What is Item Power in Diablo 4?

Every equipment item in Diablo 4 has a range of stats and attributes. A lot of them are specific to the item type, or to its affixes (buffs, basically), but there are a few stats every item has: Sell Value, Durability, and Item Power. Sell Value and Durability are self-explanatory, but the meaning of Item Power isn’t so obvious.

I have seen some players treat Item Power as the same (or as a multiplier of) item level (or “ilevel”), which was a hidden stat in previous Diablo games. I don’t believe they’re the same thing, but they’re definitely closely related, so I’m going to use the terms somewhat interchangeably in this guide (as most fans already are).

Diablo 4 Item Power, explained

Item Power is a stat that tells you how good an item is overall. Think of it like OPR (Overall Performance Rating) in FIFA, or PP (Performance Points) in Gran Turismo. It’s calculated based on an item’s basic stats and affixes (buffs) but tells you nothing about how effective an item will be for you, your class, or your specific character.

Does Item Power matter in Diablo 4?

Item Power matters in Diablo 4, but it’s not necessarily the most important item stat. It matters if you’re a casual player, or if you’re just starting out because it gives you a way of comparing your weapons, armor, and items without needing to understand all the nitty-gritty of every other stat.

Related: How to get and equip Aspects in Diablo 4

Personally, I use a combination of Item Level and Sell Value to determine which items to equip during the early game. I became more interested in specific stats and selected equipment that best synergized with my abilities and gear as I progressed.

Still, I like to think of myself as a pretty hardcore player, and I have learned that Item Power is considered important to most hardcore players because of the impact Item Power breakpoints can have.

What are Item Power breakpoints in Diablo 4?

Item Power breakpoints (or item level breakpoints) are the thresholds between the six Item Power tiers in Diablo 4. These six tiers aren’t officially or explicitly named, but I assure you they do exist.

Each item’s tier is determined by its Item Power, and its tier determines the range of all the affixes (buffs) the item has. The higher the tier, the higher the range, and the better the affix. When you upgrade an item you increase its Item Power by five, and if that increase takes the item into the next tier, then its affixes will get a much bigger boost.

The best way to explain this is with an example. But first, an important table.

Next, I’m going to show you my pants. My Adroit Drifter’s Pants, that is. These pants have an item power of 140, which is perfect for demonstrating how breakpoints work. Before upgrading, they have 140 armor and a +6 dexterity affix.

The first of two possible upgrades gives them a +5 to item power, taking them up to 145. This keeps them in the bottom tier, where the range for this particular dexterity affix is very small, so this upgrade only gets them a +1 increase to the dexterity affix.

The second upgrade is a different story. This time the +5 to Item Power takes them to 150 Item Power, past the breakpoint, and into the second tier (see the table above). Basic stats are not affected by breakpoints, so it gets +5 to armor again. But the range of values for the dexterity affix are significantly higher in the second tier, so the boost to the dexterity affix is much bigger this time. It’s a +7 instead of a +1.

Look, this is all very technical, so here’s the short version: If you find an item with an Item Power that’s just under 150, 340, 460, 625, or 725, then make it a priority to upgrade because its upgrades will be better than other items’ upgrades.

What is the highest Item Power in Diablo 4?

Just prior to Diablo 4’s release, the game’s associate game director told Gamerbraves the maximum item level was 90. He was referring to the hidden ilevel value, not to item power. Item Power seems to be roughly equivalent to ilevel multiplied by 10, but no one has yet found an item with Item Power as high as 900.

The highest I’ve seen any Diablo players reporting from the endgame is 811 which, with +25 for the maximum upgrades, comes to a total of 836. Maximums are usually nice round numbers, so my conclusion is that the maximum Item Power in Diablo 4 is 850. I believe there’s enough evidence to back it.