Item Power and Breakpoints Explained

Item Power determines a piece of gear's overall quality in Diablo 4 (D4). Read on to learn what Item Power exactly is, how it works, what affects the stats of drop items, what Item Level breakpoints do and each breakpoint range, and how item bonuses can be rerolled and given huge buffs.

Season 2 Item Power Changes

New Item Power Ranges

In Diablo 4 Seasons of Blood, Item Power ranges for Sacred and Ancestral gear have been readjusted. Sacred items received a small change of only a 30 iPower increase, while Ancestral items received a huge boost to both minimum and maximum Item Power ranges.

Sacred and Ancestral Items Explained

What is Item Power?

A Measure of an Item's Overall Quality

Item power is a simple way to determine a piece of gear's overall quality. It is the summation of all of the things that contribute to an item's total power: Your current level, the item's Base stats (Armor and Damage), and Affixes (Bonus stats and buffs). Item Rarity, on the other hand, does not necessarily affect Item Power.

How Does Item Power Work?

Item Power is Dependent on Your Level Base Stats Scale Directly with Item Power Item Power Determines Gear Stat Ranges

Item Power is Dependent on Your Level

Simply, the higher your level is, the higher Item Power you receive from dropped items. The quality of gear increases as you progress through the story and increase your level through completing quests and defeating enemies.
Leveling Guide: How to Level Up Fast

Base Stats Scale Directly with Item Power

The base stats of an item scales directly with Item Power. The higher the Item Power, the higher the item's Armor or DPS gets. Therefore, it would be beneficial to upgrade your items whenever you can to increase its overall power.
All Blacksmith Features | How to Upgrade Equipment | Diablo 4

Item Power Determines Gear Stat Ranges

Some pieces of gear will have Affixes attached to them. These are buffs that increase certain stats or skills, like your attack speed and basic skill damage.

Affixes have a range that determines how powerful the stat buff is: For example, a [2.5 - 3.0]% increase to Attack Speed. This range increases the higher the Item Power.

Item Level Breakpoints Explained

Item Level Breakpoints Give Huge Stat Level Ups

Item Power has certain tiers or “breakpoints”, which are invisible to the player. Upgrading an item past a certain breakpoint will bring all stats and skills up one tier.

For example, Upgrading an item once will bring its Item Power up from 450 to 455, which are both on the same tier. But bringing the Item Power from 455 to 460 will put the item into the next tier, giving your stats and skills hefty level ups.

Item Stats Are Rerolled Across Breakpoints

An Item going from Breakpoint Tier 1 to 2.

The values of item affixes are rerolled when a piece of gear crosses a breakpoint. For example, if you have an item that has +1.5% attack speed with a range of [1.5 - 3.0]%, upgrading it into a new Breakpoint range can randomly give it a value of +5.0% attack speed with a range of [2.5 - 5.0]%, thus massively increasing the buff.

However, this can work in the opposite direction, as the upgrade may find yourself with a lower buff than you previously had, based on the ranges. This rerolling can turn a good item into an okay item, or it can turn a bad item into a great item. That said, since you can see what the rolls will be before you actually upgrade the Item, generally you can make this work in your favor.

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