Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and essential way to boost the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
Sometimes, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They boost the performance of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at bonfires. Additionally, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components within them by with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the degree of upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to its highest upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. However, it's important note that this will also raise its weight, requiring it to weigh more than before.
There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades that are that are available in the game and each one has distinct effects. Some upgrades give armor a greater number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item can receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
Some upgrades also feature magic or a mix of technology and magic which is identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require charges to use, which are shown by the "Charges" entry in the table below. These charges are continuously updated or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but is readily available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can give a significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the cost.
The player must be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to its maximum upgrade level can increase its defense values. However, it can also reduce its agility and its speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense usually isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells do. Some weapons also have special upgrades that improve their innate qualities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the risk of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. These are obtained through either finishing side quests, taking out a certain number of bosses or monsters, or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
The process of upgrading a weapon, equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade cost that is based on a specific number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade, the more advanced the level. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your equipment and weapon sets changed a little. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level at which point the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this, but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're much better off going to stores and buying equipment that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items have a greater likelihood of granting you highest tier advantages and benefits.
The majority of players will make the most of upgrades to weapons they most often use to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates utilize to increase their power. Shepard, for example should upgrade his M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used in conjunction with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. They can be created using the process of jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem with a number of specific ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the grade of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or by collecting Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a jewel can be improved at the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
All levels of jewels can be made at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary gems that require you to be at a high enough level to be able to get these. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without destroying the original. However, you can only replace one jewel in a piece of equipment once.
It is normal to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. The jewels also improve performance and make an outer layer that is more durable than steel so that repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to them.
A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the look of your weapons and shields. These are a small perk and can be swapped out at any time however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs are also removed, which returns them to the inventory. item upgrades as aegis or traits cannot be exchanged, and can only be found with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with various small, but beneficial benefits. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by doing road interactions. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but beneficial boost in movement speed and the ability to evade. After that, they'll be able to get amulets, rings, and necklaces in the same fashion to how the player can acquire armor and weapons. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any device. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This enables the hero to be more effective when not active, and can also help make up for a lack of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace soon, followed by items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if you are looking to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It's better to upgrade one important stat instead of two subpar ones.
At the beginning of the game junglers will usually want to upgrade their trinket to a red in the middle and top players usually choose the pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can impact the hero's ability to manage the map.
Aside from the things mentioned above, players may also find other trinkets throughout the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, finishing the main quest of a chapter or beating a boss. These can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.