upgrading arreats?

[timmyduboy]

I upgraded my arreats face and the defense remained the same =[ what's up with that?

i used the lem+ko+pdiamond recipe...so now I have a higher str and lvl req, and I lost 2 good runes =\

what's up

[Orphan]

When you upgrade an item, it's new base defense is randomly selected between the new item's min and max defense.

The Slayer Guard Arreat Face would have had a base defense of 121. After upgrading, it would randomly select a base defense for the Guardian Crown, which ranges between 117-168. This means that it's possible for the new base defense to also be 121, and thus no defense gain. It's also possible for the new base defense to be 120 or less, and therefore you would have lost defense after the upgrade.

[kuafu]

Slayer Guard (base item of arreat face) has defense 93-120. Because arreat face has enhanced defense, the base will always be max + 1, 121. When upgraded, it becomes a Guardian Crown, which has defense 117-168. The rule for enhanced defense doesn't work any more when upp'ed, so if you happen to have a bad roll of 121 base defense, you will end up with the same defense. Even worse, if you happen to have a bad roll of 117-120, you will end up with lower defense.
Edit: should've checked if Orphan is online before writing a reply...:sad2:

[Zyliq]

Is that true on all uniques with enhanced defense (base defense = max +1)? I never noticed...

[Evrae Altana]

Is that true on all uniques with enhanced defense (base defense = max +1)? I never noticed...It's true on any armor with a % enhanced defense.