itemniveau

Itemniveau, or item level, is a numeric indicator of the overall power of a character's equipment. It is used in many role-playing and massively multiplayer games to express how strong a character is in terms of gear and to gate access to challenging content. In general, higher itemniveau implies better statistics on gear and greater potential for performance, though it is not the sole determinant of capability.

How itemniveau is determined varies by game. In most titles, each item has a fixed itemniveau derived from its rarity, tier, and base statistics. A character's equipped itemniveau can be represented as the average or a sum of the levels of all worn items, and some user interfaces display both per-item values and a derived character value such as “equipped ilvl” or “average ilvl.”

Usage: Content gating uses minimum itemniveau requirements. Players use ilvl comparisons to decide on upgrades; upgrades with higher itemniveau typically yield better performance, though item effects, set bonuses, and stats distribution can alter the outcome. Some games also separate itemniveau from other progression metrics, such as level or rating, to emphasize gear power.

Limitations: Itemniveau is a coarse indicator. Two items at the same niveau may have different primary stats or effects; conversely, an item with a higher niveau but poor stat distribution can underperform a lower-niveau item with favorable stats or traits.

Examples: In World of Warcraft, itemlevel is displayed on gear and is used to determine eligibility for dungeons and raids and to track progress through raids and Mythic+. In German-speaking communities, the term itemniveau is commonly used alongside Gegenstandsstufe.