the item to get upgraded.
The level of an item is a popular measurement of power and is visible on all tooltips for items. It can also be used to determine a gating condition when waiting to queue for dungeons and raids and scenarios, and to limit the amount of PvP gear players can wear (since PvP is capped at an lower level). Players can see their average level of items on their character sheet.
The level of an item can help players compare the strength of equipment when deciding to purchase or sell. It's a measure of the item's condition and its quality. The level of the item can be used to evaluate items when examining the inventory of a vendor.
The item level can be seen by pressing the ALT key on a PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will display the full description of the item, including its ilvl. You can also locate it by hovering over an item and typing /itemlevel into chat.
There are several theories about the method by which the level of an item is determined. One theory is that the item level is a number derived from a formula which calculates the amount an item's stats are worth. It is based on the fact that different benefits are valued differently and that gems found in sockets increase the value of the item. This can lead to an item's ilvl which is calculated and is typically very close to Blizzard's real item level.
However, this isn't the only factor that affects an item's ilvl, since the level of the region the item was dropped in could change the value of its stats, such as by adding an additional level to its crit rating or haste rating. Items that drop in higher-level instances will have a higher value.
Item Stats
Stats on an item are a significant part of what determines the value of an item for players. The game uses a lot of them in various ways to encourage players to use multiple weapons, and to prevent one weapon from being "the best." The stat modifications of an weapon increase the base stats. These stat mods are then increased by a player's level.
The upgrades to items add by increasing certain stats of the item. The rarity of an item determines the upgrade cost. For instance, a gray or white item can only be upgraded once, whereas items with rare tiers will be upgraded several times, at higher costs.
Affixes are a different method to change an item's stats. 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 can be used to give items extra damage or other special capabilities (such as reviving dead or reducing cooling downs), or to distinguish them by putting a name on them.
At present, all affixes can be rerolled by selecting them from the upgrade window and pressing the green button, which is accompanied by circling arrows. This process will cost the player a specific amount of gold as well as items, which can be used to add to the upgrade gauge in the same way as the other options for rerolling.
In addition to the possibility of rerolling affixes, players may select which of the available stats to keep on an item after it is upgraded. The stat ranges are determined by the item's level. However, item upgrading will contain at least one stat in the range, unless they are a unique item or an item that has a God Roll from a boss in a raid.
This is another aspect that can be modified by adding the option to upgrade the equipment without rolling the affixes or choosing which stats to increase. However, as with the base equipment, this would have to be carried out on a per-item basis, and the item compare interface would not display all the 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, the properties that are created by loot and the intensity of these properties. It does not, however directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It provides players with an opportunity to get better equipment earlier in the game. This is especially useful in early game runs since players tend to prioritize the scaling of weapons and defenses over raw 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 probability that increases with each 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 have a default Luck 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.
Certain items, such as the weapon with Hollow-infused components, can also be equipped to increase the damage of any skill that is able to deal damage by five percent. These items can be found in the shop or created by using the appropriate ingredients.
Item Failure
Not all upgrades are successful. However, there are cash shop items that allow players to boost their chance of success or stop them from losing an item if the upgrade fails.
The success rate of an upgrade is shown 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 on the extent to which success rates can be increased and the probability of an upgrade failing cannot exceed 100%.
The Luck of an item can affect the effectiveness of an upgrade. Every item has an overall success rate of 25 percent and every item with Luck increases this chance by five percent.
The upgrade overlays for items are rendered above the items in the inventory. This can obscure enchantment effects and 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.