One of the best aspects of Diablo 4 is its wide range of items and gear are intricately knit to the dynamic level progression. As you progress through the game and increase your XP level, you will get better loot and rarer items throughout Sanctuary. This has been one of the many good points about the game as it marches to become a candidate for the Game of the Year 2023.
Item Power Breakpoints in Diablo 4, explained
On a very basic scale, Item Power is nothing but a number that indicates how powerful a specific item is. For example, you have picked up an item of power 450 and another of power 500. There is a high chance that the item with 500 power will have better stats and affixes compared to the one with 450 Item Power.
This works while you are upgrading your equipment too. Ancestral Items with more than 725 Item Power can have more than a 17.5% affix bonus that can be increased to more than 26% once fully upgraded. However, this huge boost will be impossible to achieve with lower-level items in the game.
These affix bonuses get a boost when an item with a certain power level crosses a threshold or a breakpoint. The following are the detailed lists of breakpoints alongside Item Power Levels:
| Breakpoint Level | Item Power range |
| 1 | 1-149 |
| 2 | 150-339 |
| 3 | 340-459 |
| 4 | 460-624 |
| 5 | 625-724 |
| 6 | 725 and above |
Once you have Sacred or Ancestral gear in higher World Tiers, you will realize that the affixes are much more powerful and have higher increments during an upgrade. However, you should remember that not all the affixes follow this table or rule. An item’s Damage Per Second or Armor Rating scales linearly with item power. Hence, there is no breakpoint for base DPS or armor. This is also applicable for HP and Thorn stats in Diablo 4.
Can you increase your Item Power in Diablo 4?
You can certainly increase your Item Power in the action RPG with the help of upgrades. The Blacksmith is the go-to place for upgrading gear, while the Jeweller is the one you should visit for upgrading your rings and necklaces.
Each level of an upgrade will grant you a +5 Item Power bonus, giving a boost to the other affixes as well. Before Legendary items, you can achieve a +15 boost at max through upgrades. Legendary items can be upgraded to a maximum of +20, whereas unique items, such as Sacred/Ancestral items, can be upgraded to a maximum of +25.
However, the best way to increase item power is to gain higher-level gear in more difficult World Tiers and upgrade them to their maximum. This was everything you had to know about Item Power in Diablo 4.
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