World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Item upgrades can be used to improve the stats of a particular item. Based on the type of upgrade you choose, it can increase the rarity of an item, or its Mark Level, and also 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
The value of an item's basic stats increases when it is upgraded. This value is the sum of all of an item's upgraded perks (attack magic attack and defense). The cost of upgrading items can be high, depending on the upgrader and what kind of upgrade you decide to perform. This is because of how many perks must be replaced in order for the item to be upgraded.
It can also be used as a gating requirement when waiting for dungeons, raids and scenarios. It also serves to determine a gating condition when queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios, and to limit the amount of PvP gear players can wear (since PvP is restricted to a lower level). The average level of an item can be found on the character sheet.
When deciding to purchase or sell equipment players can look at the levels of the item. It's a useful indicator of the quality of an item and how much damage it's capable of causing. Comparing items from the inventory of a seller can be done using the item level.
The item level can be checked by pressing the ALT key on a PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will show the item's full description, including ilvl. It can also be found by hovering an item with the mouse cursor, and then typing /itemlevel in chat.
There are several theories about the method by which the level of an item is calculated. One theory says that the level of an item is determined by a formula that calculates the value of the stats of an item really are. It takes into consideration the fact that various perks have different value, and also that sockets have gems that increase the item's overall value. This process could result in a calculated amount for the item's ilvl, which is usually quite close to the actual Blizzard item level.
This is not the only factor that influences the value of an item. The location of where the item was dropped may change its stats. For instance it can add a level to the item's haste or crit rating. Items that drop in higher-level instances will have a higher value.
Item Stats
The item's stats can determine the fate of an item for players. The game utilizes them in various ways to encourage players not to limit themselves to a single weapon, and to encourage players to explore other weapons. The stat modifications of a weapon boost the base stats. These stat mods are then enhanced by a player's skill.
The upgrades to an item can boost its stats. The rarity of an item determines the cost of upgrading. For instance, a gray or white item can only be upgraded once, while an item with rare levels will be upgraded multiple times at higher prices.
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 they come in all sizes and shapes. The affixes could be used to give the item extra damage, add a special ability to the item (such as reviving the dead or decreasing the duration of cooldowns) or make the item unique by putting an exclusive name to the item.
All affixes can be being re-rolled right now by selecting them in the upgrade window, pressing the green button. This will cost a specific amount in gold and other items. They can also be used as upgrade gauges just like the other rerolling methods.
item upgrade can choose to upgrade an item to specific stats, or reroll affixes. The possible stat ranges for an item are determined by the item level, but all items are guaranteed to have at least 1 stat within the range, unless it's a unique item or a God roll from a raid boss.
Another thing that could be changed is the possibility to upgrade equipment without having to roll the attaches, or select which stats to boost. But, like base equipment, this would need to be carried out on a per-item level, and the item compare interface will not show all the stats that could be gained or lost at once.
Item Luck
The Luck stat for a player adds up to increase the likelihood of finding items as well as the properties that appear on loot drops and the intensity of those properties. However, it does not directly impact damage or the ability to upgrade items. It gives players the chance to upgrade equipment earlier in the game. This is especially useful in early game runs since players tend to prioritize defenses and weapon scaling over raw damage gains.
Luck can also boost the likelihood of upgrading items at the Blacksmith. This is not to confuse with the Blacksmith's overall chance of upgrading, which increase with each item level. These can also be enhanced by using anti-materials, such as a Scroll of Strength and a Jewel of Blessing.
The shields, armor, and weapons have the default Luck value of 40. These items can be upgraded with golden ingots, spined leather, or oak boards (depending on the type of material used) to grant an additional +40 Luck, or to increase the Luck of an item, up to 140.
Certain items, like the Hollow-infused weapon can also be outfitted to increase the damage dealt by any skill that is able to deal damage by 5%. These items can be purchased in the shop or crafted using the right ingredients.
Item Failure
Upgrades to items can be costly and not all upgrades will succeed. Cash shop items can be used to boost the success rate of an upgrade or to stop players from losing their item if it fails.
The rate of success of an upgrade is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage represents the probability of successfully upgrading that item and can be enhanced by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. The chance of success can only be increased so high, and the probability that the upgrade will fail cannot exceed 100%..
The success of an upgrades is also influenced by the Luck of that item. Each item has a success rate of 25%, and each item with Luck increases this chance by 5%.
Note that upgrades to items are rendered above the items in the inventory which means that enchantment glints and other effects could be obscured 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.