Trying to understand "Prefix" and "Suffix" in PoE

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From Wikipedia
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word.
A Suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word.

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In the case of Magic Items it is pretty easy to work out which mod you're dealing with because it is displayed in the name of the item.

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Prefix = Surgeons = Recharges 1 Charge......
Suffix = Adrenaline = 27% Increased Movement Speed....
The order the mods are listed in, unfortunately, helps to confuse the unwary - namely me.

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In the case of "Rare" items the water becomes very murky.

Lets look at an old friend:

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This item was rolled in Patch 0.9.11k using an Alchemy orb. It has an /itemlevel of 62. What is the Prefix for the mod "Adds 23-41 Fire Damage"? Please make sure of your answer because this has caused much confusion.

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OK let us move on to the "Item Data - Prefix" Tables
1. The Level Column refers to character level required?
2. What is the difference between:
a. Honed 31 Base Minimum Added Physical Damage 5 to 6
b. Honed 30 Local Minimum Added Physical Damage 8 to 10

As far as the item level of an item is concerned - yes I do understand how an item with an iLvL 20 can't get Level 70 Mods etc. So please don't try explaining iLvls.

If there is a thread that explains all this, that I have missed or not found please point me in the right direction.

Is there anyone that can confirm the "Validity" of the data in the "Item Data" Article?

As previously mentioned, the fire damage mod on that mallet is the scorching prefix.

Scorching (50)
Local Minimum Added Fire Damage 18 to 24
Local Maximum Added Fire Damage 36 to 42

There's no easy way to tell which affixes are on any given rare. You just have to look at the item data section and compare the values.
This can be tricky when there are multiple affixes on the item that give bonuses to the same stats.

For instance it might be impossible to determine exactly which affixes were on a rare that had:
one Damage Scaling affix
one Damage Scaling and Accuracy affix
and one Accuracy affix

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OK let us move on to the "Item Data - Prefix" Tables
1. The Level Column refers to character level required?
2. What is the difference between:
a. Honed 31 Base Minimum Added Physical Damage 5 to 6
b. Honed 30 Local Minimum Added Physical Damage 8 to 10

1. No, it refers to the level of the affix. The affix can only appear on items that have an itemlevel greater than or equal to this number.

2. b, when on an item, will only affect that item, this is what the word local refers to.

Imagine you are dual wielding swords. One of your swords has b on it, and you have an amulet with a on it.
The bonus from a on the amulet will be added to attacks made with either of your swords. However the bonus from a will only apply to attacks made with the weapon it is on, since it is local.

The same principal applies for other local modifiers, there are ones for armour and crit chance and so on. They will only appear on appropriate items, for instance you won't find local crit chance on boots, it makes no sense since you can't attack with your boots and they have no base crit chance to increase. Similarly you won't find Local Evasion Rating +% on a bow.

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Is there anyone that can confirm the "Validity" of the data in the "Item Data" Article?

Me

The 23-41 damage prefix on the rare is "Scorching" because the "Blasting" prefix is level 70 and the weapon is ilvl 62.

The difference between

A. Honed 31 Base Minimum Added Physical Damage 5 to 6
B. Honed 30 Local Minimum Added Physical Damage 8 to 10

is that A can appear on any item and B can only appear on weapons (I think "local" refers to the mod having effect on the item and not the char)

Thanks guys - Now I'm happy.

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Malice wrote:

However the bonus from a will only apply to attacks made with the weapon it is on, since it is local.

I think this should be b

I appreciate the clarification from all the posters.

However, this information really needs to be made available and obvious from within the game, and not just the website or kind posters.

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TheSwampDog wrote:

I appreciate the clarification from all the posters.

However, this information really needs to be made available and obvious from within the game, and not just the website or kind posters.

Why would you want to clutter the game with this information? It's not needed.

All you need is the /itemlevel command. Then come to the website and reference whatever you want.

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Akimb0 wrote:

Why would you want to clutter the game with this information? It's not needed.

All you need is the /itemlevel command. Then come to the website and reference whatever you want.

Well, it wouldn't take much more than having the prefix and suffix in a different colour than the rest.

yea a color distinction between Prefix and Suffix would be a start in the right direction.

For magic items, the system as is works well enough. It's when dealing with rares that more information would be nice to have. Especially since there are several affixes that have the same names but slightly different effects.