World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades can be used to boost the stats of an item. Depending on the upgrade type, it may increase an item's Mark Level or Rarity, as well as boost other stats.
The process of upgrading equipment in The War Within requires a specified number of Flightstones and Crests and each item comes with an upgrade track. Each upgrade increases the cost of the following one by a set amount.
Item Level
When an item gets upgraded, its stats increase in value. This value is the total of all of its leveled up advantages (attack, magic attack and defense). Upgrades can be expensive, dependent on who you employ and what you do. This is because of how many perks need to be replaced in order for the item to get upgraded.
The level of an item is a commonly used measure of power, and can be seen on all tooltips of items. It is also used as a gating requirement when waiting for dungeons, scenarios and raids, and to limit the amount of PvP gear that a player can wear (since PvP is restricted to a lower level). The average level of an item can be found on the character sheet.
Using the item level can help players evaluate the potency of gear when choosing to buy or sell. It's a measure of the item's damage and quality. Comparing items from a vendor's stock can be done using the level of the item.
The level of the item can be seen by pressing the ALT key on your PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will display the item's full description, including the ilvl. It is also accessible by hovering an item with the mouse cursor and typing /itemlevel into chat.
There are various theories about how the calculation of the item's level is done. One theory says that the level of an item is calculated by formulas that determine the worth of the stats of an item really are. It takes into consideration that different advantages are valued differently and that gems in the sockets boost the value of the item. This could result in an item's ilvl which is calculated and is usually very close to Blizzards actual level of the item.
However, this isn't the only factor that determines the ilvl of an item, because the level of the area the item is dropped into can change the value of its stats, such as by adding a level to its haste or crit rating. Items that drop in higher-level situations will have a higher value.
Item Stats
Stats on an item are a significant part of what makes or breaks an item for players. The game makes use of them in various ways to encourage players to not limit themselves to one weapon and to motivate players to explore other weapons. The stat mods of an weapon increase the base stats. These stat mods are then boosted by a player's level.
The upgrades to items add by increasing certain stats on the item. The rarity of an item determines its upgrade cost. A white or grey item for instance, can only be upgraded once however, items with rare tiers can be upgraded several times at more expensive costs.
Affixes are another way to alter the stats of an item. They are stat boosters that can be added by the player to an item. The affixes can provide the item extra damage, add a special capability to the item (such as reviving the dead or cutting down cooldowns) or make the item unique by putting a special name to the item.
At present, all affixes can be rerolled by selecting them from the upgrade window and pressing the green button with the arrows that circle. This will cost a specific amount of gold and other items. These can be used as upgrade gauges, similar to other methods of rerolling.
In addition to rerolling affixes, players can also choose which stats to keep on an item after it is upgraded. The possible ranges of stats for an item are determined by the level of the item, however every item is guaranteed to have at least one stat within that range, unless it's an item that is unique or a God roll from a boss of a raid.
Another thing that could change is the possibility of upgrading equipment without having to reroll attachments, or pick which stats to increase. As with the base equipment, it must be done per item, and the item comparison interface would not display all the possible stats at once.
item upgrading of a player increases the likelihood of locating items as well as the properties spawned by loot and the intensity of these properties. However, it does not directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It merely gives players the chance to acquire better gear in earlier waves and is thus more useful in the initial game run than in later ones, since most players prefer more powerful weapon scaling and defenses over raw damage gains.
Luck can also boost the chance of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This isn't to be confused with the Blacksmith's overall chances of upgrading, which increase with each item level. These can also be increased by using anti-materials like the Scroll of Strength and a Jewel of Blessing.
Armor, shields and weapons can spawn or be crafted with the Luck property, which has an initial 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 a further +40 Luck or to increase the Luck of an item up to 140.
Furthermore there are 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 purchased in the shop or created using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Not all upgrades are successful. However, there are some cash shop items which allow players to increase their chances of success or even prevent them 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. The chance of success can only be increased as high, and the probability that the upgrade will fail cannot exceed 100%.
The luck of an item may affect the success of an upgrade. All items have an average success rate of 25%, and each item that has Luck increases this chance by 5%.
It is important to note that upgrade items are rendered above the items in the inventory, so enchantment glint and other effects may be obstructed by them. 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.