Item Creation Confusion

[Chiastic]

Sorry to barge in on you folks, but I'm having trouble understanding some of the rules for item creation. To wit:

In Jarulf's Guide vis-a-vis legal prefix/suffix combinations, he writes:

Just because both a prefix and a suffix can exist on a base item does not mean you can find them both on the same item. As explained in chapter 3.8, the qlvl of a prefix and a suffix must be in the range of:

ilvl/2 - ilvl: for non Wirt and Adria items, including items form the dungeons
ilvl - 2·ilvl: for Wirt and Adria items

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding the way he's using the concept of "range," but to me the above formulae seem to indicate that the allowable qlvls for both prefix and suffix on a given base item from the appropriate source may fall anywhere within the range given for that source. Apparently I'm mistaken, however, because Jarulf goes on to write:

From this it follows that the prefix or suffix with the lowest qlvl on an item can never be higher than half (rounded down except for Wirt and some Adria items) the qlvl of the higher one (the other way around the higher level can never be higher than 2 times the lower one, plus one if odd, (except for Wirt and some Adria items) the plus one due to rounding effects if the item does not come from Wirt or Adria).

I don't understand how that follows from the given formulae if they do, in fact, merely represent ranges of legal qlvl values for affixes generated by different sources.

If I follow the guide correctly, the game chooses the prefix first, followed by the suffix. If the qlvl value of the suffix is then somehow constrained by the qlvl value of the prefix, I suppose the above quote makes some kind of sense, but the formulae given for the allowable ranges don't seem to indicate any such dependancy in and of themselves. Am I just missing something obvious here?

Assuming that I am, the quote states that the "lowest qlvl" on an item cannot be higher than half the "higher qlvl" and that "the other way around," the "higher qlvl" cannot be higher than twice the "lower qlvl." Is he trying to say that these two tests are equivalent (because they aren't), or is he trying to say that the game checks the qlvls of an item's affixes against both criteria (which would effectively force the qlvl value of the "inferior" affix to be exactly half the qlvl value of its counterpart)?

It's hard to tell because he gives a prefix/suffix item of 24/11 as an example of an impossible item despite the fact that such a configuration passes the first test (11 is not higher than half of 24) but fails the second (24 is more than twice 11).

Also, he writes that a Godly Cap of the Whale is a "perfectly valid item" despite the fact that the prefix "Godly" and the suffix "of the Whale" both have qlvl values of 60 (according to the guide), which seems to fly in the face of everything that he wrote before, particularly the rule regarding the maximum legal qlvl value of the "inferior" affix given a "superior" affix with a qlvl value greater than 50.

In short, if somebody could clarify chapter 3.10 of the guide, I'd really appreciate it since I'm obviously too dumb to grasp it on my own.

Thanks,

Chiastic

[Thecla]

If I follow the guide correctly, the game chooses the prefix first, followed by the suffix.

No that's not how it works -- it's symmetric with respect to prefix and suffix. The game chooses the ilvl of a magic item first, then it picks a random prefix and/or suffix in the range allowed by the ilvl. For example, if an item with a prefix and a suffix is dropped in the dungeon, both the prefix and suffix could have qlvl=ilvl, in the best case, or both could have qlvl=[ilvl/2] in the worst case. The biggest range you can get is a prefix with qlvl=ilvl and a suffix with qlvl=[ilvl/2], or the other way round.

This means, for example, that a bow with a swiftness suffix (qlvl = 10) has a maximum ilvl of 21 (since [21/2] = 10, but [22/2]=11), so the highest prefix it can have is one with a qlvl of 21. This explains why the best +damage/swiftness bow you can get is a massive(qlvl=20)/swiftness bow, even though savage (qlvl=23) is an allowed prefix on bows.

Also, he writes that a Godly Cap of the Whale is a "perfectly valid item" despite the fact that the prefix "Godly" and the suffix "of the Whale" both have qlvl values of 60 (according to the guide)

If you buy a cap from Wirt with ilvl=30 or above, then both prefix the and suffix can be in the range 25 (the lower qlvl-limit caps at 25 once the ilvl gets above that) to 2*ilvl, so a godly (qlvl=60) cap of the whale (qlvl=60) is fine, as is a godly (qlvl=60) cap of the ages (qlvl=25), or a ruby (qlvl=26) cap of osmosis (qlvl=50).

I hope that helped. :)

[Chiastic]

Yup, that makes perfect sense.

Thanks alot!

[Jarulf]

From this it follows that the prefix or suffix with the lowest qlvl on an item can never be higher than half (rounded down except for Wirt and some Adria items) the qlvl of the higher one (the other way around the higher level can never be higher than 2 times the lower one, plus one if odd, (except for Wirt and some Adria items) the plus one due to rounding effects if the item does not come from Wirt or Adria).

I don't understand how that follows from the given formulae if they do, in fact, merely represent ranges of legal qlvl values for affixes generated by different sources.

I think there is a typo in my guide. From a quick look of your quote, I would say it should read:

...with the lowest qlvl on an item can never be LOWER than half (rounded down....


That would make better sense, no?