Accumulating vast amounts of gear and loot is what makes Diablo, well, Diablo. Diablo 4 adds in far more weapon customization that any previous installment in the franchise, with a few design quirks players can capitalize on. Player character designs are not left out and also feature some great customization options too. One of those quirks comes along with the new Weapon Upgrades, where boosting Item Power past certain thresholds can result in massive power boosts.
The tricky part is knowing where these Item Power thresholds are. Gear with an Item Power within 10-15 points of the next threshold can get boosts to weapon bonuses which are sometimes five or ten times as good as a typical upgrade, making it well worth paying attention to.
Updated by Chad Thesen on July 2, 2023: This guide has received an update by embedding links to useful articles that the readers can now navigate to much easier. This includes a link for how they can efficiently level up to experience the higher item tiers in a more timely manner and avoid a long grind. The guide briefly mentions Diablo 4's increased attention to customization and has now been given an embedded link to how the character customization works if the reader has an interest in exploring more on the topic.
Item Power Tiers
|
Tier 1 Gear |
Item Power 1—149 |
|---|---|
|
Tier 2 Gear |
Item Power 150—339 |
|
Tier 3 Gear |
Item Power 340—459 |
|
Tier 4 Gear |
Item Power 460—624 |
|
Tier 5 Gear |
Item Power 625—724 |
|
Tier 6 Gear |
Item Power 725+ |
It's all pretty intuitive. Keep an eye on the typical Item Power most gear is displaying. This will be more or less consistent with the player's current level. For example, Level 25 or so is when gear starts reaching the threshold between Tier 2 and Tier 3. The next question is how much Item Power each upgrade provides an item.
Item Power & Upgrades
Item Power gets a boost of 5 points per upgrade, and items can be upgraded multiple times. Rare items (the yellow ones) can be upgraded 3 times, which means an additional 15 Item Power. Legendary gear can be upgraded even further. Upgrades can boast 1-2% increases in characteristics (see image above), including overall damage output, per upgrade. Nothing groundbreaking, but probably worth throwing some gold at. Now, let's take a look at upgrades which approach the Item Power thresholds outlined above.
Passing the threshold of Item Power 340, as shown above, can increase overall upgrade potential from just over 1% to just over 10% in some categories. Note that overall DPS doesn't get the same boost. The rule of thumb is simple: keep an eye on Item Power, occasionally check the Tier system, and prioritize upgrades whenever gear gets within 15 points or so of the next Threshold.