World of Warcraft Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a method to increase the stats of an item. Depending on the upgrade type it can increase an item's Mark Level or Rarity and boost additional stats.
Each item has a track to upgrade it. Each upgrade increases the price of the next item by a specified amount.
Item Level
The value of an item's base stats increases when it is upgraded. The value is the sum of an item's leveled-up perks (attack magic attack and defense). Upgrading items can be expensive, dependent on the upgrader and the kind of upgrade you decide to perform. This is due to how many perks must be replaced to allow the item to get upgraded.
It is also used as a gating requirement while queueing for dungeons, raids and scenarios. It can also be used to limit how much PvP gear players are able to wear, since PvP is limited at lower levels. Players can view their average level of item on their character sheet.
Using the item level can help players compare the potency of gear when deciding to purchase or sell. It's a sign of the item's damage and quality. Comparing item upgrade in a vendor's stock can be done using the item's level.
The item level can be seen by pressing the ALT key on PC or using the left stick (L3) on XB1 and PS4. This will display the full item description, including its ilvl. You can also locate it by hovering over an item and typing /itemlevel into chat.
There are a variety of theories on how the item level is determined. One theory is that the item level is a numerical value derived from a formula that calculates the amount an item's stats are worth. It takes into consideration that different advantages are valued differently and that gems in sockets boost the value of the item. This can result in a calculated amount for the item's ilvl which is usually close to the actual Blizzard level of the item.
This is not the only factor that affects the ilvl of an item. The degree of the area in which the item dropped can also change its stats. For instance it can add a level to the item's haste or crit rating. This means that items that drop at higher levels will have higher ilvl than those from lower-level instances.
Item Stats
The item's stats can determine the fate of an item for players. The game uses a lot of them in different ways to encourage players to play with multiple weapons, and prevent one weapon from being "the most effective." The stat mods of an weapon increase the base stats. These stat mods are then enhanced by the player's level.
The upgrades to an item can increase the stats of an item. The costs for upgrades are determined by the rarity of the item. A white or grey item for instance, will only be upgraded once however, items that has rare tiers can be upgraded multiple times at higher prices.
Affixes are a different method to alter the stats of an item. These are special stat boosts that can be added to an item by the player, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. 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 differentiate them by adding a name.
Currently, all affixes can be modified by selecting them in the upgrade window and pressing the green button using circles arrows. This procedure will cost the player a certain amount of gold as well as items which can be added to the upgrade gauge in the same manner as other options for rerolling.
In addition to rerolling affixes, players can select which of the available stats they want to keep on an item when 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 1 stat within that range, unless it is an exclusive item or the result of a God roll from a raid boss.
Another thing that could change is the option to upgrade equipment without having to reroll the attaches, or select which stats to boost. Like the base equipment, it must be done per item and the interface for item comparison will not show all possible stats simultaneously.
Item Luck
The Luck stat of a player stacks up to increase the chances of item discoveries and the properties that are spawned from loot drops and the intensity of the properties. It does not, however, directly affect damage or the ability to upgrade items. It gives players a chance to acquire better gear in earlier waves, and is therefore more beneficial in the early game than later ones as most players prioritize more powerful weapon scaling and defenses over damage gains.
In addition to influencing item discovery, Luck also increases the chance of success when upgrading items using the Blacksmith. item upgrades is not to be confused with the Blacksmith's overall chance of upgrading that increases with each level of the item 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 come with the default Luck value of 40. These items can then be enhanced with golden ingots, spined leather or oak boards (depending on the material of the item) to give +40 Luck, or to increase the existing Luck of an item, up to 140.
Additionally, certain items, like the Hollow weapon, which is infused with Hollow can be outfitted to boost the damage of any damage-dealing skill by 5%. These items can be purchased in the shop, or they can be made using the correct ingredients.
Item Failure
Not all upgrades are successful. However, there are cash shop items that allow players to increase their chance of success or stop themselves from losing an item in the event that the upgrade fails.
The success rate of an upgrade is displayed in the Honing UI. The percentage is the chances of successfully upgrading that item, and can be increased by adding Additional Materials or Special Materials. The percentage of success can only be increased so much, and the chance that an upgrade will fail can't exceed 100%.
The luck of an item can also affect the success of an upgrade. All items have an initial success rate of 25%, and each item with Luck increases the chance of success by an additional 5%.
It is important to note that upgrade items are rendered above the items in the inventory therefore enchantment glints and other effects can be obstructed 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.