Item level is the single number behind every stat on a piece of gear. On Normal it follows the enemy's level; on Nightmare and Inferno it follows how deep the map is, which is why endgame gear comes from the last zones.
Where item level comes from
Under Normal difficulty, gear dropped by a monster of level L rolls an item level in the range of 10 × (L − 1) to 10 × L + 9 (meaning a level 70 foe yields item level 690 to 709). Across Nightmare and Inferno, all foes are normalized to level 70, with gear level determined by map progression instead: baseline 700 added to the zone's Normal level on Nightmare, or twice that level on Inferno, with a variance of ±5. As a result, the ultimate encounter in The Cinder Crown 7 yields item levels 765 – 775 on Nightmare and 835 – 845 on Inferno.
A few specific items bypass these mechanics entirely. Inferno Mythic Rift bosses drop gear at level 840–859. Black Mist equipment is locked at 850, Divine items sit at 990, and Back slot gear is fixed at 1. Ancient legendaries always roll the maximum value of their bracket.
An item's level requirement is calculated as its item level divided by 10 (rounded down), with a hard cap at level 70. As a result, all gear of item level 700 or higher requires level 70.
How affixes roll
Every stat relies on a baseline value assigned to its item level. Affix magnitudes are calculated using the formula: (1 + rarity bonus) × item level × base value, multiplied by a random variance factor from 0.85 to 1.15 (with Ancient gear consistently rolling the maximum 1.15). Both affix counts and rarity bonuses remain static values:
| Rarity | Bonus | Primary affixes | Secondary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | + 20% | 1 | 0 |
| Uncommon | + 40% | 2 | 0 |
| Rare | + 50% | 3 | 1 |
| Legendary | + 60% | 4 | 1 |
Affixes are rolled without duplicates from each slot's eligible pool after excluding unusable class stats (for example, Strength appears solely for Warriors, Intelligence strictly for Sorcerers, and likewise for others). In addition to random affixes, helms, chest armor, pants, boots, gloves, and shoulders always provide Armor as a baseline implicit stat.
Affix values scale linearly with item level, meaning a 20% increase in item level yields 20% higher rolls. For instance, a legendary Critical Hit Damage affix provides 57.1% – 77.3% at item level 700 compared to 68.5% – 92.7% at 840, making the final maps of Inferno the undisputed best farming destination.
Weapons
A weapon's base speed rolls between 0.8 and 1.2, and its damage is divided by that speed value—meaning the tooltip DPS (damage × speed) is entirely unaffected by the speed roll itself. At item level 700, legendary weapons roll between 197 – 267 DPS, scaling up to 235 – 318 at item level 840. Attack speed rolls remain variable even on ancient weapons.
The ideal weapon speed comes down to your primary damage source. Basic attacks land at a rate of (1 + attack speed) × weapon speed per second, meaning overall DPS is all that matters for them. Skill damage, however, scales off the weapon's base per-hit damage number; given the same DPS, a slower weapon will hit harder on every ability, while a faster weapon provides no special bonus.
Sockets and sell price
Equipment requiring level 30 or higher drops with zero up to its slot's socket cap: 3 for weapons, 2 for chest armor and pants, and 1 for helms, rings, and necklaces, while other slots receive none. Ancient pieces always spawn with maximum sockets, and any missing sockets can be added by the blacksmith using gold and ore.
Vendoring equipment yields gold equal to item level × 0.25, with an added 1.3 multiplier for weapons, necklaces, and rings, plus an extra 30% per rarity tier above common (doubled if ancient). For instance, an item level 700 legendary weapon vendors for 432 gold. Enhancing gear through upgrades will not increase its sell price.
To see every affix and range for a slot at any item level, use the item roll calculator.