PoE Item Level Starter Guide

Ourpoe has written this PoE Item Level Starter Guide to help players understand the items level in Path of Exile.

PoE Item Level Starter Guide

Every item in Path of Exile has an item level (also referred to as iLevel). This is not to be confused with the level requirement on a piece of equipment, or the level of a normal item, which are both separate statistics.
The "requir level" will be displayed on the item, and the "item level" is a hidden value.

Finding the 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.
  

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 items level determined by map level and monster level. 

• Normal monsters drop items level = Map level
  
• Magic monsters drop items level = Map level + 1 
  
• Rare and Unique monsters drop items level = Map level + 2 
  

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 items created using a vendor recipe, item level = the lowest item level of items consumed by the recipe  (Unless there are special notes)
For race reward items, the item level is always 100.

Require level

Item Requirement Level = The lowest item level that this item may appear
Take the Bronze Gauntlets as an example. His requirement level is 23.
Level 1~20 monsters will not drop Bronze Gauntlets
Level 23 Normal monster has a chance to drop iLv 23 Bronze Gauntlets
Level 60 Normal monster has a chance to drop iLv 60 Bronze Gauntlets

Item socket with Item level

Maximum number of sockets by equipment type

• Most Belts, amulets, rings and quivers do not have sockets. Exceptions are Unset Ring, Black Maw Talisman, and Stygian Vise.
  
• One-handed weapons and shields can only have up to 3 sockets max
  
• Boots, helmets and gloves can have up to 4 sockets
  
• Body armours and Two-handed weapons can have up to 6 sockets
  

Number of sockets	Minimum item level	First vendor
1	1	Act 1
2	1	Act 1
3	2	Act 1
4	25	Act 3
5	35	Act 4
6	50	Act 6

In general, body armours and two-handed weapons with item level of 50 or higher can get 6 sockets, and boots, helmets and gloves with item level lower than 28 can never get 4 sockets, so you must confirm does item level match the level you want before buying anything in the market.

Vendor with Item level

This part is related to the Vendor. When the player get some item to sell the Vendor, the item level will be related to the exchanged currency. The 60 level or more can be exchanged for Chaos Orb, and 75 level or more is for Regal Orb. In addition, when creat an item using a vendor recipe, the final item's level will be based on the lowest item level in the material. Even if the material is not worth anything, don't use it indiscriminately. (For details, please refer to the vendor recipe introduction)