Item level

Every item in Path of Exile has an item level (also referred to as iLevel). This is generally related to the monster level of the area where it is found. Item level mainly determines what affixes are available to the item.

This is not to be confused with the drop level of a normal item (base type), nor the level requirement on a piece of equipment (which is determined by a combination of the base type and its affixes). These are both separate statistics.

Finding an item's item level
To find the item level of an item, hold down the ALT key while hovering the cursor over the item or hold down the left stick (L3) on a XB1 or PS4. The item level will be shown above the level requirements in the item description.

There are two additional ways to find the item level:
 * Lift the item onto the cursor, and type the /itemlevel command into the chat box, while the item is held on the cursor. The item level will be reported in chat.
 * Hover with the mouse over an item linked in chat, and press CTRL+C. This will copy the complete item information to your clipboard, including item level.

All skill gems have an item level of 1. For all other non-quest items, the item level is determined by:
 * For items dropped by monsters, the level of the monster that dropped it. monsters drop items with a level equal to the monster level of the area.  monsters drop items with monster level +1.  and  Monsters drop items with monster level +2.
 * Maps are an exception to this rule. and  monsters only drop maps 1 level higher, unless dropped by a map boss which can drop 2 levels higher.
 * For items dropped by chests, the monster level of the area that the chest is in
 * For quest rewards and items purchased from vendors, these items have predetermined item levels depending on vendor or quest. For example items bought from vendors in Act 10 will have a higher item level than those bought in Act 1.
 * For items created using a vendor recipe, the item level of the resulting item varies depending on the recipe. For example, there is a recipe that returns one new random magic item in exchange for five magic items of the same base item type. For this recipe, the created item has an item level equal to the lowest item level of the five magic items consumed by the recipe.
 * For race reward items, the item level is always 100.

What item level affects
Item level restricts which random properties an item can receive.
 * Affixes
 * and items can only receive affixes whose level is less than or equal to the item's item level. This is true for almost all items that can receive affixes, such as weapons, armour, flasks, maps, etc. Jewels are the one exception, and follow different affix rules than most items.


 * Vendor Recipes
 * The Full set of Rare items Vendor Recipe uses item level to determine what reward to give


 * Sockets
 * The number of sockets that can appear on an item is determined by its item level. Items with a higher item level can receive more sockets. For instance with an item level of 1, an item can have no more than two sockets. Item level has no effect on the number of socket links that an item receives.

(NB: The max number of sockets an item can have are 4 for headgear/gloves/shoes, 3 for shields and one handed weapons such as swords/maces/shields/knives/wands and 6 for chest armour, bows and two handed melee weapons. Having a very high item level doesn't allow for a higher number of sockets than these limits.)

The minimum item level to obtain each number of sockets is as follows:

Note that the Strongbox suffix "of Complexity" can override this limit and allow for a higher number of sockets. For example, an item with item level 35 can have 6 sockets instead of 5.


 * An item base type can only drop if the item level is equal or greater than its minimum drop level. This means divination cards that reward items at a specific item level can limit which item types can be rewarded. For example cannot reward,  or  and  cannot reward any high level staff type. Similarly, despite being currency, incubators each have an item level which determines the item level of the drop as well as what can drop.


 * The item level does not affect the possible unique items that can spawn when using an on an item. For example: If you use an orb of chance on a  with an item level of 30, it is possible to get an  unique ring, even though this ring only drops in maps with a monster level higher than 73.

Maximum item level
The highest item level a dropped item can have is 86, from a unique monster in a level 84 zone (Abyssal Depths from a level 83 zone, The Shaper's Realm, Absence of Value and Meaning, Eye of the Storm (Awakening Level 8)). A strongbox with in a level 83 map drops item level 88 items. Some divination card rewards give an item level 100 item. All Event rewards have a set item level of 100. Note that currently having an item level of 100 doesn't give any benefits.