Two rare rings can show the same four lines and differ in price by a factor of a hundred. Everything that explains that gap is in the structure underneath the text.
Rarity, and what each tier can hold
| Rarity | Modifiers | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Normal (white) | none | A crafting base |
| Magic (blue) | up to 1 prefix + 1 suffix | Early gear, a crafting step |
| Rare (yellow) | up to 3 prefixes + 3 suffixes | Almost all endgame gear |
| Unique (orange) | fixed set, rolled values | Its own thing — see below |
Prefixes and suffixes are separate pools with separate caps. This is the single most important mechanical fact about items. A rare with six mods has three of each. A rare with five mods has an empty slot — and *which* pool is empty decides what you can still add to it.
Roughly: prefixes tend to be the "more of a thing" mods (added damage, flat life, percentage armour), suffixes tend to be the "conditional or utility" mods (resistances, attributes, speed, critical chance). Do not trust that rule of thumb over the item itself; the Item Database lists which pool each mod belongs to for every base.
Implicits and other lines above the separator
The line (or lines) above the first separator are implicit modifiers — they come with the base type, not from the affix pool, and they do not use a prefix or suffix slot. A ring base's implicit might be resistance; a wand's might be added spell damage. Choosing the right base *is* choosing the implicit.
Runes and soul cores socketed into an item add their own lines. They are swappable and do not consume affix slots, so a well-socketed mediocre item can outperform a poorly-socketed good one.
Tiers: the part that sets the price
Each modifier exists at several tiers. A higher tier rolls a higher numeric range. Two items can show "adds to maximum Life" and be five tiers apart.
You cannot see tiers in the default tooltip. Turn on Advanced Mod Descriptions in the game's UI options. Once it is on:
- The game includes tier information in the item's text.
- ePOE's price check shows tier labels on each mod row.
- The Crafting Assistant can tell you where in its range each mod rolled.
That last point is the useful one. "Tier 1 life" means the best possible tier, but it could still have rolled at the bottom of tier 1's range. Roll quality within the tier is what a Divine Orb fixes; tier itself is not something you can improve without rerolling the mod.
Item level gates what can roll
Every modifier tier has a required item level. An item level 65 base simply cannot roll the tier-1 life mod if that tier needs ilvl 80. This is why:
- High-ilvl bases are worth more than low-ilvl ones that look identical.
- Crafting on a low-ilvl base wastes currency: you are paying for rolls that cannot produce the outcome you want.
- "ilvl 82+" appears in so many trade searches.
Check the item level before you invest in a base. ePOE's Modifier Overview tab shows, for the item in front of you, every mod the base can roll along with the ilvl each tier needs — which answers "could this have rolled better?" directly.
Reading an item in ten seconds
A workable order:
- Base type and item level. Wrong base, stop here.
- Implicit. Is it the one this slot wants?
- Count prefixes and suffixes. How many slots are open, and in which pool?
- The two or three mods that matter for the slot — life and resistances on armour, damage on weapons. Ignore the rest for a first pass.
- Tiers on those mods. High tiers on the right mods is the whole game.
- Everything else is filler. A tier-5 stun-threshold suffix is not "a fourth good mod", it is a suffix slot you cannot use.
Why identical-looking items differ in price
- One is tier 1 on life, the other tier 6.
- One has an open prefix that lets a buyer craft into it; the other is full of junk.
- One is ilvl 82 and could be improved; the other is ilvl 68 and is finished.
- One rolled at the top of its tier's range, the other at the bottom.
- One has a corrupted implicit or a fractured mod, which changes what can be done to it.
All five are invisible in a screenshot and all five are visible in the copied item text, which is why price checking by hovering beats price checking by eye.
Uniques are a different question
A unique's modifiers are fixed; only the numbers roll. So for a unique the only questions are: is it the right unique, and did it roll well? Some uniques are worth a hundred times more at a high roll; most are worth the same at any roll. The Item Database lists each unique's ranges so you can tell which kind you are holding.