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Level
Level is a common measure comparing characters, items, areas and monsters. These all use the same scale, from 1 to 100. Gems also have a level but this uses a different scale.
Character level
Characters have a Character level whcih can be increased by earning experience, starting at 1 with a newly created character and increasing up to a maximum of level 100. Characters gain life, mana, +3 accuracy and one passive point each time they level. Levelling up will also restore most resources to full, as well as flask and charm charges, similarly to using a well.
The character level also determines what equipment the character can equip, and also determines the cost of respec and gambling.
Area level
Areas have an Area level. During the campaign the area levels are set for each location and provide a guide to what level a character should be when attempting that area.
Maps have an area level based on the tier of Waystone used to create them, with tier 1 waystones creating level 65 maps, going up one level per tier to a max of tier 16 waystones creating level 80 maps.
Trials have an area level specified on the token used to create them. Floors past the first floor in Trial of the Sekhemas will each have one higher area level than the previous floor.
Monster level
Monsters have a Monster level which is based on the area level the monster appeared in, with the following modifiers:
- Magic and Rare monsters have +1 monster level
- Boss monsters have +2 monster level
- Irradiated maps will have +1 monster level for all monsters.
- Maps with Coalesced Corruption will have +1 monster level for all monsters.
Note that these modifiers can stack.
Item level
Most types of item have an Item level which is determined by the level of monster that dropped it. Items from containers such as chests and strongboxes have item level equal to the area level, and items from vendors have item level equal to the character level (up to a cap for each specific vendor). The item level can be seen on an item when holding 'Alt', on the top row of the items stat block.
The item level determines what items can drop (called the drop level) and what affixes can appear on the item, both when dropped and when crafting with currency.
Required level
Wearable items such as equipment and skill gems have a Required level, which determines what character level is required to equip the item. For equipment this is the highest of the required level of the base item and of any affixes on the item. Required level is shown on the item's stat block below base stats but above implicit and explicit affixes, on the same line as attribute requirements. If no required level is shown, the required level is 1.
The required level usually cannot be higher than the item level, and is often much lower.
Some item classes do not have item level. This includes currency, runes and soul cores.
Gem levels
Skill gems, including Spirit gems but not Support gems, have a level which determines the Required level of that gem. Gem levels by default go up to a maximum of 20, but are extendable with bonuses up to a hard maximum of 40.