Yes, such a guide is existing but it was written a long time ago and recently is partly aut of date - tc and ilvl from v. .09 are simply not actual for .10. You can still use some basic info though.
Gambling is good for getting crafting stuff - amus mainly. You can ocasionally gamble a good ring or amu but it happens extremaly rerely. I myself gambled Tal amu and a really good dual leech ring - gambling for ~40 mega gp.
Now I´m going to QUOTE some parts of:
THE TAO OF ROLLING, CRAFTING, BUYING AND GAMBLING (DRAFT V0.01)
Starting facts:
Explanation of clvl/mlvl/ilvl/qlvl/magic/Base Item Lvl/alvl level:
- clvl is the level your char is in. Very easy to check.
- mlvl is the monster level. These are fixed and can be found on darkness's site (darkness.diabloii.net). Normal Hell cows have mlvl 90, for example.
- ilvl depends on the monster you kill, or with which char you buy or gamble items... it's the level with which most of the alvls (affix levels) are calculated (See below on alvl forumla for explanation). Some times the qlvl is used, though.
So, if you get a matriarchal bow on cows, it will have ilvl 90 (because ilvl = mlvl of the monster who drops it) but if you get it on the Inner Cloister, a matriarchal bow will have ilvl 78 (because most of the monsters on the inner cloister have mlvl 78).
If you buy an item, it is differently calculated: Ilvl=your clvl +5. So if your char is on level 79, anything you buy will have ilvl 84. Only if you buy on normal it's different:
there's a level cap (ilvl 12 in act 1, ilvl 20 in act 2, ilvl 28 in act 3, ilvl 36 in act 4, ilvl 45 in act 5). No matter which is your clvl, if (clvl + 5) is more than the ilvl cap of the things you want to buy on normal, they will be ata fix ilvl. For example, you have clvl 30, buy something on act 3 normal, the expected ilvl would be 35 (30+5) but it will be ilvl 28 because of the cap.
- qlvl: THIS is what most ppl don't know, and creates LOTS of confusion. Let's take for example the Ward Bow.
If you look it on the items database, you will see that it has what they call "Item Level: 80". This is NOT the ilvl, but the qlvl. EVERY ward bow has the qlvl 80, not matter where you got it. Practically speaking, that means that, when you use the "3 gems + magical item" forumla, it doesn't matter if you have a Ward bow with less than 80 as ilvl, because if it is less, the qlvl will be used when calculating the alvl (in other words, determining which prefixes/suffixes you can have).
That is the reason why you can cube the colossus blade with the 3 chippeds forumla and get a cruel, for example. The ilvl of the output ofthe formula is ALWAYS 30. Ilvl 30 is NOT enough for cruel. But since the qlvl of a Colossus Blade (fixed, for all Colossus Blades) is 85, that means that the qlvl will be used instead of the ilvl on the calculation.
- magic level: it is a very special thing, given only to circlets (magic level 3), coronets (magic level 8), tiara (magic level 13) and diadem
(magic level 18).
- Base Item Lvl: This is a confusing value, sometimes it's the same as the clvl req, others it is the same as the qlvl. It is used to verify what you can or cannot gamble (see gambling).
- alvl: You can only get the alvl by calculating it, for each item that drops, is bought, gambled, re-rolled, crafted, etc. Each times an item changes or appears by any of the above, the alvl must be calculated again. The formula is below:
if (Ilvl> 99) then {Ilvl=99}
if (Qlvl> ilvl) then {Ilvl=Qlvl} ;
if (magic_lvl> 0) then {Alvl=ilvl+magic_lvl}
else
{
if (Ilvl <(99-qlvl/2))
then {Alvl=Ilvl-Qlvl/2} ---- low items (normal)
else {Alvl=2*ilvl-99} - ---- 81 for items from cows
}
If (Alvl> 99) then {Alvl=99}
The alvl is something very important. You can only get prefixes and suffixes equal or below the alvl you calculate when cubing an item.
[...]
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Buying and Gambling versus ilvls:
NPC sale items get ilvls that are always your Clvl + 5, except on normal, that has caps (see ilvl explanation above)
Gambling:
When you gamble you can get Ilvls that are 4 lower up to 5 higher than your Clvl. The actual formula is: your clvl -5/+4. If you have clvl 90,
that means you can get items with ilvl 85 until ilvl 94.
The Base Item lvl also comes into play (see list of base item levels below), with another formula (-3/+6 of your clvl). The highest Base
Item lvl you can have when gambling is the coronet (Base Item Lvl 52). To be able to SEE a coronet while gambling, you have to use the -3/+6 formula.
That means that, at clvl 46, you can already SEE a coronet (very rarely, 1/9 of the time you should) in the gambling screen, (and thus
everything else, since the coronet has the highest Base Item Lvl of everything that appears in the screen). To be sure that every available
item is shown on the gambling screen, you have to have clvl 55 (so that, even if you get the -3 roll, Base Item Lvl 52 (the highest, Coronet)
can still theoretically be shown).
Things are important to notice:
1) The fact that you get items with ilvl 90 doesn't mean that the alvl of this item is 90 too. You have to calculate before with the alvl calculator formula to see which are the prefixes/suffixes you can get for this item. The POSSIBILITY to have affixes with alvl 90 doesn't mean you WILL get them, it only means that it is POSSIBLE to get them in the item.
2) You can get an elite item (e.g. Champion Sword) or exceptional (e.g. Gothic Sword) if you gamble for its respective normal item (e.g. Bastard Sword) on the gamble screen, even if the chances are low. Your clvl has to be only 36 (3 more than the base item level of the Great Sword) to be able to gamble this kind of weapon. The ilvl of the sword would be capped at maximum 40, though. Not that it matters for the 3 chipped + sword
forumla in the case of the Champion Sword...
As far as I know, the determination whether the item is elite or normal has nothing to do with the clvl (but I might be wrong on that one). You must control well which ilvl you want for the item you want to buy (-5/+4 clvl), so that you don't get an item that is too low or too high for
your re-rolling needs.
3) Due to a bug or intentionally, some elite items cannot be gambled. As far as I know, elite belts and the Colossus Blade cannot be bought.
If somebody reads this, i'd be glad for the some input on other impossibilities.
A quick question: Can Wyrmhides be gambled, even though they can't be bought?
Conclusion:
- You have to be a Clvl 95 to be able to gamble and be sure you have possibility to get good rare amulets. (with +2 to skills, ilvl 90 -> alvl 90 affixes)
- With clvl 55, you should be able to gamble everything that can be gambled already, even though you don't get all the ilvls possible.
[...]
OTHER MAGICAL ITEMS: The best way of getting what is wanted in each magical item has to be calculated separetely.
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Crafting Blood rings:
Current Crafting formulas in v1.09d ilvl= int(0.50*clvl)+int(0.50*ilvl).
For Blood rings:
This means that if your clvl + ilvl of the item > = 156, you can the highest possible alvl of a ring, which is 77 -> 8%ll. Any combination of
clvl and ilvl are irrelevant: a ring with ilvl 90 + a char with clvl 66 are as effective as a char with clvl 90 and a ring with ilvl 66. Nonetheless,
it's better to buy the rings^with a high level char, or take them on the ground on cows, and craft them with chars whose clvl is close to 90,
because it's not possible to get rid of the annoying mods (all of them below the alvl 77 of the 8%ll)
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For Caster Rings:
At alvl 68, all the useful mods are already on this ring. (32 p/58 s)
This means that clvl + ilvl should be > = 136 to craft this kind of rings.
Since there's only one more modifier after alvl 68, any character will do to buy/craft these rings, provided that this character is at least lvl 68+. The best would be buy/craft with chars close to clvl 90.
Rings on the ground are a bit dangerous, unless they are taken in hell cows or act 5.
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For Amulets (blood or caster)
The combination of ilvl + clvl MUST be > = 181 to craft "+2 to skills" amus. It is VERY important that the amus are bought (not taken from
the ground, unless you are pretty sure that its ilvl >= 90) with a char clvl 91+, and crafted with this char or equivalent, to be sure it has
enough "lvl" to craft.
Some things to aim while doing these amulets:
blood amu: +2 skills, dual leech (+3ll / +3ml) or only life leech (6 ll), +strenght / dex
caster amu: +2 skills, 16+ fcr, mana, etc.
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For Blood Gloves:
clvl MUST be 58
alvl MUST be 63
more to the point, ilvl + clvl MUST be 120 (or the closest possible) for this to work properly.
Many of the annoying mods are not there at this combination.
This means, the ilvl + clvl should not be less than 120, and the closest possible to 120 if more.
This also means that a char with clvl 58 should be created JUST to buy and craft gloves.
The heavy gloves will be ilvl 63, if bought on nightmare or hell. 63 + 58 = 121 (the closest possible to 120).
An alternative way is to buy heavy gloves on normal, act 2, (their ilvl cap is 20), and then crafting them with a char with MINIMUM clvl 98.
This will also ensure the same results as the clvl 58/ilvl 63 gloves explained above.
Things to aim for: 20 IAS, +2 skill trees (ama passive most wanted), dual leech (3 ml/3 ll) or 6% life leech
QUOTE - END
If you need additional information about recent Qlvls look there:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tokusanya/110_full_tc.txt
You can even use ATMA
http://atma.diabloii.net/